Recent Comments

1. Choose to have one meat-free day a week in your home - 24 Aug 2005

   how about having 1 meat day a week, and 6 meat-free days!

   in spag bol, chilli con carne, etc… replace 1/2 mince you used to use with lentils… this makes it: cheaper, more healthy, more generous… as red meat needs a lot of energy to produce, etc.

2. Stop Taking Plastic Bags From Shops - 30 Aug 2005

   yes, i think planning ahead is the key! a few fabric bags that live in your car (or on back of your bike!) or in your handbag/male version of handbag… etc… is a good thing.

   once you get used to it, it becomes the natural thing to do, and most shopkeepers don’t seem to think it’s too odd.

   i think i need to get some waterproof bags though as fabric ones can get wet and yucky if walking back from town.

   one day…!

3. Buy Presents That Make A Difference - 30 Aug 2005

   I’m going to see if i can be creative and get most pressies from charity shops this year. What i fail to get from there I’ll prob get from local craft fair or Traidcraft.

   trying to spend less on pressies in general, not to be ‘tight’ (as we say in these parts) but because everyone I’m giving pressies to isn’t actually in need of anything, not when compared to 75% of rest of world!

   not easy tho… so used to wandering around Woolies or spending hours with Argos catalogue on lap, etc!

4. Make Your Own Greetings Cards - 30 Aug 2005

   I have taken to sending a xmas email to friends and family, with an xmas piccie of kids attached! i then add a personal line here or there, if i feel like it.

   These are friends and rellies that i don’t see on a regular basis.. i always think it a bit odd to give cards to people i see regularly… is this just me being weird, or do other people feel this too?!

   But for rellies/friends (that we don’t see regularly) that don’t have email (not many!) I send home-made cards… just select something off some clip-art and pop onto thin card… v easy.

   this year i’m hoping to make xmas postcards, so that no envelopes are involved, thus saving paper!

   another thing we’ve done other years is get the kids to draw an xmas piccie, scan it, print onto card… hey presto! saves me a job – i’m no good at art!

5. Buy A Copy of Change the World for a Fiver - 30 Aug 2005

   Bought a few copies of this book when i saw it mentioned on this site. Gave out a few last xmas. Was looking in local charity shop recently, in ‘books for 10p’ section (!)... and there was a copy of this book!

   i rather suspect it was put there by someone we’d given it to at xmas… still, on the plus side the seeds were missing, so perhaps the culprit has planted them, which is something!

   i bought it back (obviously!) and will give it away sometime… hopefully not to whomever it was i gave it to before who gave it to charity shop!

   i guess it could be that whomever i gave it to read it thru and put it in charity shop so others could read it too, but i think that’s just wishful thinking!

   was good to hear the ‘we are what we do’ lady speaking at greenbelt… what energy she had!

6. Put Your Money Where Your Heart is (Bank Ethically) - 30 Aug 2005

   A look at ‘The Good Shopping Guide’ is interesting when it comes to banking ethically… it shows that there are some ‘normal’ banks that are at least as ethical, if not more so, than the co-op (haven’t got this year’s good shopping guide though, so someone please correct me if this info is now out of date!)

7. Get Rid Of Some Of Your Books - 30 Aug 2005

   i am getting better at getting rid of books, but the ‘hoarding’ instinct is hard to slaughter!

   i prefer to give certain books to certain friends, rather than just dump in charity shop… tho i do just dump in charity shop sometimes, i admit.

   i have pretty much stopped buying new books, unless i really really feel i need to (like the tree poem book at greenbelt for example… can’t get THAT from my local library, and my kids’ poems were in it!)

   i either buy 2nd hand or get out from library. remember that if your local library doesn’t have a particular book on the shelf, you ought to be able to order any book that’s in print, for 80p. With the price of books these days, i think that’s quite a bargain. If you get then get the book out and read it and know that you just have to own it or you’ll die… THEN go buy it, is my advice (to myself!)

8. Shower More, Bath Less - 30 Aug 2005

   don’t have really long showers though!

   also, turn the shower off when you’re putting shampoo on head, or soap on body, or shave legs, or whatever it is you do in the shower! i’ve only just started doing this… amazing how much water i am saving… simple!

   i still know one time when a bath is essential tho… on return from Greenbelt (if you’ve been camping, as i have this year… just off to have my bath now… don’t try to stop me…!)

9. Give Your Unwanted / Unworn Clothes To Charity - 30 Aug 2005

   i have far too many clothes and am rubbish at giving them away as am always saying: when i loose weight i might wear that. how sad and bridget-jones-like is that?!

   i must must must get rid of more clothes.

   help!

   i’m good at getting rid of kids’ clothes tho… they are 6 and 7 and i’m still being given handed down clothes for them, and am able to pass on those clothes to others when they’ve grown out of them… which is fab.

10. Use your LOAF at the shops (Local, Organic, Animal-Friendly and Fair Trade) - 30 Aug 2005

    this is one of my pet topics so will hold back on doing huge comment, but i would encourage everyone here to give this one some serious thought.

    I love: Traidcraft and Goodness Direct (for gifts and dry foods) and i order from both of these once a month.

    I love: farm shop, local food delivery service, local craft fairs, etc.

    Not going to supermarkets on the whole, tho probably pop into Co-op a handful of times a year, to get a few things.

11. Shop Small (Buy local, Switch from the Supermarket) - 30 Aug 2005

    I never thought i’d become one of those weirdos who never shop at supermarkets… but i have joined the club!

    for about a year now I’ve not done my weekly trip to Tescos, and have shopped locally (or online: traidcraft/goodness direct)

    i do go to co-op v occassionally tho

    i think living in somerset helps! (lots of local cider…!)

12. Improve your home's energy efficiency - 01 Oct 2005

    I think for me, this Winter, i’m going to have to keep remembering to wear more clothes! The times in the past that I’ve wanted to bump the heating up, when actually i’ve only been wearing a couple of layers… not good! So, top tip:

    WEAR LOTS OF CLOTHES WHEN IT’S COLD !!

    and even jog on the spot now and then, to keep warm… anything but bump the heating up, and wasting energy!

13. Sharing with students - 01 Oct 2005

    This one could be tricky for us, as we are not students (although we do get mistaken for them sometimes, which is so nice, as we are 30 and 34!

    And also we do not live near a ‘uni’. But, I guess we DO have students from our church who visit their parents during the holidays… so perhaps we could make an effort to ‘be generous’ to them in the holidays… find out if they have any practical or prayer needs for term-time, and offer to help.

14. Sharing with students - 01 Oct 2005

    This one could be tricky for us, as we are not students (although we do get mistaken for them sometimes, which is so nice, as we are 30 and 34!

    And also we do not live near a ‘uni’. But, I guess we DO have students from our church who visit their parents during the holidays… so perhaps we could make an effort to ‘be generous’ to them in the holidays… find out if they have any practical or prayer needs for term-time, and offer to help.

15. Buy Ethical Palestinian olive oil - 01 Oct 2005

    Or, if you can’t cope with buying so much in bulk, then get organic oil of all sorts from Goodnessdirect.co.uk. It’s not officially ‘fair trade’, but I think the ‘lines’ between fairtrade and organic are pretty blurred… organic is supposed to consider fairtrade, and fairtrade is supposed to consider organic. Not sure quite how this works out in practice, but I’ve stopped being too fussy about trying to get food that is BOTH organic and fairtrade… as it’s almost impossible!

16. Commit random acts of generosity - 01 Oct 2005

    Perhaps we ought to ask people before mowing their lawns or doing their weeding…!

    I often hold back from offering help to people I don’t know too well as I worry they’ll think I’m viewing them as a charity case. But then I see my unchurched friends offer help to virtual strangers all the time, and it’s usually accepted without quesiton and without offence. So perhaps I should just take a leaf out of their book and stop stressing about what people think of me!

17. Recycle Your Greetings Cards - 01 Oct 2005

    you can always cut off the ‘written on’ 1/2 of the card, and turn the ‘picture 1/2’ into a postcard, by writing your message on it, and the person’s address, and slapping on a stamp… hey presto… a free postcard… write a ‘generous’ cheery message and you’ve done 2 generous things in one go… magic!

18. Post Your Packaging Back - 01 Oct 2005

    I’m not 100% convinced by this one, bearing in mind that to post the packaging back, you’re using up precious time and money AND adding to global warming (transport used to take your packaging from your house to the company in question). Still, I guess the same could be said for any other ‘political’ stuff we do by post… but envelopes aren’t as bulky as sending packaging!

    I def think we should try to buy stuff with less or no or biodegradable packaging.

    perhaps it would also be effective to email shops and explain how we feel about what they sell us (is it fair trade, eco-friendly, etc) and also include a note about how we don’t want so much packaging.

    I preach to myself here as I’ve been meaning to write to my local shops for ages now but just not got around to it…!

19. Offset your Airmiles - 01 Oct 2005

    ... or just holiday in Cornwall… it’s really nice and you don’t have to fly there…!

20. Send a Child a Christmas Box - 01 Oct 2005

    if you do this one, make sure that what you put IN the shoebox is an ethical gift… locally bought, fairly-traded, eco-friendly, organic (not necessarily all 4!).

    no point making some people in the world suffer (now, or in the future) because you aim to make another (child) happy!

    i suggest local craft fairs, traidcraft, and the like.

    Or get those knitting needles out…!

21. Have A Fairly Traded, Ethically Sourced, Especially Tasty Dinner - 01 Oct 2005

    perhaps it would help if we don’t place too much value on ‘tradition’ at xmas. I know it’s quaint and all that, but I’d rather not ‘do damage’ to people and planet due to what I buy this xmas, than be intent on sticking to ‘what we’ve always done’, etc.

    so, if you’ve always bought your boss a xmas tie with flashing lights on it (for example!)... break free and buy him something more ethical this year… what about a goat or a pig (from one of the alternative gift catalogues!)

    or if you’ve always bought a xmas cake, but can’t find an organic/fair trade one to buy and don’t have time to make one yourself… buy 2 choc fair trade cakes from co-op, put them side by side, melt FT choc and pour it over the top (and let it set)... yum yum! I bet the family/guests won’t complain… stick some holly on it or something, to make it look festive!

22. Become a Fair Trader - in your community or workplace - 19 Feb 2006

    I have just signed up (with a friend at church) to be a Traidcraft fair trader, and we are awaiting our 1st order with much anticipation! We hope to do stalls ‘out there’ in our local community, and not just at church, but we’ll see. It’s handy that we’ve got Fair Trade fortnight coming up – we are already booked to do a stall in our church coffee shop, which is in the town centre!

23. Use your LOAF at the shops (Local, Organic, Animal-Friendly and Fair Trade) - 23 May 2006

    I have several friends who use Riverford, and seem to get on with them OK. They are always a bit jealous of the one i use tho (somerset Local Food Direct) as with this you can order exactly what you want, rather than just get a box of random veg! They also do meat and dairy too, and more! I order from them once a wk, and visit local farm shop once a wk (aswell as also buying from Traidcraft and Goodness Direct)... and therefore haven’t been to Tescos in over a year! i do pop to Co-op on odd occasion, but not much.

24. Shop Small (Buy local, Switch from the Supermarket) - 23 May 2006

    If you live in Somerset, try: Somerset Local Food Direct (see their website). You can choose what you want (meat, diary, fruit, veg, etc) and have it delivered… rather than be stuck with a box of random veg, some of which you don’t really want! I’ve been using them for a good year or more now, and they are cool!

25. Become a Fair Trader - in your community or workplace - 23 May 2006

    Just an update (continuing from my comment above)... my friend and I have now held several Traidcraft stalls in our town hall, and are booked to be there on the 1st Sat of every month! We have just signed up as Tearcraft fairtraders also, so that will add to our stock. We are in the process of doing up ‘packages’ for our 7 local churches, to encourage them to buy from us stuff for their church kitchen, for their youth group tuck shop, etc (inc samples!). We’re really enjoying ourselves, and being generous at the same time… we are a bit out of pocket so far, but that will change in time, hopefully!

26. Love books? Join the library - 05 Jul 2006

    Thanks for that info Karin… I’d meant to check my facts with you before submitting this action to the site, but forgot! At least I got the gist of things right – phew! The info is correct for Somerset libraries, who are clearly a bit more generous than elsewhere!

    I am a big fan of my library. I like it that if I get to go to Taunton (nearest big town) I can get books out there from their big library, and then return them to my local (small) library, rather than having to take a long trip back to Taunton. I’m not sure people realise this sort of thing!

    Our local library also sells old books off really cheaply, and I buy some now and then… thus my bookshelves still fill up, despite rarely buying new books (and don’t ask me how many books i buy from charity shops coz i won’t tell you…!)

27. Love books? Join the library - 05 Jul 2006

    Thanks for that info Karin… I’d meant to check my facts with you before submitting this action to the site, but forgot! At least I got the gist of things right – phew! The info is correct for Somerset libraries, who are clearly a bit more generous than elsewhere!

    I am a big fan of my library. I like it that if I get to go to Taunton (nearest big town) I can get books out there from their big library, and then return them to my local (small) library, rather than having to take a long trip back to Taunton. I’m not sure people realise this sort of thing!

    Our local library also sells old books off really cheaply, and I buy some now and then… thus my bookshelves still fill up, despite rarely buying new books (and don’t ask me how many books i buy from charity shops coz i won’t tell you…!)