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!
I can’t believe how fast this month has flown by! It’s unbelievable! After today there are only two more days! Two until the end of Sustainable September! I thought I would talk about something that I’ve been making every morning before work and consuming on my walk to work. And that’s ... Tea!!!. But I make it simple and take it in a travel mug which is what today’s idea is all about!
Day 28.Use a reusable Coffee/Tea Cup
This is great when it comes to going to coffee shops as you can save yourself a few cents/pence anytime you buy a cup of tea or coffee take away.
Using reusables is also much better for the environment.
I have also been using mine everyday as I walk from my house to the office in the mornings
As the mornings get colder and I need a cup of something to keep me warm.
It turns out that a warm/hot cup to take with me as I leave home is also a great hand-warmer as I walk to work every morning.
I know the first few time going to a coffee shop you might forget but its an opportunity to take that time to sit in and enjoy a ceramic mug instead.
If you are a cafe owner and are looking for ideas, you can always do like this little cafe in Australia has done ... ban single use coffee cups, and provide an option for those who forget.
I hope this helps, enjoy the clips from both UK and Australian War on Waste.
As it comes to colder weather, you could do simple kindnesses, like Suspended coffees or even giving homeless a couple dollars for a hot drink, a coffee card for a local cafe, or even inviting someone to join you for a cup or tea or coffee.
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.
How did you go with the Bamboo Toothbrushes? Or the toothpaste?
I gave the Bamboo toothbrushes a go last night. It was a bamboo toothbrush infused with charcoal. So if you give this a go be warned you might have a grey tinge to your teeth until you rinse. But the lady at the Wasteless Pantry told me that this stops happening after the first couple of brushes.
I gave the toothpaste a go too. I have to double check I got the recipe right because I think I might have put too much coconut oil in. Be aware it takes a little while to get used to the taste… so if its too horrible maybe you could add a touch of stevia to taste.
Another day, another idea for tomorrow.
Sustainable September Day Ten – Take and use a reusable Coffee/Tea cup.
Why is it an Eco-Kindness to take a reusable coffee cup? Because single use coffee cups are not recyclable and in Australia we use a Billion coffee cups a year. Check out his news clip from ABCs 7.30 Report 'Takeaway Coffee Cups driving hidden plastic catastrophy.
Why coffee cups cant be recycled. This clip comes from 'War on Waste UK'
Recently in Australia, we also had the 'War on Waste TV' show that brought up this issue. Check out the War on Waste (Aus) #BYOCoffeeCup.
What can you use instead?
I have two different types of Keep Cups (two plastic and one glass) that are both Coffee Cups that are barista standard sizes.
(Glass on the left and one of my plastic ones on the right)
There are a huge range of other types of reusable mugs and cups. So i would love your recommendations for other people to check out too.
SOMETHING ELSE: Did you know that there are whole communities who are working toward Zero Waste. Like this one, Zero Waste Town, who will zero waste by 2020. …Zero Waste Town by 2020.
You are not alone on this journey to Sustainability, no matter what level of Eco-Kindness you and your community are at.
ACTIVITY: If you want to use up your old coffee cups... then this is the nicest upcycling idea i could find.
I hope you are all well and enjoying Sustainable September.
Have you missed me? I have been terribly sick for the last several weeks and although i have recorded a couple of videos i havent had a chance to post them online yet. Having two differing systems of video processing doesnt help much either! :S when i get that sorted i will post the videos.
Anyway.... So it is that time of the year again where i get my bottom into gear and do a solid month of blogging. It may also help the Environment, which is another passion of mine, whilst sharing kindnesses.
I thought this year i would do it again.
I had to really think about what i wanted to do here. Things have been changing for me since last year and in someways i feel like i need to do more. In Australia, the government seems to be actively avoiding Climate Change conversations. It seems like the responsibility of caring for the earth, and all those that rely on it, falls on communities and individuals. If we want our kids to grow up in healthy environments we need to start paying attention to what it is that we are actually doing on a daily basis. are we doing anything that is harmful? Do we know what actions we are taking that are actually hurting the environment? Can our actions be changed to help the environment? I think every person has the capacity to change and live a more sustainable life.
What do i mean when i say Sustainable? Something is Sustainable when it is:
"* able to be used without being completely used up or destroyed
* involving methods that do not completely use up or destroy natural resources
* able to last or continue for a long time " (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sustainable, 2016).
The biggest problem we have is that we often dont know what natural resources are used to provide things that we use daily, or the impact we have when we are finished using these things. I know there are times in my life i have just not been aware of the problems that occur in our environment as a result. From using plastic bags, bottles and straws (which often end up in landfil and take thousands of years to disintergrate or end up in the tummies of animals), to paying attention to the types of food we are eating and knowing where it came from and how far away it came (the farther away something was grown from us, the more fuel that has to be burned to get it on our tables). The thing is there are lots of awesome simple things we can do to be kind to our environment.
You may wonder what any of this actually has to do with kindness. And the truth is... a lot more than you would think. Not only is caring for the environment and using sustainable practices a kindness to the environment, but also to generations of people who will be born on this earth after us. It also makes a huge difference to many people. If we care for our environment wisely we may be able to decrease the amount of toxins in the air, which will make asthmatics breathe easier. If we care for our waterways then the birds and animals that use it, and those who catch and eat those animals (or even use the water for sport) will be healthier and our animals wont die with plastic in their stomachs.
I know from doing 365days of kindness that one person can make a difference. And if a consequence of that difference means that someone has clean water to drink or clean air to breathe then I want to be part of that. There is so much we can do individually to make our lives more sustainable, to be kind to ourselves and the environment and to make a difference.
So i thought this year i would have a theme... everyone loves a good theme right?
"Live Simply, so others may simply live."
I was told this quote when i was about 13 years old. my youth leader at the time was very passionate about the environment (she still is too). She shared with us then the amazing things one person can do to make a difference. And she made a huge impact on me.
What does living simply look like? well, it will be different for everyone.
I have some amazing friends J &E who have retrofitted their house to be more sustainable. They grow their own vegetables, collect rainwater for the hotter months when water is in short supply, they have solar panels on their roof, they preserve their own food, they purchase second hand goods. E & J inspire me, because that is what i want in the future.
But not everyone has the ability to retrofit a house. Renters or apartment owners might struggle to do so much to their homes.
OR if you are starting off, all of that stuff might be too overwhelming. But dont be put off, it is all about taking small steps toward making the world a better place. A place where we can all live together, we can support nature and nature can support us.
One pit fall that i have fallen in to a few times myself, is feeling guilty. Even if, as we go through this month, you do just one thing and making one long term change you are still reducing the impact you have on the earth. And every little bit helps! :)
What i thought about adding this year was a little more that the last few years, i will give you a sustainable and environmental kindness, a kindness idea (probably loosely related), and then people who are working on the front lines to make lots of lives better (this will include charities, individuals, groups, TED Talks, videos and whatever else i can think about as i go along).
So i will give you tomorrows...
Sustainable September Day One: Use (or buy) a reusable cup or mug.
Why is this important? millions of Single use coffee cups, lids, spoons, etc end up in landfill everyday. When i was at work i used to get a chai latte most days, sometimes if i was lucky i would buy two. I alone would have easily consumed 365 cups of Chai per year. I have been drinking Chai for the last 6 years because I cant drink coffee anymore. And before that i started drinking hot coffee in my uni days. Some 4 years before that. Of course i wouldnt have a coffee/chai in a take away mug every single day, but other days i would have a couple of coffees/chai's in a day. So, in other words, the number of coffee cups really adds up. And before you all panic that this is what i actually did, then dont. It is mainly for demonstration purposes. Mind you, i am not completely innocent. For the last 3 years I have been using my Keep Cup to buy hpt beverages. Amazingly, i usually keep a Keep Cup in my handbag (i think i must have robbed Mary Poppins when i found my bag - its really so much bigger on the inside).
Kindness Idea: Buy a cup of coffee for someone behind you in a queue. Often when you buy coffees regularly you get membership cards or rewards cards. You can then redeem a free hot beverage when you have paid for a bunch of them. I often save up my free ones and give the card to someone who needs it. Or a friend who is having a rough week. It doesnt cost me anything but it makes a difference.
Front Lines: Suspended Coffee Movement. This one is an awesome front lines movement when it comes to kindness and to hot beverages (and also food). Starting a few years ago, this idea has blossomed. I follow the webpage and facebook page, but the most powerful thing i came across was a TEDx talk from the founder of Suspended Coffees.
Now i hope you can understand an Irish accent because their subtitles are off. comically bad but you should be able to make it out! :)
Okay, so i hope that helps kick it all off. Kindness is so important. Kindness for others, Kindness for ourselves and kindness for the earth.
Welcome to Sustainable September!
I will post again tomorrow.
Cheers,
Daena x
ps. If you have any sustainable september ideas that you want me to look into, comment below. :)
Here is the sixth simple swap for Sustainable September.
September 7:
Swap a single use throw away coffee cup for a reusable one.
I
have a KeepCup, which is a standard barista sized reusable coffee/tea
cup, that I take with me most places. Mum now has one too. It makes a
huge difference to swap throw away cups with reusable ones. “Over
one year the KeepCup, when compared to disposable cups, reduces
landfill by at least 99%” (KeepCup
Website 2015). I recommend Keep Cups because they are standardised sizes, just like the disposable varieties. Some places even offer discounts if you bring a reusable cup.
Last
year, during Sustainable September, I wrote about how much damage
throw away coffee cups are to our environment check that out here.
“Globally, every minute, one million
disposable cups are discarded in landfill. That’s about 500 billion
disposable cups every year. Use your KeepCup with pleasure and
purpose, you are an influencer. Seek acceptance of reuse. Vote with
your feet. Be the change you want to see in the world. Believe in
Better. Salute the Reuser.” If you are interested in purchasing a KeepCup check out their websites for an outlet near you... www.keepcup.comor order online from the KeepCup Store.
Alternatively, find another type of reusable cup that works for you. I don't mind what mug/cup/tall glass you use, so long as we work together to reduce the waster we are sending to landfill.
KINDNESS IDEA: Take a friend/colleague out to a sit down coffee. Most places these days, if you are consuming your coffee or teas on premises, will provide you with ceramic reusable cups and saucers. A perfect reasons to reduce your rubbish and enjoy a nice sit, a chat and a coffee together.
Well, Well, Well, fancy meeting you here! hehehe. Thank you for coming back again! :)
How did you go with yesterdays tea substitution? Did you get some beautiful loose leaf tea? Isn't it yummy?
How do you wake up in the mornings? Is it with Coffee? a grudge at the alarm clock? or is it some other way? Weirdly this morning I woke up (on a morning I was allowed to sleep in) and woke up at 6.30am and got up and did some yoga. Yes, that is traditionally unusual for me. Awesomely I had so much energy this morning that I couldn't stay in bed. So I got up in my PJs and did some stretching, followed by yoga. I went dancing last night, so was rather sore this morning from overdoing it. It was totally worth it last night though.
The reason why I ask about how you woke up this morning is because a large number of the population wakes up with coffee! Since I suffered from Insomnia, I had to give up coffee, coke/cola and some strong caffeinated teas (I know... so not fair!). Giving caffeine up did help with the insomnia, and yet I sometimes miss how comforting a good cup of coffee used to be.
What type of coffee do you drink? Freshly ground? Barista coffee? Coffee bags? Instant Coffee in a jar? Single Serve Packet Instant coffee? Coffee Pods?
Did you know that some types of coffee are better for the environment that others? Generally how they are packaged is a good indicator of "good" or "bad" coffee products.
For example, the most recent phenomenon of Coffee pods has caused a huge increase in rubbish. Most pods are not recyclable and just end up in landfill. The Conversation (a news site I frequent) last year reported on the increase of coffee pods and their damage to the environment. In the article titled "What our love affair with coffee pods reveals about our value", It talks about how we are lulled into a false sense of security about the environmental cost of pods.. It also states that in 2013 "independent consumer group Choice reported
that Nespresso had sold an estimated 28 billion capsules worldwide –
about 28 million kilograms of aluminium, much of which may be sitting in
landfill, with recycling figures not made public." (The Conversation, 2015).
Single serve packet coffees are not much better. Plastic wrappers of single serve coffee end up in landfill like the pods do.
So it is pretty simple to see why the Sustainable September idea for being kind to the planet is...
September 6:
Change coffee sachets or coffee pods to bulk coffee beans and grind them yourself or start using a coffee plunger and bulk coffee.
It is a matter of thinking before you buy. What is the best for me? What is the best for the environment? Then you can find a middle ground. I know it is not always easy to just jump straight into grinding your own coffee beans or trading your coffee pods machine in for a plunger. So do what you can.
Every time we make a change, it impacts the world around us. Its part of the reason i am doing this. Changing the world around me... and changing the world around us all, one little thing at a time.
KINDNESS IDEA: Make a plunger of coffee and share it with a neighbour, friend or colleague.
KINDNESS IDEA 2: Pay for a Suspended Coffee at your favourite Coffee Shop. Don't know what a suspended coffee is? "A suspended coffee is the advance purchase of a cup of coffee for someone who needs it, no matter why. But it really is about so much more than the coffee. It can provide physical comfort, conversation, a smile or even a laugh, and a sense of belonging." Check out suspendedcoffees.com for more information.
I hope this finds you all well, and happily caffeinated! :)
Much love to you all,
Daena x
PS. If you are a religious person, there are some Sustainable September resources that a good friend of mine created for Churches (specifically for the Uniting Church of Australia - Synod of Western
Australia) so if you want to add some environmentally focused points to your worship services, that check it out here.
Hey everyone, So today I kept hearing about suspended coffees! If you haven't heard about the awesomeness that is the suspended coffees movement... You can check it out at the follow in link on Facebook...
So today I decided to try it out myself! I was meeting an old friend for a coffee (or in my case a soy chai latte) close to the city & decided to ask the coffee shop if they do suspended coffees... They didn't... However i told the waitress about them and she said people over the New Years period had been buying coffees for others. So I paid for a coffee for a complete stranger myself. The lady was pretty impressed (if not slightly suspicious of the first persons motives) but I guess it just means that kindness is actually affecting my small city!
I hope you all have had an excellent day and next time you head to a coffee shop ask about suspended coffees or just pay for one for the person behind you... A nice little way to make someone's day! :)
Luv Daena
(Ps... Sorry about the text size... I don't know how to change it back on my phone! :/)
