Sunday, 27 December 2015

Our garden today

It is a gorgeous day in Melbourne, today. A perfect day for pottering in the garden. I've been watching the bees collecting pollen and picking herbs/rocket/tomatoes for lunch. 

Below is a photo of our dragonfly amongst the rosemary and lemon thyme. 


Above is our self seeded cherry tomato plant. It's been very tasty and very prolific! 
Above - our passionfruit grows skyward. I'm hoping the possums wil keep away and this can cover our pergola to shade the Western aspect of our house. 

What have you been up to in your garden today?

30 Tips for Reducing your Footprint

There are many more ways to reduce your footprint and be more sustainable, but here's a few starters...

  1. Reduce your waste - save leftover food scraps like carrot tops, onion ends, potato skins - to make a more flavourful stock or broth. If you're not making one straight away or you don't have enough for a broth, store in the freezer until you have enough.
  2. Compost scraps - get or make a worm farm, compost heap or worm tubes in the garden or bokashi bin in the house. 
  3. Support Local Business.  We love to shop at our fabulous local grocer Green Onions 
  4. Minimise packaging - select 'loose' fruit and vegetables. Avoid those single use polystyrene trays and plastic wrap. Do those 2 apples you're buying really need a plastic bag? 
  5. Take your own grocery bags to the shops
  6. Make and take your own vegetable/fruit bags out of scrap materials - I've used leftover mesh curtains and tutu material before, sewn up with some light ribbon to make a simple draw string bag. Much better than those single use plastic bags!
  7. Consider your purchases - do you really 'need' that new item? Can you repurpose an old item or make do without? 
  8. Visit second hand/op-shops for gadgets/kitchen items/books/toys/clothes/furniture etc etc etc
  9. Plant a vegie garden. Buy some seeds to plant, share a seed packet or seedling punnet with a friend. Growing your own food reduces your weekly bill as well as 
  10. Plant a tree and increase greenery around your house. Ask a neighbour for some cuttings from their established plants. More greenery will help to cool your immediate environment and help keep moisture and life in the soil and wildlife in your area.
  11. Turn the lights off if not in the room! 
  12. When you're in the room - do you really need the light on or is it just habit? Consider whether or not opening your curtains will provide adequate lighting for the task.
  13. Get the kids outside in the fresh air and using their imaginations! TV and electronics use electricity and may limit their imaginations 
  14. Buy in bulk to reduce trips to the shops.
  15. Make your own preserves and condiments from scratch - from bulk food such as tomatos (sugo/tomato passata), mayonnaise, chutneys, jams and fermented vegies.  
  16. Use of fans in Summer. Try a simple fan in the room instead of having the A/C on in the whole house 
  17. Use of external blinds/awnings, internal curtains/blinds to keep out the Summer heat or keep in the Winter warmth
  18. Consider use of window films or window coverings such as Renshade to reduce radiant heat in Summer
  19. Plant some deciduous shade trees or climbers to shade out North/West facing windows in Summer to keep your house cooler
  20. Buy some cutlery from a second hand shop to keep in the car or in your handbag/backpack to use when out and about instead of using plastic cutlery/containers.
  21. Take a metal water bottle with you on the go instead of purchasing a bottle out and about
  22. Keep a coffee 'keep cup' in the car or in your handbag/backpack in the case you'd like to purchase or make your own coffee/tea at work or out and about. Saves a takeaway container each time.
  23. Reuse envelopes as scrap paper.
  24. Install a water tank to capture rain water off your roof.  If you're building a new house, you can plumb these into your toilets and washing machine. 
  25. Use your greywater from your washing machine to water plants. 
  26. Keep a bucket in the shower or bath as the water is heating up - this can be used to flush the toilets or water your newly planted vegie garden! 
  27. Take a look at the chemicals in your shampoo/conditioner/washing detergent - consider switching to something a little kinder on your skin and environment. You may even consider making your own. (Recipes to follow!)
  28. Reconsider using conditioner in your clothes washer. This is full of VOC's - consider replacing with a few drops of essential oils for scent and some vinegar for softness in the final rinse instead. 
  29. Toilet rolls have many uses (your imagination is the limit!) including making your own Christmas bon bons, making cars or telescopes or binoculars for the kids, folding over one end and fill with soil to make a little planter for seeds which can be planted directly and compost into the soil. 
  30. Replace that single use plastic food wrap! Purchase or make your own beeswax cotton covers which are reusable and cover food just as well. 

What other methods do you use to reduce your footprint?

Saturday, 26 December 2015

Home-made skin care with essential oils

DIY Skin Care with Essential Oils


I have two lovely home-made skin care recipes that I use.  Easy and quick to make, and last a long time . They make my skin feel lovely, cost a lot less than what I see in the shops and contain ingredients that are readable, edible and I'm happy to put on my skin.

The essential oils I use are doTERRA oils which are certified pure therapeutic grade oils - I am confident in their purity and amazing properties and contain no fillers or pesticides.  Click here to shop for doTERRA oils. This link will also take you to joining as a wholesale member and purchase oils at 25% off with great deals and the ability to receive free oils!

Dual Tasking Skin Care: Facial Scrub and Moisturiser 

Ingredients

  • Raw honey 1/2 cup
  • Coconut Oil 1/2 cup
  • Exfoliant - coconut sugar (fine) or sea salt (fine)  1/4 cup
  • Essential oils of choice - 3-4 drops (2 drops each of lavender and 2 drops of Frankincense oil)

Method

  1. Melt the coconut oil by placing in a glass jar/cup and place this cup into warm (not hot) water
  2. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk together until combined. This may be easier as the coconut oil cools (solidifies) slightly
  3. Put into a container. 
I use this in the shower on a damp face and leave on for at least 30 seconds while circling on face gently. Wash off with warm water and pat face dry with towel. Some coconut oil on the face is moisturising.

General Purpose Moisturiser 

Ingredients*

  • Shea butter 1/8 cup
  • Beeswax 1/8 cup
  • Coconut Oil 1/8 cup
  • Olive Oil 1/4 cup
  • Essential oils of choice - 3-4 drops (I use 2 drops each of lavender and 2 drops of tea tree oil)
*You may need to play around with proportions to end up with a consistency that you like. Increasing the olive oil will make it more runny, increasing the shea butter and beeswax will make it harder/thicker.

Method

  1. Melt the top 4 ingredients in a double boiler - a glass or metal bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. 
  2. Once cooled (but not yet solidified), whisk in the essential oils.
  3. Pour into sterilised glass jars.
I love using this one on my arms and legs. Great for Summer!


Do you make your own skin care? What recipes and ingredients do you use?

Would you like to purchase some amazing oils at wholesale prices while reducing the toxic load on your family?  Click here to find out more!

Essential Oils

Health: Another Option....Essential Oils

Along the road with my son's health, I have stumbled across essential oils. I hadn't heard of them before other than the occasional use of eucalyptus oil for getting stickers off the fridge and lavender oil in the washing machine rinse cycle instead of toxic-chemical-laden conditioners.

My favourite essential oils:

On Guard

Contains: Wild Orange, Clove, Cinnamon, Eucalyptus and Rosemary offers a fragrant, natural and warm scent safe to use on counter tops, or to diffuse in your home. We use as an immunity blend in the house during Winter and when there are colds hovering at work or kinder. I also use a couple of drops in a glass roller with fractionated coconut oil and put on the kids at night and before kinder/work. 

Balance

A grounding blend, containing Spruce, Ho Wood, Frankincense, Blue Tansy and Blue Chamomile with fractionated coconut oil. A lovely fragrance.

Lavender Peace

Contains: Lavender, Sweet Marjoram, Roman Chamomile, Ylang Ylang, Sandalwood and vanilla bean. Our family uses to diffuse at bedtime. Can be added to epsom salts prior to adding to a warm bath to create the perfect escape with its peaceful, renewing fragrance.

Tea Tree

Known for its cleansing properties - has many uses. We use for disinfecting and on woulds to cleanse. 


Lavender

Also has many uses. We use as an antibacterial and a few drops in my beeswax/shea butter/coconut oil/olive oil moisturiser that I make at home. 

Frankincense

I had heard of frankincence but until recently, I never knew this was an essential oil. I put a couple of drops of this in with On Guard in the diffuser / roller bottle, as well as a few drops in the facial scrub/moisturiser that I make (coconut oil/raw honey/coconut sugar). 

Diffusers 

Cold diffusers are another method to use oils around work or at home. I have one downstairs and one in each bedroom for the kids. These are fantastic to diffuse the oils in the air. I have one on going nearly 12 hours a day when we are home. I use during Winter and when illnesses are in our local community, when studying, when cleaning, and during the evening prior to bedtime.

Please click here if you're interested in trying essential oils or even purchasing them at wholesale price. Contact me if you have any further questions!


Do you use essential oils? How do you use them?



Click here for a few home made recipes for skin care....

Friday, 25 December 2015

What can I compost?

What can I compost?

Depending on the type of composting system you use - practically anything and everything!  Check out this page here for some different types of composting systems

Imagine if every single person composted all of these things! How much waste could we save from landfill?!! And how much happier would our gardens be - and our wallets too (from saving us from buying compost!)! The Compost Revolution estimates that they have saved over 2,500,000 kg of waste going to landfill by providing compost bins and worm farms for residents of Australia. Join the revolution!!




We have a little food scraps bowl by the kitchen sink and chopping board - all food scraps go in here! This includes avocado pips, mango pips, cherry and stonefruit pips.



Worm farms, compost bins, direct digging:

  • Food scraps
  • Grass clippings
  • Tree prunings - the smaller the better
  • Eggshells - crush before you add
  • Human urine
  • Leaves
  • Cardboard
  • Paper and newspaper (Avoid glossy or colourful)
  • Coffee grounds
  • Vacuum bag contents
  • Dryer machine fluff (we use only very occasionally)
  • Tea Bags
  • Saw dust
  • Seaweed
  • Weeds ** I will stew these in a bucket of water with a lid for about a month - to ensure all is dead - and use the water for a fertiliser and the slimy muck for the compost bin
  • Hay
  • Manure - animal
  • Dirt from your garden  -adding microbes from the garden may also help speed up the process. You can do this with your worm farm, too!

What to avoid:

  • Small amounts or avoiding garlic, onions, citrus. 
  • Meat - attract vermin
  • Dairy - attract vermin
  • Large bones - will take a long time to break down - unless you don't mind!
  • Diseased plants or plant clippings
  • Inorganic material
  • Human and dog/cat manure
With the Bokashi bin you can compost dairy, meat scraps, onions, garlic and citrus. 

How to:

The idea is to have a balance between nitrogen and carbon so that the organic contents breaks down well and quickly. High nitrogen materials are generally your 'wet/green' things -like food scraps, green grass and clippings. Carbon items are newspaper/cardboard or dry clippings.

Make sure you have layers of items - e.g. everytime I add food scraps I'll put a few handfuls of damp shredded newspaper or clippings. I don't have half a bin full of food scraps with half a bin full of newspaper on top. 

Increasing the speed of composting:


Moisture
Moisture is important! Make sure you have a moist compost pile. This may mean you need to water it as you add each layer, particularly if you have a lot of materials to add at once. It should not be sopping wet, but a dry pile will compost very slowly. 

Turning 
Turn your compost pile - this will help speed up the process. The pile should heat up if the moisture, mix and size is right, however may cool down after a few days - therefore turn every few days as the pile starts to cool down. 

Location
Have your compost bin in the sun - heat will help to break down the pile.

Wee wee wee!
Instead of needing to flush the toilet and wasting water every time you wee - why not wee on your compost pile? Ladies may choose to use a jar and the gentlemen of the household can go direct! It is a great source of nitrogen and a great water saver.  I've definitely noticed speedier composting since encouraging this method....

Size
Having a larger pile with larger mass will also help to break down the pile quicker as it can heat up quicker. Don't forget to turn every few days to keep the temperature up. 

Is there anything else that you add to your pile? What types of composting system(s) do you use?