Week -5 Update

So I've got this mad ambition to do a brief weekly update on challenges/successes/thoughts on each week, to track my day-to-day a bit more, rather than simply the main things I'm thinking on.  We'll see how many gaps appear in this!

(As it's not 2012 yet, you'll notice some minus figures in my countdown.)

Southsea Greenhouse on the Seafront

Food - I've just received my first organic veg box from the 'Southsea Greenhouse' which is a local co-operative that has started up this year.  It was a really impressive array of veg (although some bits were washed...a shame, as it lasts so much longer when it's still covered in soil), and has slightly soften my trepidation of not getting our normal Riverford box (which I highly recommend for those that don't live locally to Southsea).

Waste - no composting going on yet, so I weighed the black bag with trepidation this morning.  8.5kg of rubbish, of which 4kg was disposable nappies!!!  We only get through 2 a day as both kids sleep in them, rather than the terries...imagine what the weight would be if we just did disposable!  Mariella must have felt my pain, as tonight (bless her) she announced that she didn't want a night nappy any more...so fingers crossed I don't have lots of wash loads of bedding to do tomorrow!

Christmas Presents - with less than a month to go, I'm trying to be creative, although I've simply given up on the gifts that need to be sent further afield.  Note to self: start planning earlier for them next year!  However, I'm so happy with how simple and quick it was to make homemade Spiced Apple Chutney...will be doing that again, and am excited about a tiffin recipe I've found with popping candy inside (I'm hoping a great surprise for the kids that will receive it!).  I've also managed to pick up two unused baby clothing items at a local charity shop for a friend who's just given birth...it's amazing what people give away.

Inspiring Reading - I got the latest Conspire: magazine this week 'Food, Feast & Table'.  Another great read and challenge!  An inspiring article about a community that not only has a community garden (fruit, veg & livestock) but also composts all the local households food waste...has set my mind buzzing with questions about how we might add it into some local mutterings about a community allotment on our patch...just need to work out a bit of land!  (As ever there is so much in this, I might need to do a seperate post about it.)

What a week...and this was meant to be short!!!

No Roaring Fire This Christmas

We had our chimney swept this week and were given the sad news that it is breached with our neighbour's, so we won't be having a roaring fire this Christmas, and we won't be sending up messages to Father Christmas.

The options that we have are:

• don't use it
• line the chimney for around £1.5k (and have a fire that's about 20% efficient)
• put in a wood burning stove for around £2k (and have a fire that's nearer 70% efficient).

My immediate response was....how do we get it lined?  I love fires!  I want an open fire!  I need an open fire!

 

I then took a deep breath and realised that even if we had that kind of money, my priority is putting a bay window in our kitchen to make space for a table, which would impact every day of my life, rather than a fire which would be wonderful for a few evenings a year.

God then also reminded me that we have been richly blessed with:

• a roof over our heads
• central heating
• warm clothes
• rugs
• double glazing
• and friends that do have open fires;-)

So in the end, it was a no brainer, and once again I was reminded how useless I am at being thankful for all the amazing things with which we are blessed.  And with the howling, cold wind outside tonight, I am very thankful!   (And Father Christmas need never fear having a scorched behind when entering our property on Christmas Eve ;-)

My Reducing Waste Challenge

So as well as being more careful about what stuff comes into our house, I'm also eager to look at what goes out of our house, so as well as passing things on to others, I'm wanting us to reduce the waste that goes out in the black sack each week.

Lots of stuff goes in the green recycling bin, and we take glass to the glass banks or use and pass them on to bottle jams and chutneys (am currently making apple chutney from our orchard picking harvest).  But we still seem to have a pretty heavy black sack each week.

Previously when we had a garden we used to compost, but with our small back yard we haven't done it since moving to our new house.  A while ago I read 'Confessions of an Eco-Shopper' by Kate Lock and learnt about bokashi's for the first time.  I've been meaning to look into them for ages now, and when I logged onto StreetBank the other week and discovered locally that someone had one that I could borrow, I jumped at the chance. So I've collected it this evening, and now have to work out where to get the bran from, and need to get hold of a small compost bin as well.

So whilst I do that, I thought for the next 2 weeks I would weigh our black sack before putting it out, and have something to compare when I start composting again.  I'll probably end up having to give away the compost that we generate as I can't see us needing much in our back yard, but that just adds to the beauty of this new part of my experiment.  I'll keep you updated on progress!

Update on Weighing
23rd Nov = 10kg (before the bokashi enters our life)

Visit My New Highstreet

I'm discovering several different ways of getting hold of things for free or buying pre-loved items, and I thought I'd share some of them here so that others can check them out too. 

I'm also getting ideas from people that are reading this blog, and I thought I'd get a bit of a useful list of links going that you'll be able to view on a tab at the top of this blog shortly.  Feel free to contact me with any other useful suggestions.  I'm particularly interested in ones that link with the local community, but not exclusively.

Free Items

• My main way to give things away, outside of my immediate friends and family is Freegle
• And I've recently discovered StreetBank which is a similar concept (nicer interface, ability to lend, not just get, but not a great number of people on it yet...please join)

Pre-Loved Items to Buy

• The good old classic eBay (I particularly like using the 'Collect Only' pre-loved items, especially for larger items)
• NCT Sales are pretty good for children's clothes (although frustrating that you can't negotiate with anyone on the day)

Click here to get free Images

A happy 3 year old

So the birthday mission and fun is complete.

We had a very chilled out birthday lunch with 5 little friends, who, after lunch, played happily for about 45 mins whilst the parents sat and ate their lunch.  The only organised game required was Pass the Parcel, which was apparently the highlight. 

The hot air balloons had dried in time...and I even managed to make paper bags to carry the cake, origami animals, notes and bulbs.

And friends have even been creative and given recycled gifts...one favourite being an easel, which the kids who gave it to Mariella, revamped by painting and decorating it...fun for them, and for her!

And in the end, the only extras that I bought from our normal food shop, was a bag of sweets and some party rings.  It felt really good, was great fun, but has taken a lot of time.  And this continues to be my biggest lesson to date...living with less is definitely richer, but money does equate to time saved.  I've felt the impact of that this week, as all the normal house jobs simply didn't get done, as I was using all my time on the extras, and mixed with a lack of sleep from still breastfeeding during the night, it has definitely incurred a 'cost', just not in a monetary way.  Having said all that, I wouldn't have traded all the time and fun, and simply gone shopping to get everything!