Sustainable September Day 7

I was back out in the field yesterday for the second day in a row and I got to excavate my own little trench. Which for me was kind of awesome!!

It was pretty early again this morning so I needed my reusable keep cup and the cup cosy my mum made me! Doing Sustainable September the UK way! Hot beverages to wake up. 

Daena the Digger... Archaeologist extraordinaire! lol. Im so happy to be finally living the dream! 

I hope you are enjoying the shorter and more stream lined sustainable September posts. I was so tired last night that I was asleep before 9.45pm but i couldnt even hold a solid coverstion with G, my boyfriend.

Day 7. Use a handkerchief 

When I first started doing Sustainable September I showed photos of some of the hankies that I had inherited from my father’s stash.

Would you believe I still have most of these? They are still doing their job and doing it well.

I have probably saved myself a fortune in tissues. But I have no idea how much. so why not do a little math

In Australia the tissues I used to buy cost me around $2.80AUD per box of 200 tissues. I would personally have gone through about 5 boxes a year, maybe 6 -7 if I got a head-cold. 6 x $2.80AUD  = $16.80 per year, which for the last 4 years makes a saving of $67.2AUD, as I have not had to purchase tissues for ages.

Not bad really when the handkerchiefs didn’t actually cost me anything in the first place. They weirdly make me feel connected to home when I use them too. Like my dad’s with me in a way too. He would have loved Sustainable September! 

Back to today’s idea... You can always make some or buy some handkerchiefs. 

You could always treat someone to a lovely hanky, as it is a pretty nice Kindness to offer. Reusable and often really pretty.

I hope this finds you all well.
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 Day 5

Yesterday was all about reducing your waste and choosing reusable packaging. 

My favourite jar is the round one with the silver lid. It used to be a coconut oil jar. 

And I thought it was interesting when I went back today to look at the pureed fruit “baby food”. It’s actually much cheaper (even for the same brand) to buy reusable glass containers. This was the case at the local UK Co-Op (equivalent to Australias IGA).  

I had the apple and pear “pudding” which is literally puréed apple and pear. And you actually get less “pudding” or puréed fruit in a squishy single use wrapper than you do in the glass jar. It actually costs more for “convenience” here. 

Anyways, I thought you might enjoy that little follow up. Sometimes is pays to be more eco friendly! :) 

It has been an amazing few days for me! Day Two of my new job had me back in the office for some unusual office work. I am pleased to say I was complimented on my work in the office yesterday as I was labelling skeletons ready to go to a local museum.

How cool is that? Thankfully in my studies I have handled human remains before so I wasn't as intimidated as I could have been. It was an amazing experience to hold the remains of a human who died thousands of years ago! It just blows my mind to think of what they were doing and how they lived back then.

This Sustainable September we are focusing on the savings you get when you choose a more environmenally friendly outlook. Todays idea is something I really put into practice at my house in Wales.

Day 5 - Put your food scraps to work.

This has been my favourite thing so far! When I moved into my house in Wales, I Started grabbing my vegetable scraps to use again.

I cook a lot with carrots, cabbage, celery, spring onions and leek (which seems particularly appropriate for when i was living in Wales). 

Oh and avocados. I LOVE avocados and I have been buying them on discount (before they get into landfill) from the big Tesco shops because the avocados there are usually ripe immediately.

The cool thing is that some veggie scraps can be used to grow more of the same. I have been so impressed with the way that my little garden is growing that I have actually photographed almost the entire journey.

I even started harvesting my spring onions and leek because they are so quick to grow.

Here is how I started it all... on my kitchen window sill with a little plastic container, a couple of pieces of paper towel and about 2cm of water in the bottom. 

It doesn’t look too pretty but I managed to get most of this stuff to grow. Except the avacado seeds. I don’t yet have the patience for them. 

This as how I started my garden using the tubs from mushroom containers, dirt from the garden and food scraps. I only had a tiny shovel too. Which was hilarious for this pint sized archaeologist! Lol. I started out with two tubs of food scraps. 


Then that grew to 5 tubs. 

Then I decided on the place to start my garden. But it was a hot day so it took me and hour and a half to turn the soil (only half of what I originally wanted to do) because the ground was like clay. 

I mixed in one bag of compost to half of the garden. 


I added in my food scraps then... lots of spring onions. 


Three rows a spring onions, one of leeks, and two rows of carrots. 


This photo I took the day that I left my house in Wales. It all looked so good. 

I even added in a celery that seems to love the cooler climate (I never had much luck with these in Australia). 


And my house mates dad gave me some Red Emperor beans to use and I threw one bean into some water to see if it would take... and it did. Completely surprising me! So the bean is growing too! Winning! 

The avocados however take longer. A LOT longer. I need more practice with this type of patience. Thankfully my boyfriend, G, is the King of Avocado growing here (well he is to me anyways).


The pots to the left and one to thee right are avacado plants at Gs Houss. 

I’ve learned a lot from him and his successes with Avacados. The key here is that the avocados need to be in a warm & sunny but also reasonable sheltered position.

What does this have to do with saving money? I had hoped that would be obvious now but maybe not. Every bit of veggie scrap that you can regrow that was destined for the bin (compost or otherwise), saves you in produce you do not have to buy. I would buy spring onions regularly perhaps once a week at about £1.50 per bunch. Not having to buy them saves me not only the £1.50 a week but also the money it would take to get them from the shop. All it cost to set up my little garden was about £2 for a 20Lt bags of compost. So I had made my money back after the second week of harvesting. the even better thing is, if you cut if off in the garden, it will regrow again! It's a never ending supply!

Kindness is possible too with this one. The sweet thing is, that G is planning to use his Avacado trees as a kindness. He's promised me an avacado tree when I finally move into a house of my own. My old house mate, Beth, has said shes going to share the bounty of my little garden too, which makes me happy. So this also has the potential to be lovely opportunities for kindness.

Goodluck with your own scraps.

I hope this finds you all well.

love Daena

Sustainable September 2018 - Day 4

Sustainable september 2018

Today was my first day of work at the new job. And... it was good! I spent the day with my hands in a bucket of water cleaning the dirt off the mud covered finds that had come back from some of the excavated sites... it was so cool.  I got to see pottery, glass, metal, shell and bone. It was so exciting.

For lunch i even took my vegan "mess" which was a lovely meal to have on Meatfree monday. It was also really yummy.


I love that my new job also ties into Sustainable September. As an Archaeologist I get to look at and excavate the rubbish left over from past generations. This always makes me wonder what future archaeologists will be excavating from our era. The truth is this will probably be referred to as the plastic age. And it is something we need to change. Now! So todays environmental kindness idea is...

Day 4: Reduce your use of single use plastic – 

First start like all arvhaeologists by looking at the rubbish you are producing in your house. My biggest plastic haul comes from food shopping.

I combat this by buying foods based on reusable packaging. I like to buy cool and interesting glass Jars instead of plastic. I then reuse those jars to store a whole range of things I need to keep in my pantry. Or I even use my jars for taking places. You will be surprised what foods you can get in glass or paper/cardboard even (that can then be composted).

If you get really enthusiastic you can ask the local butcher to put the meat you are purchasing into a reusable container you are using yourself. I find that meat is the hardest thing for me to get plastic free.

I have fallen in love with the jars that my Coconut Oil comes in. I use them for everything from storing my collection of weird and wacky dried foods, to use them to store leftovers, and I’ve even used them as bowls on the odd occasion. Bowls with lids! Winning! Normally it would cost a bunch to buy jars like these. The coconut oil jars tell me how much they can fit inside them. I particularly love them for preparing my fruit and coconut yogurt to take with me in the mornings. 250g is enough for a good desert/breakfast.

Why does this save you money? Well, for me it has meant that I haven’t had to buy new expensive glass containers, as I am setting up my Pantry in the UK. These jars are an added bonus for the products I have already - which is awesome. Free stuff is great. Particularly for someone like me who is still setting up their home.

I purchased pureed fruit (from the baby food isle - dont judge me) and there was a choice between glass and squeezy sippy bags. I only realised that the jars were not only cheaper but 30p (60c AUD) cheaper per little jar. And then I can reuse the jars for spices or snacks. Perfect for me.

I hope you are enjoying this shorter Sustainable September series.
love Daena

ps. For a kindness idea - save any jars that you dont think you can reuse, remove the labels and donate to a zero waste store like The Wasteless Pantry (in Western Australia). If you dont have one near you, local schools with art departments are often looking for glass jars for paints and paintbrush cleaning. So call a local school and ask if they are interested before dumping them off.

P.P.S. For more Zero waste stores check out places like Wasteless Pantry (which is about to open two more stores), Hetu (London) or The Source Bulk Foods (in both Australia and the UK). And Ripple_Living is going to be arriving soon in Wales (as a not for profit - Exciting).

Sustainable September 2018 - Day 3

Yesterday was all about water bottles. I was given some awesome information about a really helpful app that helps you find a place to refill your water bottles for free. infact the app actually rewards you for refilling. The app is called "Refill"! 

I don't know if the app is UK only or world wide, so let me know.

I have now officilly moved to Reading, England for my new job in archaeology. This is a little different because I am still looking for a permanent place to rent. However, I will keep doing my best to keep this short and sweet.

Back to Sustainable September...

Day 3 - Eat More seasonal vegetables 

This could be a whole lifestyle change to a plantbased diet, or it  could mean being a weekday vegetarian or even just participate in Meat Free Mondays.

As it is the first monday of Septembe, I thought it would be a perfect time to advocate for Meat free Mondays. If you cut down the amount of meat you are using, it makes a significant saving to your hip pocket and it makes a huge difference to the environment too.

“According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the livestock sector is “one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global”. The FAO estimates that livestock production is responsible for 14.5 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, while other organisations have estimated it could be as much as 51 per cent. World scientists on the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) agree that we need to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere by 80 per cent by 2050 in order to avoid catastrophic climate change.” (Meat Free Monday 2018)

In terms of money saving the Meat Free Mondays website also has something to say about that… "According to Office for National Statistics figures for 2014, the average UK family spends £15.80 a week on meat and fish, with £4.20 and £3.50 being spent on fresh vegetables and fresh fruit respectively. The cost of meat has risen 10 per cent since 2007, yet most of the staples of a meat-free diet are comparatively cheaper: plant proteins such as dried beans or lentils typically cost less than the equivalent amount of animal protein. In fact, most of the world’s people eat a mostly meat-free diet made up of inexpensive commodities such as beans, rice and corn. Eat less meat + more veg = save money!” (Meat Free Monday 2018)

This is great news for us, because we can both save cash and save the environment. Then there is also the whole vegan/vegetarian case for the welfare of the animals that are being used for meat. I wont explore that here, but ask any vegetarian or vegan and ask why and you will get a range of reasons.

I often cook simple vegan recipes, and they are really easy. Check out my Instagram account for more ideas @daenaguest! Or check out the hashtag I often use #AccidentallyVegan.

All you need to do is type in "vegetarian recipe" or "vegan recipe" into ecosia/google and you will get an extensive collection of recipes.

I hope this finds you all well.
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?

Sustainable September 2018 - Day 1

Sustainable September 2018

In the next few days 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 this month I want to keep Sustainable September short and sweet. 

I want to start with something tiny, a simple digital change, that whilst you are doing very little actually make a difference…

1.    Day One: Use Ecosia.com – Use this web-browser to help the environment (not google).It is FREE and is a simple way to help the environment. Simply start using it instead of google and you can help trees get planted.

This website plants trees when you use it. I have it set up on my tablet and use it a lot of my web browsing. It’s easy to do and helps people plant trees. It doesn’t save you money but it doesn’t cost you anything either.If you want a reveiew before taking my word for it here is one from Path Around the World.

I hope this finds you all well.

Love Daena x

Ps. If you could plant a tree, what type of tree would you plant? and where?