greenliving

There are so  many ways to stay warm this winter and spring, and finally, I’ve given myself the green light to go ahead with a sewing machine (I’ve had one for a long time, but just never got the chance to use it these last couple of years).

Some great ideas that I’ve nicked from family and friends include:

The outdoor blanket: Buy a cheap plastic table-cover from your neighbourhood dollar store. Ensure it’s sturdy enough to weather some wear and tear. Next, invest in a few inexpensive fleece blankets. You can buy a single large one, or if you feel creative, invest in a few smaller sized ones to create a patchwork effect. Sew them ontop of the plastic cover and you have a great blanket for use outdoors. It works well on grass, sand and even damp ground.

Kids duvets: Kids bedding can be quite expensive and so when we moved my kids from a single to larger beds, I had no idea what to do with their single ‘themed’ bedding. My husband had a brilliant idea. We cut an adult queen size duvet in half. Next he sewed the bed-sheet and cover sheet (princess themed for my daughter and a train theme for my son) into duvet covers. The spare section was turned into an extra pillowcase.  So now, each kid has their own themed pillow and duvet cover and it’s in a size that’s perfect for them.

The scarf blanket: If you’ve ever received woolen scarves as gifts and don’t know what to do with them; here’s an idea. Lay out 3-4 scarves, depending on their size, side by side. Sew them together for an instant, colourful, warm blanket.

How do you keep warm this winter?

I’ve been recently trying to teach my 3 year old about saving water. Like any child his age, he loves to play with water and leaves the tap running for minutes on end while washing his hands. My 4.5 year old girl has already grasped the concept of saving water, so I figure it’s time my son learnt about it as well. The lessons are going well and with a little assistant to help, I’m sure he’ll get the idea fairly soon. But it’s got me thinking- what else can we do in the ‘water department’?

Some common water saving techniques such as shorter showers and low flow shower heads are pretty common knowledge. I’ve added some more to the mix:

-Wrap your water heater in an insulation blanket- it really helps to keep the heat in.

-Set your water heater to 49 degrees Celsius.

-Install a solar water heating system in your home if possible- an easy, efficient way to heat water.

-Wash dishes in cold water- It may not be the best for your hands (and I do rely on gloves and long handled sponges); but your dishes get sparkling clean with it.

-Wash your clothes in cold water- Not all clothes require your washer to be set on hot-water setting. Cold water washes clothes equally well and saves you a lot on your electricity bill as well.

-If you must use hot water, use a front- loading washing machine which saves water.

-Hang laundry to dry instead of using a dryer. Because we don’t have the outdoor space required for a long clothes line,  I do use a dryer for my bed linen. But for all else, I always use my trusty foldable drying line. And I’ve notice my children, who as infants both suffered from severe eczema, have benefited from it too. No more harsh chemicals in the wash and no more irritants from the drying /fabric softener. We have clean, chemical free clothes that allow the skin to breathe the way it should.

Let me know if you have any more ideas on how to save water and keep your bills to a minimum!

Well it’s that time of the year again to talk of (no points for guessing correctly!), New Year’s Resolutions!

We all make them, even if it’s for fun. But keeping them is a different matter. I just learnt that according to recent research done through various surveys and polls, only 45% of Americans make serious resolutions and only 15% end up keeping them! Shockingly small figures for such a large nation!

But end of the day, it’s all about quality, not quantity. And if you can add a few GREEN resolutions to your list, then what better way to start the New Year!

Some simple ones to toss into the mix (along with your more serious commitments) are the 3 R’s. We all know what they mean (or should), but how do we apply them with the least amount of difficulty?

REDUCE: Not such a hard concept really, but very difficult in a consumer based economy like ours! We’ve been taught to spend more and our entire lives are sometimes defined around not who we are, but what we buy! How then do we cut back on wastage and stick to the bare minimum? In our home, we ask ourselves- do we really really really need this? (thrice is our lucky number). If the answer is yes, yes and yes again (such as the kick-ass TV which my husband insisted we need, and now just sits there!),  then of course we buy it. But if the answer is no or a maybe, then defer the purchase till tomorrow. You’ll see that in most cases, ‘tomorrow’ doesn’t come!

Reduce also means cutting back on things you already have, but don’t need to use that often- the extra lamps in the living room which don’t need to be switched on each time you sit down or the extra heating for the guest room, which is hardly ever used. Cut back on all those excesses and you’ve already kept part of your resolution.

REUSE: This does not mean gather all the possible junk in your home and pile it in your garage. You do not need to save all those empty toilet paper rolls in the hope that one day you’ll find the perfect craft use for them! Nor do you need to keep all those bottle tops in a jar. This leads to clutter. And maybe the occasional bug or two! Reusing what you can ‘immediately’ is the key to being environmentally friendly and clutter free at the same time.

RECYCLE: This one is not hard folks! Recycle everything that can possibly be recycled! And what’s more, you’ve even been provided with the big blue tubs to do so. Nothing could be simpler than keep a few strategically placed baskets, bags or boxes in each room of the home, in which to chuck in your empty bottles, pens, shampoo containers or whatever else that needs to be recycled. End of the week, empty it into the big blue box and it’s that easy!

Doing all three, or even one of the above is a small, yet effective step in the right direction. So do add it on to your New Years resolution list, and do make it one (or three) of the resolutions you’ll keep!

Happy New Year!