Zero Waste

Climate Impacts On Water Supplies

Water – essential to all life on Earth, yet a resource we take for granted everyday. We watch heart-wrenching footage on TV depicting young children walking for miles to collect a container full of muddy water but rarely stop to consider how lucky we are to have clean water at the turn of a tap. We drink it, wash in it, cook with it… we use it all day everyday and can’t imagine living without…

It’s fast becoming something of a cliche these days but the Covid-19 lockdown is already feeling normal for a lot of people and, dare I say it, I’m actually starting to enjoy it! I miss our families but I love not spending 90 minutes driving to go and see them. I know it is a truly awful time for a lot of people too – some are in mourning for a loved one they can’t say a proper “goodbye” to; some…

I recently attended a conference on the environmental impact of microplastics. The event was organised by the NFWI and came a day after they published their report, In A Spin: how our laundry is contributing to plastic pollution. The report was presented at a roundtable but I’ll get to that later on.

So, microplastics… a microplastic is any piece of plastic that is 5mm or smaller. We’re all…

Woo Christmas will soon be here, along with all the traditions that come with it. For us the festive season begins on 1st December with the first opening of the advent calendar. We watch all our favourite Christmas movies while snuggled under a blanket and drinking hot chocolate. We alternate seeing our families on Christmas Day or Boxing Day – this year we’re with Paul’s family on Christmas Day…

I love Autumn! I love the colours. I love feeling the last breath of summer’s warmth being gently ushered along by gusts of wind hinting at winter’s icy chill.

I also love celebrating the harvest. Don’t get me wrong here, I am not one for pottering in the garden and I struggle to keep plants alive for a full year, but I do enjoy celebrating at harvest time.

As a child we would be asked to take a…

Recently I’ve seen a lot of people (friends/family & random strangers on the internet) become more environmentally conscious and wanting to at the very least reduce their plastic use, which is fantastic, the more the better. It would appear a lot of people are starting to become more aware of their dependence on single-use plastic now that bars and restaurants are moving away from plastic straws…

So last time I promised I’d do a tutorial on how to make cloth sanitary pads but I figured I should at least also be able to report on how they perform, which meant waiting for little one’s arrival.

For the last 2 weeks of my pregnancy I had been getting little hints that labour was close so I was more than ready to meet our little guy by the time he arrived.

Before I go on I should point out…

Yep, this month we’re talking nappies! Well you couldn’t expect me to let Real Nappy Week go by without comment now could you?! Obviously I’m all for real nappies, also known as cloth nappies, but I’ve found that a lot of people are very critical of my decision, telling me I should just stick with disposables – no, those people have never read this blog. What I’ve noticed is that people under the…

This month I was going to give you a nice and easy homemade soap recipe but then I came across a couple of things that made me really want to get on my soap box and scream – so I decided to do both! Let’s start with the rant: I have just seen a post by a woman on Facebook proudly stating that she has just got back from Tesco and left all the packaging from her fruit and veg at the checkout and…

Plastic (not so) Fantastic

Okay the time has finally come for me to explain my position on plastic. A lot of people I talk to tend to fall into one of two categories: they either think I am totally anti-plastic or they think I’m over-reacting because plastic can be recycled… the truth actually lies somewhere in between these two extremes. I’ll err towards other materials over plastic, but sometimes it is unavoidable, and…

New Year Resolutions – still going strong?

As January draws to a close I can’t help but reflect on the previous year, and of course now is around the time of year that a lot of resolutions start to go out of the window. In general I don’t make resolutions besides just trying to live a more zero waste lifestyle… and that’s where I need to make a confession: I intentionally purchased some single-use plastic. Let me back up to the start here…

With Christmas just around the corner, there are so many wonderful gifts on the shelves of every shop you walk into. Unfortunately you can pretty much guarantee that those gifts will come in far too much packaging! Sadly, I don’t have the answers on this one – I’ve been at this a year now and I am still struggling with finding zero waste gift options. Ideally, we would spend all year lovingly…

Oh I do so love the festive season, it really is the most wonderful time of the year! From opening my advent calendar each day to hanging up my stocking for Santa (well, Paul) to fill with goodies… but, how do you maintain your favourite Christmas traditions when you’re zero waste? Lets start with advent calendars. There are the traditional picture ones that every kid hates to get – you know the…