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Regular readers will know that I haven’t written regular posts for a little while now. To be honest the last six months have been very challenging with business changes, technology issues and personal health concerns.
Yes I have been feeling guilty about my absence. Taking advice from my own words written on this very blog I have decided not to allow my guilt to win. Today I read again my words from ‘Finding Balance on Ones Green Journey’ and ‘A Pig Feeling’ which both address the issue of guilt.
I must add however even though my posts are not regular my green journey is always on my mind. Here is what I have been up to these last couple of days/weeks:
1) In the office at work I have again had another very large clean up. I have been a photographer for 20 plus years, so you can imagine how much stuff I have accumulated in this time. Last year I had two such clean ups but I still felt there was stuff not being used and hence needed to go. If I am not using it then someone else shall have it. Hating Ebay, I again decided to give everything away through www.freecycle.org in my local Sydney area. Giving away items of value instead of selling is so much more enjoyable!
2) Joined the City of Sydney’s home energy consumption trial. This trial is limited to 100 households within the City of Sydney Local Government Area. The key objective of the trial is to educate household members about the operating costs of electrical appliances and to encourage energy efficiency with the home. I am looking forward to seeing the results and finding ways to lower our energy use even more.
3) City of Sydney had a toxic waste recycle day (batteries, paint tins etc). For 20 years I have not thrown away any of my old camera batteries (or any batteries) as I knew the damage they cause in landfill. Over the years I have placed my old batteries in a cardboard box with the hope one day recycling would be possible. Taking up City of Sydney’s offer, proudly I gave my 20 year old box of batteries to be recycled! If you would like to know more about these clean ups go to www.zerowaste.org.au
I have written many posts about our Bokashi bin and so I thought adding a video on how to use a Bokashi bin with EM Bokashi powder would help.
We use our Bokashi bin in conjunction with our worm farm. We were finding that we were creating too much household organic waste for our little wormy friends. Also a limitation to having a worm farm is that they can be a little fussy on what they will and will not eat.
However we put everything into the Bokashi bin (except for meat bones) even those items that worms won’t eat like citrus, dairy and protein. View the video below which will show you how to use a Bokashi bin.
When the Bokashi bin is full we then add the whole contents into our worm farm. As the waste inside the bin has already started to brake down due to the EM Bokashi powder, I have found that the worms are eating the contents (even though there is protein, citrus etc) and the EM powder will also continue to brake the waste down as well. The EM Bokashi powder doesn’t appear to bother the worms.
If you have a large garden you can burry the Bokashi bin waste into the ground but as we live in the inner city with limited garden space, we need our wormy friends to continue the brake down process.
As the waste has already started to brake down due to the EM Bokashi powder, I am finding the worms together with the EM powder are decomposing the waste a lot quicker than just the worms on their own. This has solved our problem of creating too much waste for our little worms to handle.
Also below I have added my original video about using a worm farm.
Also wanted to mention again that if you live in Sydney, the City Council have free composting & worm farm half day courses. You are even given a free compost bin or worm farm at the end of the course (about three hours).
How to use a Bokashi Bin
How to use a Worm Farm
Coming back from holidays, my husband and I were greeted with the headline “household mouthwash dangerous”.
I find it interesting that one of the last stories we heard before leaving on holidays, was that some sun blocks are toxic.
Awhile ago, I bought a book titled “The Chemical Maze” by Bill Statham. This book lists many chemicals and additives used not only in cosmetics and health products but also food and beverages. Not only lists them but lists their potential effects.
Then armed with this book, I checked out the ingredients of just about every skin care and health product we had in our bathroom. Out went the Listerine and many other products!
Again for 2009 I make a commitment to only buy products which are:
1) Not just non toxic but organic.
2) Not tested on little fluffy bunnies or any animals.
3) Don’t use animal products.
4) Packaging is recyclable.
5) Australian made and owned.
Our earth has been telling us a story for years about looking after her. Ironically looking after her we look after ourselves. You treat the earth like a toxic rubbish tip you do so at your own peril.
May I add a little note on a blogger who inspires me? Julie from Towards Sustainability makes her own hair and skin products from natural ingredients for her family. Check out Julie’s skin care products recipes.
Sorry for my little absence. We were having some internet and computer issues at work. Even though I have other forms of internet access like my black berry, the extra work curriculum; like writing blogs was difficult. For me it felt like I had fallen off the face of the internet world i.e. two weeks without checking facebook, blogs etc is a very long time!
Just because two weeks I wasn’t here in this space in person, I was here however in spirit (if you know what I mean).
Here is what I have been doing on my green journey these last two weeks.
1 Given away to ‘Free Cycle’ large display frames, a modern book shelf, photography books, computer stuff and heaps of bits and pieces. Just stuff we don’t need anymore and though we could have sold through Ebay we couldn’t be bothered. Giving away stuff is far more rewarding than selling through Ebay and far better than throwing to landfill!
2 Went to Reuse Garbage Centre in Marrickville Sydney and bought some 2nd hand bricks to put under our large outdoor garden pot plants. This way our dogs can’t eat the plants anymore. In browsing around I also bought some stuff for the office and home.
3 Dropped by an opt shop and bought a little bookshelf that fits perfectly in our bathroom area. I plan to sand the wood down then give it a fresh coat of paint. I have been looking for something that will fit this small space in the bathroom. The shelf cost me $15 2nd hand but a new one that I priced was around $187. Buy 2nd hand saves our money and the environment.
4 I have always wanted a slow cooker. Instead of buying a new one, I jumped onto Ebay and bought one that had only been used three times for only $20.50.
5 Completed my grocery shopping list of companies that are Australian owned and make products that are Australian made. Buy Australian owned and made helps Australia’s economy, our framers (who are doing it tough) and the environment (less shipping emissions).
6 Found out that KR Castlemaine produces a range of free range bacon. My husband and I have gone without for months since I wrote the post about Lucy. Now that I have found Australian free range bacon, we can enjoy our bacon again (every now and then).
7 Placing all kitchen household scraps now in our Bokashi bin. Soon will be adding this to our worm farm. I will let you know how this goes.
8 My birthday is in two weeks time. As my husband says I am now officially the hardest person to buy for, we went shopping for a really good vegetarian cook book (I know……. but it is all I really wanted).
I have to say that I am loving this green journey of mine!
Monday is usually my day off from work at Sarhn McArthur Photography (which is usually well needed after a weekend of photographing weddings). Today being Monday I decided to have a ‘green’ focus to my time off.
Firstly starting at 10.30am when I met Leeanne, a complete stranger in Darlington. I had recently joined the inner Sydney ‘Free Cycle’ group, which is all about giving free stuff away. Last night while browsing the group’s website notice board, I spotted Leeanne’s advertisement about needing books etc to sell at her child’s school fate.
As I was in the middle of a massive spring clean up in the office and home, I had plenty to give away. After sending Leeanne an email late last night she responded and we organised to meet up today.
It felt really good to give away my stuff for free. Yes I could have taken them down to a book store to make money or even sell on EBay but this is something I wanted to support. To give your stuff away with no expectation of receiving anything in return, was a grounding experience and one I will repeat often.
Secondly I dropped by the shop ‘The Natural Paint Place’ in Newtown which sold Bokashi bins. I knew they sold the bins as I checked out the Bokashi Australia website. Met and had a really good talk to the owner of the shop Rick, about my green journey and about Australian sustainability issues. Found out that Rick also owns the business ‘Eco Shop’ which has been on my Australian website links for awhile. Funny small world!
Thirdly I stopped by and had a look in at shops ‘The Bower’ and ‘The Reverse Garbage Co Op’ in Marrickville. Both these shops amaze me what they stop from going to landfill. Though I didn’t find what I was looking for (more large garden pots) I have purchased from them in the past (love these shops).
My focus on recycling is broadening to include another two R words – Reduce & Reuse.
Reduce the amount of stuff you buy in the first place – especially stuff that can not be recycled at the end of its life (including the packaging). Also if you need something ask yourself does it have to be brand new?
Reuse the stuff you do have – why not join a local ‘Free Cycle’ group to you and start by giving stuff away and even browse to see what others are giving away that you might like for free.
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