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!
Another simple idea is brought to you from Sustainable Septmember...
Day 17.Stop printing out documents
There are times when you might need a copy of some documents for your records, but digital is best these days, as you will be able to save on printing, paper and ink costs.
Simply put....Only print something if it is absolutely necessity.
I have had to print pages for my Visa for the UK, for my passport application and even my bank statements (to prove I had enough cash to live and work here) but otherwise I keep digital copies of everything. I am unlikely to need paper copies, and if a government agency does need a copy, I can often access a digital copy or Print it out only if the need arises.
This can save you a fair bit of money. I have only had to print off two pieces of paper since moving to the UK and both of those were required for my application for my National Insurance Number (which is the equivalent of an Australian Tax File Number). So this was completely necessary!
I have also started doing digital tickets this with bus and train tickets in the UK. This past weekend I went from Reading back to Cardiff, and back again, to catch up with the boyfriend. I was able to travel by train (which actually takes LESS time than it does driving) and I got to use my phone as a ticket! Which meant I was saving paper and therefore the trees which are cut down to be turned into paper. To be fair it would take a LONG time to save a whole tree but every little bit of paper adds up.
Also, remember when getting rid of paper, it can be shredded and added to your compost pile. Carbon (or brown stuff) is needed to give your compost pile a healthy life. So, using old papers/news papers can actually be healthy for your garden.
Do NOT get rid of tax informations for 7 years (is the Australian standard). However this number varies in countries around the world, so look into what information you need if you are going to shred some of your paperwork, ready for the garden.
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.
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.
So I thought I had successfully posted yesterday's blog at 9 last night but it turns out it didn't post properly. I am so sorry.
I've been working hard to make sure all of the posts are written, finished off and posted before midnight. Usually earlier if possible. But I am using a new app so sometimes things haven't been going quite to plan. I am getting used to it though.
Today was all about drying your washing outside.
But it also had the side note of looking after birds.
The weirdest thing today was that I was in a shopping centre and a pigeon had got itself suck inside. It was super distressed so I did my best to help calm it down and catch it. Even if the last bit failed, when I left the bird was calmer and not flying into Windows. He had found a perch where I couldn't reach even if I wanted to. And nothing I did could have got it down to get it outside. I ended up having to leave it.
Today is an idea that actually came in the mail today.
Sustainable Septmeber Day Sixteen: go paperless for bills and statements.
After receiving a whole bunch of stuff in the mail today I was thinking how silly it was that we are using paper when we can deal with these things online.
"Paper production is a process that has not changed in over 2000 years. In today’s measures it takes 24 trees to produce one tonne of virgin printer paper but only 25% of each tree is used to produce the paper product. The paper industry is a greedy resource consumer that uses more water to produce a tonne of its product than any other industry. It uses a staggering 90,000 litres of water per tonne of virgin paper." Australian Science 2016
Each year companies spend billions of dollars sending out bills, newsletters and special offers to its customers on paper. Not only are trees cut down to help make enough paper but there is so much money spent on postage and travel for that letter to end up in your letter box.
"Everyone must play their part in creating sustainable futures for the world’s commodities. Paper is a huge commodity and is consumed at exorbitant rates as outlined by Forest Ethics‘ recent research. They reported that across the world North America used on average 229kg of paper per capita annually, Western Europe got through 178.7 kilograms, Latin America 43.02, Asia 41 and Africa 7.51 kilograms per person. In Australia we use on average 230kg per person per year. It is clear that the paper industry demands exponential resources to continue to fulfill the demand and if Australia would like to achieve sustainability we must rethink our consumerist ways."Australian Science 2016
If we can reduce the amount of paper we consume we give our forests and trees a break
Front Lines: this is a video by the website PayItGreen.org. The video helps to illistrate exactly why you should change to using electronic instead of paper bills, newsletters and statements.
Kindness idea: place some money in or near a book for them to buy it, take it home and read it.
I love this idea because it's about books and also about paper. To be more environmentally friendly you could do this at a second hand book store or even at an opshop.
So I made it safely to Canberra and had a pretty good trip to get here. No big dramas or issues really. A bit of turbulance. I took my reusable water bottle and my KeepCup too. They were both lifesavers. I find that my KeepCup is so good for flights because I have a lid for it, unlike the ones the airlines actually supply, which makes turbulence a breeze. The water bottle I have with me is only 500ml but fits perfectly in my handbag. Here is is below just so you could see that this is me at the airport living the dream.
My waterbottle getting a trip on an Aeroplane
A view over Adelaide (I had to stop there before going on to Canberra).
Getting ready to fly on to Canberra from Adelaide. Should have photographed my KeepCup and WaterBottle in the pouch on the back of the chair.
It was really rough turbulence just before landing in Canberra and my KeepCup was literally a life saver. As turbulance hit 5minutes after the cabin crew had come around with cups of hot tea and coffee. So no spills or burns for me! YAY! Thankfully a lot of people had juice today or it could have been a lot worse.
Whilst I am in Canberra I am staying with an amazing friend here and we had a wonderful meal out tonigh before i got taken back to his house, where im staying this week, and we got to put the last of my bed together. He bought a bed for me so i could come stay with him! Talk about kindness!
I will have to keep it fairly quick tonight as I am already exhausted and want to get into the new time zone as quickly as I can. So here goes... lets look briefly at paper.
Sustainable September day 3: Say NO to Receipts.
Saying No to receipts is about reducing the wasteful consumption of wood and paper. If you don’t need a receipt say no when asked (preferably before they print it off). I understand many people need receipts for tax purposes. But if you don't need to keep receipts then don't. This way you can easily reduce your paper waste.
“Paper products are crucial to society, as they have enabled literacy and cultural development. However, without changing current paper production and consumption practices, growing demand for paper adds pressure on the Earth’s last remaining natural forests and endangered wildlife.
WWF advocates reducing wasteful consumption of wood and paper. But even with more frugal use and greater efficiencies, net demand is likely to grow with rising population and incomes in developing countries. So how can we produce more paper without destroying or degrading forests, in a world where competition for land and water is increasing ?
This challenge spans the whole supply chain, from where and how wood is grown and harvested to how wisely and efficiently it is processed, used and reused. It also involves changes to consumption patterns – such as eliminating excessive and wasteful use of paper in rich societies, while improving access for the poor to paper products that can improve education, hygiene and food safety.” (http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/deforestation/forest_sector_transformation/pulp_and_paper/)
Paper waste is a large issue because of the sheer amount of trees that are used to create the paper in the first place. Often the trees being cut down to make paper have come from naturally occurring forests and rainforrests. This destruction og the natural environment in not sustainable, whilst destroying natural habitats for animals and birds. This is not good for the environment.
I love paper as much as the next person. I really love books and notebooks. I am a bibliophile, so reducing the amount of paper in my house is hard. Like the statement says above, Paper is crucial to society and education. However, reducing the amount of useless paper waste is not that hard to do.
For the last few years I have been looking at the work by the Bea Johnson. She wrote the book “The Zero Waste Home” and has inspired me to reduce the amount of waste I, personally, put into the world. I know I have written about it a lot in the past so I will leave this light but she talks about simple ways to reduce waste. The first is to say NO to it. If you don’t need, it don’t take it. This includes freebies, samples, pamphlets and business cards. This can be very hard to do but I often end up chucking out so much stuff that I don’t need just because it didn’t cost me anything to aquire. Feel free to adopt the practice of saying no to all these ‘free things’ too. However, the easiest way to start is to say No to receipts. And build up these habits.
Kindness Idea: Learn how to make your own paper from your waste paper and turn it into a beautiful card or wrapping paper.
Often i will send off a card or letter to someone who just needs to know i am thinking of them, is having a hard time, or is away from home. This just makes a person feel special. Making things for another person is a complimentary way to show you care for someone. You also care for the environment by reusing a resource you already have lying around. You can use old news papers, wrapping paper, used printing paper, old study notes, and even the backs of cards (i like to keep the pretty fronts of cards and reuse them too).
On the front lines: The Zero Waste movement.
Here is a TED talk by the amazing Bea Johnson. I hope you like it.
or this one my Manuela Baron...
Hahaha.. so much for a short post. I do love to type. The hard thing sharing this stuff is knowing when to stop. Like I should have done a while back. hahha.
I hope this finds you all well.
Love to you all,
Daena xx
So I had some help with my mending from my amazing mother. Not that I couldn't have done it myself but she was using the sewing machine for some of her patchwork quilts, so I sneaked my fraying tea towel in to mix ready to show you how simple mending can be!
The frayed tea towel, that needs some fixing!
My awesome Mum doing the mending for me.
My mum is a champion, and does mending for people she knows.
Such a clever cookie!
And DONE!!!! YAY!!! All fixed! :) Hooray!!!
DONE!!! Bravo mum! Thank you again for helping me with this Sustainable September idea! :)
Today's is another simple idea to adopt or in this case refuse. I know we have been working out way down the pyramid of the 5 Rs in Zero Waste Home, but I realised this one is going to be a good habit to adopt if you can.
September 23: say no to paper Receipts!
I don't know about you but my wallet is filled with useless receipts! Then when my purse/wallet gets so full I can't close it, I basically remove every scrap of paper and start again with my receipt collection! Then empty it again about a month later.
I understand that some people have to keep certain receipts for tax purposes or to get some things refunded to them. My office has certain things that they will refund you money for when you pay up front, like your Working with Children's Check forms & card.
The rest of the receipts are virtually useless & contribute to landfill one tiny piece at a time.
If we reduce our own waste we reduce the amount of stuff ending up in landfill, which contributes to green house gasses building in our atmosphere, which cause human induced climate change.
Recent article that I was reading today was about how Scientists in the US think that the governing body of garbage disposal has hugely underestimated the impact of garbage dumps and their creation of certain green house gases. So the less that ends up in garbage dumps the better! :)
KINDNESS IDEA: mend something for a friend/family member. I did this one earlier this quarter for my best friend before she went on her overdue honey moon. A pair of shorts she bought had the button fall off whilst she was trying them on at home before packing. So I fixed them for her so she didn't have to worry about finding the time to do so before her European honeymoon adventure! Sewing a button on is pretty simple! And it made a huge difference to Tanya! :) love that girl!
I hope you are fit, happy and healthy. And if not all of those things than at least one! :)
How are we today? are you well? No colds? No flues? I hope not! But if you do, then the kindness for today was meant just for you! The eco-kindness idea for today was to use a Handkerchief rather than paper tissues.
I found this awesome site called DIY Natural with a whole post about the best reasons to use Hankies over Tissues... if you want, you can Read More here.
Lets continue on the paper theme!
I know that we all have certain paper work that we need for tax purposes. But after 7 years, they are usually able to be retired, at which point they need to be shredded. Which leads me to the Sustainable September kindness idea for tomorrow...
Wednesday – 24 September –
If you need to shred old paperwork, put it in the garden in your
compost. Alternatively you can take your shreddings to a pet store or
a friend who needs shredding's for pet rodents, chickens or other
animals. Or donate them to a pet shelter.
I hope this finds you all well... and healthy! ;) but if not... you know what to do! ;) lol
