Not all plastic is rubbish! Without plastic I wouldn’t be able to get this blog post onto the internet. Cars would be so heavy the fuel costs and impact would be immense. When used properly, plastic is a wonderful material. It is light, waterproof, cheap to produce and as long as the sun doesn’t get to it, it is very …
Sourdough bread instructions
I’ve been making a loaf of bread every week for a few months now and it is starting to look ok. The recipe and the instructions are from a brilliant course I did at the Assembly Bakery. If you get a chance to do a breadmaking course it will improve your bread radically! The videos show each stage of bread …
What do do when you have no motivation
It happens to all of us. We tick along nicely and then something just pushes us over the edge of productivity, straight into feeling like it’s all too much bother. This post may contain affiliate links, they won’t affect you but it is a way for me to make some money from the site. Here are some strategies that help …
Reducing Kitchen Waste with IKEA – Josh’s top picks
The kitchen can be a terribly wasteful place. From leftovers that never get eaten to the water we pour down the plughole when washing up. Josh an Interior Designer who is leading this years Live LAGOM project, from the Bristol IKEA gave me a nice bag of goodies to help prevent waste. Here are his top picks to help you …
54 Self Care ideas for frugal and busy people
I’ve been feeling kind of Meh lately. A bit run down and lacking motivation or energy to do anything. In the Meh state I tend to forget what helps, so now I’m feeling a bit more up, I’ve written a list. It will become part of a book or course later, I’m writing it now. Possibly as a distraction from …
How to make easy stock from food scraps
Even if you compost all your food scraps you can get more out of some of them by making stock. It is very easy. Stock cubes are a store cupboard standard for most people but vegetable stock is so easy to make there is no need to buy them. You can use your home made stock to boil rice, for …
Free personalised online veg garden planning calendar
In a nutshell – gardenfocused.co.uk have a free grow your own fruit and veg planning calendar that you can personalise. It even helps you plan crop rotations Unless you are growing indoors under lights you will need to pay attention to the seasons. I forget from year to year what I need to do in the garden and when. Books …
Starting a compost bin in a tiny garden
I have a very tiny garden for growing fruit and veg and relaxing in. I’ve just got a second compost bin and this is how I’m getting it started. I’ve got a pretty good system going with composting at home. Old teabags, leftover food and veg peelings go into a container during the week as I cook. When it’s full …
Traditional hand sewn patchwork – step by step – part 1
A cautionary tale The earliest hexagon quilt found was made in England in the 1770’s. The earliest hexagon quilt in my house was made in the 1970s. It was a family project and I have a distinct memory of trying to sew in a small dark and smoky room. We all sewed a bit of the quilt. My grandmother and …
Reuse old jumpers to make a soft felted wool rug
How to make a soft and warm felted wool rug Did you know that you can buy old wool jumpers for crafting from Oxfam? I didn’t until I read this brilliant tutorial from Shirley, who is a less-stuff, less-waste Patreon. I’ll let her introduce herself! “I’m Shirley. I’m a Christian, a Labour Councillor, and for most of my life have …
Reuse your recycling – Découpage and Papier-mâché
Don’t put out the recycling yet! If you have corrugated cardboard, some paper scraps and glue these little boxes are a brilliant way to turn your scrap and recycling into something useful. They are easy to make and once you know how to make them you can use the same method to make square or rectangular boxes. What is Découpage …