Category Archives: Environment

Kitchen Upgrade

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Our home is only 4 years old and we have lived here for a little over 2 years. While it was in almost pristine condition when we bought it, there were a few things that we wanted to change.

One was to extend the pantry which we did and you can read about it here. The other change which we wanted to make to the kitchen was to replace the freestanding stove which included a gas cooktop with a built in oven and induction cooktop.

The original stove was 900mm wide which is really much too big for our needs and drew an enormous amount of power to heat it for GMan’s breadmaking adventures. Additionally, we were keen to eliminate the only gas appliance from the house for both environmental and health considerations. One of the complicating factors was the engineered stone benchtop which was going to need to be replaced and it is no longer in use in Australia. We chose to match the bench to the Laminex bench in the pantry and keep the engineered stone on the island bench.

This is what it looked like before.

Work in progress. The drawers were all removed and the kickboard made slightly narrower the compensate for the additional thickness of the benchtop or otherwise the splashback tiles would have been disrupted.

And in a matter of a week it was all done.

The cabinetmaker cleverly made 2 narrow cupboards on either side of the new oven which is 600mm wide. This means that the oven and cooktop remain centred under the exhaust fan. We are just awaiting the arrival and installation of the door handles but in the meantime you can see how useful they are going to be.

I no longer have to rifle through a jumble of baking trays in the bottom drawer.

The whole process went extremely smoothly in less than a week and I am very happy with the result. I am loving the instantaneous heat from the induction cooktop.

GMan’s Handiwork

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Tonight I want to show you a couple of recent projects that GMan has been working on.

First, a rack of hooks for our walk-in wardrobe. These were in the wardrobe when we moved in but we removed them before the recent remodelling of the pantry and wardrobe. I decided that I wanted to retain them but in a slightly different position. They are very handy for half-worn clothes as well as the occasional belt or scarf. GMan removed the hooks from the original backing board as it was damaged, bought a new piece of timber and did all of the necessary preparation and painting before reattaching the hooks. This was quite difficult by all accounts. Today it was replaced in its new position. The only thing left to do is filling the screw holes but that can wait for another day.

The other job was creating a permanent barrier between the shed and the back fence. It had previously been blocked up by a piece of metal which is needed for some other garden landscaping so it was time to attach an offcut of Colorbond sheeting which had been set aside for the purpose.

The photo does not do it justice but there were several steps, including attaching a timber support to the back fence as well as adding a timber baseboard to account for the slight slope. The sheeting was cut to size and screwed to the timber support and the corner of the shed.

The reason for needing this area blocked off is to prevent the dog gaining access to the driveway and front garden. Her domain is restricted to the backyard.

Speaking of animals, I will finish this post with a photo I took this evening as we were coming home for our walk. We live in the town but the local wildlife are frequently in evidence around the streets. This has been particularly so in recent times as it is very dry at the moment and the kangaroos are looking for reliable sources of water.

Upcycling Inspiration

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This is a follow-up from my last post about buying secondhand in preference to buying new wherever possible.

Of course there are items of our own and that are donated to thrift shops that are really not saleable for one reason or another so a lot of it does unfortunately end up in landfill.

However, when we were shopping for the champagne flutes, I noticed a large piece of patchwork displayed on a wall behind the counter.

This is the note that was pinned to it.

What a great reminder of the possibilities that upcycling affords. I love the design and will definitely consider trying it one day. It reminds me of stained glass.

Frighteningly Fruitful

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There are plenty of posts on this blog about bargains I have scored at op shops (thrift shops). However, sometimes I ponder how easy it is to not only find a surprise bargain but actually to go shopping with something specific in mind and find it secondhand. There is so much secondhand stuff yet so many people seem to still be consuming and buying new things at unprecedented levels.

A couple of days ago we were in a medium-sized town near where we live. There are at least 4 op shops and GMan decided to begin his hunt for some champagne flutes. These are not for us but for the local film society. He was hoping to source 12 glasses and was not particularly concerned if they were not absolutely identical.

Anyway, the first shop he tried yielded 7 suitable glasses and her found another 5 at the next shop he tried. They were all 50c each so for the princely sum of $6 we are able to give a dozen champane flutes to the film society to use.

Last week I picked up this cute tank top which will be perfect for hot days. A bargain at $2.50. I have white shorts but felt that it would look better with black shorts.

My last pair of black shorts were worn out and discarded last summer after about 12 years of wear. At the first shop I was idly glanced at the racks and spotted a pair of black shorts that turned out to be my size and look as though they have been barely worn. $5 and I now have exactly the addition to my wardrobe that I needed.

There is so much quality secondhand clothing and household goods available that I would encourage anyone to consider taking a look at secondhand goods through a variety of sources before rushing out to buy something new. You will be saving things potentially ending up in landfill, almost certainly be saving money and the planet.

Forest Bathing

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Welcome to 2025 and a gentle introduction to the new year.

We are currently on holidays in Queensland for a few weeks and spending time with family and friends.

Today we went for a drive to take in some sights and included a short walk at Mapleton Falls National Park. It was a delight to spend some time enveloped by nothing more than silence and the beautiful surroundings.

I hope you are having a pleasant start to 2025.

Saved and Salvaged

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Sometimes it is necessary to buy something new but there are plenty of instances where you can reuse or repurpose something you already own or purchase it secondhand from a variety of sources.

Here are a couple of examples.

Today GMan put up a hanging rail in the new pantry.

It was the one that had been on the end wall previously but it was removed during the renovations. While the rail was in prefect condition, one of the tiny locking screws had been misplaced during the renovations. It seemed a shame to buy a whole new rod so GMan found another screw in his collection that was suitable apart from being far too long. He managed to modify the screw and the rail is now up and functional. It is a small addition but I am so pleased to have it.

I decided a couple of weeks ago that I needed a hook on the back of the laundry door. So, the next time I was in Bendigo I popped into the salvage yard at Eaglehawk and found exactly what I wanted for $2. The cost is not really the issue but more a matter of not buying something new when there are plenty of perfectly good items that can be reused. GMan cleaned it up and attached it to the door.

Now there is somewhere for GMan to leave his clothes that he wears in the yard. They are generally too grubby to put in the clothes hamper with everything else and are often going to be reworn the next day so this is a perfect solution.

Food Waste

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Food waste comes in many guises. It may be less than perfect produce being refused by supermarkets and ultimately being dumped. Excess produce being grown and discarded rather than being shared with those in need. Food that is bought and not used for a variety of reasons. Home leftovers that end up being thrown out rather than being used creatively. Large serving portions in cafes and restaurants which result in food wastage.

Food waste going to landfill produces methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Additionally, it makes absolutely no sense to waste food at any time but especially at the moment, during a cost-of-living crisis when many people are struggling to provide enough food for their families.

Every little bit we do can make a difference and here are some examples.

When I was cooking over the past couple of days I made bulk quantities of chilli con carne, beef and onion casserole and leek and potato soup. It usually use a large soup ladle as a measuring guide when portioning these up but it is not effective at thoroughly scraping the pot. There can be as much as half a serve left in the pot.

That is where these silicon scrapers come in really handy. I bought them nearly 4 years ago and they are honestly worth their weight in gold.

Here are the results of using them to properly empty a large pot and the insert of the slow cooker.

Much better than washing food (and money) down the drain.

Gifts For the Garden

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Well, Christmas is over for another year and I do hope your day was pleasant, however you may have spent it.

We had a quiet but enjoyable Christmas. GMan received a gift voucher from our daughters which was for a garden nursery that he was planning to visit.

So, today we went to check out what was available that he might like. A specific focus was dwarf varieties of citrus trees and he was pleased to get a grapefruit and an orange tree. These will go in large pots on the front patio along with an existing citrus which he previously rescued from an unsuitable spot in the garden. We are not 100% sure but we think it may well be a lime tree which is very exciting. He also chose an olive tree which is a small variety which is supposed to grow to about 2m x 2m rather than 7m x 7m like many of the other varieties.

Finally, we added a selection of Australian native plants for the new area to be landscaped at the front of the house. There is a mix of different sized flowering shrubs and groundcovers which are bird-attracting. We will add more over time as it is quite a large area but we are starting with 2 banksias, 2 callistemons and a grevillea.

This is what it looks like at the moment. We recently repurposed and repositioned the rusted steel edging. There will be updated photos in due course, once we have added plants and mulch.

And yes, the sky today really is that blue. It is a welcome change after having received over 100mm of rain in 24 hours on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day. Thankfully, it was just rain and not the wild storms/tornado/cyclonic conditions which have hit other parts of the country.

Shopping For Summer (Mostly)

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We are currently on holidays so I have a whole new selection of op shops to browse in as well as plenty of free time.

Here are the results of some very successful forays.

On Thursday I picked up these three pieces in one shop which I popped into as I had 30 minutes to spare before meeting a friend for lunch. The trousers are cropped summer-weight ones in colours that will work with my existing tops. The pretty mint green top is linen and can be worn as is or I may alter it. I have yet to decide but anything that is 100% linen is perfect for summer.

Yesterday I checked out a few more shops in different areas when we were out and about. Some yielded nothing and that is OK. However, I did find two more pairs of trousers that both appear to be unworn. The dark green ones are David Lawrence jeans. I will need to take them up a bit and they are too heavy for summer but will be good when winter inevitably rolls around. The navy ones are Lyocell which is a lightweight, drapey fabric and will be perfect summer trousers.

Today I discovered four op shops in a cluster so I had a browse through them all. The $3 bargain rack outside one shop was where I picked up the white piece which is either a long top or short dress. It is 100% cotton and will be perfect for hot summer days. I think I will alter it to become a regular length top. Finally, the red top is definitely for next winter as it is a high quality 100% wool.

All in all, I am pretty pleased with this selection. I managed to add 7 items to my wardrobe for $60 but most importantly, they have been saved from landfill and I expect to get plenty of wear from them.

Deconstructed and Reconstructed

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I knew that the collar of my rugby top was wearing out but when I was folding the washing I noticed that it was really in need of some repairs. The top is 24 years old but still in surprisingly good condition apart from the collar. It has faded but is excellent quality so I decided to replace the collar.

Past generations would have simply unpicked the collar from the collar stand before turning and reapplying it. Because it was so worn I chose to make a new collar using some remnants of a hotel-quality bed sheet which is a super strong cotton fabric.

As I was unpicking the collar it became obvious that the collar stand was also worn-out as it began to disintegrate. The job became a little more extensive. I had the collar made and decided I could go no further until I had bought some heavy cotton tape to replace that which had been used for the collar stand. Then I realised that it was just two narrow strips of strong cotton fabric so I could make my own by using strips of the same fabric as I was using for the collar.

I carefully pinned the collar stand to the neckline of the top and then attached the collar. I ended up with a functional garment sporting a brand new collar and I expect that I will get plenty more wear from it yet.

Meanwhile, I have been doing some other deconstruction. Apart from my stash of new fabric pieces, I also have numerous garments, which I have acquired from various sources, that I am planning to reuse the fabric. Here are 3 that I have unpicked, washed and ironed in preparation for making into new garments.

The blue piece was a wrap skirt which I rescued from an op shop discard destined for landfill. It is 100% rayon and I hope to make a pair of loose, lightweight trousers. The green is quite a heavy cotton brocade which was a skirt that belonged to my mother. I plan to make a top with it. Finally, the black and white spotted fabric is also a 100% rayon op shop discard. It was a fairly short shift dress which I am going to refashion into a top.

There are many ways to step away from fast fashion. Invest in quality items where possible, buy secondhand items, take care of the clothes you have to make them last longer, mend/repair existing clothes to extend their life and repurpose existing fabric to create new items. Not all of of us can do all of these things but everyone can do at least some of them. Together we can honour the time and resources required to create fabric and garments by making a stand against fast fashion and the disastrous contribution it makes to landfill and pollution.