Recent Comments

1. Use your LOAF at the shops (Local, Organic, Animal-Friendly and Fair Trade) - 08 May 2006

   I have been vegan for fourteen years, and my 9 year old son is a life-long vegan. Our nearest shop is a whopping Tesco, but we our household is currently trying to re-organise our shopping routine so we buy as much as we can from the farmshop a few miles away in the village where we go to church. It’s been quite hard to resist the temptation to nip into Tesco for a top-up and not to make unnecessary journeys just to shop, but we’re getting there. It’s well worth the extra effort.

2. Love books? Join the library - 01 Sep 2006

   Our family makes regular trips to the library as my son gets through an astonishing number of books each weeek. I am always grateful that the library is there, and the friendly staff have really encouraged his reading.

   Recently, however, the library came to my aid in my hour of need. Faced with the task of making my own vegan wedding cake (a story in itself…) I headed to my local library and came home with a stack of books containing all the information I needed to complete the task. Brilliant! The cake was good too…

3. Make Your Own Greetings Cards - 01 Sep 2006

   Ben and I made all our own wedding stationary – invitations, orders of service, place cards, and thankyou cards. It took hours and my hands were purple for some days – we hand pritned them using poster paint on sponges, before adding a stamped design. The results were very good though and worth all the effort. We really enjoyed making them and saved loads of money too.

4. Buy Presents That Make A Difference - 20 Oct 2006

   My son is nine and over the last few years has been to more birthday parties than I care to remember. Instead of adding to the pile of yukky plastic toys that most children in this country are taught to expect, I make a point of buying beautiful, inspiring books, recycled stationery, and fair trade goodies from our local Toy Box charity shop.

   To adult friends I have given vouchers for babysitting, singing lessons, & days out. All have been well received.

   For Christmas presents we have made our own bath fizzers (fragranced with essential oils, massage oil blends, God’s Eyes (from leftover wool scraps) and salt dough celtic crosses. This Christmas we are making sloe gin and rosehip cordial, using fairtrade organic sugar, of course!

5. Give Your Unwanted / Unworn Clothes To Charity - 20 Oct 2006

   I clear out my wardrobe at least twice a year and send whatever is wearable to the charity shop. Most of my son’s old clothes go directly to smaller children. Many of my clothes are pretty raggy by the time I’ve finished with them, and these we turn into rag rugged wall hangnings and cushion covers.

6. DIY vegetables! - 20 Oct 2006

   We have a small garden, but with very little effort (other than baling out the bath water with watering cans to water the garden all summer!) we have mangaged to grow tomatoes, rhubarb, strawberries, worcesterberries, cabbages, chives, rosemary and sage.

   My Dad took on an allotment in April 2006 and we ahve been amazed at what we have produced in one summer, especially as we’d never tried growing veg before. Now we are enjoying a variety of different squashes, courgettes, runner beans, sweetcorn, raspberries and potatoes, all organically grown. Every time we eat something home grown I am filled with such childlike excitement. Watering in the height of summer in th eface of a hose pipe ban was a pain (Dad made various rain-water collecting tanks), but it was well worth the effort. The whole family is hooked!

7. Give Something Away - and declutter your life - 15 Feb 2007

   Freecycle is so fab. Since we joined our local network my family has joyfully given away all manner of stuff that we no longer needed but couldn’t part with until we could find it a loving new home. It’s turning clutter into gifts this way – everyone wins.

8. Compost Your Leftovers - 15 Feb 2007

   This is a bit of a cheaty one for us – I’ve been composting for about ten years but I still get excited every time we dig out the new harvest of compost from the bottom. Composting (and recycling) keeps our trash output minimal. We are a vegan family of three, and are very chuffed that we never manage to fill a black sack for the fortnightly bin collection.

9. Don't just recycle, Freecycle - 14 Mar 2007

   Freecycle is just so fab. We’ve re-homed all sorts of stuff: ancient computers, an old record cabinet (even though we advertised as having resident woodworm!), and numerous items of babycare paraphenalia. We’ve been Freecylcing for about a year now, but I still get a little thrill when someone comes to collect something and goes away happy, leaving us with a little more space in the house!

10. Recycle Your Inkjet Cartridges - 14 Mar 2007

    Hi Nicki -

    Looks like Oxfam recycle toner cartridges – see the link at the top of this page.

11. Recycle Your Stuff - 15 May 2007

    For years we’ve recycled everything we can through the local authority recyling centres. We have recently started washing and saving our empty tetrapaks for recycling too. We bundle them up and post them off to the recycling depot (you have to pay the postage). I’ve since started lobbying our council to provide tetrapak recycling facilites alongside the glass, paper, can, plastic and textile recycling bins at our local recycling centres.

12. Switch it off at the Plug. (Don't Stand By.) - 15 May 2007

    I really hate scrabbling under my desk at the end of the day to unplug my computer (pathetic, isn’t it!) but I’m trying! My husband keeps reminding me whenever he sees that tell-tale little green light…

13. Switch to Green Household Cleaners - 15 May 2007

    We’ve been comitted to using eco/animal friendly cleaning products for well over ten years now. When I get round to cleaning, they work really well. We have magnetic balls in both the dishwasher and the washing machine to reduce limescale. They also mean you cna use less washing liquid. We’re never without a plentiful supply of bicarb and vinegar. Bicarb is great in the nappy bucket instead of Milton or other nasties.