Sustainable September 2018 Day 14

Today I had a nice day in the office at work. We spent the day labelling finds, specifically bags of pottery, ready to be taken to a local museum. Which meant I got to know a few of my colleagues a bit better. We had a nice time laughing, joking and of course working! 

This next idea is one I have only recently instigated. Since the beginning of March. So it’s pretty new in its usage. 

14. Choose the 30x rule

This is a great rule for clothing, although it could be applied to other things.

Before buying an item of clothing, you have to agree to using a piece of clothing 30 times before you are allowed to give it away.

I do this with all my clothing that I buy from now on. I record this in my little (BuJo) book so that I know how many times I have worn a specific item.



This has actually saved me money too. Now I am much more discerning about what I buy because I ask myself if I will wear something 30 times. Often the answer to the question is no. I like something but not enough to wear it so many times. Either that or I want to buy clothes for a specific one-off purpose.

I have found instigating this rule has actually made me creative because I am more likely to use what I already have than buy something that I will not use a lot.

How are you finding Sustainable September? Do you have any questions or ideas of your own you’d like to share? 

I hope this finds you all well, 

Love Daena 

Sustainable September 2018 Day 13

Yesterday I got to play with a metal detector at work! 

Sadly it was because I had lost one of my constant companions, my silver Celtic ring! After all the searching & playing with that fun toy, I still couldn’t find it... which is sad but I have to remind myself it’s just a thing. 

It has served me years, and given me lots of enjoyment. That will teach me to wear loose rings at work in the field. I guess that’s the risks of being an archaeologist! I could replace it with a new one or I could use the next idea to find something I love. 

The next simple Sustainable September idea for money saving is ... 

Day 13. Buy second hand

This alone will save you a fortune.

I have personally decided I want to stick to the 80/20 rule. 80% of my purchases for homewares and clothes I want to get second hand, and save 20% for new good quality stuff. I will show you how I will set it up.

I record any clothing I purchase and then figure out a grid. I usually make sure its easy to multiply/divide into and 80/20 ratio and then colour in the boxes and keep an eye on what I purchase.

Some things you have to purchase new. I had to have new Steel cap work boots for work (and needed them immediately) so I had to accept Work purchasing me brand new ones. But I got reasonable quality ones so that they would last.

Buying good quality second hand goods can mean that you can often save more than 50% of the original price of the item. Sometimes it’s much cheaper than that, depending on what you are looking at and where you resource it from. I do a lot of this with clothes now. Second hand shops and thrift stores and even eBay! 

I hope this finds you all well.
love Daena x

Sustainable September 2018 Day 12

Short and sweet... as I am absolutely and happily exhauted. Work is going well and I found almost a whole pot today. 

Which is very different to anything I found in Australia, as an archaeologist! What gets me is this is the first time in a few thousand years that this pottery has been seen by humans! It blows my mind!!!

Sustainable Septembers idea for Day 12 is a little like that pot... its all about quality. Sure it broke a few thousand years ago but its still here in parts!

12. Buy Quality over quantity 

For me this involves a little research. When I do choose to buy the things on the list i mentioned yesterday, I have been buying better quality, long lasting products. I have websites to some of my favourite shops that I want to buy from email me with savings for certain products I am specifically looking at.

There is a website called "BuyMeOnce.com" (this link is to the UK specific site), that can help you see which products are built to last the test of time. It deals with all kinds of things, kitchen accessories, gardening supplies, outdoor, shoes... and more. It is really expensive. To be honest I have use "buymeonce.com" as a great indicator of quality, but I will then often track down a second hand version of the thing I am looking at or I will check other stockists for a cheaper price on the same product.

I hope this finds you well. How could you turn this into a kindness?

with 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 2018 Day 10

I found myself using Paper towel today because it was just easier. It qwas a knee jerk reaction to spilling coconut oil eberywhere. I was able to throw the paper towel in the compost. However, I was hoping to make one day papertowel free. iit just shows you how much we use it and how even with thebext intentions we still make mistakes.

The idea today is simple...

10. Use a metal or glass straw

Okay, I’ll admit it will take time to have this one actually save you some money. However, this product will last you a lifetime (except the glass one if you drop it) and you can reuse it over and over again. Comparatively, a single use plastic straw will be able to be used once and then never be used again, whilst lasting a lifetime.

So in the efforts to be as honest with you all as possible i want you to know its okay to make some mistakes. I bought my stainless steel straws online from eBay for about $4 for 8 straws with 4 brushes.

I ended up keeping two of these straws for me and my mum, giving 4 to my sister for her family as part of a Christmas gift and gave another two away as gifts also. I must admit it was great in some ways because it was super cheap, but here is where i made a few little mistakes. When I got the straws they were each individually wrapped in plastic and they were also shipped from china. Not my finest moment but at the time finance was the most pressing concern I had. So I went with cheap eco products over locally produced, which is a shame as not long after I bought these cheap straws someone in my suburb started selling the ones they had made themselves. Which would have been amazing to purchase.

If you look at how much a box of plastic straws cost (Approximately) you'd need to take 10 uses of a single use straw to make your money worth spending. hich is rediculous. Not to mention saying no to plastic straws will be saving lives in the long run as a lot on sea animals struggle to survive with plastic contamination in our oceans. Sadly, there are some disturbing videos on the internet of animals with straws in their noses. It hurts my heart to look at them, but it was enough to see that i wanted to buy a metal straw and start refusing single use plastic straws almost immediately.

I hope this finds you well.

love Daena x

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