Plastic Bags – A Curse

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Posted on March 22, 2014

A couple of days ago I read this post from Joanna over at Every Week is Green where she discussed being ‘forced’ to accept a plastic carry bag from a retailer. I have had a similar experience, albeit, close to 20 years ago. Refusing plastic bags at the time was far less prevalent than it is today so I regularly was confronted by some very odd responses.
On the particular occasion in question, I was in a department store in Adelaide where I intended to buy a pair of socks for The Duke. I approached the counter and as I handed over the socks, I advised the assistant that I did not wish to have a bag. Then ensued one of the most bizarre ‘arguments’ I have ever had the misfortune to be involved in. She was adamant that I had to take a bag and I was equally determined that I would not accept one. Her reasons were quite ridiculous but she finally became exasperated and asked, “Well, how will people know that you bought the item at *******?” Seriously, I had to accept a bag so that the store could advertise that I shopped there? I was not about to back down and advised that I would not accept a bag or I would not buy the socks. I finally paid for the socks and left with them and the docket in my hand.

It was then and there that I realised just what hard work it was to stick to my principles. I have continued to do so and it has become easier, however,you need to be constantly on your guard to avoid plastic bags sneaking into your life.

Don’t give up, Joanna.

Finally, here is my hessian bag that I finished relining.

You can read about the beginning of the project here. It is towards the bottom of the post. I did try handsewing the lining in but it was too difficult so this morning I used some heavy linen thread and sewed it on the machine using the heaviest needle I had. The stitching is clearly visible but I am not concerned as I now have a functional bag again. Thanks, Carol for the lining fabric. 🙂

Convenience – Is It Worth It?

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Posted on March 19, 2014

It is the middle of the working week and I have been busy at work. I manage to prepare and eat meals but nothing much else is happening.

I thought I would share this little gem that I stumbled upon yesterday. The first sentence says it all.

Convenience is my drug. It is addictive, drains the life out of me and costs a Sultan-sized fortune.

Take a read and let me know what you think. This is a fairly extreme example in my opinion but we all fall for some level of convenience at times. I am doing my best to move away from convenience and outsourcing my life to others. My goal is to live a simple life and take responsibility for myself and my needs.

Obsolete? No Way!

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Posted on March 16, 2014

We were working on building the fence for the vegetable gardens yesterday when The Duke needed some more of the long screws that he was using. This necessitated a trip to Bunnings which is about a 50km round trip. It is not a trip we make every week so we try to combine more than one reason to make it worthwhile. As well as buying the screws, we needed fuel for the ute, bought more salmon at the fish shop and took the 2 empty CO2 canisters from the Soda Stream to be replaced.

We do not use the Soda Stream every week so the canisters last quite a while. I took them to KMart and the attendant at the service desk stated that my canisters were 40 litre ones (enough to carbonate 40 litres of drink) but that they were no longer available and they had 60 litre replacements. She also assured me that they fitted all models except the first one. I accepted this and handed over my $38 in exchange for 2 new 60 litre canisters of CO2.

I arrived home and checked them, and of course, I discovered that they did not fit. I rang KMart and said I would be returning them since the 40 litre ones were not available. I then rang Coles and Harvey Norman to check the validity of the the story and it seemed that I was definitely out of luck. The girl at Harvey Norman flippantly said, “Well its obviously over 10 years old, you’ll just have to buy a new one”. I did not want to buy a new Soda Stream as the one I have is in perfect condition and works well.

So, I was up for the challenge to modify the device to accept the larger canister. The connections are identical as the staff in KMart had advised that the 2 sizes were interchangeable. The problem was the size of the opening that the base of the canister fits through. The Duke and I decided that we had nothing to lose by attempting the modification as we could no longer use our Soda Stream as it was.

The equipment: A jigsaw, wire cutters, Stanley knife and sandpaper.

The jigsaw was perfect to enlarge the opening, however, on one side there was not enough room to manouvre the saw. We use the wire cutters to cut small notches to weaken the edge of the plastic then expanded the diameter of the opening using the Stanley knife and finally smoothed the rough edges with the sandpaper.

We were too busy being creative to take any photos of the actual process but here is the end result with the canister in place.

It is impossible to see our handiwork with the back cover replaced. I even made a bottle of soda water to test it out and celebrate our success.

What have you refashioned or modified lately? Does the expectation that you will buy a new item irritate you?

Foodie Friday – Keeping it Local

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Posted on March 15, 2014

I am sure it is still Friday somewhere – my apologies for the lateness of this post – it is Saturday morning here.

How do we feed ourselves? Food prices keep increasing, labelling laws are ambiguous, processed foods contain unfamiliar additives and food allergies appear to be on the rise. Add to this, a desire to eat organically-grown food which I believe is better for my health and the health of the planet and it starts to feel a bit overwhelming. While we are at it, the wasteful packaging needs to be minimised as well as transport costs, both monetary and environmental. Don’t forget ‘food security’ – the latest catch-cry. This is the ability for us, as a nation, to feed ourselves in the event of natural disasters or major changes to the world order.

Have you thrown up your hands in despair? Fear not. You can begin to solve all of these issues with a single action – grow some of your own food.

The Duke and I have a somewhat neglected but productive garden which sometimes surprises us with its bounty. We both work full-time and have minimal time to spend on tending a garden. We try to grow some annual vegetables but the real secret is in growing trees and perennials. We have an avocado, peach, fig and several citrus trees. There are blueberry bushes as well as self sown cherry tomatoes and pumpkins. The clump of parsley has been in one spot for so long that it has a stalk that looks like the trunk of a tree.

It may seem obvious but it is also important to eat (or preserve) what you grow. Do not let the harvest go to waste.

Keep your eyes open for food producing plants in your neighbourhood that are not being harvested. Don’t be afraid to ask if you may have some. There are many reasons that people do not harvest – lack of time, knowledge or health are but a few.

The last few weeks we have had access to the following (either fresh or frozen) from our own property or nearby – corn, blueberries, avocadoes, mangoes, figs, lemons, beans, pumpkins, and pineapples. At times I have felt overwhelmed by the excess on the kitchen bench but I have endeavoured to make sure it was used or stored for later use.

Last weekend I kept track of what we ate.

SATURDAY

Breakfast – buckwheat blueberry pancakes

Lunch – platter of cheese, cherry tomatoes, avocado, dried figs and mango chutney

Dinner – Salmon with mango salsa and vegetables – everything came from the garden except the salmon and onion which I used in the salsa.

SUNDAY

Breakfast – mango and pineapple smoothie

Lunch – Pumpkin soup

Dinner – grilled chicken with cherry tomatoes and mango/avocado salad

We certainly will never be completely self-sufficient but being able to produce at least some of the food that we eat goes a long way to addressing the myriad of issues that I identified in the first paragraph. Eating local food also gives you an appreciation for what is in season in your area. I really look forward to the new crop of things such as figs which have a short season. We eat them constantly while in season then it is but a distant memory until next year.

You do not need a huge amount of space and even though you could not grow some of the thing that we do in your climate, the reverse is also true. What do you grow?

Foodie Friday – A Shopping List

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Posted on March 7, 2014

Shopping lists are an essential ingredient if you are to have an organised approach to planning and preparing nutritious meals for your family. They were around long before the days of personal organisers, smartphones and endless ‘to do’ lists. My mother has always written her list on the back of a used envelope and I tend to use some sort of scrap or excess paper.

I imagine that the process of writing a list goes back to when shopping day was a major expedition, perhaps by horse and buggy, and it was vital to buy everything that was required for a month or longer. No popping into the supermarket after work to pick up something for dinner and ending up with $50 worth of impulse buys.

Each week I buy fresh fruit and vegetables for the week plus a few basic items that I need from the supermarket. Although I write a list every week, it really comes into its own when I shop for pantry staples at Simply Good. I try to do this about every 3 – 5 months as it is a 90km round trip. I am not using a horse and buggy but I do have a regard for both the environmental impact of driving that distance as well as my time and energy.

Last Saturday was a big shopping day so we set out early. Our first stop was Simply Good, followed by Aldi, fruit and vegetable stall, the local butcher and finally the Co-op. I checked the pantry and refrigerator before writing a comprehensive list to ensure that nothing was forgotten. The list does vary from time to time but this will give you a broad idea of the sorts of ingredients I buy.

As you can see, most of what we eat is whole foods cooked from scratch so I am buying ingredients – not meals. We eat a gluten-free diet and some of the items reflect this choice.

Next week I will show you my pantry and discuss the storage and organisation which works for me.

Must Watch

Foodie Friday – An Introduction

Bare Necessities

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Posted on February 19, 2014

I am constantly astounded by the size of the handbags which many women carry. On one hand, I read about travelling overseas with only carry-on luggage, yet in real life I see handbags that look as though they could be used to travel – at least for a weekend.

I often ponder about what they carry in those huge bags. Have we been conned by yet another bizarre fashion trend which dictates that we carry these bags? What is so important that it has to go everywhere with us?

My bag bucks the general trend entirely. I bought it recently in an attempt to consciously downsize what I carry. I even went so far as to buy a smaller purse/wallet that would take up less space in the bag.

The bag has a single strap which I have at its longest length so that I can wear it across my body. Everything that is in the bag has a purpose and is used regularly and mostly every day.

Contents:

Main compartment – wallet, eco shopping bag, sunglasses in case, pen, handkerchief

Secondary compartment – small notebook, extra loyalty cards

Inside pocket 1 – car keys
Inside pocket 2 – mobile phone, railpass and access pass (work)
Inside compartment (zippered) – internet stick, USB drive, other essential keys, lipstick, migraine medication

Outside compartment (zippered) – iPod and USB charger, USB phone charger

That is it. I have made a conscious decision to only carry exactly what I need. Each item has a specific place so I easily know that I have everything that I need.

This is the bag I use every day. The only exception is a small evening bag which I use a couple of times per year.

What is in your bag? Do you have a large bag?

The Rhythm of Life

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Posted on February 10, 2014

…….or just a Never-Ending Story?

The jobs that seem to fall together under that all-encompassing title of “Housework’. Do you embrace them as a steady part of your routine and rejoice in the satisfaction of a job well done? Or do you constantly rail against the monotony of having to do the same task over and over again?

During the past few weekends we have made substantial progress with what The Duke refers to as our bucket list. It is not a bucket list in the generally accepted sense but more like a ‘to do list’. We have bought and planted the shrubs outside the boundary fence, prepared the fence posts (cut to length, cleaned and painted), created and planted the rockery and started on building more raised garden beds.

However, the last couple of days have been a bit different. The combination of a very busy week at work and drizzling rain yesterday meant that I did very little outdoor work. In fact, I could say I did nothing much until I actually list what I did do.

Washing
Ironing
Prepared meals
Menu planned
Shopping
Picked beans, tomatoes, corn and mangoes
Sorted contents of freezer
Prepared and stored mango (pureed, frozen, dehydrated)
Prepared and froze corn
Swept floors
Dusted sideboard and bookcase
Refilled pantry containers from storage buckets

There were probably a dozen other little tasks that have not even made it onto the list.

The Duke also washed several loads of dishes and emptied the compost numerous times while I was making a mess in the kitchen.

Most of these tasks will need to be repeated the next day, week or month but that does not bother me particularly. I am constantly looking at ways to simplify my life and one of the reasons to reduce the amount of time and effort that is expended on routine tasks such as many of those that I have listed. A good example is shopping. This my shopping consisted of buying cheese and vinegar at Aldi (the vinegar was for the chutney), a small quantity of fruit and vegetables at the local fruit stall and The Duke bought some bacon at the butcher when he went in to town on another errand. The flow on effect was that putting everything away took about 2 minutes so that is a huge saving as well.

So, what do you think of repetitive homemaking tasks?

Simple Food

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Posted on January 22, 2014

Simple really does come in all sorts of guises and one of them is food. Here is what we had for dinner on Friday night. It was the end of the working week, we were both exhausted and not keen on creating a huge meal so I pulled this together with what was in the refrigerator and pantry. It took about 5 minutes, presented well and was nutritious and filling.

The tomatoes, figs and pumpkin were from the garden. The pumpkin had been roasted to use on pizza and I had some left over. Cheese, capsicum and cucumber from the refrigerator and finished off with walnuts and dried apricots.

Do you make any truly simple meals?

This is just a quick post as I have been away for a couple of days with my job so no time for blogging. I am working on a new post about my wardrobe. It may be ready tomorrow night so look out for it coming soon.