40 days of Kindness -Lent Kindness

I’m still healing after a week of being really unwell. I thought I would keep it simple and share my kind deeds for lent.

Day 1: 

Day 2: 

Day 3: 

Day 4:

Day 5: 

Well that’s all for now. 

I hope this finds you all well! 

Sending love, 

Daena XX 

A crazy Week - podcasts to inspire kindness & growth

I’ve had one of the craziest weeks. 

(I’ve been everywhere Man! The view from the work van this morning as the sun rose through the trees) 

Last Monday morning I left for a work stay away in Dorset. I was up at 4.30am on Monday and got to work at 9.30 by train. I worked on a quarry site for 5 days and then when it was time to leave work, I left at 2pm on Friday to get my train, to only walk in the door at 8pm at my boyfriends house in Wales (this did NOT include a stop at home in Reading). 4 trains, a few delays and some time for me to avoid getting rained on. Then I had one full day (Saturday) with my boyfriend before getting 2 trains (& a replacement bus) to get back to Reading by 6pm Sunday night only to be up at 5am Monday morning to get back to the office and I got to site at 9.30am yesterday, because we drove instead of train-ing it. I worked hard yesterday and today. My mum had some surgery early hours (for me) this morning and I had a few other commitments to juggle too. But all in all, I am happy and healthy, and so is mum back in Aus, so that’s what’s really important. 

I hope you’ll forgive me for getting the post done a few days late. I’ve been aiming to post a blog once a week. So far so good! 

There has been plenty of opportunities for kindness this past week including paying for a taxi, helping a mate out with money for a few unnecessary but nice little luxuries, smiling at strangers, talking to people at train stations and helping those who are lost (after I had gotten lost - using that knowledge to help others), doing washing up for others, cleaning up mud (a constant issue with Archaeologists) in the work share house, paying for parking, sharing food and so many more opportunities for kindness. 

I see so many opportunities for it yet I can always see opportunities for more. 

What is something close to your heart that you would love to share that is kind? 

Do you support a charity? 

Do you work with a community group? And online network that helps to be kind? 

What are the things that sustain you and your interest in being kind? 

I ask because I have a few things I consume that help me be the best me and help me to be kinder. 

My work (as an archaeologist) often means that I have long and boring hours on the opposite side of a site from other people. It’s the not-so-glamorous side to archaeology that people often forget to mention when you are watching Indiana Jones and imagining that will be your life! Just kidding. But they should mention the occasional boring nature of the work when you go to Uni. I don’t mind it really, but I know it’s not for everyone! 

What I do have though is, time! Time to listen. So I Listen to lots of music and podcasts. I do my best to find ones that inspire me and make me think about the world more generously. 

One such podcast is simply called “The Kindness Podcast”. I’ve been following this from day one. It’s an American based podcast but there is an opportunity to call in and share your own stories of kindness, which I appreciate. Plus the host interviews some awesome and interesting people going about living kinder lives in a range of ways. Each episode is about 20-25 minutes long 

Then when I want to focus on my mental health and being kinder to myself I listen to “The Mindful Kind” by Rachel Kable. This is a really sweet and short podcast about how to be more mindful and ... yes, Kind. It provides practical tools and tricks to help you get started to living a more mindful life. It is between 8-12minutes long and Is just a really nice show.

When I realise I’m acting like a chicken with its head cut off I know it’s time to SLOW-DOWN and so I listen to the “SlowHome” podcast with Brooke McAlary. I really appreciate this podcast because it helps me get grounded in what is really important to me and when I’m grounded I can be a better advocate for Kindness. Episodes can range from 35-70 minutes. But usually I’m so hooked on the episode that I forget the length of the episodes. 

“Optimal Living Daily” with Justin Mulik is a really great way to listen to blog posts kind of like a daily audiobook. I’ve heard essays and blogs from people I’ve meant to follow up on on a range of subjects. I haven’t had the chance to read the blogs myself so I feel like he gives me a great and varied look at self development. For me I want to keep learning how to be the best human I can be, in a range of ways from a range of different perspectives. Including how to be kinder. The best thing is the diversity because what works for some may not work for others and it’s like that with this podcast. I’ve found episodes that resonate and hit my souls to the core, some than make me think about life more deliberately and some I could happily ignore and be better for it. I enjoy the range of perspectives from a range of authors as you can try ideas on like shoes, if you like it and it fits in your life - keep it. If not, leave it behind. These episodes can range from 6-12 minutes. They do have advertising at the beginning and end but I skip through that. But if that puts you off, I understand - know you can become a Patrion supporter and get the podcast advertising free. It’s on my “to do” list when I’ve finished paying off some debts. 

Others that deserve a passing mention here because I listen to them when I’ve run out episodes from the above list are 

• The Lavendaire Lifestyle - which is a great one for figuring out how to live your best life and sculpt the life you want. (Episodes are about 20 mins)
• Oprah’s Supersoul Conversations - Some of these are a great conversation into Kindness. I enjoy listening to the diverse collection of people interviewed and the range of topics. (Episodes are approx 30mins)
• The 10% Happier Podcast - is all about meditation and how meditation has helped the host, Dan Harris, become just 10% Happier on the whole. It’s both facinating and challenging as he talks to people of a range of backgrounds and experiences who all meditate and why. It can be a little academic at times but when you listen for a while you get better at understanding what they are talking about when it gets into some of the extreme Yogis etc. (Episodes are approx 60mins long. 

For those looking for a wildcard - this is for those interested in archaeology 

“Women in Archaeology” is a great and interesting podcast looking at a range of issues that female (& male) archaeologists deal with in both academic and commercial arenas. It’s been fun learning whilst work. This helps me be a better Archaeologist on the whole because I have learned a lot about the experiences of my peers in the field. It’s based in America but often they discuss the international consequences and influences which is great. 

These are not the only things I do to get me inspired but I feel like maybe I can put some other resources together for next week. 

Let me know of any good podcasts that can help me and any others reading this to live kinder. Or give us ideas and keep us inspired. Some days are harder than others to be kind so having a resource to help remind us why it is important is crucial to me completing another 365days of Kindness. 

I hope this finds you all well. 

Much love to you all, 

Love Daena xx

Sustainable September 2018 Day 12

Short and sweet... as I am absolutely and happily exhauted. Work is going well and I found almost a whole pot today. 

Which is very different to anything I found in Australia, as an archaeologist! What gets me is this is the first time in a few thousand years that this pottery has been seen by humans! It blows my mind!!!

Sustainable Septembers idea for Day 12 is a little like that pot... its all about quality. Sure it broke a few thousand years ago but its still here in parts!

12. Buy Quality over quantity 

For me this involves a little research. When I do choose to buy the things on the list i mentioned yesterday, I have been buying better quality, long lasting products. I have websites to some of my favourite shops that I want to buy from email me with savings for certain products I am specifically looking at.

There is a website called "BuyMeOnce.com" (this link is to the UK specific site), that can help you see which products are built to last the test of time. It deals with all kinds of things, kitchen accessories, gardening supplies, outdoor, shoes... and more. It is really expensive. To be honest I have use "buymeonce.com" as a great indicator of quality, but I will then often track down a second hand version of the thing I am looking at or I will check other stockists for a cheaper price on the same product.

I hope this finds you well. How could you turn this into a kindness?

with love, 

Daena 

Sustainable September Day 8 2018

How do you make a hanky dance?

You put a little Boogie in it.

Yes it is a classic joke/terrible joke depending on how you look at it. Yet it does get us talking about Sustainable September in a whole new way.

For those reading this for a social update, I have just completed my first full week of work as an archaeologist. 

I am so blessed with this amazing opportunity. I got to work with some amazing and knowledgeable people this week and I have already learned so much from them. It is pretty darn awesome!

For those reading this for the sustainability...  then check out the idea for...

Day 8. Buy in Bulk  

Whilst I bought in bullk a lot in Australia, I havn't had as much of an opportunity to do so here in the UK.  However, I must say I am going to dedicate this one to my old house mate Beth, becuase this one is straight out of my housemates guide to saving money.



I kind of wish you could see this in comparison to the microwave it was sitting. But it’s much bigger than the microwave. So hopefully that gives you some perspective! 

Beth got this HUGE plastic wrapped bag of 16 rolls of paper towel for £5 when 2 rolls normally cost £1. Not only did she find that the cost was better but I noticed that we had reduced the amount of plastic by simple buying ONE large pack instead of 8 separate packs of 2 or 16 individually wrapped rolls of paper towel.

Why did we need so much kitchen roll you might ask?
One of the main reason we used so much was because the greedy cats (and yes that is all this turned out to be - the vet agrees) would inhale their food and then vomit it back up, all over the house. It was not pretty. 

The cats themselves are adorable (& now I’m living in Reading I do miss them a lot). 

Beth would also buy Kitty litter in Bulk too which also gave her a several £ saving.

Buying in Bulk doesn’t just apply to paper towel, but can apply to food staples (in many people’s houses) like rice. I used to buy a 5Kg bag of rice for $10-$15 every two months because we used so much. The larger 5kg bags came in Fabric but price per kilo, the amount was so much cheaper. Buying 1kg of Rice at a time would cost between $3.50-$5.

I tend to purchase things like Bi-carb Soda, vinegar (if i can get white/spirit vinegar in a glass jar), pickles, olives, pickled onions, arrowroot flour and dried fruit in as large a container as I can get so that I dont have to use as much plastic. Yes, I still buy plastic products, but a lot less than I used to. And if there is a choice i buy in alternative eco friendly packaging. If not... well I buy in bulk where possible. Often I just don’t buy those products or put it off for as long as possible. 

I like to think of the quote that says, "When you know better, you do better." And thats all i can ask of myself and you all. I hope I am giving you some useful tools to help you get more excited and creative with your Sustainable Septembers and sustainable lives. 

I hope this finds you all well.

Love Daena 

Sustainable September Day 7

I was back out in the field yesterday for the second day in a row and I got to excavate my own little trench. Which for me was kind of awesome!!

It was pretty early again this morning so I needed my reusable keep cup and the cup cosy my mum made me! Doing Sustainable September the UK way! Hot beverages to wake up. 

Daena the Digger... Archaeologist extraordinaire! lol. Im so happy to be finally living the dream! 

I hope you are enjoying the shorter and more stream lined sustainable September posts. I was so tired last night that I was asleep before 9.45pm but i couldnt even hold a solid coverstion with G, my boyfriend.

Day 7. Use a handkerchief 

When I first started doing Sustainable September I showed photos of some of the hankies that I had inherited from my father’s stash.

Would you believe I still have most of these? They are still doing their job and doing it well.

I have probably saved myself a fortune in tissues. But I have no idea how much. so why not do a little math

In Australia the tissues I used to buy cost me around $2.80AUD per box of 200 tissues. I would personally have gone through about 5 boxes a year, maybe 6 -7 if I got a head-cold. 6 x $2.80AUD  = $16.80 per year, which for the last 4 years makes a saving of $67.2AUD, as I have not had to purchase tissues for ages.

Not bad really when the handkerchiefs didn’t actually cost me anything in the first place. They weirdly make me feel connected to home when I use them too. Like my dad’s with me in a way too. He would have loved Sustainable September! 

Back to today’s idea... You can always make some or buy some handkerchiefs. 

You could always treat someone to a lovely hanky, as it is a pretty nice Kindness to offer. Reusable and often really pretty.

I hope this finds you all well.
love Daena

Sustainable September Day 5

Yesterday was all about reducing your waste and choosing reusable packaging. 

My favourite jar is the round one with the silver lid. It used to be a coconut oil jar. 

And I thought it was interesting when I went back today to look at the pureed fruit “baby food”. It’s actually much cheaper (even for the same brand) to buy reusable glass containers. This was the case at the local UK Co-Op (equivalent to Australias IGA).  

I had the apple and pear “pudding” which is literally puréed apple and pear. And you actually get less “pudding” or puréed fruit in a squishy single use wrapper than you do in the glass jar. It actually costs more for “convenience” here. 

Anyways, I thought you might enjoy that little follow up. Sometimes is pays to be more eco friendly! :) 

It has been an amazing few days for me! Day Two of my new job had me back in the office for some unusual office work. I am pleased to say I was complimented on my work in the office yesterday as I was labelling skeletons ready to go to a local museum.

How cool is that? Thankfully in my studies I have handled human remains before so I wasn't as intimidated as I could have been. It was an amazing experience to hold the remains of a human who died thousands of years ago! It just blows my mind to think of what they were doing and how they lived back then.

This Sustainable September we are focusing on the savings you get when you choose a more environmenally friendly outlook. Todays idea is something I really put into practice at my house in Wales.

Day 5 - Put your food scraps to work.

This has been my favourite thing so far! When I moved into my house in Wales, I Started grabbing my vegetable scraps to use again.

I cook a lot with carrots, cabbage, celery, spring onions and leek (which seems particularly appropriate for when i was living in Wales). 

Oh and avocados. I LOVE avocados and I have been buying them on discount (before they get into landfill) from the big Tesco shops because the avocados there are usually ripe immediately.

The cool thing is that some veggie scraps can be used to grow more of the same. I have been so impressed with the way that my little garden is growing that I have actually photographed almost the entire journey.

I even started harvesting my spring onions and leek because they are so quick to grow.

Here is how I started it all... on my kitchen window sill with a little plastic container, a couple of pieces of paper towel and about 2cm of water in the bottom. 

It doesn’t look too pretty but I managed to get most of this stuff to grow. Except the avacado seeds. I don’t yet have the patience for them. 

This as how I started my garden using the tubs from mushroom containers, dirt from the garden and food scraps. I only had a tiny shovel too. Which was hilarious for this pint sized archaeologist! Lol. I started out with two tubs of food scraps. 


Then that grew to 5 tubs. 

Then I decided on the place to start my garden. But it was a hot day so it took me and hour and a half to turn the soil (only half of what I originally wanted to do) because the ground was like clay. 

I mixed in one bag of compost to half of the garden. 


I added in my food scraps then... lots of spring onions. 


Three rows a spring onions, one of leeks, and two rows of carrots. 


This photo I took the day that I left my house in Wales. It all looked so good. 

I even added in a celery that seems to love the cooler climate (I never had much luck with these in Australia). 


And my house mates dad gave me some Red Emperor beans to use and I threw one bean into some water to see if it would take... and it did. Completely surprising me! So the bean is growing too! Winning! 

The avocados however take longer. A LOT longer. I need more practice with this type of patience. Thankfully my boyfriend, G, is the King of Avocado growing here (well he is to me anyways).


The pots to the left and one to thee right are avacado plants at Gs Houss. 

I’ve learned a lot from him and his successes with Avacados. The key here is that the avocados need to be in a warm & sunny but also reasonable sheltered position.

What does this have to do with saving money? I had hoped that would be obvious now but maybe not. Every bit of veggie scrap that you can regrow that was destined for the bin (compost or otherwise), saves you in produce you do not have to buy. I would buy spring onions regularly perhaps once a week at about £1.50 per bunch. Not having to buy them saves me not only the £1.50 a week but also the money it would take to get them from the shop. All it cost to set up my little garden was about £2 for a 20Lt bags of compost. So I had made my money back after the second week of harvesting. the even better thing is, if you cut if off in the garden, it will regrow again! It's a never ending supply!

Kindness is possible too with this one. The sweet thing is, that G is planning to use his Avacado trees as a kindness. He's promised me an avacado tree when I finally move into a house of my own. My old house mate, Beth, has said shes going to share the bounty of my little garden too, which makes me happy. So this also has the potential to be lovely opportunities for kindness.

Goodluck with your own scraps.

I hope this finds you all well.

love Daena

Sustainable September 2018 - And so it begins again Q&A

It's that time of year again, where you can count on me to be here every day... sharing what I lovingly call Environmental Kindnesses during Sustainable September. 

I thought I would answer a few questions to set the coming month in motion...

Why do I do Sustainable September on a Kindness blog?

One of the things that people often forget is that kindness doesn’t have to be only for other humans. It is a gift that we can give to creatures great and small, ourselves and the environment. 

This earth sustains life. Our lives. It seems like a small thing to take one month out of every year to help give back and help preserve the environment for future generations. That is a kindness to our children too. Kindness can simply be making the world a better place for those who are yet to be born, or those who are yet to grow up. 

We can kindly make the world a better place for others and for ourselves. But most of all we can choose to live more sustainably so other people, plants, organisms and animals have a better chance at living their best lives.

How long have you been doing Sustainable September?

So for the last 4 years I have been working to create a Sustainable life for myself, and to inspire others to make simple changes for the benefit of all. It is important to be kind to ourselves, each other, other living things and particularly the environment which sustains us.

What will Sustainable September Focus on this year?

One of the things that stops a lot of people with regular old kindnesses (not that there is realy a thing as 'regular' or 'old' about kindness) but that they think it requires a lot of cash to do it. That is simply not true. However, this year I thought I would share money saving ways to help the environment AND put some money back in your pockets to save up to do that kindness that you have been wanting to do for ages. Or to, you know, help you pay the bills.

What is new this year?

So in May I moved from Australia to Wales, and I am currently preparing for a new move to England. 

I have just gotten my first job in Archaeology in the UK. And I am super excited!!!

I have been pretty lucky that I could get work in my field of study after such a long time of study.

So while we will be doing Sustainable September together, we can explore our own cities, or in my case a new city, and find eco-friendly options.

This month I will be attempting to share some of the things I am doing or have started here.

One of the things I would like to take this sustainable September to look at is how living environmentally friendly can actually save you money. It doesn’t have to be an expensive lifestyle change. In fact it can actually save you a lot of money and I want to show you how.

What have you learned in the UK?

I used my last 3 months in Wales to learn about and support the first Zero Waste stores in Cardiff. I am so excited that there will be a not for profit Zero Waste store opening in the coming months there. You can follow @ripple_living on Instagram, and i even supported their Kickstarter campaign. 

On a side note: I will be returning to Cardiff regularly (as that is where my boyfriend lives). So if you see some of the things I share it will be a mix of England and Wales. 

Where else can I find out about Kindness? 

There are literally hundreds of amazing websites, profiles, pages and people who promote Kindness in this world. I encourage you to seek them out, share them and encourage them. It will make a huge difference to them, as it does to me.  

If you want to find out about the 365 Days of Kindness Facebook page click the link here. 

You can also follow me personally on Instagram (which is pretty new for me) @daenaguest. I must admit there is a lot of posts about good books, yummy food, kindness and sustainable practices on there already. I am also on Pinterest (but not as much these days). So feel free to check either social media account out, and if it aligns with your values, please follow me, if not... Thanks for thinking about it. 

I want to thank you all for reading this far and I wish you all the best in whatever you do. I hope you keep checknig out Sustainable September though. It's pretty awesome, if I do say so myself... and I do! hehehhe.

If you have any more questions please don't hesitate to ask. 

Much love to you all,

Daena Guest

The September 2011 Kindnesses...

Here are the Kindnesses for September!

In September 2011 I traveled to Armidale, New South Wales to attend the "in house" university work for my Archaeology degree. So i had to fly from Perth, Western Australia to Sydney, New South Wales and then travel for 8 hours by train to get to Armidale. It was a lot of fun as I love trains and train rides! but i was exhaused from going on the "midnight horror" plane to catch the train! i stayed awake for a long time! lol!

In Armidale, i had a lot of fun. I got to meet lots of people that i had only talked to online and its always lovely to meet people you've talked to for so long! :) I had lots of people do wonderful things for me whilst i was there too! One of my classmates took it upon himself to pick me up from my accommodation every morning and drop me home as there were no buses on the weekend. So THANKS to him, a literal life saver!! I almost froze my butt off over there... and for those who think there is no snow in Australia, i have to let you know that there DEFINITELY was over there and whilst i was there! :)

I had some old friends of mine take me in for a night in Sydney, so that i didn't have to buy a night in a hotel. And i had a great time catching up with them and was so immensely grateful for their comfortable couch! :) You guys rock! :)

So thats just a little about what i was up to in September 2011.
Hope all is going well for you! :)
Cheers,
Daena x

P.S. Thank you to all of those who have checked out this site, even though you don't know me personally! My page views have jumped from the 300s to the 500s in only a couple of days! So thanks for all your support! :) I look forward to hearing from you! :)