As a teenager trying to grapple with dangerously out-of-control hormones it seemed that my mum’s main role was to make my life as difficult as possible. We had very different views on my desire to transform myself into some sort of Dr Martin wearing, under-cut sporting twerp and blinded by the narcissism that only puberty can bring it was hard to notice how wise she was. 

 These days however the steady march of my hairline towards my crown is not the only reminder that I have inherited my parent genes. Every step I take towards living greener I am reminded of a lesson learnt from my mum. In the 80s she was broke and her thrifty living was born from necessity. Now it just makes good sense. 

 Following the success of last weeks top five I have compiled the ‘Top Five Eco Tricks I Learnt from my Mum’. Gawd bless her.

 1) Quality not Primarni - To my amazement back then the most expensive item of clothing in my wardrobe was my school shoes. 'Sturdy, black lace-ups' from Clarks may have been pricey but Ma Walters knew they would last a year. It's a good rule to follow because whilst buying ten items in Primark may satisy our shopping addiction the truth is the clothes will probably last for less time than it took to queue up at the tills.

 2) "Alu alu" - Still with pride of place in the kitchen where I grew up is a container full of used aluminium foil ready for another innings and my mum was always dissapointed if she didn't get at least three uses out of each bit. In fact why would we throw something out when it could be washed and re-used? We don't do it with our pants! The thicker, higher quality foil is the best to go for and when it finally splits just recycle. 

3) Cereal number - On a similar theme was Mrs Walters' collection of cereal box liners. As a spotty 'youf' this really made me think she was barmy. Now I've grown-up and signed-up. The plastic inside your cornflakes box is a sandwich wrapper in disguise. Not only does this grease-proof lining come in a variety of sizes it can be opened out to fold around some cake or used intact as a sandwich bag. Simply wash when you are finished to re-use and cut the cling-film out of your life. 

4) Hand me down (and down and down) - Like a hawk picking out it's lunch in a field of corn my mum could spot a jumble-sale bargain from 200ft and swoop in for the kill almost as quickly. Whilst a pair of Levis for 10p may be thing of the past there are still plenty of ways to dress in someone else's clothes. Ebay has it's share of bargains but if you'd rather try things on first then the scattering of charity shops round London offer great options. If it's furniture on your shopping list then the brilliant eastdulwichforum.co.uk and http://www.uk.freecycle.org/ can help you fill your house with other peoples' unwanted goods.

 5) Compost like crazy - Each summer holidays I would spend one hellish day digging a hole in the garden and filling it with a years worth of rotting carrot peelings. The cannibalistic veg that was grown on this mud patch were some of the biggest I've ever seen. 15 years on and all my carrot skins are going the same way. Composting your veg waste saves it rotting an-aerobically in a landfill and producing carbon-dioxide. Some councils (including Southwark in London) provide discounted compost bins (£10) or if you've not much outside space room then a wormery can sit near the bins and turn what you don't eat into food for plants. 

The landlord’s brow furrowed and he eyed me suspiciously. Suddenly I am seventeen again standing nervously at the bar hoping my date can’t see the beads of sweat beading my forehead. This time though I’m nearly thirty and all I’d asked him was which of his beers was the most eco-friendly. “I don’t know mate” came the reply. Evidently he had never really thought about it.

 Neither had I to be honest until someone set me the challenge of trying to drink green for a few weeks and so I set about it with the enthusiasm of a man combining leisure with work. It turned out that the major brewers hadn’t really thought about it either and whilst they were spending  their considerable advertising budgets making me feel cooler, more fashionable and a bit more Australian for drinking their produce none were really out to show me their green credentials. A little more digging though did unearth some interesting facts which for ease of consumption I’ve broken down into a top five list of ways to drink green:

 1) Cork it - Whilst notes of gooseberry go well on a summers evening the hint of carbon is heaviest with wines imported from far away sun-spots like New Zealand. You can keep the food miles down by drinking British vintages like Château Tooting (http://urbanwineco.com) or the very delicious Camel Valley Brut (www.waitrosewine.com)

 2) Cider visor - On average cider is the greenest variety of the devils juice. The brewing process requires less water and energy than beer and it’s generally made in the UK from locally grown apples.

3) Watered down beer - Brewing beer can be very thirsty work and some of the larger brands are starting to try and cut down on their water consumption. SABMiller who make Grolsch, Miller, Peroni have pledged to reduce water consumption by 25% by 2015.

 4) Go local - London is peppered with small micro-breweries that supply several of the pubs in the South East. Meantime Brewery in Greenwich makes London Pale Ale which has deliciously low food miles and a deliciously good taste. The Florence in Herne Hill also brews their own beer (Weasel, Beaver, Bonobo).

 5) Be neutral -Two companies that stood out as having strong sustainable production values were Sharps in Cornwall (Doombar) and Adnams in Suffolk. Adnams sell the UK’s first Carbon Neutral beer called East Green which is available in Tescos.