Global Cool » 18 Degrees Of Inspiration

How to save your pennies at uni so you have more money to spend on beer

emily — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 11:30:43 +0000

By Emily Rycroft

So you’ve got through your exams, survived the results day after party and managed to bag yourself a place at university. But for many, the notion of living away from home and controlling finances alone can be a little bit daunting. We’ve put together some great tips so you can make simple changes to save money for more important things like beer books…

Turn up the style
Our Turn Up The Style, Turn Down The Heat idea is one of the easiest ways to save money and energy. By simply turning your thermostat down to 18 degrees you can save over £50 a year. Just throw on a wooly jumper instead to keep warm like the pretty Cameron Diaz (pictured). It can also keep you thinner and give you nicer skin (which you’ll probably be needing on your new diet of Supernoodles and pasta).

Cook up a storm
The kitchen poses one of the biggest threats to your pocket, as there are so many ways to waste energy and money. When you boil the kettle try to only use as much water as you need, and cover pots and pans when you’re cooking. This will speed up the boiling process so you’ll never be late for that lesson/big night out again. Running a dishwasher can get very expensive and irritating when people start piling dirty plates on top of clean ones – opt for washing up by hand instead.

Be electric
Try to remember to turn off all the lights when you leave a room. It’s a small change but can save you from donating a huge lump of your hard earned cash to Southern Electric every quarter. Better still, choose energy saving light bulbs – they can last for over six months so you won’t end up peeing in the dark the week before your loan comes in.

TVs and tumble dryers
The simple task of turning your TV off completely, rather than leaving it on standby, will save you loads of cash. It can also help your TV last for longer, as standby burns out the LED bulbs faster. Finally, avoid tumble drying as they are one of the worst appliances for guzzling energy and increasing your bills.

Are you off to uni this September? Tell us all about it in the comments box below or have a chat with us on Twitter @global_cool…

Pics: PA Images

Central heating is making you fat

emily — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 09:00:36 +0000

By Emily Rycroft

A recent study has discovered that we are so used to being cosy in our homes that our bodies no longer have to use as much energy to battle cold weather. Add to this the fact that people spend a large quantity of time in the home with almost everything available at the click of a mouse. When we do venture out it is often in the confines of a heated car transporting us to a warm office or snug shopping centre. Scientists from University College London found that as a result, obesity rates are soaring.

Research carried out in the Obesity Review journal found a direct correlation between cosying up in our homes and a decline in our body’s ability to burn specific types of fat. Study co-author Marcella Ucci said: “The findings suggest that lower winter temperatures in buildings might contribute to tackling obesity as well as reducing carbon emissions.”

So we think it’s time to turn down the heating, save some pennies on your bills and shed some pounds!

Try staying warm with your favourite woolly jumper or check out this video of supermodel Stella Tennant Turning Up The Style and Turning Down The Heat…

Global Cool Turns Up The Style at Britain’s Next Top Model Live

Global Cool — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 17:28:58 +0000

Global Cool is delighted to be working with Britain’s Next Top Model Live as part of Turn Up The Style, Turn Down The Heat.

Hosted by fashionista Gemma Cairney and following on from last year’s 18 Degrees of Inspiration campaign, we’ll be helping you ‘Turn Up The Style’ at home this winter by showing you how to wear some of this season’s most on-trend knits so that you can ‘Turn Down The Heat’ at home. Not only will this have you looking great, it will also save you money on heating bills and help your skin stay hydrated and glowing this winter.

The Global Cool Lounge at the event will be giving styling tips and advice on how to wear this season’s knits and you’ll have the chance to enter our I Love My Jumper competition to win £100 worth of high street shopping vouchers. We’ll also be holding talks in the Style Icon Workshops, so you’ll leave with no excuse not to ‘Turn Up the Style, Turn Down the Heat’.

Download our style guide for customising your old jumpers

Get advice on turning down your thermostat and saving bucket loads of cash

Read all about the health and beauty benefits of turning down your heating here

Britain’s Next Top Model Live takes place at London’s ExCel Centre from October 22-24.

How to keep warm with Team Global Cool

Global Cool — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 14:08:59 +0000

It probably hasn’t escaped your notice that it’s more than a little chilly out there at the moment. Seriously – look out your window if you don’t believe us. And with my newspaper assuring me that there’s another couple of weeks to go for ‘Frozen Britain’, we’ve been swapping tips at GCHQ of how we all stay warm at home.

Okay, so not everything that got mentioned will work for everyone (it’s hard to chase your dog round the kitchen table if you don’t have a dog), but below are our best tips for keeping warm inside without turning the heating up. So read on and stay toasty…

Matilda suggests her patented personal heater idea. When it’s this freezing I like to have my own portable heater so my solution is the ‘hottie in a hoodie’ – a hot water bottle tucked into the pouch pocket of my hoodie. I can get on with everything I need to do without cranking up the thermostat, and feel amazingly warm and fuzzy – because of the bottle, and because I’m smug in the knowledge I’m not wasting money heating my whole house.

Matt’s tip is to heat yourself from the inside out by spicing up your food. I’ve got a lot of different types of chili in the kitchen cupboard (see my pic above), with something for pretty much any kind of meal. The best is dry chili flakes in tomato soup – guaranteed to give you a fiery glow inside.

Naomi’s idea is perfect for just after Christmas. Novelty socks! Now, they always seem like the most boring Christmas present to ask for, but socks always feature on my pressie list. You’re guaranteed that someone will buy you a ridiculous novelty pair that you always feel silly wearing, but you secretly quite like them…like the ones in my picture!

Caroline’s also reckons feet are the key, though with slightly less novelty than Naomi. I’m all about warm feet. So lots of socks – big hiking socks which are all fluffy and yummy on the inside. And stand on the carpet! My flat is partly wood floors, partly rugs, and partly carpeted, and man, it is MUCH warmer on the carpet. I’m moving the rug around the living room with me!

Bob’s solution is to use his own body heat. Years of enjoying the great outdoors has been hugely enhanced by keeping warm and dry. The key is having a baselayer that keeps the damp out but my body warmth in, and my favourite is Merino wool. The last set I bought was for snowboarding in the Tatra Mountains in Poland and three years later, on a snowy cold day in London, they’re still keeping me warm as I write this.

Tim enlists the help of his feathered and furry friends. Pingu and Kanga (my cuddly hot water bottle friends) are the answer to keeping warm in the cold snap without heating bills punching a hole in your wallet. Pummel one with your feet under your desk when working from home, or like Matilda says snuggle up on the sofa with one in your hoodie.

Rob reckons the best way is to stop the cold before it even gets inside. Now this might just look like any old picture of a window with the snow piling up outside but what you can’t see (which is handy!) is that the window has got a temporary double glazing film over it to keep out the drafts and insulate the room. It works a treat and is cheap enough for even the most discerning student to afford!

Phil’s inspiration comes from his student days. Saving money was always a priority at university, so my housemates and I had to find ways to keep warm without putting our heating on. My top tips would be nice hot meals throughout the day, hot drinks are a must and my personal favourite…wear your dressing gown over the top of your clothes for head to toe warmth!

Stop wasting cash, sleep well and get thin just by turning down the heat…

Global Cool — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 13:44:08 +0000

Taking control of your home’s heating means you won’t carry on wasting cash on hefty fuel bills. But, what’s more, it can also improve your health and even help you lose weight!

By following the simple instructions below you could be quids in by the time the clocks go forward in Spring; just in time to splash out on a new downsized bikini or, for our male readers, squeeze into a braver pair of budgie smuggling Speedos!

Heat to get slimmer… Turning down the heating makes you thinner! Okay, so it’s not as simple as nudging the thermostat down a notch and sitting back with an industrial tub of Ben & Jerry’s…more

Do touch that dial… So how do you go about kick starting this life changing process…well, start off by seeking out your thermostat, which is usually a small dial or digital box… more

It’s all about timing… Making the most of your home’s heating and hot water systems is simply a matter of good timing. Most boilers are fitted with a timer that’s usually represented by a 24-hour dial…more

Order room service… If you want to take advantage of the health benefits of sleeping in a cooler room, but don’t want to live under a duvet in your living room, look into adjusting each room individually. more

Top tips to cheat the heat… There’s a whole bunch of things you can do around your home to keep the heat in and the cold out. more

Turn up the style, turn down the heat

Global Cool — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 13:51:41 +0000

We at Global Cool love the number 18. It’s the age you can get married without your parents’ consent, buy alcohol and legally watch a Ross Kemp on Gangs DVD box set.

It’s also a brilliant number because if you set your heating to 18°C or below this winter, you’ll stop wasting up to £200 a year on your heating bills*. You’ll also sleep better and you may even shed a few pounds!

We’ve already seen our Facebook friends flaunting their most stylish indoor winter wardrobe in our ASOS.com competition. The lucky Emma Woodley bagged £500 worth of vouchers to spend on a new lovely winter wardrobe. Click here to see the winning entry and the best of the rest.

But don’t just listen to us, we’ve roped in all sorts of famous faces to show you how you can turn up the style and turn down the heat this winter. Just click on the videos below to see what they’re on about…

*For every single degree you turn your thermostat down, you stop wasting around £40 per year on your fuel bills. And most people have their heating about 5°C higher than it needs to be –ie, about 23°C.

Turn down my heating in the middle of winter? Why, you better have a blinking good reason…

Global Cool — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:45:40 +0000

Whether you live in a studio flat or a castle, you can bet that the biggest chunk of money you waste on your bills comes from not managing your home’s energy properly.

The energy we use at home is about two-thirds of the carbon pollution which individuals can control themselves, and heating is about half of that (The rest are things like cooking and lighting). And it’s about 15% of the carbon footprint of the whole UK: practically on a par with all of business (17%) and not far behind road transport (22%).

Turning down your central heating to 18°C and reaching for a jumper, rather than cranking up the thermostat, is a great place to start. This action alone will instantly stop you wasting hard cash, all whilst improving your health, your sleep and even your waistline!

Art of Swishing

Global Cool — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:00:15 +0000

The Art of Swishing is all about looking good without the hefty price to your purse strings or the planet.

The manufacture of clothing is one of the world’s most energy intensive industries and to top it all, nearly a million tonnes of discarded items end up in landfill every year in the UK alone.

That’s why we at Global Cool have been looking at ways in which you can still look a million dollars without it costing the earth.

For more fashion tips you can turn up the style and turn down the heat this winter with Global Cool’s 18 Degrees of Inspiration

Take a look at our celebrity videos to pick up a few style tips from VV Brown, Laura Bailey, Leah Wood and the like.