From 2011 to 2016 I was pleased to be able to have done 365days where I did a kind deed every day(& 366days in the leap year)!
In 2017 I am doing it again...my aim is to inspire others into action by showing them how simple it is to do kind acts for others. I do this by doing a kind act a day. I do this by sharing my story and some ideas for living a kinder life. Kinder for others, kinder for ourselves, kinder for the planet. Welcome to 365days of kindness!
Today is my mums birthday. A day that I, sadly, won’t be with her to celebrate.
However it is also somewhat of a milestone for me. I celebrated the end of the fourth week of work at my job as an archaeologist, a job that mum has always supported me in pursuing.
My mum has been an amazing influence throughout my life, encouraging me and supporting me to do and be the best I could be. All despite some of the harder things we’ve been through. Which brings me to the Sustainable September idea for...
Day 29.Educate yourself
This seems silly to almost finish off with but as we are coming to the end of Sustainable September, it seems important to include it.
Learning skills you haven’t learned before, that can help you reduce, reuse, recycle, rot or even refuse things coming into your house, can make a huge difference.
If it is learning how to make fruit jam from left over cheap fruits from the local supermarket that would otherwise end up in landfill, or learning how to make a worm farm, from learning how to sew a button, or learning how to reupholster a chair (that project is still in Australia for me to finish another time), it may cost a small amount upfront but the skills you learn in the long-term will make up for it.
The saying goes… “If you give a man a fish, you can feed him for a day. But if you teach a man to fish… you can get rid of him for the whole weekend!” wait… no… that’s not it! Hehehe. “If you give a man a fish, you can feed him for a day. But if you teach a man to fish he can feed himself for a lifetime.”
This also means learning and watching through TV, media, documentaries, podcasts etc.
I’ve learned so much from podcasts and documentaries over the last few years. It’s been really educational.
I hope you are enjoying the last few days of Sustainable September!
I dont know if you would have had a chance to use yesterdays Sustainable September idea because it is something that will need some preplanning. When you organise a party or dinner there are so many great things you can do to reduce your budget AND reduce you environmental impact. Everything from not purchasing disposables, to using reusable straws in metal, glass, bamboo or alternatively single use paper straws (but these barely last ONE drink), or skip straws altogether.
This next idea builds on the yesterdays but it also doesnt need to be a party/gathering-only idea. This one you can bring into every day meals...
Day 25.Use Cloth napkins
Another thing that can save money is buying/making/using cloth napkins instead of buying paper ones. Sure paper ones are mostly compostable, but some of them have a few other not so good things in them. And cloth napkins can be compostable at the end of their lives too. However, you can spend a little bit of cash up front and be able to wash and reuse them over and over again. So, they can make their money back.
You can even purchase ex-hotel/restaurant ones for a cheaper price but still be good quality, plus they are second hand. Meaning that it will have saved you money, and saved the environment too!
"Not only are they [cloth napkins] more durable (one cloth napkin will make it through a lot more BBQ sauce than a paper one!) but ditching disposable napkins will also save plenty of money over the years. It’ll also reduce your trash output, which means less energy is used transporting and processing your waste. Using recyclable paper napkins is good for the planet, but it’s even better to not have anything to recycle in the first place. Plus, cloth napkins make dinner feel oh-so-fancy." (Greatist.com)
You could gift some cloth napkins to a friend or family member, or even use cloth napkins to wrap gifts in as a way to make someone else feel special. Kindness doesnt have to be hard work, it can be much simpler than that. Sharing what you are learning about with people can be a nice way to share and spread kindness.
Yesterday I got to play with a metal detector at work!
Sadly it was because I had lost one of my constant companions, my silver Celtic ring! After all the searching & playing with that fun toy, I still couldn’t find it... which is sad but I have to remind myself it’s just a thing.
It has served me years, and given me lots of enjoyment. That will teach me to wear loose rings at work in the field. I guess that’s the risks of being an archaeologist! I could replace it with a new one or I could use the next idea to find something I love.
The next simple Sustainable September idea for money saving is ...
Day 13.Buy second hand
This alone will save you a fortune.
I have personally decided I want to stick to the 80/20 rule. 80% of my purchases for homewares and clothes I want to get second hand, and save 20% for new good quality stuff. I will show you how I will set it up.
I record any clothing I purchase and then figure out a grid. I usually make sure its easy to multiply/divide into and 80/20 ratio and then colour in the boxes and keep an eye on what I purchase.
Some things you have to purchase new. I had to have new Steel cap work boots for work (and needed them immediately) so I had to accept Work purchasing me brand new ones. But I got reasonable quality ones so that they would last.
Buying good quality second hand goods can mean that you can often save more than 50% of the original price of the item. Sometimes it’s much cheaper than that, depending on what you are looking at and where you resource it from. I do a lot of this with clothes now. Second hand shops and thrift stores and even eBay!
Apologies for the late Sustainable September post. I've been a bit unwell and I've been unable to get my post out as early as I would have liked. I'm always working to be the best I can be. I always talk about being Kind to yourself, so I'm taking time now and being kind to myself. Whilst also getting this done! Hence being late.
I went to the Wasteless Pantry today and bought myself some Soap Nuts. If you are interested in finding out more, look at yesterday's post.
This little jar should last me quite a while! And when the nuts get brittle they can go in my compost bin, so they are basically Waste free. Yay!
Today's idea is again on this weeks theme of cleaning.
Sustainable September Day Twenty Two: dry your clothes in the sun.
Did you know that the sun has the ability to disinfect your laundry? Well you do now! It is great to simply & safely kill bacteria without the use of harsh chemicals.
It is also a really a simple power saving (& therefore money saving) tip.
Want more reasons to dry your clothes on the washing line? Check out this website... The Spruce. It has some awesome ideas too.
ACTIVITY: Hang your washing out to dry. If not outside (it's been raining here this week) then inside on a drying rack! By reducing the amount of power you use by putting on the electric dryer you are helping the planet by reducing the amount of fossil fuels needed to power it.
Not sure how to hang something? Then here is a handy little guide to help you line dry your clothes.
Hope that's everything you need for today. I love keeping it short and sweet.
Like me, I hope you are being kind to yourself. Look after yourself. Eat healthy, do some exercise, drink plenty of water and get some sleep. Like I plan to do... right now. Please don't forget that the reason we do Sustainable September is because we want to be kind to our planet and all those who live here! That includes ourselves!
Today has been a long and busy day for me so I will keep this as short and sweet as I can.
Yesterday was all about packaging, I even shared how hard it can be for a person with allergies and intolerances to get unpackaged items. However, today I found some gluten free Sweet Potato crisps at a bulk store (instead of buying a plastic wrapped packet of Sweet Potato crisps). I don't buy them very often because they are not that good for me. However seeing as I am currently on the Auto-Immune Protocol Paleo Food lifestyle where there are not many easy access foods, this is the best of a bad bunch.
Sustainable September Day Fourteen - Store food so they last longer.
I must admit that this one is new to me. Some of these tips and tricks may not apply to everyone, depending on what you purchase at the shops or farmers markets. I heard a whole heap of these from one of my favourite Podcasts... The Slow Home Podcast. Brooke McAlary has a wonderful podcast and blog that talks about slowing down and one of the things she discussed a few months ago (after the Australian Broadcast of War on Waste) was how to REDUCE waste. Here is a screenshot of my phone and the podcast athay I will be talking about today.
This link gives you 50 Different Ways to REDUCE your food waste. So I will pinch some of the things from this list that i have used in my own kitchen to save on waste. Have a look at the link above so that you can see other awesome ideas that apply to you. Then share them with me... i want to know what works. :)
Some of this stuff I have also learned through trial and error.
Did you know you can freeze a whole lot of stuff? For example, do you have a half used glass jar of Pesto? Instead of throwing out the left overs (or letting it sit in your fridge to go mouldy and rot before throwing it out), use an ice tray to separate single serves of pesto and freeze. It is usually in about tablespoon quantities. So you can throw it into some other things you make in the kitchen later.
Celery - For me, If I buy celery, I need to cut it up into smaller pieces for dips and snacks because if I leave it as a whole it tends to wilt without being touched. If it is cut then it gets eaten fast and there is a lot less waste. I cut them, then store them covered in water in a reusable container. Drain them before eating. Changing the water every second day.
I often use Celery in making Vegetable Stock, along with a lot of other veggies (you can also use celery tops and leaves for stock).
Carrots - In my house, if they are precut they get eaten faster. I cut them, then store them covered in water in a reusable container. Drain them before eating. Changing the water every second day.
If I have some whole carrots starting to get bendy I use them in my Green Smoothies. In the mornings I make a smoothy that contains a carrot, a handful of spinach leaves, half a cucumber, a cup of blanched kale, half an apple, the juice of half a lemon, either half an avacado or a teaspoon of olive oil, and then I add other bits like a handful of Berries, sometimes some limp celery, or over ripe banana or pears, or other fruit or veggies that are starting to look a little sad.
I often use Celery in making Vegetable Stock, along with a lot of other veggies (you can also use celery tops and leaves for stock).
Berries - For firm berries, you can rinse them in vinegar, dry them and store them in the fridge on a bed of papertowel in a plastic container. For more details about how to care for them check out this indepth tutorial about how to make your berries last longer here.
Any sad looking berries (not mouldy) can be thrown into a smoothie too.
Spinach/Lettuce/Kale leaves - I discovered that if I trim then wrap my lettuce, kale and spinach leaves into the damp clothes (damp teatowels) and then put it in a reusable container it lasts a lot longer than when I used to buy them in plastic bags.
This is my pink tea towel, my English spinach and a reusable plastic container I store in my fridge.
Hard Cheese - Although I do not use Cheese (or any Dairy) personally, my family does. When we have bits of hard cheeses left over we chuck the extra bits in a container in the freezer. When you have a small container in the freezer full, put it in a blender and blend it all up together and you can use this extra cheese for making things like Cauliflower cheese or nachos. I learned this one from Jamie Oliver. We love putting parmesan rinds in soups. Cauliflower soup with parmesan is awesome - I remember this, even though I dont eat it anymore.
Bananas - Don’t compost your squishy, over-ripe bananas. Peel, slice and freeze on a tray, then transfer the rounds to a container. These are perfect for for banana bread, smoothies, protein pancakes, or my favourite is Banana Coconut Ice-cream (Daena Friendly & accidentally Vegan!). Veggies - Keep all your veggie offcuts, peels, skins and trimmings in a container in the freezer. When there’s a good amount, put it all in a big saucepan, cover with water, and cook for a few hours. It makes a delicious rich (free!) veggie stock that can then be frozen and used as needed. Meat - Only keep out what you’re cooking in the next day or two. Separate the rest of the meat into meal-size portions. Alternatively you can take containers to the butcher and ask them to separate the meat into meal sized portions for you. You can then put it in the freezer with a lable if you need it. ACTIVITY - Start a Waste Free Cookbook. Basically it involves finding your favourite recipes to use up any of your usual food waste.
Do you often have too many bananas? do they get black and end up in the bin because you dont know what to do with them? Well how about finding a good banana bread recipe? Or peel the banana and put it in the freezer to use in smoothies, cakes or ice-creams. There is so much information here. You can take on whatever you want to do and give it a go. You don't have to do everything at once, I don't want to overwhelm you! I hope this finds you all well, love Daena xx
FOOD & STORAGE - CHOOSING FOODS BASED ON PACKAGING
Hello everyone,
How has your day gone? How have you gone with creating a compost bin? or how have you gone talking to friends and family about creating one at their house? or using an existing one? I haven't had as much time today as i expected to get my compost bin rejuvenated. It is pretty smelly and needs a lot more of the 'brown stuff' (twigs, paper - carbon based stuff) to reduce the smell and pests, but i have hope and i now have the knowledge of how to fix it... at least i hope so!
Today I took my own Activity advice from yesterday and had a visit to Kings Park. For those not from Perth, Australia, it is beautiful inner city Parkland that would rival Central Park, New York. And yes, i have been to Central Park! Kings Park overlooks the city and is just a lovely place to visit all year round.
I was sitting in a cafe with mum, in Kingspark, and noticed that there was this one raven that was just sitting on a tree stump like some kind of statue.
He was beautiful and stayed like that for ages. So I had to photograph him.
Anyway, back to Sustainable September...
Sustainable September Day Thirteen: Choose the foods you buy based on packaging.
I have talked about Packagaing on Day One of Sustainable September, because the best way to REDUCE the amount of packaging that comes into the house is by REFUSING it and REDUCING the amount that comes into your house.
This year I decided that using videos was a great way to help educate people, including myself. I'm not yet ready to make my own, so using other peoples videos is a wonderful way to share other peoples perspectives and experiences. Like Ela Gale, a New Zealander who took on the 55 Day Waste Free challenge. Her notes and experiences are invaluable.
Food is one of the areas in life that is the epitome of too much packaging. Almost everything these days is packaged. And a mojority of it is packaged in plastic. You just have to walk into the main supermarkets to see how much packaging is used.
I have talked about RECYCLING in the past also and some of the things that food comes in can be recycled, but a lot of it cannot. So the best way to reduce the amount of waste through packaging is to choose carefully to start with.
I do the best I can but I am limited in getting some things package free because I have to adhere to a very strict Gluten Free diet. If something says 'may contain traces of' gluten then i have to avoid eating it, as is enough to have me crawling into the foetal position on the floor. So best to avoid it completely.
I have been buying some meat in packages (like gluten free, dairy free, grain free sausages) that they occasionally sell in the deli sections at supermarkets. Becuase they are in the same cabinet as other wheat containing things, they are no longer okay for me to eat. All it takes is someone to accidentally drop one of those pieces of wheat on or near food and if I ate it I would be sick. So until I find myself a gluten free butcher, who is willing to use my containers to bring it home in (not prepackaged) then I have resigned myself to still haveing some waste. Mind you, what I have been doing is limiting the amount of food that I buy like that.
It is a special occasion rather than an every day occurance for me to buy packaged things. I like to make sure it ends up in recycling (plasic wrap in soft plastic recycling and the plastic base either reused as a palet for my art or finding another role for it, or recycled if it is able to be).
If i look at what I purchase, and decide that everything I bring into my home has to have its own home in the house (other than the bin) then I am much more aware of what I buy. Because i dont have heaps of space and i dont want to crowd it with stuff i cant use.
I also know that I am not perfect and neither is my household. There are days when we as a household make some crappy choices about waste, but the aim is to reduce it where possible. The best way to reduce waste is to not even let it in, in the first place.
ACTIVITY: Do your shopping with no plastic rubbish. Now this is more than an activity... it is a down right challenge. What people don't realise, is there is a lot of hidden plastic. Buy a cardboard box of cereal... it has a plastic package that holds the cereal. Want to buy meat... there is plastic wrap on a polystyrene tray. Buy vegetables, sometimes they come in plastic netting. So choosing food that has no plastic will take paying attention, but if you treat it like a game rather than a chore... it can be quite entertaining.
I hope this finds you all well.
With Kindness and hope,
What did you make for Meatless/meatfree monday? Did you find a new yummy recipe? Did you have any left overs? Did you have vegetable or fruit scraps that you chucked in the bin?
By now you would have figured out that this September is all about 'Making life a little kinder for our planet and all those who live here' by REDUCING, REUSING & RECYCLING.
One way we can do that is to REDUCE the amounts of food waste we have, by REUSING it in new and exciting ways and then RECYCLING it in our compost bins.
If you dont have a compost bin do not worry... that is what todays Sustainable September Eco Kindness is all about.
Sustainable September Day Twelve: Create or use a compost bin
There are hundreds of "How to" guides when it comes to creating a compost bin.
I quite enjoyed video from the USA... mainly because it is short and sweet.
Do you already have a compost bin? Do you know how to maintain it? We have a compost bin here at home that probably need some maintainance. Here is a video from an Australian Gardening Guru Costa Georgiadis about how to look after and maintain a compost bin.
Don't think you can compost becuase you live in an apartment? Well I have a solution for you...
If you don't have a farmers market that takes compost, perhaps you could talk to a friend or family member and contribute towards their compost bin. Or if none of your friends or family have a compost bin set up maybe you could even organise to set one up at their house/property (with the owners permission of course).
Whenever I house sit for friends and family, if they don't have a compost bin, I will stash my scraps in the Freezer, like Lauren. Then I bring them back home when I come for a visit and deposit it at the compost bin before it defrosts. It helps reduce the smell. I often use paper mushroom bags until one is full and then I will put the whole thing in the freezer (usually in a reused plastic bag - which I can keep reusing because it rarely gets dirty).
Enjoy Composting!
ACTIVITY: Get into the garden. Plant some flowers or some vegetables. If you have a compost bin its time to check it and if you can use some of the soil in your garden, do it. It is now spring time in Australia and all of the gardens are coming alive. If you don't have a garden of your own, go out and find a park or green area to spend some time in. You don't have to DO anything, just spend time there.
A week peoples, we have made it a whole week!!! What an achievement! I'm so glad you are still here reading this (and if you are new here... WELCOME!!!!). Kindness to this planet is so important to all of us. Treating the world with greater respect and kindness means that we are able to also treat ourselves, our friends and family with greater respect. PLUS, we are being kind to so many people we do not know! Like those in far away places (like islands that are slowly sinking below rising sea levels) and those we may never meet (those in the future), who will be greatful for every little thing we do now to reduce the amount of waste we produce. Together we are making life a little kinder for our planet and all those who live here.
Yesterday was all about Hankies... one of mine came in handy today. I've got one in my pocket as I write this but thankfully its clean. A lot of people have come down sick in the house... so im doing my best to be environmentally friendly, whilst remaining well!!!
Thankfully i am well... and i hope to stay that way!
Sustainable September Day Seven - Buy & or use a glass, metal or bamboo straw instead of using plastic single use straws.
I own and regularly use a metal straw. I bought it (and more for my family) a few years ago... during Sustainable September. I still have it and still use it all the time. I keep it in a cutlery case in my handbag all the time (Except when i wash it after use of course).
I do rmeember to take my straw with me everywhere... however this kind of leads me to my next point.
REMEMBER, any time you purchase a drink – even if you think I shouldn’t have a straw- specify that you don’t want one.
This part is harder for me. I have been to two different restaurants this week that i forgot to specify that i didn't want a straw, and each time the little plastic stick of uselessness was present in my beverage.
One time recently I remembered to ask not to have a straw, then only realised just as they put the straw into the drink that they had forgotten i didnt want one. When i pointed out i didnt want it they just threw out the straw. I felt even worse... because that single use item... well it didnt even get used once!!! So I need to be vigilent and remember that whenever I go places that I need to specify that I do not need a straw and if possible catch them before they do it out of habit.
If anyone on here is reading this and owns a restaurant or bar, maybe you could consider offering staws only upon request. That would save a bunch of needless waste and im sure it would help the hip pocket too!
It seemed perfectly times that i came across a perfectly timed documentary about Straws too. The Western Australian Premiere of Straws the Film: A documentary about a sea of Change by producer Lisa Booker is a short documentary about plastic straw litter and how community activists are making a sea of change one straw at a time. For those in WA, check out the above link for information about the screening in Fremantle. Its upstairs (@ Yogalab) from one of my favourite restaurants in Freo, the Raw Kitchen. Its being help on Sunday 17th September 2017, (that's 10 days from tomorrow). There are a range of ticket options (some of which include sampling some food from the Raw Kitchen!) but tickets start at $15.
ACTIVITY: Amazingly if, like me, you REFUSE straws, and yet still end up with a bunch, that you didnt ask for, maybe you could turn them into Jewellery or art. Hopefully you can turn a single use item into something you can REUSE, after you have gotten your REUSABLE straw... after all straws cannot be RECYCLED.
If after watching this video you were a bit surprised i had posted it... i understand. Don't get me wrong, I know some of these ideas are really great for the environment. I mean why would you cut up little pieces of straws for the base of your potplants?! Honestly... WHY?!. But some of the other ideas could work if you are looking for a way to upcycle straws you already have or have accidentally received. Or maybe, you are into a craft soloution. Or maybe if you have kids some of these might be fun activities! I just ask that you think carefully about which ones you choose. Normally i wouldn't post something like that... But this one had the most exciting ideas with the least (yes i know that is unbelieveable really) environementally harmful ideas.
I guess the main thing here is to REFUSE plastic single use straws, or in the least, REDUCE the number of straws you use.
If we can do that... it will make a world of difference.
REUSE: CONTAINERS, REPAIR FOR REUSE, SLOW FASHION & MORE
Welcome back! How did you go with Day One of Sustainable September... Reduce? Did you get to refuse something that you would have normally accepted then thrown out? It is amazing how much we almost unconciously accept into our homes and lives that ultimately goes to the trash.
Before i go on to tomorrows Kindness idea (I always do a day ahead to todays post is for tomorrow)... i wanted to share a catchy tune by Jack Johnson called "The Three R's". It should help get us in the mood.
It is a bit cute but it has some awesome ideas in it too. Which brings me to Day two's idea...
Sustainable September Day Two: Reuse.
Today I will cover some ideas for ‘reuse’. Mend shoes & clothes, reuse glass jars for storage, take a look at minimizing what you buy and “shop your closet” rather than go to the shopping center/Mall.
Reusing what we let into our lives is a wonderful way of helping the environment.
CONTAINERS – When I go food shopping one of the first things I look at is what is the thing I am buying packaged in. I tend to avoid it if it is soft plastics or unrecyclable materials. Instead I look for glass, fabric or compostable materials.
It means I buy glass bottles of water (if I can’t refill my own reusable water bottles), then I can reuse those bottles to store a range of things, depending on the “mouth” of the bottle what I can fit in them after they have been consumed. It means that I buy glass bottles of sauces for the house instead of buying plastic because I can make my own sauce and refill the glass containers later.
I buy rice for the family in fabric bags (5kgs) and reuse the bags in the laundry as bags for my delicates. That is until the zip on them breaks and then I make other things out of the bags. Or if they are really falling a part, because they are made of cotton, I throw the bag bits into the compost.
I buy some things that are wrapped in paper because it means that I can throw the paper into the compost once I am finished with it, thus it becomes food for worms.
Our family buys toilet paper that is wrapped in pretty paper that can be used for craft or art projects. Alternatively It can be used as wrapping paper too. The type of toilet paper we buy called “Who Gives a Crap” makes sure their toilet paper is in pretty paper so that it can be reused for a range of differnt things (it even comes with fun things to read on the paper wrapper).
REPAIR FOR REUSE – One of these things for my family recently was getting my mums sewing scissors sharpened. Someone had used the scissors on something other than fabric (heaven forbid) and they had been ruined because of it. Instead of going out and getting these scissors replaced, we got them repaired, or in this case… sharpened. The lady who did the job was a local and the scissors work like new now. If we had of just thrown them out then these scissors would have ended up in landfill. Now we have prevented one thing from ending up in landfill, by repairing it. Reuse can be as simple as that.
I have also gotten a few pairs of shoes re-soled. In one case I got some straps repaired on a pair of nude wedge shoes before I donated them to charity. If I hadn’t have they would have ended up in the rubbish bin, and eventually landfill when all they needed was 5 minutes and $10 worth of repairs. plus now someone else gets to enjoy these awesome shoes (kindness right there).
I recently took a few pairs of shoes (including my UGG boots) to the cobbler to see if I could get them repaired but I had left it too long, and now they can not be repaired or even have their soles be replaced. Bummer dude.
However, what I have done Is ‘repair’ them myself. It is amazing what a bit of Gaffa/Electrical tape and a sewing needle can achieve when it is something that is just for around the house in the first place. My UGG boots are still mostly together regardless of the fact that they are coming apart between the sole and the top of the shoe… so I will keep reusing them until they completely fall apart. Then I should be able to compost the top of the UGG boot (by then they will be separated anyway) because it is sheepskin, and then I will just have the synthetic sole to throw away or maybe repurpose.
Possibly my biggest 'repair' project is my Wingback Chair. Last year, I wrote about how i had found this chair by the side of the road.
Someone was giving it away for free or it would have ended up in landfill. So i decided i wanted to re-upholster it. I watched a LOT of videos on how to do it, so i knew i had to be an expert! right? Wrong! I started dismantling the thing, only to realise I was in well over my head. I had to ask myself what kind of crazy thing i had gotten myself into. But i havent given up!!!
I now go to Traditional Upholstery classes to learn how to actually put furniture pieces, like my wing back chair, back together! So that these pieces of furniture last a really long time. My chair is slowly progressing.
I had to add more woodwork, but now I have webbing on the seat, 9 springs (last time it was only foam), string holding the springs on, I am currently attaching the strapping for the back of the chair... other than that it looks really naked! hehehe.
I am going to classes run at the local community centre. I am loving it. I have made friends with people from different age groups and back grounds. I am learning from each person in my class and teaching them about my interests too, all whilst putting my amazing chair back together. Some of the Wingback chairs that i could have bought, as is, in the shops cost from $250 (at IKEA) to $3500 (at a 'fancy' store). So even if i consider all the money its cost me for classes, wood work, springs and supplies im still under my costs for a chair like mine. When its finished that is! Plus I am learning new skills all the time and that, to me, is invaluable. AND it helps me learn how furniture was put together in older times, which i am sure will help me with my archaeology at some point in the future!
SLOW FASHION: In the coming month I will be talking about Slow vs Fast Fashion. Perhaps I am doing this out of order when it comes to discussing “Slow Fashion” first before talking about the problems with Fast Fashion but slow fashion fits under todays theme. So please bare with me.
Slow fashion is the deliberate use of quality clothing that will last for a long time, rather than buying into what is ‘hip’ and ‘with it’ now (& I know I am showing my age now with comments like that). It is choosing to use what you have already got in your closet in new and interesting ways instead of going to buy a new clothing item.
One idea I really love about slow fashion, is “shopping your closet”. This can mean choosing to wear something that you do not usually wear to see if it suit you and if you really don’t like it asking why it is in the closet in the first place, then donating it or giving it to a friend. It can be as simple as using accessories to dress up or dress down an outfit. Using what you already have to reduce the amount of clothing going to landfill. And yes, a lot of clothing goes to landfill.
Reusing clothing could also mean turning some of it into ‘rags’ to replace paper towel or cleaning clothes. You could get very creative with how you use your old clothing. If it is made out of 100% wool, 100% Cotton, or 100% bamboo it can even end up in your compost bin when it is holy. So if you must buy, choose second hand first. Choose from op-shops, eBay or a huge range of second hand shops available around the world. And if really you must buy new, choose clothing that can possibly be reused and then composted at the end of its life.
FINALLY: There are a range of other ways tat you can ‘reuse’ too. You can reuse water in your garden from showers and washing machines. You can do this by adding a grey water system to your garden. For showers keep a bucket or two in the bottom of your shower for use on the garden. For washing your clothes what we used to do was have the washing machine drain the grey water into the trough next to the machine. Then we would manually fill up buckets from the trough and walk it out to water the garden with it. Just make sure you are aware of what kind of cleaners you use on your clothes and yourself and if those cleaners will hurt or help your plants.
You can reuse any manner of things. Upcycling is one way that this ‘reusing’ idea can work for you.
I really love upcycling stuff. Whether its turning old sheer curtains into produce bags (so you don’t need bring home plastic), or its creating furniture out of wooden pallets... there are so many possibilities and ideas. I have a huge range of Pinterest Boards on how you can reuse an item by giving it a new life and purpose.
So check these out and when it comes to the last day of the month when I will be talking bout Op-Shopping and Upcycling, you might have the perfect project in mind for that day!
If you have any specific project you are interested in or need help finding ideas for, let me know, I can always help with the research! I am a little addicted to Pinterest and love looking for things ideas.
ACTIVITY: Go through your rubbish bin and ask this one question: Is there anything in there that could be given a second life?
Making life a little kinder for our planet and all those who live here.
Welcome to Sustainable September 2017. This year I decided that I wanted to go back and look at a whole range of environmental or ‘Eco’ Kindnesses.
This blog is all about being kind to each other, kind to strangers (regardless of our differences), kind to ourselves and kind to our planet.
This one month a year I focus on how to be Kind to the planet. I have such a love for making a difference to the amazing planet that we live in and on. I want to inspire people and show them how simple Eco Kindness is.
Little changes make the world of difference. It can be as simple or complicated as you want it to be. It can be the level of participation you want it to be too. You could choose to just do Sustainable September every year, or even Plastic Free July to see if a short change works for you. It could be as simple as changing your single use water bottle for a reusable one, alternatively, you could change your whole life and choose a zero waste lifestyle. Whatever you decide to do for the environment I hope you make a few simple changes and be kinder to the planet for all of us and for all future generations.
The next three days of Sustainable September are about the three ‘traditional’ ideas of managing waste. Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.
Sustainable September Day One is Reduce. Reducing the amount of environmentally unhealthy things you bring into your lives and homes. I’m talking about Refusing Stuff, Waste, Plastics, Chemicals.
REFUSE: Last year, I wrote about the “Zero Waste Home” a book by Bea Johnson. In this book she talks about there being another level of stuff before ‘reduce’ called ‘Refuse’ (You can see this graph better in the video below). This is simply about refusing things that come into your home that you will have to thrown away in the future.
This is about refusing freebies like pamphlets, hotel shampoos, samples etc. For example: Pamphlets, if you take them then you have to get rid of them. Some are able to be recycled but not all of them. Shampoo or soaps at a Hotel/motel/Bed & Breakfast are great for an emergency, however when you take them with you unused, the likely hood of you actually using them also deminishes. they are more likely to end up in landfill unused. It seems crazy but having a stockpile of little plastic wrapped bits wont necessarily help you or the planet. If you leave them there and go prepared to a hotel (most times we know well in advance when we go to for a holiday) you help prevent sending plastic to landfill. Usually the freebie is a large amount of waste for the amount of products you receive. And even though a free pen or a free sample of perfume is lovely to receive, usually they are made out of plastics that will inevitably be sent to landfill.
Reducing the amount of things heading to landfill is what todays Sustainable September Kindness is all about.
WASTE: This section (although long) talks about the extreme lifestyle changes that some people have made to reduce the amount of Waste they produce or participate in producing.
There are two lifestyles that I have noticed work well within the “Reduce” banner of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
One is Zero Waste and the other is Minimalism. These can go hand in hand. The thing is that you don’t HAVE to be either Zero Waste or a Minimalist to make a difference to this planet or live an intentional life. I, personally, find them inspiring. And whilst they are the extremes when it comes to Environmentally Friendly* lives, we can learn a lot from them. (*Minimalism is not necessarily Environmentally Friendly, but it is about pairing your life to just the necessities that tend to be quality and do not deteriorate as fast).
I’ve talked about the Bea Johnson Book “Zero Waste Home” already. And slowly I am learning how to work with this framework. I still have a lot to learn and to implement when it comes to this lifestyle. But slowly I am implementing many of the actions in this amazing book. I have shared blog posts from Previous Sustainable Septembers on Zero Waste and those amazing people who are brave and crazy enough to give it a go.
Bea Johnson seems to be the most popular Zero Waster. And you can find a whole plethora of short and long videos about her on YouTube Channel. I love watching these. She is a North American so a lot of the specific Zero Waste products she talks about are not always available here in Australia but the ideas themselves are universal. You can Check out this amazing talk she gave recently to TEDxFoggyBottom called “Two Adults, Two Kids, Zero Waste”.
Bea Johnson is not the only one though, YouTube will give you more and more inspirational videos about people taking on the challenge and living Zero Waste Lives. Or even reducing what they were doing with some of the Zero Waste Principals.
Lauren Singer is another of the amazing Zero Wasters that has a heap of helpful videos on how to live a life with less waste. She does a whole heap of Q & A vlogs on YouTube if you want to check it out any further. Her channel is called TrashIsForTossers and you can check out her TEDxTeen Talk here.
I watched this video from a Vegan Vlogger “Joey’s Plate” and found it really interesting because although she is not going 100% Zero waste she has been building on what she is already doing. Reducing waste and considering thoughtfully, her impact on the environment.
Before on this blog I have talked about Minimalism. Minimalism also falls under the “reduce” section of our environmental kindnesses. Reducing what we let into our lives and living lives of intention is far more important that owning all the stuff. I have been following the two guys called “The Minimalists" for a while now. I listen to their Podcast regularly (I’m still working through their back catalogue) and I enjoy the message they have to share. They even have a documentary out at the moment on Netflix called “Minimalism: A documentary about the important things.” I watched this about 9 months ago and it cemented a whole lot of things for me.
If you don’t have netflix or you want to know more about the Minimalists check out this short video interview with the Minimalists Joshua Fields-Milburne and Ryan Nicodemus. The guys at The Minimalists talk below in their transition to minimalist and in the TedTalk they finish up talking about Waste.
These guys are not the be all and end all on Minimalism. I do love how they talk about the fact that they have one recipe of life that is working for them and they want to share it, but they also know that you can change the ingredients of the recipe to suit you own life.
Joshua Becker, another popular blogger and Minimalst gave an hour long talk called “Becoming Minimalist” about the benefits of minimalism in the talk he gave in Sweden in 2015. Joshua Becker describes Minimalism as “the intentional promotion of the things we value most and the removal of anything that distracts us from that.” And says that “Minimalism forces us to define what we really value in Life.” For a shorter video from Joshua Becker check out a shorter one here.
Some of the Benefits of minimalism are: Less Cleaning. More time. More money. More Freedom. Less Decisions (Less decision Fatigue). More Space. Less Stress. Better Environmental Impact. Higher Quality Goods. More opportunity for gratitude. Less Comparison. Contentment. Greater ability for Generosity.
In terms of Environmental Kindness. Minimalism can help us overcome consumerism by being more deliberate with the purchases we make. It is not about giving up shopping or purchasing things all together… it is about making wise and intentional choices. For example: buying things that will last longer so that we are not continually replacing & throwing away items. Instead of buying the latest “it” things we can choose a carefully curated life where we buy what we need and love.
If we can see what Minimalism can bring to our lives, the benefits and the possibilities, we can focus on more of the things we really want for our lives right now. Including adding value to others lives. This can include saving money to do extravagant Kindnesses (in my case) or to support a worthwhile charity or group who are making a difference in the world. This can also mean that we have enough time to do it.
PLASTIC: Did you know…
“Every bit of plastic ever made still exists and in the first 10 years of this century the world economy produced more plastic than the entire 1900's!” (Plastic Free July).
When it comes to reducing Plastics, it can be as simple as reducing the amount of plastic single use items that come into our lives. Making smarter or wiser choices about items we buy and things we purchase. For example, choosing a glass jar of pickles instead of a plastic jar of pickles. It can be making sure the body wash you buy doesn’t have plastic micro beads. Or choosing to buy whole potatoes to prepare instead of buying a prepackaged bag of frozen chips. It can be the difference between buying a bag of rice in a fabric bag rather than a plastic one. Choosing to go without a plastic bag at a shop for just one item. You could go extreme like the zero wasters or the Plastic Free July team and give up all plastic in almost every area in life. Making the choice to reduce that amount can make a massive difference to our planet.
CHEMICALS: A lot of Chemicals can have harmful reactions to us, as humans, as well as to many other living beings and also to the earth itself. Making choices to reduce the types of Chemicals we use on our bodies, in our homes, offices, gardens and transportations (Cars, Motorcycles, Mopeds, Buses, etc). This can make a huge impact on our general wellbeing.
Personally, I don’t feel very well after being exposed to some beauty products and a lot of ‘regular-store-bought’ cleaning products. That is not including a lot of chemicals that are used in gardens, offices and on some of the public transport that I use. My reactions can be as simple as feeling nauseous and as extreme as face or body swelling (if directly exposed), eyes watering, nose running, headaches and migraines, vomiting and fatigue. It is one of the reasons that our house has reduced the amount of chemicals it uses. If this is what these chemicals do to me on a small scare, I wonder what they are doing in large quantities to our planet.
FINALLY: In the coming month I will look at some substitutes both in cleaning and beauty products. I will even be talking about how to make these supplies simply and easily and with minimum waste.
I will also be including "Activity" ideas for you to have a hands on approach to changing your lifestype to a more sustainable and environmentally friendly one. This could be an art, craft, action or game.
ACTIVITY 1: Take a bushwalk, a walk on the beach and admire the world that you are wanting to help protect.
Last year I included an idea of how you could do a Random Act of Kindness or a simple act of kindness that vaguely related to the Sustainable September idea for the day. For those that are looking for Kindness ideas around these Sustainable September ideas... well I wanted to throw that to you. I want you to suggest as many Kindness ideas as you can think of for Sustainable September, and you can do this here or on the 365Days-Of-Kindness facebook page.
I hope you enjoy this months Sustainable September information and Blog. I have opened up a Page on my Blog (a tab at the top) that will let you access any resources from this year and previous years. So feel free to check that out too. Please note that it is a continual work in progress and an act of love. So i will be continually adding information and resources.
Hope this all helps with your Eco-Kindnesses.
Sending love,
Daena Guest x
Hello my dear friends and followers,
Forgive me for a late blog post today but I'm rather unwell. I wanted to do something fun and exciting because i want it to inspire me to be fun and excited (even when i feel so crappy).
So today's Sustainable September idea is... September 16: Dejunk!
Go through your things and get rid of everything you don't NEED! One idea for this is so you can make some extra cash selling the stuff at a garage sale, eBay, or at a vintage shop (depends how old your stuff is really). I was reading an article today about how actually holding, or even shopping at, Garage Sales are excellent for the environment. The article by Domain talks about putting "personal financial gain aside, garage sales are also doing their part for making us a greener country by encouraging reuse and reducing waste. “Passing on what you don’t want to someone who does want it is a fantastic form of sustainability,” Nichols says. “Over the past decade, Australians have doubled the amount of waste we generate, from 22.7 million tonnes to 43.6 million tonnes. Landfill is a significant issue but collectively we can make a real difference” (2015).
Okay, I know you might not think this whole de-junking business is exciting, but for me it is. Currently I actually have a crazy messy room at the moment. I hate the mess. And I am a little ashamed of how bad I have let it get. I have been so busy this last month that I have literally thrown thing into my room so as to get more stuff in there. I think its time I got rid of some of the "Stuff". I do not need it all. Except the books. I do need those right? ;)
This is also part of the Zero Waste book. The Second Phase of Bea Johnson's book talks about Reducing. I know you have seen the below diagram before. And this is another part of it.
Diagram: page 15 of Zero Waste Home.
Bea Johnson writes... "Reducing is an immediate aid to our environmental crisis. It addresses the core issues of our waste problem and takes into consideration the imminent environmental consequences of population growth, associated consumption, and the finite planetary resources that cannot support the world's needs. Reducing also results in a simplified lifestyle that allows you to focus on quality verses quantity and experiences verses stuff. It encourages questioning the need and use of past, present, and future purchases. The things you own, you own because you need them." (pg 19).
I love this book! On page 21 Bea offers a range of places to get rid of your excess "stuff" too. Things like selling to Amazon.com, eBay, flea markets. Or even if you want to continue the kindness on, pass it on to Goodwill, Salvation Army, Freecycle.org, Homeless or women's shelters, schools, etc.
There are so many things you could pass on. That you do not need in your life, that someone might need. And that you can share.
I have been following the work of an organisational specialist from Japan recently, Mary Kondo. The following video is from her...
She is a genius. Asking the question "Does this item spark joy?" To clarify does it make you happy? does it make you proud? If it doesn't get rid of it. If it does, keep it! :) This is a perfect way to de-clutter. The video is long but it is really worth it. And you can always buy Mary Kondo's book "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up", which I will probably buy in the near future.
KINDNESS IDEA: Donate some of your de-cluttering to charity, so that they can make money off your donations.
I hope this finds you well, and healthy!
Much love,
Daena x
