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I'd like to add my own comments to this youtube.
We can all start by freeing ourselves - in many areas renewable energy options are available and have been for years.
While lobbying politicians is vital, many of us need to act ourselves, to prove that we are serious. And don't vote for idiots who don't take this issue seriously.
I went to an edible gardening/permaculture workshop yesterday.
It was excellent. The family whose property we visited had a set-up I could only drool over - 15 hectares, certified organic, totally off-grid (solar everything).
Yes - I'm drooling.
I learned a lot. More than anything, it was seeing what grows in this climate and soil type, as opposed to guessing, and learning why and how in the real world, as opposed to books.
You see, when you choose a property and work out what you can grow there, a lot of species will be classified as 'marginal'. What that means is usually relative to cash-crop farmers, on the industrial agricultural scale.
But for smallholders and suburban homes, the situation can be quite different.
Where we live, apples grow really well but it is a bit too cold for apricots and almonds. That doesn't mean you can't grow them, but you probably wouldn't want to invest millions in almond or apricot farming in this part of the world - you'd be better off further north, where it is warmer (of course, climate change may alter that!).
However, if you're a smallholder with a few acres - or you even just have a quarter acre block - it may be worthwhile to grow your own apricots and almonds, simply because they will grow, it doesn't cost you anything, and home-grown fruit and nuts are almost always far more delicious than anything you will find in the shops or at the market.
Also, with food prices skyrocketing, you can't really go wrong to stick in a few fruit trees of favourite varieties. The few dollars you'll spend will be repaid many, many times over in the luscious fruit you'll be munching year after year!
What I'm getting at here is that it probably makes a lot of sense to ignore the rules, and just give growing anything you like a bash, provided you have the space. Fill every corner of your garden with food plants. Some will do better than others, but that's life.
There's another plus to growing marginal, not-so-common foods. As I said, apples grow brilliantly in our area. But what that means is every bugger within three hundred kilometers has apple trees. Come apple season they're as cheap as dirt. Everyone has apples. They're left to rot on the ground (sad, but true).
I've no problem with that (I love apples!), but if you're the one person in the town with apricots and peaches, you're going to find yourself a whole lot more popular than the poor sod with apples :-) Better yet, if you can manage to grow something luxurious like avocadoes, you'll be Madame (or Mister) Popular at the local fair.
Want to make friends in a colder climate? Give away peach jam. Or home-cured olives. Or backyard organic avocadoes (they'll grow here too). Or quince paste. Or home-made honey mead (keep bees!).
Yum. I'm making myself hungry. There was this guy I used to know who was a chef and did his own olives... I digress. I'll move on, and wipe the drool from the keyboard. (Yummmmm. Oliiiiivesssss....)
I think, from learning what I did yeaterday, that we'll end up buying a largish section of land, and probably go at least semi-independent for fuel and energy. We certainly plan a composting loo (see my earlier post on toilets!).
Economically-speaking, the best investment you can make in sustainability to lower energy bills is compact fluoro lightglobes, followed by solar hot water heating. For water saving, a low-flow shower head and dual-flush toilet (or composting toilet) are two great options to get usage way down.
When replacing powered items, really consider the amount of energy each item consumes - unwary purchasers have been shocked by how much electricity large scale televisions can use, for example. Some can really send your power bills soaring.
The family whose property I visited are off-grid and fully solar, and have most of the 'mod cons', but they don't have a dishwasher or dryer, two of the biggest users of electricity in a typical family home (I'd noticed our dishwasher was a particularly large energy user back at our last home). And they do have compact lightglobes fitted through the home, double glazing, and a woodburner instead of elecrical heating, which is sourced from their property's woodlots.
Overall, if I were to come away with a few lessons from the workshop, it would be the following:
I'm off doing a workshop on edible gardening at a local community just north of the city on Sunday afternoon.
The community in question has been working to encourage residents to get their own edible gardens happening, and this is a workshop available to the public, aimed at providing knowhow and getting people up off their bums and active.
I'm looking forward to it. Already, in our gardenless apartment, we have over a dozen food plants growing, and growing well - I'm wondering what I'm going to do with the broad beans because they're starting to rememble Audrey II!
Seriously, though, we all need to get planting, and lack of money or space is no excuse. I've built my little indoor food garden with about $25 in spending and no space at all - in fact, most of my plants are squidged in the bathroom/laundry room, which is north-facing and sunny.
This workshop on Sunday will give me a better idea of where to go from here. I don't know how much land we will end up owning when we come to buy a property, but however big it is I intend to fill every last centimeter of it with food plants.
In the meanwhile, the best way to learn is by doing - mistakes and all! I've been busy taking cuttings, reading gardening books, growing foods from seed, and generally getting more and more acquainted with how to grow my own food. And it's fun!
My young son in particular loves to get his hands dirty. He really enjoys watering our little food garden, and is learning all about real food by watching our seedlings grow. These are lessons about life that you can't learn from a book. It is my bet that the food we harvest, when harvest time comes, will be far tastier to my kids than anything anyone ever bought at a shop or a market, because they grew it themselves.
My kids love mucking about in the garden, and they love to grow food. I love to grow food too, not least because I see it as gardening with a purpose. Sure, I love flowers. And some decorative bushes and trees can be lovely. But there's nothing quite so wonderful as practical food plants. They strengthen our relationship with the earth, and with nature, every time we pick an apple straight form the tree, or a tomato straight from the bush. There's something absolutely magical about the conversion of soil to food - its a wonder that never loses its thrill.
Nor should it. Life and earth and food and fruit are all bound together. We may claim to worship in Church, or Synagogue, or Temple. But out here, with the dirt, and the water, and the sun (or in pots and a sunny windowsill) - here's where the real magic of our world can be found.
So here's to a productive workshop this Sunday, and here's to a productive year of food growing - for everyone!
Share it, and enjoy.
(x-posted to Daharja)
I went shopping this morning, for the first time in, like, ever.
My wardrobe (or lack thereof) had reached the stage of lack of manageability. Lack of everything, actually.
I've been doing a personal Compact for about two years now, reducing my purchases to practically zilch. Primarily this has meant my wardrobe has reduced a great deal, and my bank balance has expanded. But you do get to the stage, when Compacting, where you realise that you actually do have to replace some items. So I have no guilt in doing so (okay, maybe a little guilt).
No, I don't feel guilty. I actually feel kind of happy, because everything I bought I really, truly needed.
First stop was the Bendon factory outlet, where I picked up replacement lingerie. In all my favourite colours of watermelon, lime and pale blue. Lots of cute little knickers and bras that would make any man fall over - hopefully the Male Of The Species will do so - and not just when he sees how much I spent!
Next stop was a department store, for a plain white shirt for choir, and a plain black belt, so I no longer have to borrow TMOTS's. Which is too big for me anyway, so I really needed my own. I also picked up some more hair clips for my daughter, who seems to lose them at a phenomenal rate.
Next I went shoe hunting. No luck there - I want some summer sandals that are sexy yet functional, and have a bit of a heel, but not too much. Maybe I'm too fussy, but everything I saw looked too...well, too granny for my liking. I want something that is cute as well. I have very long legs and my feet are nice - I want to look good in any shoes I buy for summer, darn it.
Finally, to Kathmandu, where there was a sale on. I got lucky, and bought a beautiful green hemp-blend shirt. So comfy, and fresh-looking. And no ironing! Hehe.
So it was a busy day. And expensive. Some of the shopping was enjoyable, some wasn't. I'd rather like to find some more light shirts, like the one I picked up in Kathmandu, but I am fussy.
Now all I need is summer to come calling!
It's time to return to bar soap, and say 'sayonara' to liquid soap.
Say goodbye to shower gels, handwashes, hand sanitizers (unless you work as a childcare worker or in the medical industry in direct contact with patients), refreshing shower washes, body scrubs, and other overpriced nonsense.
You don't need them.
There are some absolutely lovely bar soaps on the market. Almost all of them are much more economical than liquid soaps.
You can get everything from pure vegetable soaps to goat's and sheep's milk (baa soaps?), oatmeal and honey, and everything in-between.
Sunlight soap is a long-standing favourite, and excellent for just about everything. You can get sorbolene soaps for delicate skins, and hypo-allergenic soaps (whatever that means) if you want them.
Almost all bar soaps have less packaging than liquid soaps. Combined with a good face cloth, loofah or scubbing brush, they will do a great job of keeping you clean and smelling fresh.
Do your wallet - and the planet - a favour, and make a permanent switch to bar soap. You won't regret it.
My personal soapy choice is any budget-priced soap packaged without plastic!
We've been hacking into our budget, and reducing expenses lately.
On this blog, I don't tend to say a lot about my personal life, mainly because it's...well, personal. But with oil and food prices continuing to rise, we've been taking a good long look at what we spend and why.
We've been making some pretty drastic changes to tighten our budget. I thought I'd share some of them with you, and explain the reasoning behind them. Maybe they'll be useful to you, maybe not. If you have any useful and positive tips of your own, please share.
Food
We buy bulk for staples (rice, flour, dry goods), and buy tinned goods in bulk when on special. We keep a large food store which is regularly checked and rotated, and that also enables up to avoid buying when costs are high, and take advantage of discounts.
For fresh food, we eat locally and shop at the Farmer's Market for as much as possible of our weekly produce (eggs, tofu, cheese). We don't buy meat (our home is vegetarian), and that saves us huge amounts from a weekly shopping bill. At the supermarket, we buy what is in season, and avoid packaged and junk foods as much as possible - although a bit of ice-cream is always yummy!
Overall, we try to eat a fairly simple diet, and keep treats to being occasional rather than regular. I make cakes and biscuits, rather than buying them, and that saves money too. We also limit meals eaten out to once per week. Any more must come from personal spending money. Or from guests staying with us who treat us to takeaway curry!
Growing food
I have started my own potted garden. I am growing over a dozen types of food plants, and will be growing many more as the weather warms up and growing season begins. To set up the potted garden cost me less than $25 in total (including seeds, potting mix and cheap plant pots), and we expect to return $25 many times over in fresh produce from the garden.
The pots all fit into our bathroom/laundry, and on our fire escape and windowsill outside our main bedroom. We live in an apartment, but are just thinking as big as we can in our current space. We will also be growing some food trees from seed, figuring that by the time they are ready to transfer from pots we may have bought a home. If not, they have not cost us anything and we will sell them on Ebay for a tidy profit :-)
I think having a potted garden is also a cheap way to feel happy, and to entertain the kids. My son loves watering the beans. I just hope he doesn't kill them with love.
Personal spending money
We allocate a set cash allowance to my husband, to me, and to the kids (jointly) per week. This is dealt in cash, and covers: extra treats (e.g. if hubby wants to buy lunch or a coffee), all clothing except shoes, entertainment, cosmetics, luxury items, rentals (DVD hire, library fines etc.), and all non-essential purchases.
We found that this made a huge difference to our budget. Prior to the personal spending money cash allowance, we were spending huge amounts on the credit cards (just $20 here, $10 there), and although the cards were paid off every month, we weren't making any real progress with savings. The cash allowance scheme changed everything. Over the years we have significantly reduced the allowance per person. Nowadays I am allocated less per week than I received as pocket money from my parents as a teenager, but I seem to manage fine. I'm getting to love Op Shops.
Bills: Electricity, gas, water, rent
We do what we can to reduce our bills by standard fuel conservation methods, and we are also doing the Riot For Austerity, which has been fantastic for our budget.
However, being in a short-term rental has made reducing as much as we'd like difficult, as we have no control over such things as insulation, double-glazing etc. We didn't have much choice in fully furnished rentals (it was a choice of two suitable places), and the place we're in is huge and beautiful and impressive, but a bugger to heat. We hope to reduce our bills further once we move to our own home.
Bills: Phone, Mobile phones
Our home phone has a set-up where we have capped international calls. As most of our home phone calls are overseas (all our family are overseas) or local (local calls are free), this has saved us hundreds of dollars.
We moved to pre-paid phones, and slashed our mobile phone bills by more than 50%. By having a 'buddy' system, where calls to each other are free, we saw a huge difference in costs compared with a mobile plan. My mobile now costs me less than $10 per month.
Petrol
Petrol is becoming an increasingly large part of most people's budgets. Ugh. We're dealing with this in a few ways.
Hubby catches the bus to and from work when the weather is not foul - it takes him to the door. He's looking into, and will be testing, electric scooters, as a possibility for getting to and from work.
We also re-set the trip meter, and only buy petrol once per week. We plan trips, and monitor usage. Our petrol usage is also smaller than average by the fact that we moved to a small city where we live within 2 kilometers of the centre of town (quite walkable), and distances are correspondingly smaller. In short, we're driving less.
Living locally
Where we live now, everything is within walking distance. My husband's work is about 4 kms away. The children's playcentre is 800 metres away, and the supermarket is closer, with the chemist and local shops next to it. The Farmer's Market is down the hill, about two kilometers away. The furthest distance we regularly go is the Botanic Gardens, about 5 kilometers away.
On the weekend we went out to an outlying village for a sustainability expo. It was a long way away - 17 kilometers!
By living locally, we're supporting our own budgets, as well as those around us. If we support the services we need in our local area, those services will be there when we need them.
Conclusion
We're looking okay, but there is still a lot of room for improvement. We're very aware that when we buy our next home, the decision we make will prove critical.
It has been a week now, and I'm still chocolate-free.
It feels good. Spring is the time of year to clean out not just our homes, but our bodies as well. And mine is overdue for a clean out.
I'm surprised that I'm not missing it more. I thought I would be sneaking chockie into bed with me by now. But I'm not.
I'll see how I am faring by the end of the month (August) and if all is well, I will consider my next move. Probably an elimination of all junk food for a year.
Eep!
It is Spring, although you wouldn't know it from the hail outside.
I thought it was high time for an overhaul of "Cluttercut", including a new banner. So we now have a new template and banner. I hope you like the way it all looks.
The banner is based on a snippet from a photo I took this year on Easter morning while at the beach. I was up close and personal with some driftwood, then noticed that the beach looked even more beautiful and clean and bright in contrast with the wood.
Which is what life is all about, really - looking beyond the immediate to grasp at the bigger picture.
Easter (and all religious holidays) are times to spend with family, and to reconnect with nature. I like to spend my holy days outside, in the fresh air, in contact with the elements. Outside, away from the crowds, is where I truly feel at home and happy.
For your interest, I'm posting the whole photograph as it was taken. I think it is lovely, but it doesn't do justice to the beach itself, which is one of the most beautiful places I know.
I'm going chocolate-free for a year. I started on August 1st, and so far, so good.
It's a year-long resolution.
WHY ON EARTH WOULD I WANT TO DO A HALF-CRAZED THING LIKE THAT? I hear you ask. Or not.
Mainly because of the food miles involved. And a few other nasties, like child slavery.
You see, even though we have a whopping big chocolate factory right on our doorstep (actually, it's two kilometers away, but you get the picture), the chockie isn't local.
In case you hadn't noticed, I'm on Twitter.
You can find me here.
Drop by and say hello. Follow me if you're friendly.
Or if you haven't joined, why not?
Spring is here, and the first of the daffodils are up in the Botanic Gardens.
The weather has changed, almost as if on cue.
Now, after almost a week of solid rain and fog, the sun is shining, the birds are out, and there is a touch of warmth in the air.
It's enough to make me feel almost happy. And industrious. So...time for a spring clean!
Do you do a spring clean? Every year, it is something I chalk in. Not officially, maybe, but the warmer weather makes me want to open up windows. Which makes me look at the windows. Which makes me realise how overly grubby they are, and how in need of a wash.
So it starts with the windows. And I can't clean the windows without cleaning the windowsills. And the light switches. And washing the curtains, and cleaning the skirting boards...thoroughly. And emptying out the pantry and giving it a good going-over. Which reminds me that the fridge really needs cleaning, and the freezer needs de-frosting and sorting.
And on it goes. Maybe I shouldn't look out the windows!
But how can I not look! When the sunshine streams in, warming me in the morning and making m actually want to get up and greet the sun?
How can I not look, and want to muddy my hands in the earth, and plant seeds that clasp the spark of life within them?
How can I not want to get up, and run like the wind down the steep hills that are all around where I now live, and force myself up those hills again, panting for breath and watching the moisture frost against my face?
This time of the year is so blessed, so special. Every year, I do meditation on how wonderful spring can be, and every year it fills my soul to bursting with the joy of it.
So I will scrub my windows, and I will sing out loud as I do so, and the neighbours will laugh at me, or cringe. But I won't care. I'll know why the birds are singing, and why they feather their nests, and why the song is in their hearts in spring.
Because the song is in my heart too.
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