Sustainable September 2018 Day 26

It’s been really cold the last few mornings here in Reading, England! Getting down as cold as 2*C. I know that it will get much colder in weeks and months to come but this little Aussie is already struggling with the temperature changes. That’s the problem with having two summers in a row (Australian then Welsh/English)! 
This next Sustainable September idea is completely unrelated to anything... but is one of the best changes I made to living a more sustainable life. Gents, you can sit this one out... or read through for a great kindness idea you can do...

Day 26. Use Reusable Feminine hygiene 

This can be reusable pads, a diva cup or even reusable period panties.

I have to admit I was a little reluctant, a few years ago, about how this would be so successful for me. I decided to give the Diva Cup (a menstrual cup) a go, supplemented by the reusable pads from two amazing Australian suppliers Scarlet Eve & Little Aussie Monster.

My menstrual cup is THE BEST thing I have ever had gifted to me (it was a Christmas gift from my sister). I love the fact that it only needs to be changed every 12 hours (instead of every 6 hours with a tampon) and that I can change the cup either in the bathroom (preferable with a sink right next to the toilet) or in the shower (which is my preferred method). This means I shower twice a day on my period, which is probably not a bad habit to not feel as icky anyways. When I take out my menstrual I can see how heavy my period is, as the side of the Diva cup has measurements. It is a great thing to take note of for your own records because knowing this can help your gynaecologists know how much blood you’ve lost and if its more or less than usual.

The other great thing about the Menstrual cup, is that because it holds so much blood I don’t need to wear my reusable pad for more than the first 3 days. I am one of the many who have seven day periods, so not having to wear pads for 4 of those days is bloody awesome! And I wouldn’t have to wear the pads at all if I changed the Diva cup more regularly during the first three days, but I’m too lazy to do that. Lol. So I am happy with my combination of reusable pads and diva cup.

I won’t comment here on Period Panties but I know that there are several available that are a reusable period alternative to pads, tampons or even a diva cup. I’ll leave this review for another time. In the meantime I am really happy with the system I have for managing my periods! 

I also know that this has saved me a fortune already. I have had my diva cup for almost 2 years now (Christmas is its birthday) and even though I didn’t purchase it, I know it cost about $50AUD (£25) and it can last for up to 10 years. The pads I bought cost about $50 in total too and whilst this might seem like a lot of money, it has totally been worth it. I would easily spend $10(£5) a month (pre-reusables) and I would buy a combination of Tampons and Pads each month. Sometimes I would even buy more than one pack depending on how heavy my bleeding was.

After 10 months these reusables have paid for themselves. When Christmas comes around I would have saved $140 ‘above and beyond’ the cost that I was paying for my feminine hygiene. Best investment ever. 

Lads, I know some of you are thinkin that this is not something that YOU can do much about... and you are probably right, however being open to sharing some ideas with the ladies in your life, would make a massive difference to them. And if you partner, sister, mother, aunt, cousin, friend or coworker is struggling at that time of the month, do something nice for them. Its the best kindness a girl can ask for, havng the support of someone they know and care about. I wish you all the best with this idea.

I hope this finds you all well!
Love Daena

Sustainable September 2018 Day 21

For those following along at home, you would have noticed that this Sustainable September Idea didn't go up when I usually have them ready to go up! I took some time to take care of myself today that meant limiting my screen time. So that’s what I did so two posts will be done today instead!

I can’t believe my third week of work is coming to an end. How fast has the time gone?

This next idea is one i do ALL the time.

Day 20. Take your own bags

This is simple enough. This may not save you a heap of money, but here in the UK at big stores like Tesco they charge you 5p for a reusable plastic bag. My old housemate would reuse and reuse the bags, that she had to buy, for everything, which was awesome.

I, however, have my very own reusable bags that I’ve had for the last few years. I only bought 4 with me to the UK. 3 “green” bags from Woolworths and one I made myself. I find these reusable bags infinitely stronger than any form of single use plastic bag. I carry these almost everywhere I go. I transfer them between my work bag, and day bag so I have them with me when I really need them. The only time recently where I havent had any was when I went out for a night on the town and wasnt going to be purchasing anything that was going to be leaving the restaurant or bar. 

I also have two “onya” reusable produce bags, which are awesome, I carry these with me everywhere too.

I have one I made myself last year, which I made from scrap netting I got from an op-shop/thrift shop. The are super easy to  make if you have the time, machine and fabric!

For the maths, if you bought one bag a week, every week for a year, at Tesco for 5p, you’d save yourself £2.60… which isn’t much, but it adds up fast.

I hope you find this helpful!
Love Daena

Sustainable September 2018 Day 11

This month is going by fast. I just started my second week at work as an archaeologist and I have been coming home exhausted, showering, cooking food (for dinner and left overs for lunch the next day plus preparing breakfast to eat as I walk out the door early morning). I do manage to get some writing done for the blog before I write my blessings and go to sleep. 

I wanted to keep this particular Sustainable September idea short. So please forgive me for not including a bunch more information. I will do my best to recomment a few places to get more information, so hopefully that covers the huge holes in todays idea...

Day 11. Buy Less Stuff

Or simply put... stop buying into Consumerism.

We all need to eat, cloth ourselves, and be social, however what You don’t need is the newest ‘it’ thing. Sure it might be nice, but the more research done shows that the joy from purchasing the “newest” or “best” thing, is short lived and often leaves people in debt, unhappier and less satisfied.

I am not saying don’t buy anything! What I am saying is... be more discerning about what you choose to purchase. Not only will this help you save money, it will stop you buying things you don’t need, that will eventually end up in landfill.

I, personally, have a list in my journal that I use. I write down what I want to buy and the date I write down that I want to buy it. I then leave it for 30 days, particularly if it’s over about $50AUD or £25. 

This does give me some leeway if I need something in a hurry (under £25/$50). But I have found that I put all my wants on the list, no matter how small so that I assess if I do really need it. more often than not I dont really need something.

After 30 days I can choose to purchase whatever it was, but if I still don’t NEED that item, I don’t buy it. I have even scratched a few things off my list, because I've decided that I haven’t needed them. Or I leave them on the list for when I decide the time is right.

This often means not going to shops unless I have a list. This saves me a fortune because you aren’t just buying things because they are nice or cheap.

I have developed this spending strategy over the last few years as I was inspired by the work of The Minimalists. If you have time check out the Netflix Documentary "Minimalism: Live a meaningful life" as it can give people a how-to-guide to reassesing life. This often means simplifying life and only keeping those things that are the most important to you. When you figure out the why to, you can the use Maria Kondo's "Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up" (like I did) for the how to.

If buying less excites you then check out "Buy Nothing New Month" in October. Check out the "no spend challenge" or read Cait Flanders Book: "The Year Of Less". It’s on my list of books to read however I have read some of her blog posts and heard her talk about her year of less.  

I wanted to keep this post short but im sure I could talk about it for ages! Feel free to message me for more tips and tricks to help you stop buying as much stuff. 

Much love,
Daena

Sustainable September Day 6

It was my first day out on an excavation site for my new Archaeology job yesterday. 

It is so exciting. Well... maybe not for everyone but definitely for me! 

One cool thing is discovering what people threw in "middens" thats archaeology talk for "rubbish bin". I guess this last few days has helped me see what historical and ancient people ate, used and threw away hundreds, if not thousands, of years ago.

Todays idea combines what I have been looking at this week in my job with what we are doing now, and could do more of, to manage our own waste, and save money at the same time.

Day 6 - Compost 

Why would this save you money? Well when all those awesome veggies you will be growing from your food scraps... from all the extra veggies you would be using from Meat free Mondays/Weekday Vegetarianism... you are going to need to keep your now thriving veggies healthy and strong.

Need to know how to start a compost bin? Here is a very quick video to get you on your way.

If this doesnt have enough information in it for you, you can type in " How to make a Compost bin" into YouTube and you will find hundred and thousands of ideas to get you on your way. Just don't do what I did and fall down the YouTube hole and come out a few hours later having learned all the ins and outs of all kinds of composting. I think i still have so much to learn sharing some of the things i have learned to help others and the environment is probably the best idea for kindness today.

I admit Composting isn't a fast idea. I will take some time for your compost to be useful for your garden as food scraps break down. Once it does, however, you will be pretty pleased with yourself. Not only for making awesome soil for your garden but also for creating a simple way of getting rid of your own food waste, so it doesnt end up in landfill.

When I set up my little garden I was able to buy 3 x 20Lt bags of compost and mulch for £6 ($12AUD). I ended up not using two of the bags and giften them to someone who is building their own garden. YAY Kindness! If I had been making my own compost I could have saved some £££/$$$. Not heaps of money, but every dollar/pound you don't spend on food/compost/anything really, is money that could go towards things that really bring you joy.

I hope this gives you some inspiration!

Love Daena

Sustainable September 2018 - Day Two

Good day my lovely friends!

I shared yesterday that this week I am moving to a new town, house-hunting, starting a new job and doing my best to keep as connected to my friends, family and boyfriend as possible. So I am keeping it short and sweet for now...
 
Day Two: Take your own reusable water bottle – Seriously this is a real money saver. 

In Australia it cost about $3AUD or even £1.50 per 600mls of water in a plastic bottle here in the UK. If you average that as 4 bottles a day (for minimum water intake of 2Lts) then by taking and refilling your own water bottle you can save yourself $12AUD or £6 per day. Which if you do this alone would be $4380AUD per year or £2190. Even if you can get cheaper bottled water that is still a significant cost in a year. 

If you buy soft drinks, that is often a greater cost again, although your average person wouldn’t purchase it as regularly as water. However, if you did use 4 single use plastic bottles (600ml bottles) that’s 1460 bottles that are not going to landfill or needed to be recycled. Cheaper for your hip pocket and cheaper for the environment. 

If you drink from single use water bottles because of the taste, check out getting a water filter instead. It will save you and fortune and save all those plastic water bottles ending up in landfill. 

For Plastic Free July I did some stuff on instagram including sharing about my water bottles. 

I hope this finds you all well.
 
Sending love to you all.
Love Daena

ps. What is your best tip for using your reusable water bottle?