Wood for the Trees

This last week we have been on a family holiday to Wales. We have had a good time bearing in mind that often when holidaying with young children is just dealing with them having a breakdown in a more picturesque location. But one thing I noticed was the huge increase in plastic waste we got through. When you're at home it's a lot easier to reduce plastic, you can gather, money permitting, your plastic free alternatives, local knowledge of the best places to shop, networks etc. It is a lot easier to prepare. When you're in a different country and you don't know the facilities, you're running on survivalist mode a lot more. Take this scenario. You are at a soft play. Child 1 is having a nice time. Child 2 is having a meltdown yelling that's she's scared and not letting you put her down but does want to go in to the soft play but not down. So you have to make your way out through the softplay whilst holding a screaming 2 year old. Kettlebell workouts h...

On twitter for #plasticfreejuly I have been sharing daily companies or ideas that have helped me reduce plastic. And follow me on  @jojolw Here is my weekly round up. Day 1 Enjoying a #plasticfree #decaf #brew with @brewteaco Loose leaf and no plastic packaging Day 2  Funky Soap Shop for my face soap and shampoo bar (mum #hack - nits don't like tea tree so this one is my shampoo bar of choice for all the family 😁) Day 3 kids bamboo toothbrushes sold by @EKOearth_ Good size of brush for little mouths #parenting Day 4 @WonkyVegBoxes for (mostly) #plasticfree fruit and veggies delivered to my door. Also 👍 for reducing #foodwaste and donating to food banks Day 5 Remembering to take a reusable bag to the shops. Keep a small fold-up one in your handbag/car/hung up by your keys. Day 6 Remembering to take your own cup or mug to places that only give you disposables. Added benefit is knowing which your cup is at toddler groups! Day 7 @Earthwi...

A few years ago I watched a programme called Hugh's War on Waste. It highlighted the crazy amount of food that gets wasted each year and has really made me think. The stats day that; UK households threw away 7.3 million tonnes of wasted food in 2015.  And before it even gets to our houses farmers are wasting enough fruit and veg to feed 2-4 million people , that's enough to feed  6 UK cities their 5 a day for a year. If you look at those stats alongside the Trussel Trust's mid-year report on foodbank use that " 586,907 three day emergency food supplies [were] given to people in crisis in first half of this year, a 13% increase on the same period last year – 208,956 to children" We are wasting a staggering amount of food, yet we have the situation that lots of people cannot afford to feed themselves or their families. It really is quite sickening. My children are quite fussy eaters (well mainly the older one, the younger one just copies her). People used to as...

I have been on my journey into a more ethical and minimalist style of living for a little over 8 months now. Something I have been wondering is whether I'm making any difference at all. With the amount of plastic in the oceans set to triple over the next 10 years, with scientists warning that the planet's sixth mass extinction crisis is under way, is there any hope? And how can buying some soap instead of shampoo or a bamboo toothbrush possibly be enough to avert this crisis? Well it's not. Not on it's own. But individuals have power, businesses want us to think that they are in charge of telling us what we should buy and how we should live, but quite the reverse is true. We decide on how businesses operate by putting our money into them when we purchase things. 15 years ago I was involved in the Fair Trade movement. As a student group we read a policy that the restaurants on campus were supposed to offer fair trade options. So off we went, and asked for a fair tra...

I've been vegetarian for more than 20 years now but quite recently I've been trying to eat more of a plant based diet. When I became vegetarian it was because I didn't really like meat anyway and I had reached the age where I discovered I was allowed to make choices about my own lifestyle. Then as I got older and more aware of what meat was, I found it even more yucky. Of course, I inevitably got the 'dont you miss bacon?' questions (no as bacon basically tastes of salt and I still eat salt) and the 'do you eat fish? My friend is a vegetarian and they eat fish' (well they're not vegetarian then are they? 🙄) But generally people accepted my choices. As the years went by eating out became easier as restaurants accepted vegetarianism as mainstream and I no longer had to construct a meal from the side dishes. I bumbled along quite happily with my cheese dishes and egg dishes. Then I discovered I was an idiot. The problem with culturally accepted norms...

1) Buy secondhand Second hand will save you money, many people sell or give to charity shops things that are almost like new. Clothes, toys, books etc. Of course there are also items which  aren't recommended that you buy new. (Article by The Balance website) 2) Wash clothes at 30 Most everyday clothes that are not heavily soiled can be washed at 30. Washing clothes too much can also damage the fibres, jeans and jumpers especially may not need to be washed if you've only worn them once. 3) Dry clothes outside if you can If it is damp outside, raining or there's frost on the ground then it is unlikely that your clothes will get any drier. However any other day then stick them outside if you have an outside space. Even if they don't get fully dry then this will lessen the amount of time they need to dry inside or in the tumble drier. Drying your clothes inside will also save you money over a tumble drier but ensure good ventilation to your home. Ideally if you...

The three ethical deodorants I've tried so far haven't ended up well. Firstly I used salt rock for a while but noticed minimal improvement and it didn't prevent me being smelly. Infact the salt rock itself ended up smelly! Given that the smell is caused by bacteria and the salt is supposed to stop bacteria growth this means that bacteria was growing and thriving on the salt which was supposed to stop it. This was problematic. Maybe I just have super strength bacteria? The next ones I tried were T'eo and The Greeench from Lush. I tried T'eo first, this was a solid bar and had no plastic packaging, it worked really well in terms of stopping me smelling but after a few weeks of use I got a bad reaction to it. I went back to Lush and talked to the staff who recommended The Greeench as this was more gentle. However this came in a plastic bottle and I still got a reaction from it. Next I tried Earth Conscious. This came in a nice tin and I was able to apply it us...