dia dhuit
before i went off to the new forest i read Poppie's blog, her most recent post on our consumer society and the waste. it made me think of what swampy and i own, what we waste, where we can improve things...
pippin, our only transport is recycled and only used once a week, twice at the very most and he runs on unleaded fuel (which i think evens out the times we travel further afield for camping trips) he also is our 'holiday' so no air flights to consider.
every single bit of our furniture is second/third hand~our kitchen table and freestanding unit were my parents when they married in 1964! our sofa and armchairs were given to us by our neighbours, our iron bedstead was from ebay.
we have two large compost bins and only put out a bag for the 'bin men' once every 4-6 weeks...
we refil out ecover products in dorchester
not bad but i think i can do better.
Poppie has put into words things i think of, on and off, for ages and for once made me remember it!
like mobile phones, yes i admit i do have one, mainly as a way of being able to keep in touch with my sister when i am away, but what astounds me is how people do get new ones every time a new model comes onto the market~even when their is nothing wrong with the one they have, and yes advertising is partly to blame for this as is the greed of the manufacturers. and it is the same with anything in our society and it is yet another think i find hard to understand and really wnat no part in.
in fact i am trying to think when i was last seduced by an advert and actually bought anything on the basis of an ad~and i cant think of anything...things like washing powder, soap, deoderant etc that we use are bought from health food shops and therefore independant companies who do not advertise and i use natural home 'remedies' for cleaning around the home~baking soda, vinger etc.
although i have to admit that is where swampy and i have a few battles as he feels that commercial, bad for the environment products are better~he is coming round now though!
our tv is on the blink for which iam secretly pleased about! if i were on my own i would not have a tv, although there are things i do watch that i will miss~gardeners world and historical documentry and costume dramas. so if our tv does die soon we certainly couldnt afford to replace it for which i am secretly joyful!
my joy at getting my wind-up radio was amazing but swampy cant understand why i dont listen to the digital channels much, just the usual radio~my argument is that i wanted a wind up radio so i didnt have to use electricity! and its fun to wind it up!
my boots (which i do need!) are going to be from green people and i will be able to have them re-soled when needed~imagine all the shoes thrown away just because they need a new sole! i am one of those people whose dress sense has never changed and never will so i actually have no problem with paying a lot for my boots as i will just wear them to death and i can just imagine how comfortable a pair of custom made boots will be given the aches and pains my ME gives me in my legs and feet~heavenly~and it has taken me nearly a year to get the money together!
well i am running out of steam...
3 comments:
your carbon footprint must be very good! I am like you in many ways, but I know I could improve. I have 5 compost heaps and more on the way! And my dream is to have my whole home connected to tank water.
Joe just bought me a new pair of boots after 10 years.. and I am putting in a pond to encourage frogs into my garden.. and dragonflies, I hope.
I would not have a tv either if it were my decision. I clean green, garden organically and am trying hard to be slow food where possible.. I will stop here .. maybe I should do a post myself :) xoxo
love this post by the way !!!!
Brilliant post Lee!
I'll pop over and have a look at poppy's!
We too recycle, reuse the majority of our things or give to charity shops, but there will always be room for improvement!Most of our furniture is second hand and we make as many soft furnishings as possible!
We have only had two holidays in the last seven years,the girls have a mobile each,more for safety reasons so that they can contact me in an emergency and they are just the cheaper versions,nothing flashy! and we wouldn't have it any other way!
Love from Kathy and the girls
You will have guessed, that I recycle as much as we can too. I mentioned a week or so ago that i could live without a tv, afterall the odd programme i do like can be watched online now. I am biding my time, until we have moved to really improve what we can do, it isnt always easy here, and so looking forwrd to my new garden..not much point doing much here now...
leanne x
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