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!
Sorry this is a little late today. We are visiting my Godparents and they are spoiling me a lot! I've spent the evening drinking tea, eating delicious home grown food (my Godmother loves to feed anyone who has been unfed for about an hour) and I have been listening to my Godfather tell stories of his younger adult life, with my Godmother sharing her own little stories along the way, although letting my Godfather tell the majority! It's been a hoot! I love hearing the stories of the mischief they got up to together along the way! So funny!
My sister, Vandra, reminded me that this alone is a simple kindness... Listening to older people! And I have to agree! My Godfather has so many amazing and funny stories to tell that I enjoy listening to but if I wasn't willing to sit and listen, I'd miss out! He has a real gift for story telling! By Godmother likes to make sure he keeps his facts straight, and they bounce off each other so well, that you can almost feel the story weaving around you! I feel blessed being able to spend time with them... After all they won't be around forever! Both of them are In their 80s and have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary! A milestone by anyone's books! :)
But back to Sustainable September, today's kindness idea was to go for a walk and see the beauty this world has to offer! :)
Mum & I, on our little south west road trip, have seen all kinds of beautiful things, from forests, beaches, rivers, rural areas, farms, salt scub land and so much more! Today was no exception.
I did a few little walks. I walked around attractions in Albany, WA including the gap and the natural bridge! I stopped in Denmark, WA and took photos of the river! I even stopped on the side of the road in the Forrest near Walpole, WA to take photos with mums camera (so I don't have them to share today)!
So here they are
Hope you like them!
Tomorrow's Sustainable September Kindness idea is:
Monday – 15 September – Do Meat Free (or Meatless) Monday.
If you have never heard about it before it is a global Inititive. And can be found in most countries (they may have a different day depending on the country). The reason this is kind to our world is “According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the livestock sector is “one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global”. The FAO estimates that livestock production is responsible for 14.5 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, while other organisations have estimated it could be as much as 51 per cent. World scientists on the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) agree that we need to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere by 80 per cent by 2050 in order to avoid catastrophic climate change.” Read More Here.
One way to do this is by enjoying Meat Free Mondays. Many of us are not interested in becoming vegetarians or vegans everyday, but try one day a week and see how simple it can be. And one day a week can make the world of difference! :) For awesome recipes from the Meat Free Monday Website click here. Jamie Oliver also does his own version of Meat Free Mondays (called Meatless mondays). Some of his awesome Vegetarian recipes are found here!
For more information on Meatfree Mondays in your country click here. If they dont have one in your country... think about adopting it! Or starting something where you are! :) for some reason I couldn't like the below video but if you want you can find out more about Meat Free Mondays by checking out the video! Video:http://youtu.be/tpziz8cJMaI
So have you got yourself a new water bottle? Or did you have one already? Did you take it to work? Uni? School? Or on your errands? Or do you even use them at home, like I do?
Me and one of my Water bottles when we went on a walk together.
So tomorrows Sustainable September Kindness idea is one of the best & most entertaining:
Saturday - 13 September – Go
Op-Shopping/Thrift Shopping/2nd Hand Store Shopping!
Buy pre-loved clothes, accessories, home wares and
BOOKS!!! okay so I usually go shopping for books at Thrift shops but
I also love collecting interesting crockery and items for costumes.
I'm currently in the market for some new Jeans so this is my next port of call. My mum mainly goes for the wool! But I also love that I can get CDs for
like $1AUD instead of $20-$30AUD.
Op-shopping can be lots of fun!!! :)
This is the photo of the Op-Shop at the top of the hill from where I live! :) I often take my old clothing and accessories there for others to use when I have finished with them. Usually because I've gained or lost weight and they don't fit any more! :)
And who can go to an Op-shop/Thrift-shop/2nd-Hand-Shop without hearing
the anthem for shopping in one of these stores... Ryan Lewis & Macklemore's "Thrift
Store". It's an awesome and clean version by the Pentatonix... I love these guys! For those who have never heard these guys (& girl) before, the Pentatonix are an American a cappella group of five vocalists originating from Arlington, Texas.
(Thanks Tanya and Isaac for getting me onto these guys! :)
Hope you have fun tomorrow visiting op-shops/thrift stores/2nd hand stores.
Let me know what awesome bargains you get! :)
Luv Daena x
So how did you go today? Did you download the Shop Ethical app? Or buy the book? What did you learn about some of the companies and products you usually buy? Anything alarming? anything exciting? Let me know! :)
So tomorrow's Sustainable September Kindness idea is something pretty simple...
Friday - 12 September – Take a
reusable water bottle to work/uni/school rather than buying a one-time-use
plastic bottle. You can buy so many different reusable bottles at the
moment. www.ecotankas.com.au
are a good option.
I have a couple of the different reusable water bottles. I
find them awesome. I have three which I vary between. 2 of mine a wide mouthed because I like to be able to clean them by hand. I also use those ones more like cups, than just water bottles. Because I can clean them so thoroughly, I can put other types of drinks in them if I want. :) I also have one that is about 1litre, and the two smaller ones are between 500ml & 600ml (about a pint). One of mine is aluminium, the other two are made from recycled plastics. I would prefer to have none made of plastic at all, but I'm yet to find a sturdy glass one, as I like to see inside my water bottles.
The US has some scary statistics about one time use plastic water bottles:
"Out of the 50 billion bottles of water being bought each year, 80% end up in a landfill, even though recycling programs exist. 17 million barrels of oil are used in producing bottled water each year. Bottled water costs 1,000 times more than tap water. Drinking 2 Litres of tap water a day only costs 50 cents per year. Plastic leaches toxins into the water, which have been linked to health problems such as reproductive issues and cancer. New York City tap water surpasses all federal and state health standards." Read More Here
If you dont like the taste of tap water, you can buy some water bottles with replaceable water filters. :) Even if you replace the filter, every three months of use, you are reducing the amount of waste going into landfill, by minimising the one-time-use plastic bottles.
Ocean Crusaders has a few statistics for Australia: "
Australians spend more than half a billion dollars a year on bottled
water. Australia produced 582.9 million litres of bottled water in
2009-10
Producing and delivering a litre of bottled water can emit hundreds of times more greenhouse gases than a litre of tap water.
In many cases, a litre of bottled water is more expensive than a litre of petrol.
Australia recycles only 36%
of PET plastic drink bottles. Assuming the 582.9 million litres of
bottled water produced in 2009-10 is in litre bottles, according to
these figures, 373 million of those bottles will end up as waste." Read More Here
Keep Australia Beautiful has stated that "Plastics
are the most common rubbish item found on Clean
Up Australia Day, representing over 30% of all rubbish collected over
the past 10 years. This includes drink containers, confectionary
packets and water bottles,
all of which pose a huge threat to wildlife and our environment.
Recycling plastic saves energy, valuable resources and helps to
protect our environment." Read more here.
On another interesting note: just because I like to give you something to think about.
In Africa, and now other parts of the world, there is a movement of people that are thinking of new ways to remove bottles from landfill by turning them into housing. There are some awesome photos in this link. Read more here
Or check out this video from theSamarpan Foundation. I love their motto: Peace, Love, Happiness, Kindness.
Did you get any awesome bargains today? Did you find a new thrift store? An op shop you didn't know was there? I did! :)
I bought 2 square cake tins, a chip cutter, 5 teaspoon, a tin opener, and an Isobel Carmody book (I've been meaning to buy this particular book for a while now). I spent the most here. But still pretty good price! :) approx. $25.50 AUD spent at the 2nd hand store! :)
The next one was the middle range. I bought a pair of jeans & red top (in picture), wool (for mum), and 2 calendars for next year! Cost $10.50 AUD!
I didn't end up buying the dress but I did but a cake stand & a budget book! $4 AUD! :)
The picture of my awesome haul! :)
Do you have the song "thrift shop" stuck in your head? Have you fallen in love with the awesomeness that is the Pentatonix? I have! I may or may not have bought their 1st and 2nd album in one! :)
Which leads me to my next Sustainable September Kindness but I first wanted to explain what's happening with me..
Mum and I are on a road trip down to the southwest of Western Australia, with our first real stop being a place called Albany!
The above photo is Mum and I in the car on the 5 hour drive south! We did stop off and see some of my relatives along the way. We don't get to see them very often because they live so far away. So it was a little longer than a 5hour trip was it was good! We saw some beautiful Australian Countryside!
The farmer yellow canola fields and the red dirt with the green trees was such a stunning contrast and combination! So beautiful! I love the Australian landscape! (Btw. These photos were taken out the side of the car whilst we were moving).
Which leads me on to the Sustainable September Kindness Idea for tomorrow...and i'm talking landscape not photos out the side of your car! Lol
Sunday – 14 September – Go for a walk in the bush, on the beach or somewhere naturally beautiful. This is a kindness for both you, and the environment! Because you get to see the beautiful things that this amazing world of ours has to offer, and hopefully inspires you to protect it.
I'm hoping to have some beautiful photos to show you guys tomorrow! :) this particular part of Western Australia is known for it's stunning natural beauty... And in hoping to share some of that with you tomorrow! :)
Ten Days of Sustainable September and awesome Eco/Environmental Kindnesses! I've been blogging a lot lately! I am even impressed with myself! :)I continue to be impressed with how well this whole idea has been going! I really hope you are enjoying Sustainable September and are trying, at least, some of these awesome ideas! :)
Today's Sustainable September kindness idea was to go to lunch or dinner at a restaurant that used Eco and sustainable practices! Did you find somewhere that has organic food and drink? Or has taken up recycling/composting their food scraps? Or did you find somewhere that has their power run by renewable resources? Is there a yummy restaurant in the town or city where you live that follows one or all of these practices?
The Green House Perth is one of those places!
This tiny business card is the size of an iPod nano! (Couldnt think of anther description for something that shape or size!)
I ended up taking a big bag of this stuff home with me... FREE COMPOST!!! all of it made from the scraps from the site! :)
The whole, double story, wall outside of the Green House Perth is covered in Pot plants! :)
You get a 50c discount on your coffee if you bring your own reusable cup! Another reason to love the Green House Perth! :)
This was my delicious "Breakfast" served at 11.30am! :) YUMMY!!!
It's all so delicious! One of my most favourite things to have their is their Soy Chai Tea & a doughnut (Sadly doughnuts are off the menu at the moment! Hopefully they will be back soon! ;).
Anyways tomorrow's Sustainable September idea is...
Thursday – 11 September – Do
some research into which brands (Supermarket and Clothing) are better
than others for their environmental factors, not just making your decision based
on price. I have an app on my phone that I can consult when I am at
the shopping centre. The App is called “Shop Ethical” and can be
found for about $8 at the Apple App-store (I have an iPhone so I’m
not sure about Android phones).
This is what the screen shot looks like when you open up the App! :)
It is also available in hard copy for
about the same price, and a new book comes our every November?! I
think, So make sure you get the newest book!
http://www.ethical.org.au/
How did you go with your organic shopping? Find anything awesome? Learn something new?
Here are some of the things I bought that were organic! It's basically a perfect organic breakfast! Lol!
Anyway as, here is the sustainable September kindness for tomorrow....
Wednesday – 10 September –
Find a place for lunch or dinner that is Eco friendly and has
sustainable practices. One of my favourite places for a meal or even
a hot drink is www.greenhouseperth.com they use some awesome sustainable practices including recycling and
composting everything they can from the site. The building itself is
all about reduce, reuse, recycle. The floors have old plastic crates
embedded in the cement, so that they used less cement in
construction. They have used old pallets to make furniture, and the
food... oh the food is divine too! There are bound to be other little
nuggets of food-gold in your area!
Hope you are all well! And I hope you are all enjoying this little Environmental Kindness challenge.
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!
