It's the little things - Hippie dippy

Saturday was Earth Hour. Switch off all your lights and electronics for an hour, let Mother Earth have a break.

At first we thought we'd light candles and have a long bath but, when it came down to it, we settled for tealights in the lounge, all other lights off and watching TV.

We also decided running the dishwasher didn't count.

I guess we weren't really 100% hippie, but at least we tried.

I found two things interesting.

First, no one on our street seemed to know or care about Earth Hour. Everyone's lights were on.

Second, it's amazing how, when you turn the lights out, you realize how little you actually need them, even at night.

If you just open up the blinds, the houses next door are so close that you can take a lot from their light.

If you aren't actually in the room, and you don't plan to be going in it much (e.g. the toilet), you can turn out the light.

If you're watching TV, all you really need is one light to balance the glow.

It's 7pm now and we have no lights on in the lounge, corridor or bathroom. There's one on in the kitchen, but I'm about to cook.

So, although we didn't go full hippie last night, something has shifted. And I guess that's the point.