Post Ten: Green Living

Good morning!

I sit writing this gazing out onto a world of fog, so I thought what better way to cheer up than to share some new day-to-day green tips and some exciting news from me!

We'll start with the green tips. I follow RecycleBank UK on facebook and they're always posting interesting articles, tips and other things that I find fascinating. Today they posted an article 30 Days To A Greener Life which is basically 30 tips for you to try out - either 1 a day for a month, or just to encorporate a few into your day to day habits. These tips are pain-free ways to become more environmentally friendly, so I wanted to put it on paper (metaphorically that is!) that I'm comitting to the following tips. (NB: I'm only going to put the things I don't already do below. I already follow some of their tips.)

1. Start some good water habits.

I already turn the tap off while brushing my teeth, time to add in the hand washing! As for the shower, I've cut down from 30 minutes to 15 and that's the best I can do. Sorry planet. :(

5. Banish stand-by.

Our house is full of electrical equipment. Not all of it's mine but anything within my control will get unplugged when I'm done with it. I can also comit to doing this at work - only bare essentials like the fridge will be left on overnight.

11. Make a meal plan to avoid waste.

I've made an inventory of what we have in the cupboard and I'm only making meals that can be done with what's there. The only things I'm buying in at the moment are meat and vegetables. Plus I'm planning meals a few days in advance so that my goal of only shopping twice a week can be met.

16. Carry a reusable bag.

I already carry one in the boot of the car, I'm actually comitting to remember to take it in the shop!

27. Head for the local library.

Once I finish my boxset of The Sookie Stackhouse Series (True Blood to you tv fanatics) I will be searching out my local library and stocking up on some good books!


So those are my promises to the environment. Once they become habits rather than something I do consciously, I'll take another look at the list and pick some more!

As for my exciting news... *drum roll*

Tom and I have decided to go travelling! This is instead of saving for a flat, so the direction of this blog is going to shift ever so slightly but in a much more exciting way! In my first post one of my Facts About Me was that I want to go travelling, but circumstances have made that difficult lately. Things have changed about a bit recently which has allowed us to think about taking some time out to travel. :) To be honest, my tips about making pillow covers instead of buying and cool things to make for your house aren't going to stop anyway. I love that sort of stuff as a hobby so you'll get just as much of it! However now they'll be interspersed with tips on how to travel lightly, cheaply and safely!

The plan is to spend quite a long time saving, but it's never too early to start a little project book with hints and tips. So to get the ball rolling, have any of you been travelling and have tips you can share with me?

Mission accomplished, fog forgotten. ;)