Sustainable September 2018 day 9

Today was the first I have had to explore Reading. My boyfriend, G arrived this morning for the day and It was lovely. We wandered all over the place together. Sadly I had an issue with my phone so I couldnt take any photos, but it did help me focus my attention and my energy on spending time together.

I realised today how beautiful my new city is and how much fun I will have living here.

I am still learning where the bulk stores are, so yesterdays Sustainable september idea hasn't been so much a practical idea as one in theory for now, but when i settle down I will be keen to shop in bulk a lot more.

However, yesterdays idea leads on quite nicely to todays Sustainable September idea.

Day 9. Stop using Paper towel 

That’s right… you heard me... don't do it. Why? you may ask. it is because it is a single use product when we dont need to just throw away something to get the same affect.

This idea is something that I want to impliment this coming year.  I dont know how easy it will be, but I want to give it a go.

After yesterday I hope you’ve not run out and bought a huge pack of 16 rolls of paper towel, but if you have that’s okay. Use them up. And then you can make the swap.

If you make a swap to use recycled scrap fabric instead of buying lots of paper-towel, you not only save yourself a fortune but you can cut up dead/holy/stained cotton t-shirt/towels/sheets. That then means you can safely discard, when the rags look like they are passed it, into the compost, as cotton, bamboo and wool can be composted as they are natural fibers.

I, honestly, use paper towel a lot. I know I would have struggled at the place I have just moved from, because the cats would often throw up on the carpet/floor. Whilst I would have been okay with washing and reusing some rags, I would probably dedicate some specifically to that situation.

What Sustainable september idea have you implimented? or which Sustainable September idea do you think will have to be a slow introduction to your home?

I would love to know what you think or what you do to make the world a better place. A KINDER place for all.

Love to you all,
Daena x

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 2016 - Day 4

Good day beautiful people. 

How did you go today saying 'No' to receipts? I had a wonderful day out and about in Canberra. And we must have said no to about 15 receipts. It's was pretty cool. Think how much paper we don't have to get rid of now! How awesome?! 

So we went out to an amazing Tea House and I got spoilt with Chai poached Pears with citrus sorbet, Chai Syrup and a caramel garnish. I got to taste test some amazing loose leaf teas too. So yummy and right up my alley! 

Me at a Tea House in Canberra.
Do KeepCups come in this size? I need a mug like this at home for my tea. Hehehe.

Today the Sustainable September is actually fairly simple. 

Sustainable September Day Four: Look at where your food comes from. 

Consider these questions: Where do you buy your food from? Where does the products and fresh produce actually come from? What is its country of origin? What is its state of origin? How many food miles does your food travel before it gets into your tummy? What is it packaged in? Is it organic? Is it from an environmentally sustainable company? Is it from a local farm? Is it from a farmers market?

The reason I want you to look at this is because if you can reduce the distance your food travels from food to table then you are significantly helping the environment. 

To calculate food miles check out the Food Miles website. For more information about why this is important see below in the "Front Lines section".

Kindness: Buy a meal for another person. 

You can do this in the style of Suspended Coffees at a restaurant. Or ask someone, a friend, family, stranger, a homeless person, if you can buy them a meal. Then do it. It could cost a lot or a little depending on what you are willing to spend. 

Another option is buying a supermarket voucher. It depends on what you want to do. 

You can take further inspiration form this Pizza shop in America:

Front Lines: Food Sustainability movements. There are a lot of people who want to talk about where our food comes from and what we can do to help the environment. 

So here is an explaination about "What is sustainable food?"

Here is a TEDx talk done in the USA by the amazing 11 year old, Birke Baehr. 

He is looking at the current food market and helping kids and adults alike know what is the best way to live a sustainable life. Not only for the people but for the animals and land that is being intensively farmed. 

For those who have had a little more to do with this sort of thing then you may be interested in the idea of Food Justice which Alison Cayne talks about in her TEDx Talk on "What the Food movement can learn from history".

And here is an article from The Sydney Morning Herald in Australia about "The Quiet Revolution: Sustainable Food Movement Flourished in Suburban Backyards"

There are so many things about our food that we do not often think about. Do we know where our meat comes from? Was it prepared using pesticides? What are we really eating? I often struggle with this question. But my family and I are working to know, more and more, where our foods actually comes from. Althought knowing where your food is actually coming from is a huge start to looking to make changes at all.

Our family now mostly order in Bulk (with a bulk buying group) from an organic butcher who gets meat from a local organic farm. It is the closest thing we can get before buying from the farmer directly. We often get other organic food in bulk through the bulk buying group.

If you want to know more about sustainable practices and food you can check out one of the first programmes I ever saw on television about how to set up a Sustainable Farm "River Cottage". Now there is even a "River Cottage Australia". These are shows made for Television but i really enjoy them.

I hope this finds you all well.
With love and kindness,
Daena x   

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 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 Twenty Two Kindness Idea

Hello my lovelies,

I'm trying to get a little more organised... here is a post just after 2pm! YAY! :) heheheh...

So yesterday was to check out the different power sites to find ways to reduce your use of power and then your use of fossil fuels.

"Turn off standby power and save up $150 a year" is one of my favourite ideas from the Western Power website. I do this every evening before I go to bed. I turn off all the power to the TV, CD player, DVD player, Kettle, lamps, Computer, printer etc. I keep the switches off when not using them. Saves us lots of money and power too.

"Vacuum the dust from the fridge condenser coil at the back of the fridge to help keep your refrigerator running at optimal efficiency," is my favourite idea from the Synergy website. I love that this is an idea I haven't heard before. So cool.


Tomorrows Sustainable September Kindness idea is:

Monday – 22 September – Buy in bulk. Buying in bulk not only saves you money in the long run but reduces the mounts of packaging that goes into landfill.

I usually buy Rice in 5kg Cotton Rice Bags, that I then decant into a Tupperware container for storage. I then use the old rice bags for laundry bags particularly for your “delicates”.

My sister and some of her friends have organised a small co-operative for buying in bulk. They get things like eco/recycled toilet paper (“Who Gives a Crap” – that's the name of the toilet paper), organic nuts, Coconut oil, organic fruit, organic cacao powder and organic cacao butter... and they are just the things my sister has told me about. They have it all arranged to work best for everyone. I like that this is a small community. They have found that buying organic products in bulk is so much cheaper than buying them individually... dramatically reducing the overall cost. 

Who Gives a Crap is a toilet paper company that is both environmentally friendly and world friendly. "50% of our profits [go] to WaterAid to build toilets and improve sanitation in the developing world".

Shops like FAL or Cash and Carry usually sell in bulk to supermarkets and retailers, so if you can get your own card to go there, then you can buy in bulk for personal use or organise to share it (dividing both product and cost) among your friends and family. You can also do this directly from wholesalers.

There are so many ways to buy in bulk, with a co-op or individually.

Hope you all go well. 

Luv Daena x