Wikaniko - start your own home business!

How would you like to buy eco friendly products from a one stop shop, earn money and help save the planet at the same time?

 

Now with Wikaniko you can do all 3 at the same time, Wikaniko means we can eco, I can, you can, we all can.

 

Become a Distributor or Customer or simply sign up for free eco newsletter / tips / games. www.eco-income.co.uk

 
Buy eco friendly products! In the Wikaniko shop you will discover one of the most comprehensive ranges that you could ever come across under one roof. Over 800 products - totally degradable bags, fantastic natural cosmetics, natural toiletries, soaps, creams, organic cotton wool etc, energy saving devices, sustainable greetings cards, interesting and creative water saving gadgets, organic gardening products, seeds, etc all at your fingertips!

A Natural Alliance-Garden Buildings from Decorated Shed

Here is a guest post from Decorated Shed about the benefits of working from home

Decorated Shed offer a range of garden building designs that unifies architecture and nature in a striking mix. The existing beauty of the garden is used as an impressive stage on which to showcase each building’s stylish form. From the pen nib of scrawled design to the muscles of materialisation; the garden studio is moulded from ecologically sound practices and materials, standing as an enduring mark of environmental respect that permeates up from its foundations.

Decorated Shed provide garden studios that reduce environmental impact without compromising upon visual impact and functionality. The convenient position of a garden building means that it is a perfect alternative to a lengthy commute, providing an office space that eradicates the need to pump harmful car fumes into the atmosphere. The garden studio and office encapsulate a green lifestyle, as leafy surroundings promote an appreciation of nature’s precious qualities. Humans are biologically classed as animals; we therefore thrive in an outdoor setting, which explains why we feel invigorated when we spend time amongst nature, just as a lion thrives in the African plains. We are ultimately one of the many strands that make up nature; it therefore makes sense that we should strive to conserve the habitat that boosts our contentment.

All dimensions of a Decorated Shed garden studio and office are energy efficient; the walls, roofs, windows, doors and foundations are all engineered to save energy. The floor is a multi-layered structure that offers a high-insular performance, set on an augured pile foundation system, which serves as a permanent means of saving energy. The timber frame of each garden studio offers substantial insulation, with a heat reflective membrane that traps internal heat, together with windows, that offer some of the lowest U values; top-to –toe. The window positions flood the internal space with illuminating light ensuring that the need for electric light is reduced. Wall panelling also seals the heat within the structure, armouring the building against the cold, so that energy requirements are limited. The garden building becomes a cosy cocoon of warmth and light. Decorated Shed also work with FSC and PEFC accredited suppliers to ensure that materials are sustainably and ethically managed, which means a garden building is cut loose from the overbearing shadows that are created as a result of environmental scarring.

The roof can be made from recycled rubber or zinc, with the option of a sloping sedum roof that integrates the attractive greenery of the garden with the structure, literally living up to the name; green building. A planted ‘living’ green roof system can support a flower bed, which will adorn a studio top like a hat pinned with decorative flowers. The exterior cladding is made up of premium Western Red Cedar wood cladding, which also acts as an effective thermal insulator, while displaying a rich colour which ages beautifully, due to natural internal oils, which prevent the need for the wood to be treated with environmentally harmful chemicals. The exterior acts as an inviting display, nestled into nature’s hands, while the interior acts as a hollowed out retreat of modernity, style and immaculate design.

Although one green building may seem like a drop in the ocean compared to larger scale influences, such as deforestation and city pollution. However, the road to recovery starts with a single footstep. By rejecting to join a relentless force of environmental destruction, the impact is lessened and a new trend is set. Decorated Shed garden buildings provide shining examples of why green built spaces are so attractive. Just as an extension, garden buildings add extra space and value to a home but unlike an extension, they provide a private retreat that is energy efficient and cost effective, as a dazzling gemstone of investment, set in the emerald cushion of the garden, while standing as a stroke of engineering brilliance, in its own right.

Working from home

Working from home, either permanently or just one or two days per week is an inherently green decision. The emissions reduction from travelling is the most immediate benefit, and is one of many that become apparent over time.

Decorated Shed garden offices are built to be energy efficient and deliver phenomenal insulation performance, meaning that you need minimal heating and cooling all year round.

However, being a green homeworker doesn't end at simply working from home. There are several simple practices that can be incorporated into your working day that help to minimise your impact on the planet even further. The good news is that they’re all simple and easy to implement into your routine, and will bring tangible benefits to both your work and your pocket.

Here are some green office tips for homeworkers;

• Buy eco-friendly office products. Recycled paper is the commonly-known product here, but almost every other office item has a recycled version available. Pens, pencils, mousepads, calendars, almost every item of stationery imaginable… all available in eco-friendly variants.

• Recycle! Be a part of the process by recycling your recycled office products when you’re finished with them, and give them yet another chance to be used in a new life! It's a sad fact that while 80% of the office products used in the UK are recyclable, a pitiful 8% ends up being recycled*.

• Buy FSC-certified or second-hand desks. If you're buying new office desks try to make sure they’re from FSC-certified sources, which means they’ve come from responsible and sustainably managed forests. Alternatively, see what's available locally second-hand. As many companies regularly re-fit their office spaces there are often some impeccable quality office furniture items available second-hand, and this removes the need to buy a newly produced item.

• Buy an energy-efficient computer and other electronics. Laptops usually use less energy than computer and monitor combinations, and the eco-friendly options for these are improving on an almost daily basis. The situation is similar for printers and fax machines, with many energy efficient options widely available.

• Go easy on the print outs. "Don't print this out unless necessary" is a well-worn office mantra, but for good reason. Printing things out to read them is really unnecessary, especially considering they're on the screen right in front of you, and the process wastes paper, ink, energy, time and ultimately money - quite a lot of valuable resources.

• Switch off. If you're not in the office, it doesn't need to be on. With the possible exception of the fax machine, every single energy-using item in your office should be switched off and shut down at the end of the day. Computer, printer, scanner, copier, lights - all off.

10 Ways Working From Home Saves You Money ...

It can be disrupting working in your kitchen or living room and not give you the chance to concentrate on your work. Research has proven that working in a separate garden office rather than your home will prevent distractions. Decorated Sheds bespoke garden offices are designed to meet your specific requirements, with their natural warmth of Western Cedar designs you can relax and complete your duties without the hustle and bustle of a work place or even your home!
So once you have your garden office – how do you save the pennies?

1. The commute & your garden office
It is obviously cheaper and more environmentally friendly to walk down the garden to your Decorated Shed garden office than it is to drive to work. Although you will have to pay for electrics and heating our garden offices are installed with high performance energy efficient insulation and heating

2. Coffee
Especially if you have a tall cappuccino addiction – the cost of Starbucks can seriously add up. One Starbucks can buy you a weeks supply of the very best organic coffee which will last a lot longer

3. Lunch and snacks
It is easy to spend up to £10 a day on lunch and snacks which does add up. When working at home you can make your own lunches and use up left overs

4. Clothing
When you just need the power suit for the occasional meeting and can wear anything the rest of the time you can save a lot of money on clothing and cleaning. Just make sure you get dressed in the morning, wear a nice shirt or top and brush your hair—more and more working from home involves video calls and conferences.

5. Communications
Business lines can be more expensive than residential lines. Some people are dumping the landline altogether and only using mobile phones as these days great deals on unlimited calls are available. Not to forget they are useful when on the road.

6. Electronics
Your garden office laptop is more likely to be quicker and more efficient than those in a large organisation. Why? Because they have a lot of people to manage and have to put restrictions on services. Not to mention that fact that laptops use a fraction of the amount of energy compared to the desktop computer. (more information on this in our last blog ‘Is telecommuting green’)

7. Furniture
Corporate firms tend to buy matching furniture quite often which is not cheap. In your Decorated Shed garden office you will be able to re use furniture from your home, or once bought i am sure you will not be replacing it in a hurry!

8. Childcare
Childcare is still an issue, but you may have more flexibility in your choices and options. For example – taking turns with your neighbour to pick the children up from school

9. Taxes
Get yourself a qualified accountant and keep all your receipts for travel and all expenses for your business. These will be deducted from your final tax bill. Your final tax bill should be considerably less than if you worked for a company

10. Your garden office
The Decorated Shed team will work closely with you to build your premium garden office. As mentioned in point one their high energy efficient insulation will cut the cost of bills drastically, and we will work to your budget and requirements. They also design the interior, and build electrical points in the foundations which is included in the overall price.

Percentage rises for home workers

The past year has been a difficult time for many of us and the amount of people working from home has risen dramatically, not always in peoples' favour. In some cases people would prefer to work from home and benefit from a healthier and cheaper way of living but employers have not been crazy about it, even though it will reduce overheads and the company's carbon footprint.

For example, telecommuting is growing and eco bosses and workers are giving the carbon footprint solution a go. If the unfortunate situation arises and you don’t have a boss anymore there are plenty of options and well paid jobs out there for home workers.

Decorated Shed have become strong supporters of the working from home theory due to the recession and carbon foot print solutions. They build and design bespoke garden offices and garden studios which have become a popular product recently. They act on environmental issues through their high performance energy efficient insulation and their triple sealed doors and windows buildings. Decorated Shed also use recycled material wherever possible. Their Garden Offices are built to your specific requirements and our objective is to build a eco friendly, beautifully engineered garden office with natural and relaxing interiors to enhance your new work place.