I’ve been working on a gorgeous collaboration with upcycling expert Vicky Myers and the very clever Claire Lyons who is the frugal family expert. Between us we have come up with a solution to make winter fun, frugal and environmentally friendly too. It is a workbook full of things you can do to make four winter weeks much better. Winning …
How to use up all those carrots!
Carrots are either in season or almost always available heavily reduced. It is hard to resist a kilo of good food for 20p so here are some ideas for using up all those carrots. This post was written with lots of help from Sarah, Laura, Rachel, Anna, Jacquie, Madeline, Christine, Bróna, Susan and Frances from the less-stuff Facebook group. Raw: …
Presents you can give that will save people money
Presents that save you money are not just for Christmas! I’ve compiled a list of gift ideas that will make a big difference to the pocket of the recipient. All the Amazon links are affiliate ones, so I get a bit of money if you buy after clicking a link. If you are a smaller business and sell anything that …
Ethical gift ideas for under a tenner
In my hunt for the perfect present I’m grouping together a list of ethical gifts that are under £10 (or $10 depending on where you are in the world!). I don’t get any freebies or money for advertising these products unless I mention that in the description. If you have a product you want to add to the list, please …
3 things to buy that stop you wasting food and money
Wasted food is money thrown away. There are three things I use almost daily that make wasting food more difficult: Hand blender With the ability to mush up food comes the power to turn leftovers into deliciousness. Roast extra veg and just add water before you whizz it up into amazing soup. Brown bananas make the healthiest ice cream and …
10 Easy ways to save money on food
Years ago I was teaching craft in an area that had a lot of poverty. We had funding through the Workers Education Authority to deliver classes that would improve mental health. The class before mine was about saving money on food. I didn’t go to the class but I was told everyone walked out because the first thing the teacher …
How boycotting a brand can make life easier
Cutting down the amount of choice you have when you go shopping can make life much easier. This is not a judgmental or campaigning post, it is about choices and picking your own battle. Why I boycott Nestle When I was in my 20’s I was lucky enough to travel around South East Asia. I had the most extraordinary time …
Bicarb the wonder salt – Plastic Free July Day 13 #pfjuk
Bob Roland: Message from the front, sir. Rufus T. Firefly: Oh, I’m sick of messages from the front. Don’t we ever get a message from the side? – What is it? Bob Roland: General Smith reports a gas attack. He wants to know what to do. Rufus T. Firefly: Tell him to take a teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda and …
Citric acid works better than kettle descaler – Plastic Free July Day 12 #pfjuk
This week in Plastic Free July I swapped my sachets of descaler for citric acid, which works better and comes in a cardboard box. If this was a site without ethics the title would be ‘she added citric acid to her kettle and you will never guess what happened next.” Guess what? The limescale just flaked off and I could …
White vinegar is better than toilet cleaner – Plastic Free July #pfjuk
In a nutshell – it is day 8 of plastic free July. On day 4 I ran out of toilet duck so I tried to find a plastic free alternative. White vinegar came to the rescue and it is better than toilet cleaners! My goal for Plastic Free July is to find solutions to plasticy problems that are easy …
Plastic use so far in July Week 1 Day 3, everything is packaged in plastic! #pfjuk
It is Monday 3rd July. Day 3 of the plastic free month challenge. I’m noticing how much plastic comes into my life without me having any control over it and I’m noticing that I don’t recycle when I’m tired. On Saturday I got a delivery of a cone of shame for my little cat who needs to stop licking a …
Banana Bread Recipe with 6 Bananas.
In a nutshell – this is a quick and easy recipe that uses up lots of over-ripe bananas. It has basic store cupboard ingredients and can be on your plate in an hour. It is a great way to use up reduced bananas. This recipe is from the multi talented Sarah Slater. It makes a lovely stodgy comforting loaf. My …