Sustainable September 2017 - Day Twenty Two

SEPTEMBER 22 (FRIDAY)

CLEANING - CLOTHES DRYING 

Hi everyone,

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!

Enjoy. 

Love Daena 

Sustainable September 2017 - Day Twenty One

SEPTEMBER 21 (THURSDAY)

CLEANING - LAUNDRY 

Hello!!!

Welcome back to sustainable September 2017! 

Yesterday was a bit of a milestone for me. I finally reached 300 posts on my blog! Which was super exciting! It's taken many years and lots of failed attempts at writing to get that many up and running! I am so glad it's such a wonderful milestone. 

Thank you to everyone who supports me with the blog, particularly my close friends and my super supportive family. Much love to you all!!! 

Window cleaning was yesterday's idea. I was going to do a before and after shot of my worst window but after photographing it several times and still not being happy with it I decided that telling you about it would be better. It was in a terrible state... it looks much better now. All because I cleaned my window with vinegar and newspaper. It's nice to have a clean window. All I need to do now is clean the other 20 or so! Bummer we have so much glass in our house! It might take me a long time to get it done. 

Sustainable September Day Twenty One: do your laundry sustainably. 

What does that mean? It means looking at the following video and learn how to care for you clothes better, so they last longer and look better too! 

Sunrise special on clothes.  (This is a Facebook link, sadly I couldn't find it on YouTube).

What you can do to reduce the amount of waste you make in the laundry? or how can you reduce the amount of harmful chemicals you are personally putting out into our waterways? Laundry can be done simply and so environmentally friendly.

Interestingly, my family all does it differently, depending on their own abilities and preferences (some of us are further along on our sustainable and Waste free journeys). My brother in law buys the best Eco brand of washing liquid he can find and buys it in bulk (thus reducing waste). Mum gets the old laundry detergent refilled (in the plastic container She bought ages ago). I use whatever I can and then vinegar as I would a fabric softener (1/4 cup in the fabric softener drawer or centre pillar in our top loader washing machine) and it's awesome. However, I have also used Soap nuts when I was house sitting for a friend. I quite like them. 

 I need to purchase some for myself. You need to make sure they are in a fabric bag with a tight drawstring or a zip before you chuck them in because they can come out of their bag and attach themselves to your clothes... which isn't very fun. I know from experience. Whoops. So use a small bag and they are really good. 

Here is a little video from a zero waste advocate... she uses a few different options in her washing routine. So it's worth a look. 

ACTIVITY: do a load (or 3) of washing using as little detergent as possible, as well as using the least amount of waste as you can. If you are feeling brave you can also check out soap nuts too! It's on my shopping list for tomorrow at The Wasteless Pantry. 

Anyway, I hope you are learning new things and enjoying sustainable September this year. I keep leaning more and more each year... building on the knowledge from the year before. I keep implementing new ideas each year too. Sometimes I feel like I'm moving forward on my journey and other times I feel like I'm going backwards. But even if I just keep to the small changes I make... it is making a difference. 

Enjoy your day.

Love Daena x

Lent gifting day 14

At the end of the year last year I watched Minimalism: a Documentary about the Important Things on Netflix. I learned a lot from this documentary. I thought Minimalism was all about stark bare walls and only owning a few things, or even just being about buying stuff that looked a certain way (Minimalism as in furniture or interior design). From the movie I learned that Minimalism is not just about having "less stuff" but is also about living an Intentional life. The documentary asks what can you contribute to society? Being a kindness ambassador these ideas of intentionality and contributing, more than "having less stuff", struck a cord with me. 

Living intentionally, and in my case doing kind deeds (contributing), resonated because I have been unintentionally doing kind deeds for ages. I've been doing kind deeds for my friends, family members and even the wider community but it has become so second nature to me that I've lost a lot of awareness of what I am actually doing. I have been hosting this Blog since 2011 which is One kindness a day for over 5 years. I do my kindnesses now without thinking. I feel like I've lost the intentionality of those kindnesses. Am I just going through the motions? In the beginning it was a struggle to figure out what I could do to be kind to someone else, the environment and even myself. I have created things like the Sustainable September Series to cover the environmental issues and I post kindnesses we can all do and inspiring videos and articles to Facebook regularly. But apart from that... I've kind of lost my mojo! 

It's partly because of the documentary and wanting to be more intentional that I've gone back to writing my kindnesses in a book. Recording each kindness to learn what works and what doesn't. Just because I've watched the Minimalism documentary doesn't mean I am going to become a minimalist, but I love the idea of intentionality (particularly combined with contribution)! When I was younger I was told to "try out every piece of advice (or piece of information) and see if it fits, like you would try on a shoe. If it fits with your beliefs and values then keep it, if not then discard it". This is how I decide how to live, learn and share. So if something here resonates with you, keep it... if not discard it. 

For me there were a lot of "shoes that fit" in the documentary. Particularly when it comes to consuming and using my purchasing power for good. If you saw my post on Sunday I noticed I "accidentally" bought a dress. So intentionality is becoming more and more important to me. I really want to change the way I relate to money and spend money. I want to be conscious of where I am spending my money and the companies and businesses I support. Simply put, I want to use my money to vote for the kind of future I want. A kind, environmentally friendly place where humans can come together and celebrate their differences and acknowledge their similarities and support each other through this sometimes hard thing called life. 

Side note: if I had decided to spend money on "stuff" this month, buying a dress from an opshop fits with my values and would have been okay to me if i had done it intentionally. If i'd purchased the dress in spite of my decision, consciously, I would have been okay with it. It was completely unconscious and unconsidered and that is what interested me. I have turned spending into an unconscious action when I want my spending to be deliberate. 

I've been listening to some interesting podacasts recently. I didn't really know much about podcasts last month when I discovered the app on my phone. I saw a recommendation for some on Pinterest that got me started. I have recently fallen in love with the podcasts: Optimal Living Daily; 10% Happier with Dan Harris; The Mindful Kind; Writer on the Road; TED Talks Audio; The Slow Home Podcast by Brooke McAlary; and my favourite at the moment is The Minimalists Podcast (by Josh and Ryan). I've been listening to The Minimalists back catalogue and they often speak of making a conscious choice to buy things and using our purchasing power to choose things to buy because we need them not because it is what is cool, hip, the "it thing" or cheap. I am aware that I buy things just because they are cheap not because I actually need them. Then I have this useless thing that I have to find a home for and I get overwhelmed with the stuff. I don't want to be overwhelmed. Life is hard enough without being overwhelmed too. 

Today's kindness Lent Gifting items I bought many years ago because they were cheap. I had no idea of where they would go or go whom. As a result they have NEVER been used and have sat in my "gift box" (the box of stuff I have to give to people when a celebration comes around). 

 

For years I have been hoping that the correct celebration would come around that I could give these trinkets to someone but nothing ever has. 

When I bought them (almost a decade ago) I had a very close Young Adult Church Group. Most of us have since moved on to different opportunities in different places, cities and countries. Sadly we don't often see each other. Most of us are still friends. Because of this distance, I am less and less likely to give this kind of gift to someone. Particularly that now I have a more diverse collection of friendships from all walks of life with a range of beliefs, many that differ from my own greatly. Our values are the same though and so we are friends.

I am even re-evaluating my need for a "gift box". If I don't have to keep a huge pile of "Just In Case" items that's got to be good. I can keep the presents at the store until I need them. No more keeping things I may never use or give to anyone else. Now they can go to someone who will appreciate them. They can escape my "gift box". 

I like that if I actually want to buy something for someone then it doesn't have to be cheap "stuff". I want the right thing for a person rather than giving them something they may not like or need. It also leaves me more money and time to give a person an experience rather than "a thing". I'm learning that experiences are far more valuable to me than any "thing" could be. The memories of those experiences are wonderful and take up lots less space. 

It's funny how giving away one item a day for Lent has me so introspective. For my Christian friends though, they know that that is what Lent is all about. For anyone playing along at home... how is your Lent adventure going? Have you got rid of anything that has made you reevaluate what is important to you? 

If you are just reading this for fun! Hi and welcome! I'm so grateful for you stopping here to read about my life and journey with living a kinder more intentional life. I don't expect you to live the life I live nor do I want you to do something that is against your values or beliefs. I want everyone to live lives they love and live them kindly. No matter what that looks like for you

I hope that my open conversations about my life and about how I have been living a kinder life might inspire someone to do more kind deeds for the people around them. 

Have a wonderful day. 

Love Daena 

. X

Lent gifting day 12

I spent today at a car boot sale selling some craft supplies that my family and I have been getting rid of. We paid for a car bay to support a charity and community group (kindness & dejunking seems to be a theme at the moment). We had a great day and I discovered something about myself too. 

What I haven't shared before was that when I decided to get rid of one thing a day during Lent I also decided to not purchase anything new either. I didn't want to buy anything that would bring more "stuff" in when I'm working to get "stuff" out. The weird thing is that because of where we were I wandered over to the op shop (which was in the building behind me) and found an awesome dress. It has pockets... so naturally I bought it. It cost $3 which was the change I had after spending $2 to get a hot cuppa because it was freezing cold here in Perth today. Plus TEA!!! In a big mug! Winning!!!

What I didn't remember at the time I bought my new polka dot dress was that I had made this promise to myself NOT buy anything new. I had only wanted to spend my money on food, beverages, experiences and bills. I did not want to buy more STUFF! And even though I love this dress and it was a complete bargain, it was also a completely unconscious and unconsidered decision. Don't get me wrong I'm keeping the dress... after all it has POCKETS!!!! But what I didn't realise was how unconscious my spending has become. 

I will work to be more conscious of what I am actually spending. Of the stuff I am bringing into my life. I will let you know if I slip up again but I hope I don't. 

 Today I'm passing on my old work shirt. Hardly ever warn but excellent at the time. I figure that I haven't warn it in 4 years and I'm unlikely to do so again in the near future. I know that if I really need a high visibility shirt I can get second hand ones for about $5AUD at any of the local opshops. So I'm covered if I need one in the future. 

This shirt could be what some person needs to get or keep a job and earn money. Donating this to charity is providing lots of possibilities for kindness. Kindness for charities or community groups or people who are in need. Kindness is at the foundation of everything I do. I am so blessed to be able to donate some awesome stuff to charity!

It's cool to be kind! :) 

Love Daena x

Sustainable September 2015 - it is over... no really!

Hey everyone,

Yes Sustainable September is officially over! :) I thought I would just send you a message to know that it will be weird for me too. Not blogging daily. Mind the pressure I put on myself was a little life consuming.

Even though Sustainable September is over, and i finished reading the Zero Waste Home book (seriously , check that baby out), there is something you can do in October that will continue the Sustainable September philosophy.

For the month of October there is a project called "Buy Nothing New Month".

"Buy Nothing New Month promotes conscientious consumption, highlighting where our stuff comes from (finite resources) where it goes (landfill) and the super alternatives (sharing, buying second hand, bartering, swapping etc.)... Buy Nothing New Month isn't about ‘buy nothing new never'. Simply pledge to beg, borrow, barter, buy second hand and swap for whatever you need, (with the exceptions of essentials of course, like food, drink, medications and hygiene products). It’s easy, it’s fun, you can get whatever you need out there, as long as you Buy Nothing New.Why not pledge with a mate this year and take the challenge to Buy Nothing New in October!" 

 

I love this idea! :) And it follows on from the Sustainable September Ideas perfectly! :) It is like a month of putting Sustainable September into action! :) 

 

Of course do not forget to be kind to yourselves and those around you! After all that is what this project and the blog is all about! :) 

 

Much love to you all, 

Daena x

Please follow us on twitter @Buy_Nothing_New. Website www.buynothingnew.com.auBuy Nothing New Month is the global movement for collective, conscientious consumption.

It's a little idea, that started in Melbourne and is spreading to the Netherlands and USA.

In 2011, Sydney Morning Herald ran a poll asking "is Buy Nothing New Month a good idea?" Over 10,000 voted. 82% said “yes”

It's a one month challenge to buy nothing new (with the exception of essentials like food, hygiene and medicines)

Buy Nothing New Month isn't Buy Nothing New Never. Nor is it about going without.

It's literally about taking one month off to really think, "Do I really need it?" If I do, “can I get it second-hand, borrow it or rent it? What are my alternatives? Can I borrow from a friend? Can I swap with my neighbor?"

It's about thinking where our stuff comes from (finite resources) and where it goes when we're done (often landfill) and what are the fantastic alternatives out there to extend the life of our 'stuff'.

It's easy. It's fun. It's moving from consumption-driven to community-driven.

It's good for us, our wallets and our planet.
- See more at: http://www.buynothingnew.com.au/why/#sthash.XovjC9rN.dpuf

Buy Nothing New Month is the global movement for collective, conscientious consumption.

It's a little idea, that started in Melbourne and is spreading to the Netherlands and USA.

In 2011, Sydney Morning Herald ran a poll asking "is Buy Nothing New Month a good idea?" Over 10,000 voted. 82% said “yes”

It's a one month challenge to buy nothing new (with the exception of essentials like food, hygiene and medicines)

Buy Nothing New Month isn't Buy Nothing New Never. Nor is it about going without.

It's literally about taking one month off to really think, "Do I really need it?" If I do, “can I get it second-hand, borrow it or rent it? What are my alternatives? Can I borrow from a friend? Can I swap with my neighbor?"

It's about thinking where our stuff comes from (finite resources) and where it goes when we're done (often landfill) and what are the fantastic alternatives out there to extend the life of our 'stuff'.

It's easy. It's fun. It's moving from consumption-driven to community-driven.

It's good for us, our wallets and our planet.
- See more at: http://www.buynothingnew.com.au/why/#sthash.XovjC9rN.dpuf

Buy Nothing New Month is the global movement for collective, conscientious consumption.

It's a little idea, that started in Melbourne and is spreading to the Netherlands and USA.

In 2011, Sydney Morning Herald ran a poll asking "is Buy Nothing New Month a good idea?" Over 10,000 voted. 82% said “yes”

It's a one month challenge to buy nothing new (with the exception of essentials like food, hygiene and medicines)

Buy Nothing New Month isn't Buy Nothing New Never. Nor is it about going without.

It's literally about taking one month off to really think, "Do I really need it?" If I do, “can I get it second-hand, borrow it or rent it? What are my alternatives? Can I borrow from a friend? Can I swap with my neighbor?"

It's about thinking where our stuff comes from (finite resources) and where it goes when we're done (often landfill) and what are the fantastic alternatives out there to extend the life of our 'stuff'.

It's easy. It's fun. It's moving from consumption-driven to community-driven.

It's good for us, our wallets and our planet.
- See more at: http://www.buynothingnew.com.au/why/#sthash.XovjC9rN.dpuf

Buy Nothing New Month is the global movement for collective, conscientious consumption.

It's a little idea, that started in Melbourne and is spreading to the Netherlands and USA.

In 2011, Sydney Morning Herald ran a poll asking "is Buy Nothing New Month a good idea?" Over 10,000 voted. 82% said “yes”

It's a one month challenge to buy nothing new (with the exception of essentials like food, hygiene and medicines)

Buy Nothing New Month isn't Buy Nothing New Never. Nor is it about going without.

It's literally about taking one month off to really think, "Do I really need it?" If I do, “can I get it second-hand, borrow it or rent it? What are my alternatives? Can I borrow from a friend? Can I swap with my neighbor?"

It's about thinking where our stuff comes from (finite resources) and where it goes when we're done (often landfill) and what are the fantastic alternatives out there to extend the life of our 'stuff'.

It's easy. It's fun. It's moving from consumption-driven to community-driven.

It's good for us, our wallets and our planet.
- See more at: http://www.buynothingnew.com.au/why/#sthash.XovjC9rN.dpuf

  Buy Nothing New Month is the global movement for collective, conscientious consumption.

It's a little idea, that started in Melbourne and is spreading to the Netherlands and USA.

In 2011, Sydney Morning Herald ran a poll asking "is Buy Nothing New Month a good idea?" Over 10,000 voted. 82% said “yes”

It's a one month challenge to buy nothing new (with the exception of essentials like food, hygiene and medicines)

Buy Nothing New Month isn't Buy Nothing New Never. Nor is it about going without.

It's literally about taking one month off to really think, "Do I really need it?" If I do, “can I get it second-hand, borrow it or rent it? What are my alternatives? Can I borrow from a friend? Can I swap with my neighbor?"

It's about thinking where our stuff comes from (finite resources) and where it goes when we're done (often landfill) and what are the fantastic alternatives out there to extend the life of our 'stuff'.

It's easy. It's fun. It's moving from consumption-driven to community-driven.

It's good for us, our wallets and our planet.
- See more at: http://www.buynothingnew.com.au/why/#sthash.XovjC9rN.dpuf

  Buy Nothing New Month is the global movement for collective, conscientious consumption.

It's a little idea, that started in Melbourne and is spreading to the Netherlands and USA.

In 2011, Sydney Morning Herald ran a poll asking "is Buy Nothing New Month a good idea?" Over 10,000 voted. 82% said “yes”

It's a one month challenge to buy nothing new (with the exception of essentials like food, hygiene and medicines)

Buy Nothing New Month isn't Buy Nothing New Never. Nor is it about going without.

It's literally about taking one month off to really think, "Do I really need it?" If I do, “can I get it second-hand, borrow it or rent it? What are my alternatives? Can I borrow from a friend? Can I swap with my neighbor?"

It's about thinking where our stuff comes from (finite resources) and where it goes when we're done (often landfill) and what are the fantastic alternatives out there to extend the life of our 'stuff'.

It's easy. It's fun. It's moving from consumption-driven to community-driven.

It's good for us, our wallets and our planet.

Hop on board - See more at: http://www.buynothingnew.com.au/why/#sthash.XovjC9rN.dpuf

  Buy Nothing New Month is the global movement for collective, conscientious consumption.

It's a little idea, that started in Melbourne and is spreading to the Netherlands and USA.

In 2011, Sydney Morning Herald ran a poll asking "is Buy Nothing New Month a good idea?" Over 10,000 voted. 82% said “yes”

It's a one month challenge to buy nothing new (with the exception of essentials like food, hygiene and medicines)

Buy Nothing New Month isn't Buy Nothing New Never. Nor is it about going without.

It's literally about taking one month off to really think, "Do I really need it?" If I do, “can I get it second-hand, borrow it or rent it? What are my alternatives? Can I borrow from a friend? Can I swap with my neighbor?"

It's about thinking where our stuff comes from (finite resources) and where it goes when we're done (often landfill) and what are the fantastic alternatives out there to extend the life of our 'stuff'.

It's easy. It's fun. It's moving from consumption-driven to community-driven.

It's good for us, our wallets and our planet.

Hop on board - See more at: http://www.buynothingnew.com.au/why/#sthash.XovjC9rN.dpuf

Sustainable September 2015 - Day Twenty One

Good Evening my dears (for those in Western Australia) and a time-specific-greeting to you too (wherever you may be),

How did you go at the Farmers Market? Buy anything delicious? Mmmm... foood! :)

Sadly, my nephew had his Soccer Grand Final today so I missed the farmers market! On the plus side, he and his team WON!!! Yay! Go kiddo! I am a super proud Aunty (and not just now either!)! I enjoyed the fact I was there to watch it.  So I guess that just means...next weekend I'm off to the farmers market. 

The Sustainable September idea for today is...

September 21: to find a local bulk supply store and buy what you need for your pantry! 

I recently discovered a bulk buying store called the Wasteless Pantry. Mum & I went there the other day & bought a few things.

The Wasteless Pantry can be found in Mundaring, WA, Australia.

So many things to choose from!!!!

The Spice cabinet part of the Wasteless Pantry!

Buying the Almond meal I need to make a delicious Almond and Orange cake! mmmm.

For our first trip we only bought a few things I knew we needed (whilst staying at my sisters house & for home later too).

The best part was we could bring our own jars and containers and they would just weigh them and then we filled them up and re weighed them. We paid the difference! So awesome! Prices were pretty good & we got exactly enough to fit in the containers we had! Pretty great of you ask me. :) no waste! No packages to return to our homes to them be chucked in the bin! They had a HUGE range too! They are fairly new in Perth, WA! One awesome feature was that they had a couple boxes of glass jars of all shapes and sizes that were clean and that could be used if you forgot to bring your own. They also had matching ones you could buy... but i love the rustic look, and I know now another place where I can take my excess jars to be used instead of ending up in recycling! :)

When I was in Sydney a few weeks ago I found another store just like it! It is called Scoop Wholefoods :)

Being my first experience at a store like this it was kind of like Daena Heaven or Nirvana! :) Paradise!

One of the cool things was they had paper bags for you to use and you could also buy little cotton bags too. I bought one for me to use again here in Perth.

These were the jars at Scoop that you could purchase. All of them looked so Pretty!

I got SO excited they had WHEAT FREE Licorice! I know Licorice isn't everyone's favourite sweet. But i love it. Technically now that i am grain free its still off the table of things I can eat, but its great to know other options now exist for others with weird food intolerances.

I wanted to taste all of the delicious grain free goodies. I however didn't have enough time to sample them all and probably not enough money at that point either! hahaha. So good!

So much deliciousness! I loved this store in Sydney! :) I love these stores generally too! We need more of them around! :) I love the whole waste free idea! 

I mean it all fits in to the Zero Waste Home idea too! It is one of Bea Johnsons biggest suggestions! :) I am almost finished reading the book now and I cant believe that I am still learning so much. I was so proud of myself when I went to the shops yesterday to meet my best friend for "coffee" (neither of us actually drink coffee), and I only bought two things. Both of them for other people. My sister needed some dishwasher tablets that are environmentally friendly, and I went to buy a birthday gift for a friend. Usually when I go shopping I have lots of things I buy. None of it is vital. Its just bits I think I might need, things I can usually do without! Using Bea Johnsons book has helped me plan a bit better too. And I like that! I am now a more conscious shopper.

Anyway, I need to head to bed now. The cooler weather has not helped me coughing! It must get better soon, i have stuff to do! Things to achieve! :)

I hope this finds you all well, 

Much love, 

Daena x

Sustainable September Day Nine Kindness

Hello my beautiful friends,

How did you go today? Did you use your canvas bags? 

I went shopping today and used a lot of the reusable shopping bags I had with me. But I still ran out of my canvas ones and had to use a few plastic ones. But I've reduced the number of plastic bags used! :)  And that is the plan. I guess I will need to start making some more of my own bags now! :)

So tomorrows Sustainable September Kindness idea is....

Tuesday – 9 September – Buy organic and/or Fair Trade products – which is being kind to both the human race and the environment. One of my favourite products is Nerada Organic Chai Tea which is Fair Trade, and amazingly it is cheaper than the competitor who is neither organic nor Fair Trade! Go figure!

These were the prices today at the supermarket 8th September 2014

 Organic food is helping the environment and human and animal health. Here are a few examples from other people and pages.

 "There are some very good studies that show that on balance organic food has higher levels of nutrition," says Andre Leu, chair of the Organic Federation of Australia. "The data we have from Australia and around the world tends to be consistent. The number one reason people buy organic is for health reasons and concern about the use of pesticides."  Whilst "People believe that organic foods have higher levels of nutrition and leave less of an environmental footprint. It's better for the environment and organic food tastes better." American food philosopher and journalist Michael Pollan,[wrote in his] most recent book". (Read more from Body and Soul here)

"Organic foods promote healthier and more sustainable use of natural resources. Modern farming methods, including excessive use of chemicals, have led to a decline in soil fertility, and an increase in salinity and blue-green algae in waterways over many years. Organic farmers try to minimise damage to the environment by using physical weed control, and animal and green manure."Read more from Better Health Channel here)

Organic practices in food production keep our water clean. "Pesticides and chemicals don't belong in drinking water, lakes or oceans, but right now most of the water on earth is at risk. Surface water run off from non-organic farms and other non-organic food operations can deposit pesticides into lakes, rivers, and reservoirs." (Read more from About Money here)

Animals also benefit from Organic farming. "Animals are raised without antibiotics, hormones, or other drugs.  Even some types of seafood are better to eat than others; you can avoid fisheries that are being overfished or harvested using environmentally harmful methods." (Read more from Greening Princeton here)

Hope this makes sense, and this finds you all well!

Much Love,
Daena x

keeping up the kindnesses...

Hey everyone,
I realised that I didn't post anything last week so I thought I had better keep you all in the loop!

Okay so for the last two weeks or so (give or take a few days) my mum has been out of action because of her Iritis. I know that one of the funny stories I posted last time was about this, so I wont explain it all again. Needless to say mum has practically be been blind for a while now, so my responsibilities have gone through the roof... not that I mind, I mean I am a full time carer and a kindness ambassador to boot, its just that my time has been a little more taken up with the practical day to day activities that mum cant do herself! :)

I have also had several special events this last week too. Including a hens day, a wedding where i was the Master of Ceremonies(MC), a baby shower for my childhood best friend, a few birthday parties, a farewell party for a friend moving interstate and that's the things I can think of off the top of my head and doesn't include the regular day to day & weekly activities!

This week I also started a kindness project for my mum too. Recently one of our neighbors did some work in our front garden and cleaned it all up, making it look all pretty and cleaned up the mess of my gardening (im not a very tidy gardener! lol). What really stood out after their wonderful job was our front bench in the porch! Everything else was all clean & pretty looking except the decrepid paint-peeling front bench. Mum and I discussed throwing it out and getting a new one... but after careful consideration I decided it would be more environmentally friendly and cheaper if I just restored the old park bench to its former glory. This has meant I have spent lots of time sanding back the old slats and scrubbing back the ends, then staining and varnishing the slats so that the whole things looks like brand new! and brand new it looks too! :) I am pretty impressed with the job! It was something that mum couldn't do for herself, it gave me a project so I didnt go stir crazy (as mum hasn't left the house much because of her eyes) and also meant that we have a shiny new park bench in our porch! Kindness completed! :) 

This is me doing the second coat of the stain! looks pretty good here! looks even better now! :D

This week has also had me witnessing a few kind deeds... (I love this as it makes me feel like the little things that I am doing is having a knock on effect).

Yesterday our car refused to start so one of our neighbours helped us out by giving us a jump start! Thank you! :) this meant we made it to an important doctors appointment on time & i am really grateful for that!

Also I was very proud of my mum, because yesterday we went to a little cafe we love for afternoon tea and where we were sitting meant I had my back to a couple of ladies who were chatting. I was happily munching on the delicious cake we had ordered, but mum was paying attention. Later as we went to pay mum told the waitress she wanted to pay for the two ladies to have their afternoon tea, as apparently they were concerned about spending too much on afternoon tea and not having enough money for something else. The waitress was thrilled, and told us she would tell them right away. Mum was awesome because she asked the waitress to wait until we had left the store so that they didn't really know who had done it, but that a kind act had been done for them! So proud of my mum!

The last of the kindnesses I witnessed yesterday was by the owner of the little green grocer near our house. Mum and I usually go to the large supermarkets but noticed the special on fruit & veg was much better than in store so we bought all our fruit & veg at the local green grocer. The owner of the store was the one serving us and after we spent quite a bit of money she gave us eggs for free "as a gift" she said. I love the fact that she was so generous! I will be going back to that store not just because of her generosity but because of the good value of their produce, and their excellent customer service! I love that I can also support a local food producer because in recent months I have seen several disappear under mounting costs put upon them by rents and by being unable to compete with the big stores!

Well I think that's probably all from me at the moment! I will be posting the next kindnesses as soon as I have enough time to go through my gratitude diary and type them all out! :D

I hope this finds you well!
Luv Daena x