1) Stop the junk mail. Other than put a sign on your door there are a few strategies you can take to stop the junk mail at source. If you are in the UK you can register with the Mail Preference Service. This is free and will remove your name and address from industry mailing lists. Royal Mail have a …
Zero Waste Week 17 Day 2 – Not so #TrashfreeTuesday
I started off Tuesday thinking that trashfree wouldn’t be too difficult. I had no plans to leave the house other than to get some bread. Our local bakery uses brown paper bags as packaging, no danger there…… What I didn’t plan for is the incidental waste that happens through the day. Cat food pouches, empty bags from spinach and pasta. …
Herby Oven Croutons Recipe to use up Stale Bread
This recipe uses up any sort of savoury stale bread and makes leftover soup into something special. Ingredients Stale bread. Any of the following: garlic, herbs, salt, pepper, parmesan and/or lemon zest if you like. Big flakes of Malden salt work well on croutons. Olive oil or refined coconut oil. Method Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Pour about half …
Zero Waste Week 17 Day 1 – sneaky trash and a fly tip result
Day 1 of Zero Waste Week 17 was supposed to start with me giving blood, which is very wasteful in terms of packaging but I’ve had a bad cold so I rebooked for next week. Instead I’ve spent most of the day on a city treasure hunt with my son. To lure my teenager out of his room takes the …
How to make coasters out of yarn twine
I’m trying to cut down the amount of stuff I put in the rubbish. Our local council take scrap fabric as clean rags but it is much better to find a way to use it instead of recycling it. This tutorial shows you how to make yarn twine and how you can sew it into coasters. It is easy, pretty …
What is in my bin before Zero Waste Week?
In a nutshell – the week before I’m attempting Zero Waste Week I look in my bin and recycling to see what I can improve on. There is a great rescource over on the Zero Waste site, it is a nicely laid out printable chart that helps you log your waste. If you are considering lowering the amount of stuff …
Getting Ready for Zero Waste Week 2017
In a nutshell – Zero Waste Week is a campaign to draw attention to the fact that waste doesn’t just disappear. I did it with my son 5 years ago and we are going to do it again. There is a Facebook group for the week too. Our first Zero Waste Week My son was 9 back in 2012 when …
How to make vegetable drawstring tea towel bags – Guest post by Vicky Myers
Vicky Myers makes beautiful things by reusing materials. She does her bit towards saving the planet with ‘sustainable style’ and says that sewing, DIY and knitting help her maintain her equilibrium. Taking your own veg bags instead of using the stores plastic bags can make a big impact on the amount of plastic you use. Like reusable water bottles, reusable …
Plastic Free July Week 4 – What is in the bin? #pfjuk
Week 4 of Plastic Free July at last. I love a challenge, especially one that fits neatly into a week or a month but this has been hard. It started to drag in the middle of week 2 and it has been harder to continue than to start. Plastic is everywhere. I’ve needed to think about everything I used and …
Plastic Free July Week 3 – What is in the bin? #pfjuk
I’m disappointed in myself this week. Week 1 was great, with the discovery of vinegar the wonder fluid. Week 2 was about starting to use plastic free options and I found solid shampoo. Week 3 of Plastic Free July, in comparison has been a bit meh. This weeks plastic fails To start with I had a sort out of the …
What being an ethical business means to me. Video with Jen Gale
In a nutshell – Ethical Business Coach Jen Gale interviewed me for a Facebook live as part of her ‘Meet the Changemakers’ series. I got to rant at length about integrity, why my design business is ethical (spoiler alert, I don’t overcharge and I am clear about my pricing). I spoke about working with clients on their websites rather than …
Plastic Free July Week 2 – What is in the bin? #pfjuk
Week 2 of Plastic Free July Is it only 2 weeks? It feels like a lifetime of battling to be plastic free already! This week the bag for landfill is bigger than last week. The cats needed worming, they finished a big bag of catfood, I sorted out a kitchen drawer and got rid of some rubbish and my son …