Easter - why must it be so hard?

I ask the same question every year, and every year my family vetoes it - "can we not exchange presents/Easter eggs?" ... "No". I don't mind buying presents or eggs for everyone else, I just don't want to receive them!

This year, I aimed to buy everyone fair trade, organic chocolate eggs without plastic packaging, but apparently that was too much to ask for. I couldn't find any eggs that ticked all three boxes - fair trade in plastic, yes. Organic in plastic, yes. But hardly any eggs with plastic-free packaging.

I ended up settling for Lindt bunnies for everybody - they came without plastic packaging, and my trusty little Ethical Shopper iPhone app told me I can trust Lindt. Next year I aim to buy organic chockie eggs online - have people in the States found green Easter eggs easier to source than I have?

(image from ask.com)

Practically Green, week 3

Ahh, I am behind thanks to being sick Monday and Tuesday this week. So here is a quick catch-up. Last week's challenges were:

♥ Switch to organic chocolate
♥ Install one low-flow faucet
♥ Clean/mitigate any household mold
♥ Track your trash for one week

I did quite poorly this week - I only achieved 2 out of my 4 goals. I switched to organic chocolate (and boy, was that a tasty challenge!), and I tracked my trash for the week. I didn't get around to cleaning my mold or installing a low-flow faucet, so they're rolling over onto this week. I'll also tackle this week:

♥ Get an energy audit
♥ Avoid food packaging and cling wrap containing PVC

My energy provider doesn't offer energy audits, but they have a DIY one on their website, so I will do that myself. And I've already been minimizing our reliance on food with plastic packaging, but I could further.

My carbon footprint

I calculated my carbon footprint over a year ago, but damned if I can remember what I scored. All I remember is that it was much higher than I anticipated - I think I was actually a little offended, to tell you the truth - I thought I wasn't impacting the Earth that much.

So it's time for a new calculation. To tell you the truth, I'm slightly overwhelmed by the number of carbon footprint calculators out there, and how their results all differ! If you think there is a better one out there than the site I've used, please let me know.

I choose the One Degree of Change calculator (it's an Aussie one) and that calculated my carbon footprint to be 21.93 tonnes of CO₂!

Well, it was. I say "was" because just last week I signed up to a green power plan with my energy provider, so now 50% of our energy comes from accredited green power sources. We're planning on getting solar panels installed later this year (thanks to a Green loan from our local bank - they offer lower interest rates to help greenify your home.)


So, taking into account my 50% green energy, my footprint is now 12.61 tonnes. Is that a lot? Obviously it's a whole lot better than my earlier footprint, but I need some

Apparently if I make the following small changes, my footprint will drop to 11.09 tonnes.
- install low flow restrictors on taps
- drive 20% less each week by walking, cycling or car pooling.

In an effort to drive less, I have started parking my car a good distance away from work so I can walk in the rest of the way. Last week I walked 15km instead of driving. That's probably about my limit at the moment though, as I have a knee injury.

As for the low flow tap valves - I'm working on it!

Practically Green, week 2

So, I think a catch-up is in order to see what I accomplished in week 1, and to set my new goals for week 2.

Last week I set myself the following challenges:

♥ Sign up for green power from your utility
♥ Watch Annie Leonard's online video, "The Story of Stuff"
♥ Install shower timer or water-monitoring device
♥ Switch to recycled paper tissues
♥ Switch to a recycled plastic toothbrush (I'm actually switching to compostable toothbrushes)

I can safely say I accomplished 4 out of the 5. I watched "The Story of Stuff", and also "The Story of Cosmetics", I signed up for 50% green power from my utility, I bought a shower timer (actually, I swiped it from my parents' place, as they never use theirs), and I switched to compostable toothbrushes.

The only thing I failed on was switching to recycled paper tissues, because I can't find them! I'm beginning to wonder if they even exist in Australia. I will keep hunting though.

So, this week's goals are as follows:

♥ Switch to organic chocolate
♥ Install one low-flow faucet
♥ Clean/mitigate any household mold
♥ Track your trash for one week

Tune in next Monday for my results, and for next week's goals!

Vic Market

Yesterday I did my grocery shopping at the Vic Market - a little naughty of me, I know, because the Vic Market is just over an hour away from where I live. I was already in Melbourne for some serious op-shopping, and to pick up an eBay purchase, so I stopped by.

I simply love it there - so many stalls and so much fresh produce. I brought my own vegetable bags, and bought up big. All up I only spent around $15, but that included enough fruit and veggies for nearly two weeks.

Of course, not all fresh produce will last two weeks in the fridge - that's why I came home and made up a few meals to freeze until next week - like a spinach and mushroom lasagne, and some herbed chicken drumsticks. 

In the next few weeks, my spring onion and cos lettuce will be ready to harvest from my veggie patch, so that will help extend the food budget. I also planted some more seedlings - lettuce, snow peas, spring onion and beetroot.

I'll have to do a post soon about my veggie garden - it's a work in progress, but it's my pride and joy.

Practically Green

I love the Practically Green website, I think because I am a ferocious organiser and as such, a checklist really appeals to me. I am yet to go through the entire list, but I am slowly getting there. Right now my score is 4061, and I'll really need to make some changes to get much higher at the moment.

 

(image taken from practicallygreen.com)

You can see my profile here, if you'd like. I have a fair few actions I need to work on, and some are much more achievable than others. I figure I'll just work my way through the list bit by bit, until the BIG things are left (like replacing appliances with energy efficient ones).

This week I am singling out the following things to achieve:

♥ Sign up for green power from your utility
♥ Watch Annie Leonard's online video, "The Story of Stuff"
♥ Install shower timer or water-monitoring device
♥ Switch to recycled paper tissues
♥ Switch to a recycled plastic toothbrush (I'm actually switching to compostable toothbrushes)

I think that's enough for this week! I will let you know next Monday what I accomplished.

Yoink!

I just came across the Yoink! website while searching for green apps for my iPhone. I love Freecycle (I currently am a moderator for my local Freecycle group), but I find that sometimes people don’t want my freebies! So another website I can give stuff away on is OK in my book. I think it is still gaining momentum – at the moment around 3050 items have been given away worldwide – so if it’s not being utilised in your area yet, I’d suggest waiting for it to become more popular. Australia is roaring though, as I believe it was created by some chaps in Perth.

So hop to it, and get giving!

(image from I Can Has Cheezburger)

Produce and purchases

I love my veggie garden. My most recent harvest - lots and lots of bok choi. I am still only a newbie when it comes to veggie gardening, so it's a bit of hit and miss at the moment. But I'll get there!

On the weekend, I rode my new bicycle to the local farmers market to grab some fresh produce. I am really beginning to love bike riding (after a 15 year hiatus following one particularly nasty bike crash on gravel).

Dad's workmate gifted us a plethora of tomatoes, so I made some chutney. I also made stewed tomatoes to use in other recipes. I heard that the tomato crops in Victoria this year weren't that great thanks to the less-than-sunny summer we had, so I'm very glad to be on the receiving end of some delicious, organic tomatoes. Next year I will try growing my own.

And finally, I almost spent $200 on a brand new coat from a store in Melbourne. Thankfully I couldn't bring myself to spend that much money on one garment of clothing, so I went op-shopping and found this vintage coat for $65 - and strangely enough it is uncannily similar to the $200 coat! Now my winter wardrobe is complete - here beginneth a clothing spending ban.

Why bother?

That's the question my boyfriend posed to me last night when we arrived at the local bush to go for a ride on our bicycles. There was rubbish dumped everywhere. Fridges, eskies, burnt out cars, bags of household rubbish, and oh, the beer cans.

So J posed the question 'why bother?' Bogans are always going to dump rubbish in the bush. There will always be people who don't give a damn about the environment. And the majority of people won't think twice about the amount of plastic they're throwing away into landfill. So why bother?

Really, I don't give a damn about what other people do. (Well, I do, but I really don't have much faith in humanity left these days, and I realise there is nothing I can do to change their ways). But I can sure change MY ways. I feel guilty when I buy takeaway in plastic containers, or forget my green shopping bags and need a plastic one instead. I love my little piece of green Australia, and I want to keep it that way.

Tonight the local council is holding a town meeting on the state of the local bushland, and we're going. I've never been to a town meeting before, but this issue is close to my heart.

(image from Echo News)

I also plan on spending some time on the weekend picking up some of the rubbish and recyclables - they can go in our near-empty collection bins. Keep you updated!