Autumnal April - Bliss.....!!!

There comes a time when you have to take a serious look at how much you are actually spending in the supermarkets and shops on food...  we have been spending an inordinate amount of money recently without any idea of how much is too much.....So we are trying to track our food money spending... I thought I would start with one weeks groceries and see if I could avoid return trips over the next seven days....I took a picture to remind myself what I had bought and was shocked to see (for someone who thinks she is conscious about not using plastics !!) the huge amount of plastic contained in one supermarket visit.  While I never use plastic bags to put fruit and veg in (usually not purchased from the supermarket but this was a test) the plastic wrapped meats ( I usually buy at the butcher), cheeses, pasta and roast chicken etc...... WOW all that plastic !!! While the menu planning did work and I didn't return to the supermarket for 7 days, the truth is I want to avoid the supermarkets all together...easier said than done but my meat and vegies will continue to be sourced from the butcher and organic store, need to find unwrapped cheeses etc..  Food for thought.

Supermarket shopping for one week.....SO MUCH PLASTIC.

The unseasonal autumn heat has thankfully settled down and beautiful mild days have been the norm....I love autumn..long shadows and falling leaves......planting out the vegie beds and growing our own seedlings and getting into the garden...I didn't like the shrub that sits alongside the deck and contemplated pulling it out, but decided to trim it into a love- heart.....'corny' right but I really like how it looks now and happy to not have to remove it.

Practicing topiary in my yard 

 It was a glorious day on Sunday so we took a drive to Noojee.....it was a beautiful trip...we had a picnic on the lawns behind the Noojee hotel....live music was playing as we sat by the river, we then took the dogs for a stroll on the Loch Valley tramway walk...followed up with afternoon tea (thermos and home made fruit cake..very 'old school') and enjoyed it alongside the old trestle bridge.

Trestle bridge in Noojee... amazing.

I posted recently about my wonderful Auntie who passed away from an unexpected stroke .... my cousin was very chuffed to see that they have made a memorial gate in her honour at the football club....so nice that the community remembered her in this way, for all her help and support of the sporting groups over many years....RIP darling Joyce  xx

The sign on the memorial gate in honour of my Auntie.

I've recently joined a fabulous yoga and mediation studio in Warragul....finally found the right teacher who resonates with me and what I hope to achieve through Yoga and daily practice..... so far it's been a really great experience and I think I've learnt quite a lot about myself....I love it....Namaste !

What To Do About Must Haves .....!!

The no plastic July challenge is coming up....I am going to get involved this year and give it all I've got...some great information shared by Tammy from Gippsland Unwrapped is terracycle ... it's a great website to join to help with recycling the things that seem impossible to give up...like toothpaste !! I have very sensitive teeth and no amount of home made paste is going to help with that.  I find there are some things that are unavoidable and the angst associated with "what to do with the packaging" has been a genuine concern.....at terracycle  you can drop off or send your items to them (for free) to be recycled...I love this.

Empty toothpaste tubes, toothbrushes, dental floss cases can all be recycled

I run a small business from home and receive quite a few express post bags and mail satchels (completely out of my control as people send water testing kits and samples)... this plastic can also be dropped off / sent to terracycle for recycling....there are several other product groups that can be recycled including plastic cleaning product spray packs and pump packs.... well worth joining their project and making sure that the things you find difficult to replace without the use of plastic can still be recycled and not sent to landfill...

Plastic satchels, post packs can be sent to terracyle where they are recycled.

  

Something that I always find poses difficulties for eco solutions is parties....I threw a surprise 60th birthday party for my lovely brother on Sunday....catering for 35 poses lots of decisions regarding plates, cutlery, cups, decorations etc....I decorated with paper lanterns I had saved from my gboy's baby shower over 5 years ago!!.... re-purposed decorations from his birthday party in March and my daughters party last month...she also had left over paper plates (pink with white polka dots no less) , napkins and plastic forks....they were all going to be binned so I had to weigh up the choice of them going into the bin or being used for my brother's 60th...it made sense to use them and I added some bamboo paper plates which are sold as eco but I still think china plates, cutlery and cloth napkins would have been better.....but it seemed so much worse to throw unused items away rather than use them....the rubbish that went into our bin at the end of the day was upsetting though!

Speeches .....I think Rob has forgiven me for surprising him with a 60th Party.

I'm sure difficulties will arise in July but I hope that I can find solutions to drastically reduce (if not completely eliminate) the amount of plastic that enters and leaves our home.