Sustainable September 2017 - Day Seventeen

SEPTEMBER 17 (SUNDAY)

FOOD & STORAGE - BEVERAGES

Welcome back to Sustainable September 2017.

Today is the last day of this weeks theme of Foods and Storage! When i post tomorrow we are moving on to another theme... which is all about Cleaning. It sounds boring i know... but it will be all about learning how to do wastefree cleaning. Or at least reduced waste cleaning. But for the last one of this weeks theme i have managed to pile a whole heap of ideas into one.

Note: I appologise if its a bit all over the place, this is the second time i have written this post. The first time i had a glitch and lost everything. So here is to take two.

Sustainable September Day Seventeen - find alternative wastefree (or reduced waste) Beverages. 

Soft drinks - If you have a taste for the sweet nectar of soft drinks finding wasteless options is a wonderful environmentally friendly idea. And if you cant find 100% waste free options finding reduced waste options is a wonderful improvement. Apart from going completely soft drink free and surviving on water alone... the best option I've found for soft drinks is a Soda Stream (There are also generic brands of this system available however i have a soda stream so only know about this machine).

These days the most exciting soft drink I, personally, have is Soda Water with fresh lime pieces (so refreshing). But instead of buying the single use plastic bottles of soda water, we bought a Soda Stream so that we could make our own drinks. Now I can get soda water any time I want! Yay! The reusable bottles are plastic (so not perfect) and must be replaced every two years. Whilst the gas bottles are returned and exchanged so that they can be refilled for others in the future (yay! sustainable!). 

My sister (who drinks Diet Cola) and I (soda water), had a couple of drinks so I could show you all how my soda machine works. You can add concentrated syrup which is basically flavouring that comes insmall bottles that can give you about 7-9 Litres of flavoured soda. I like it because it significantly reduces the amount of single use plastics that would come into our house. 

Coffee pods - by now most of you know that I don't drink coffee. But I have heard about the amount of waste coffee pods causes and the damage it does to the environment. I even wrote about coffee pod waste for the last few years so here are the links... 2015 and 2016. These links will help you understand all the information about why coffee pods are less than okay for the environment. 

These days there are lots of coffee pod machines on the market. The coffee pods are a disaster for the environment. However, there are other options to throwing the pods in the bin. One is to recycle them (assuming you are using recyclable coffee pods like Nespresso). A second alternative is to buy reusable metal coffee pods like this one... 

This is what it looks like with its little reusable lid.


This is what it looks like without its little lid on. Its very cute.

I took these photos whilst at the Wasteless Pantry. It looks like an amazing product which only improves with any quality coffee you can fill these little pods with. I don't have a coffee maker with or without pods and I don't drink coffee... So if you have one and use one of these I would love to hear what you think! Good or bad!

Loose Leaf Tea - Better than t-bags is loose leaf teas when it comes to reducing waste. I am a tea lover! I have heaps of loose leaf teas and a tea strainer that I use daily. Even as I write this I am drinking a cup of my favourite decaf tea that I also have in the photo below. 

That is my tea strainer with a Red Green Vanilla tea from T2 (a Roobois with vanilla). It's super yummy and I'm not even sure if it even comes in t-bags. Last year I wrote all about the problems with tea bags so I'll link that HERE. Needless to say loose leaf teas are better and can be easily composted, whilst many t-bags contain plastic so are not compostable.

If you want to buy without even the packaging from places like T2, bulk stores like The Wasteless Pantry have tea that you can purchase package free. I have been eyeing off their Chocolate Roobois tea. If i didnt already have half a cupboard of teas to work my way through, I would definetly get some.

But that least me on to another idea from last year.

Kettle filling - An idea of how to save money, energy and water is to only heat your kettle with just as much you actually need. This can be as simple as filling the mugs you want to use with cold water and then pouring that water into the kettle so you fill it with only how much water you use. I did a blog post on this last year also. You can check that out HERE. 

ACTIVITY: Upcycle old drinking containers.

For ideas on what to do with old beverage containers check out this short video of 4 ideas of what to do with milk containers.

For several more ideas and hacks... check out this awesome collection of 25 ideas of what to do with a range of drinking containers (usually soda/cola/pop/soft drink bottles).

This is a reminder to use what you have in your house already for this, instead of going out and purchasing more to make these crafts/hacks. I say this because any plastic item that is in an altered state (like it has been cut up) often cannot be recycled. So if you do choose to use these ideas think about how you can use the WHOLE bottle not just a part of it, because the left over bits will end up in landfill.

I hope this finds you all well.
Daena x

Sustainable September 2017 - Day Four

SEPTEMBER 4 (MONDAY)

TINY CHANGES - WATER BOTTLES

Hi everyone,

How was your recycling challenge? Did you learn something new yesterday? If so, what did you find to be the most useful thing from the blog? What would you like to know about in the future?

The next week of Sustainable September will all be about Tiny Changes. Little things you can do to make the world of difference. Eco Kindnesses that anyone can do.

Today is all about Water Bottles.

Sustainable September Day Four: Buy and use a reusable water bottle and take it with you every where you go.

WE have already talked about the problems with single use plastics and how bad they are for the environment. check the last few days posts for more information on these.

So in terms of REDUCE - Don’t purchase single use plastic water bottles. If you have to buy a single use water bottle, buy glass instead. REUSE glass bottles where you can and if you can't RECYCLE them.

ME: It took me a little while to find the right type of reusable bottle I like. My problem is that I really like 1L bottles and so it took me a special effort to find 2 water bottles that fit that criteria. Last year (and the few years before it) I had a stainless steel water bottle that I had bought in Ireland in 2013.

This is me with my waterbottle in 2014 long before it was lost to me.

Then recentl I lost it on one of my adventures. Somewhere out there in the world is a water bottle with a celtic pattern on it. I hope someone took it with them and reuses it still.

Then I found and bought a teal plastic reusable water bottle that fits my 1L capacity criteria. 

I used it all the time for about 6months. Then I misplaced this one too and thought it had gone missing like my first water bottle. I wasn’t sure where it went, because I lost it within a time period where I was completing a range of tasks. After a week I couldn’t cope anymore with out one.

So I went out looking for a metal (this time) reusable water bottle that fits the 1L criteria. I found and bought this one.

 Then… low and behold my first 1L teal plastic water bottle was found and returned to me. Hooray! 

So now I alternate between the two 1L water bottles. I never did find the Celtic water bottle but I am glad I have 2 x 1L water bottles at my disposal.

I enjoy having a water bottle with me everywhere i go because it stops me from spending money on soft drinks, bottled water and sometimes it even stops me from spending extra money on snack foods. That alone is a good enough reason for me to take my water bottle with me everywhere.

Then there are the other environmental benefits. Which is an added bonus.

ACTIVITY: Give making a water bottle carry bag a go. For those days when you don’t take your bag somewhere. Check out this website for a few different ways to crochet a water bottle bag.

I hope this finds you well, 

Love Daena xx 

Lent gifting day 17

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!!! 

Today marks the 40th Anniversary of my Grandfathers (my mums dad) death. So we just celebrated this Scottish mans life by drinking his favourite Scotch Whiskey and playing cards on this traditionally Irish celebration of Saint Patrick's life. My grandfather had a healthy sense of humour too. Playing cards and raising our glasses to his memory...We had a lot of fun. 

I really wanted to start this Game of Lent Gifting to have fun as well as make my life easier in the future. So today's thing to gift was something that was fun to use when I needed it but it's also fun to give to someone else to enjoy. I love general knowledge. I know my friends and family have laughed sharing the stupid and random information that stays with all of us. So I'm glad I can share this with someone else.  

I often take life too seriously. I know it. But I also make sure I laugh a lot. In the weirdest and more complicated situations I often find something to laugh about or to share a giggle with a friend. 

My niece and nephew have also both found their niches with jokes and jokes books. So I can giggle with my niece and nephew over bad knock knock jokes. I really appreciate their humour. 

Sometimes laughter really is the best medicine. 

Make sure that, not matter what is going on in your life, you take time to laugh and make yourself feel good. Comedy shows and comedians are just a couple suggestions. Because honestly sometimes we just need to laugh our heads off and feel good. 

Sending love and kindness to you all. 

Love Daena 

Sustainable September 2016 - Day Nine

Hello wonderful people,

Today was all about using a reusable straw or saying no to using straws at all. 

 

This is a photo of me using my metal straw whilst hanging out at the National Museum of Australia. Notice I didn't get a plastic bottled drink either. Glass is much better for the environment. :) 

It can be quite difficult to say no or remember too. But that skill or habit could be a lifesaver for a sea animal or other forms of wildlife. Not to mention helping ourselves and our children in the future. 

Today is all about bags. 

Sustainable September Day Nine: buy/use a reusable shopping bag and say no to plastic bags. 

I must say this is one of the easiest for me to do every time I shop. I have these small roll up bags that go into my handbag. I pull one out whenever I need one and then re-roll and put it BACK into my bag as soon as I finish this. I probably have about 15-20 of these little roll up bags in total around my house. I probably only keep 4-6 in my bag at any one time. My sister has 4 in her hand bag. And mum has a couple too. 

This leaves a few extras so that some can be chucked in the wash (best part about having cloth bags) and some can be filled with bits and bobs on their way somewhere. It also means I can cycle out the ones that need repairs, but thankfully I only have to do the repairs occasionally. And it's usually the elastic that keeps it all rolled up nice and tidy that dies first. 

Kindness Idea: learn how to make plastic mats for the homeless. 

if you have a horde of plastic bags at home or you know where there are a lot, think about this as an idea... Using those single use bags to make something reusable and long lasting. This could be the idea for you. However, if you can't yet crochet, maybe you could learn. Or maybe you could do the cutting and "making of the plastic yarn" for someone else to use to make mats. 

Front Lines: there is a gorgeous TED talk by two young people in Bali who are wanting to ban the use of plastic bags in their country. What amazing champions of their country. 

I have visited Bali myself and it will make a huge difference to the place to be plastic free. :) I can't wait to go back and see the difference in a few years! :) 

I hope This finds you all well! 

Love Daena 

 

Sustainable September 2015 - Day Eight

Beautiful people, welcome!

I got home last night from Sydney after an awesome week away. So this post is a little late. My apologies.

The photo from the train platform at Circular Quay - my sister took this one. Thanks Vandra! :) xx

Mum and I have walked a large chunk of Sydney now. My sister joined us for a day yesterday,a s we swapped destinations. She arrived in Sydney as we were heading home to Perth. WE had about an 8 hour cross over. We took our reusable water bottles with us and found refill stations all over the place.

September 8: Swap a single-use plastic water bottle with a reusable refillable water bottle.

Brita Fill and Go Glass Waterbottle

EcoTanka Stainless steel range of water bottles.

This is one that is possibly the simplest swap you could make. I love this particularly because of the range of reusable water bottles out there. You could get an ecotanka, or a brita water filter water bottle (the water filters are disposable though), or you could get one with almost anything on it. Just choose what type of water bottle you want and go from there. I have two aluminium reusable water bottles and two reusable plastic ones (one from Tupperware and one from somewhere else - a camping store I think).

One of my favourite ideas for travelling is to take an empty reusable water bottle (as full ones are not allowed through security on international or some domestic flights). What you may not know is that in most airports, through security and near boarding gates, there are water fountains and refilling stations for water bottles. So if you have an empty water bottle you can refill it before you board the plane. I have also had amazing air-hostesses fill my reusable water bottle on a few different flights. It is awesome because I have water when I need it and its also not going to spill like the Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny little cups they give you on flights that have a huge open mouth that you can spill all over yourself, like I have actually done a few times.

KINDNESS IDEA:  If a friend of yours is travelling buy them a reusable water bottle or a keep cup to take on a plane, train, bus or car. In Australia when people go on road trips, service stations provide coffee or tea for the driver so that they do not fall asleep at the wheel. Often these drinks are provided in polystyrene cups that are very bad for the environment. If you have a KeepCup with you, you can reuse the cup and protect the environment. they often have a place where you can refill a water bottle.  

I hope you are all well.
So much love,
Daena xx

Sustainable September Day Thirty - the final Kindness Idea!

Hey beautiful people,
I cant believe Sustainable September is coming to an end! Where has this month gone?

Firstly... An actually happy birthday to my mum... On her birthday!!!

Love you mum! You are one of the many reasons I keep doing this project. I love seeing the kindness you bestow on everyone you meet. You are strong and compassionate and brilliant! :) After all you had me! ;) heheheheh. Just Kidding about that last bit! I love you so much and am blessed to have you in my life!

So tomorrow's Sustainable September kindness idea is the LAST Eco-kindness for this years Sustainable September!!

And awesomely... It is my favourite!!!!!! :D

Tuesday – 30 September – Upcycle! This is possibly my most favourite Sustainable Kindness Ideas ever. The term 'Upcycle' basically means to “Reuse (discarded objects or material) in such a way as to create a product of higher quality or value than the original”Read More.

I love creating treasure out of trash so much! So much so that I have a whole folder full of ideas of how to do this on Pinterest. Click here for the link to my Pinterest Page. Not to mention that there are folders full of ideas on "Eco & Environment", "Kindness ideas", "Tyre Ideas" (uses for old car tyres), "Pallet Crafts", "Glass craft", "Cutlery Craft" and so much more.

All I did was strip off the tuna labels, removed the glue marks and wrapped some red Christmas cord around it and popped a tea-light candle on the inside (You could use a battery operated one if you have kids - in fact I recommend it!). An instant and cheap Christmas decoration that has more value and beauty than it did before! :)

These are some awesome ideas, from the simple to the extreme. I love the amazing ideas when it comes to upcycling! :)

What is the coolest thing you have ever upcycled? 

I have a whole lot of old plastic water bottles that I think I will turn into bird feeders for around my house.

 

I want to create the project in the top right! Looks pretty simple. Plastic bottle, some string (or wire) to hang it up with and a couple of wooden spoons! Not to mention the Bird seed! :) and maybe a stanley knife to cut out the spots for the wooden spoons. Pretty awesome, and quite simple, really! :)

A lot of trees have been cut down in my area and they used to be a source of food for a range of birds. I love hearing and seeing birds in my area that it might entice them to come back and enjoy my garden a little more! :)

I cant believe this is the last idea for Sustainable September!!!!

But don't worry I will check back in tomorrow to see how you are all going!

Much love to you all!
Luv Daena x

Sustainable September Day Twenty Three Kindness Idea

Hello beautiful people! :)

How are you? It's meat free Monday again (as it is every Monday or whatever day in your country). And so far so good for me this time! Breakfast was Muslie. 

I was working today in Fremantle... Which is an unusual expedition for me! But I has fun! I found this little shop called The Raw Kitchen 

And I had some delicious food (raw, organic, & vegan... Impressive I know!)

Needless to say, it went down well! :)

This is my round two at meat-free Mondays! 

Not only did I get back on the horse for meat free Mondays but I also went op shopping again! 2 pairs of jeans for $1 each! You can't beat that anywhere else!!!! 

However, Today the kindness idea was to buy in Bulk. Did you find any bulk specials? I got a good special at Woolworths this week with 4 Litre Rice Bran Oil for only $15. That was a saving of $8! :) And it's a bulk buy. I love that I can decant and refill my old glass oil bottles from the big tin one! This reduces the amount of waste that goes into landfill.

Tomorrows kindness idea: 

Tuesday – 23 September – Use a Hankie or Handkerchief rather than tissues. 

Recently I had a bad head-cold...Something I haven't had in ages! I took this as an opportunity to experiment. I couldn't believe how many tissues I used one day, to how many hankies (that I could wash) that I used the day after. It was quite scary. I had a bad head-cold, something I hadn't experienced for some time. I used HEAPS of tissues that would only go into the bin (or even the compost bin) but I could be saving trees if I used a reusable tissues. Save the tissues for the visitors. 

Photo from Google Images Link here

NOTE: beware of hygienic handling and laundering of Hankies, to prevent further spread of germs.

I really hope those in the Southern Hemisphere have survived the winter season well, with only minimal illnesses. 

And for those in the Northern Hemisphere I hope the upcoming winter season sees you remain healthy. :)

Much love to you all. 

Luv Daena

Sustainable September Day Thirteen Kindness

G'day mates,

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

Sustainable September Day Twelve Kindness

 Hello my lovelies, 

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 the Samarpan Foundation. I love their motto: Peace, Love, Happiness, Kindness.

 

Keep up the excellent work my friends! :)

Hope this finds you all well! 

Luv Daena x