The hot list: A better tomorrow with these tips on how to green up your home

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  Courtesy of Grohe

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  Courtesy of Virgin Megastore

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  Courtesy of Little Earth Nest

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  Courtesy of My Green Chapter

Try these simple ways to green up your lifestyle.

1 Write on

Talk about creating something out of nothing: this is the first plantable, sustainable pencil – the rubber has been replaced with a special seed capsule, which means that once you’re done with your pencil, you can pop it into some soil and be rewarded with fresh herbs, crispy vegetables or edible flowers. You can also customise the pencils with initials, logos or special messages. Genius, we say.

• Sprout pencil, Dh39 for a pack of three, Virgin Megastores across the UAE

2 Sense and sensor-bility

You may not give it much thought, but water damage can be a serious threat to your home. Which is why Grohe has launched the Grohe Sense smart water sensor, which can monitor humidity, detect leaks and alerts home owners instantly in case of a problem. Placed on the floor, the device will monitor room temperature and humidity, and relay information back to you via the Grohe Ondus app. It’s a smart way to start monitoring, and then maybe even adjusting, your home environment.

• Grohe Sense, price on request, www.grohe.com/ae

3 Trash treasure

Minimise household waste once and for all with the Smart Cara C25 Food Waste Disposal Unit, newly available at Virgin Megastores. Ten years in development, the revolutionary Smart Cara transforms waste into dried powder by grinding and dehydrating it, so that one kilo of waste is reduced to 100 grams in about three hours. In addition, odours are eliminated through internally fitted eco-filters, and the device is self-cleaning, which means it can be kept indoors. The byproduct is soil-enhancing, and pathogen- and disease-free.

• Smart Cara CS25 Food Waste Disposal Unit, Dh2,700, Virgin Megastores across the UAE

4 Cup winner

Do your bit to minimise the proliferation of plastic bottles and paper cups around the globe by consuming your beverages out of this cool reusable glass cup. Some 22 billion paper cups are used each year around the world – think about that the next time you head to Starbucks. The Joco cup is made from strong borosilicate glass, which is resistant to shock and retains heat. It also has a fancy “cyclonic” base that pulls sugar, sweeteners and syrups to the centre of your hot drink, where they will dissolve evenly for a more balanced flavour.

• Joco reusable glass cup (12oz), Dh70, www.littleearthnest.com.au

5 Grow your own

The Plantui Moomin Smart Garden 3 enables you to grow fresh greens throughout the year, with no need for soil. The system combines a high-quality metal hat that emits various spectra of light; a charmingly designed ceramic bowl; and a smart watering system that ensures that your plants get just the right amount of water, nutrients and oxygen. As the “3” in the name suggests, there’s room here for three separate Plantui Plant Capsules, so you can grow a number of greens at the same time.

• Plantui Moomin Smart Garden 3, Dh799, www.mygreenchapter.com