The reusable takeaway

July 27, 2016 ~ Gillie ~ 2 Comments

Following on from yesterday I’m keeping to a bit of a theme. The reusable takeaway. We all like a good takeaway, for my husband it is a doner kebab with lots of chilli, the girls and I worship at the door of our wonderful Indian takeaway Jalsa in Ushaw Moor (their Chicken Makatoni is to die for). BUT and there is a big but, all those plastic/styroform boxes are the pits. At least our lovely Jalsa uses tin foil boxes so they can be recycled but still, we can do better.

I don’t drink coffee much, and when I do I like plain black from a cafetiere so all the fancy coffee shops are lost on me. On the other hand I do like tea, I like tea a lot, I like lots of different types of tea. I’m not a great one for buying a tea on the go, but there are times when I am out and about or waiting for a train when the only thing that I really want is a good strong cup of black tea. But I don’t want a non-recyclable cardboard cup from Starbucks. And they aren’t easily recyclable see here . Those plastic coffee pods are bad, but those cardboard cups are just as nasty.

Did you know that almost every coffee shop / tea room will let you take your takeaway in your own mug/thermos so long as it has a secure lid? This is what I take my tea away in.

Joco glass mug with silicone lid. It also comes in a lovely sturdy cardboard tub that I now use to store my Earl Grey!

You met my water bottle yesterday. I fill it up with tap water if we stop at a cafe or restaurant. Most cold drinks come in their own bottles, but not all. Plenty of smoothies, juices and cold coffees are made to order and are served in plastic cups. I use my joco mug or water bottle.

Finally food. We have these brilliant stainless steel lunchboxes which come from the same company as the water bottle. I’ve not yet tried them at my Jalsa (will update you when I do). However, I have taken sandwiches, paninis, salads, pies and even a doner kebab away in it.

Don’t be afraid to ask, the worst thing they can say is no. I have yet to find a health and safety (the usual excuse) reason why I cannot use my own container so even if you do get a no, ask why!

Love Gillie x

it just gets better

May 18, 2016May 18, 2016 ~ Gillie ~ 6 Comments

I love Onya I have had their bag in a bag and their backpack in a bag for years long before anything similar appeared in the supermarkets. There are far superior to the ones you find on the high street they were originally made of parachute silk (and felt lovely too!) now they use recycled PET bottles (still lovely but not quite as lovely as the parachute silk!) and are amazingly strong, hold a decent amount (two bottles of milk, two bottles of vinegar, a large loaf, a magazine and two packs of tennis balls just this morning) and squash down to nothing. Environmentally friendly, very useful and pretty colours. They are also brilliant on holiday. I keep two in my handbag at all times

Then today this arrived. The Onya Weigh. So far looks just like the regular onya bag in its pouch.

But inside are these little lovelies.

Five ultra light transparent tulle bags for veg shopping. I avoid prepacked veg and the plastic bags for the loose veg. My onions do not need to go in a plastic bag. But sometimes I have no choice, runner beans, brussell sprouts, I can’t really avoid a bag. But now no more plastic. They can go in these.

I don’t need to go and buy and veg… boo hoo, I want to take them out for a ride!

Love Gillie

decluttering with William Morris – the Pre-Raphaelite method

May 29, 2014 ~ Gillie ~ 1 Comment

If you want a golden rule that will fit everybody, this is it. Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.

Useful and beautiful (in my eyes).

I have always loved the Pre-Raphaelites. If I had studied history of art it would have been a one horse race. But it is not just their artwork which I adore. It is the whole ethos of the Arts and Craft movement; the belief that a healthy society was one which respected craft production and did not rely entirely on division of labour and machinery for the creation of products. The use of natural and local materials in production. And of course William Morris’ famous quote above.

Beautiful

I know that there is much in our house that does not meet that criterion. From where I sit to work I can see a carving of a fish. It is pretty, but I don’t love it and I don’t know in my heart it is beautiful. There is an incense stick holder which has been superceded by a more beautiful (actually more simple in design) and more useful one. In my pen holder there are two marker pens which I know don’t work. Outside in the courtyard I can see an old bird table that has been superceded by are more practical one. There is a glass contraption that was supposed to trap wasps but never did. All that and I didn’t even leave my seat.

Useful

Join me today as we walk around our homes. Look carefully at the things around you and ask yourself if they would pass Morris’ test. If they do not, then why are you keeping them?

Neither useful nor beautiful

raw chocolate

March 20, 2014 ~ Gillie ~ 8 Comments

In my determination to reduce our waste I am reducing what we buy and looking at ways to reproduce products at home. So today I made chocolate. Well, I might as well practice on something I eat a lot of!

I have a school friend Sarah Wheeler who set up Pure Melt Chocolate in Mulumbimby. I bumped into her whilst I was in Australia (as one does) and she inspired me to have a go at making our own chocolate. I purchased the cacao butter, agave syrup, pure cacao powder and dried vanilla and off we went.

First melt the cacao butter.

Then add the cacao powder

Then add the vanilla.

Finally the agave syrup. According to the instructions it would take approximately 100 stirs to incorporate. That was about right. It became the most beautiful shiny mixture.

Then into the moulds and the fridge.

Less than an hour later we had this.

Oh my goodness, it is the most delicious chocolate I have ever tasted. Even the Singers and the Dancer are converted. I am never going to buy chocolate off the shelf again. I have a head full of ideas to try. Ginger is close to the top of the list, I may crystallise some orange peel, or add some cacao nibs for cruch, chilli is an option. Too many to list.

people who care

March 2, 2014March 2, 2014 ~ Gillie ~ 12 Comments

The trip is drawing to a close. Only ten days to go. Am seriously considering how to emigrate, on my own if necessary.

Things I love about Australia:

The weather
The weather
The weather….

Everyone is so friendly. I have no idea how Londoners (and I can say that as I was born and brought up in Notting Hill Gate) survive when they first arrive. How do they cope when somebody makes eye contact and worse, asks them how they are?

Life is laid back. I know I am on holiday so it’s different for me, but the Boss has been working, and at times quite hard. Even he can feel the difference.

The culture and attitude. This is what really gets to me. People here care. There is almost no litter and I haven’t seen any graffiti. Being ecologically sound isn’t considered a bit weird, for most people it is a way of life.

I know I have several Antipodean readers and I would love your feedback. Why are you so far ahead of us? Is it because you are so much more isolated so have had to use your resources more carefully? Or is it perhaps partly to do with the weather, you spend so much more time outside that you are more in tune with the environment? Or are you just better people than the rest of us 🙂

Oh and the other thing I love about Australia – the markets. The markets are just the best I’ve been to and believe me I am a market fiend, I have been to a lot.

on the final leg

January 24, 2014 ~ Gillie ~ 14 Comments

Back inside again today. Which shows piss poor planning as it is a lovely day and perfect for clearing out the outbuildings; which we opted to do in the cold and rain.

Having taken another carload of books to Amina we had a look at the heaving bookcases in the Gin Gan and started all over again. While I sorted through hundreds of books the Boss started packing up the lots for auction. It was a relief when Mel from the British Heart Foundation rang to arrange to come and pick up his second load. For that means that by Tuesday evening this pile will have gone.

And so will this one.

My father is a bibliophile with a particular interest in wine and racing. Consquently I have a huge collection of books going back to the early fifties, many first editions. My job this weekend is to go through the book pile and decide which are worth going to auction and which are probably not. This was one job I didn’t know how I would cope with. But it was easier than I thought. He gave them to me when he moved permanently to the States, he knows I will not read the full set of the Compleat Imbiber for example. But somebody else will enjoy it as much as he did and it is worth quite a lot of money. The real eye opener was a cookery book “Lady Maclean’s Cook Book” Mine is a pristine first edition. It has been put carefully to one side.

I think we are coming towards the end of the tunnel. It has taken six months to get where we are now and there is still a lot more we can do. But right now I am enjoying the space, the feeling of freedom and the great sense of relief to see so much clutter go out of our doors.

Will I ever go back to my old ways? I think not. I have noticed that as I move around the house I am instinctively picking things and putting them in the charity pile. Thus went a pair of glass candlesticks, some towels, a selection of scarves and a pair of boots without even thinking. Shopping holds little appeal unless it is something I really need or really want. The former is now discussed and depending on severity of need bought now or put on the rolling shopping list. The latter is put on my birthday list. Come my birthday I am fairly sure that I won’t want half the things on there.

Finally, when you remove the clutter from your house and spend hour after hour, day after day, week after week, month after month packing it up and sending it away you get a pretty good sense of where you went wrong. Things that you bought because you “thought they might be useful”, but never were. Books you bought because they were beautiful but weren’t interesting enough for you to read or use. Clothes that you bought because they were fantastic quality, a bargain, but you never really loved. Knick Knacks collected from junk shops over the years. Oh, and those infernal storage boxes that you kept having to buy to store all of the above 🙂

Now doesn’t that look good?

Nice and simple.

the next step

January 17, 2014 ~ Gillie ~ 14 Comments

All the decluttering in the world is not going to have any effect if you don’t stop the stuff coming into your life in the first place. We’ve all been there: cleared a cupboard or a room and then six months later it has reverted back to type.

Part of the reason for this blog was to encourage transparency and to make me change my mindset. To think before I bought, to question the actual value of an item. It has worked to a certain extent, I am certainly far more thoughtful about most purchases whether expensive or from the charity shop. In fact charity shops used to be one of my downfalls. Items that I would never have bought new I would happily buy from a charity shop. I’m not saying that I haven’t had some fantastic buys but just because a dress is only £5 I should buy it. If I don’t need it I shouldn’t buy it just because it is cheap and/or good value. It is only good value if I need it. I was going to insert a picture of a dress that came to mind as I wrote that. However, said dress went back to the charity shop in the first purge 🙂

So this year I am recording all my expenditure. Every single last penny. I would like to see whether the expenditure in various areas matches up to the pleasure we got in those areas. Groceries are essential, but at the end of the month if I have spent say £200 on groceries and yet we can’t recall more than a handful of lovely meals then it was not money well spent and we need to work out why. Our time here on earth is limited as are our funds. I intend to make sure I get the best out of both of them.

presents and plastic

September 2, 2013 ~ Gillie ~ 7 Comments

So it is the 2nd of September. That means two things. I need to make sure I have my mother’s birthday present (tick) and we are day two into the month of no (or at least as little as possible) plastic.

Mother’s present was quite easy. As I don’t think she reads my blog I can tell you she should be enjoying a rather nice lunch with my stepfather in a rather nice restaurant in London. No plastic was involved in the purchase, preparation or sending of said present and I sincerely hope that there is no plastic involved in the serving of her present either. Though unfortunately I cannnot vouch for the kitchen in which it will be prepared.

As for the September challenge. We have hardly done any shopping and have already failed.

Sunday newspapers – the supplements come in a pre-sealed plastic bag. I imagine it makes the assembly easier, however I remember Sunday newspapers as a child and there was no plastic bag then. My father gets the LA Times which is vast and there is no plastic there either. Letter to Sunday Times on its way.

Quayside market. Wonderful produce from local producer. One beauty of a swede.

Gorgeous selection of onions.

Beautiful variety of tomatoes.

But I had failed to bring any small cloth or paper bags for the tomatoes and they were put in plastic. Have now added one cloth and three paper bags to the little parachute silk Onya bag that lives in my handbag.

Then absolute massive fail whilst my back was turned. The Boss as a bit of a sock thing. He likes them brightly coloured and not necessarily matching. He bought a set of three pairs of very attractive stripey socks and….. let the stallholder put them in a solitary plastic bag all of their own. I had THREE Onya bags they could have gone in. He has promised to be more vigilant in the future.

Today I have purchased some wine (glass bottles that will be used for homemade wine), fruit juice (cartons that will be used as firelighters) and carrots (bought loose). All brought home in one of my plastic free hessian bags.

On all occasions I refused a receipt. Nobody seemed too surprised or fussed. So I wonder, would shops which issue receipts automatically consider having a no receipt option on their till at the buyer’s risk?

Tonight I will do the menu plan for next week and write out my weekly shopping list. I will have to plan very carefully. I suspect what we eat will be dictated by where I can buy the necessary ingredients without incurring the input of plastic. Fortunately the hens are still laying so we will always have the egg option. Although as I was planning on using up the last of the asparagus with poached eggs and hollandaise sauce tonight they had better get laying!

first steps

August 16, 2013 ~ Gillie ~ 22 Comments

I’ve had a tremendous response to my announcement about going plastic free. Thank you very much. However, it is rather daunting, perhaps I should have kept quiet and then my failures (I am not so naïve as to think there will be none) will not be so public. So striking whilst the iron is hot, here is update number one.

Plastic chopping boards have been put away. We still have two wooden ones so they were surplus to requirements anyway.
I cannot find any dog, cat, poultry, parrot or fish food that doesn’t come packaged in plastic. I will have a word with our feed supplier. We are good customers so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
Toiletry containers. I make my own toner with rosewater and witch hazel and store that in metal bottles, but the bulk rosewater and witch hazel comes in plastic ……. I’ve got quite enough moisturiser and oil for the moment and will use them up but can see this might be problematic.
cleaning products. I tend to use bicarb, vinegar and essential oils for most house cleaning and have bought metal trigger spray cannisters for the bathrooms. I am experimenting with soapnuts. I have plenty of washing up liquid and dishwasher powder for the moment. When it needs replacing I can get loose dishwasher powder in cardboard. Washing up liquid will be more of a challenge. Back to bicarb?
Food. A whole post on its own I think!
Cd and dvd. I got rid of the cases years ago and store them in specialist folders to reduce space. New music and films can be downloaded.
I rarely take a plastic bag as I have always had my own and have two onya bags that live in my handbag for emergencies. However, the rest of the family is not so observant.
Freezer bags and Tupperware. I know that you can freeze in glass but it will take time to build up a suitable collection of containers. We use our freezer a lot. We buy whole sheep, we have a large orchard and fruit garden I freeze tons of fruit. I often bulk cook and place additional meals in the freezer. I make stock with every carcass …..
Medicine bottles. I noted that Bea Johnson conceded that their medicine cupboard was the one area where she had not managed to avoid all packaging so I don’t feel quite so bad.
Diary cartons. The milkman won’t deliver to us as we are too far out but he will deliver to the castle and I can pick up from there. I can easily go back to making my own yoghurt and soft cheese. That leaves cream/crème fraiche.
My pencil case is leather but the girls have to have clear pencil cases for their exams. Short of having a glass box I am not sure how to avoid plastic here.
Junk mail. I admire anyone who has managed to get their junk mail reduced, I am fighting an endless battle, one step forward two steps back.
I have been wanting a new watering can for the garden and the house for a long time so now I can get one! Garden hose is more of a problem and essential for our garden especially the vegetable beds.
Clothes pegs. Easily replaced.
Washing machine balls. Hmm, they are supposed to be ecologically sound in that they help the washing with less powder so a conundrum. Have switched to soapnuts and think they could probably do with the help.
Tumble drier balls. With a family of five living in the back of beyond with 3 dogs, 5 cats, chickens, geese and a small lake we have a lot of dirty clothes. In the winter even with the Aga and the overhead airer I need to tumble dry to keep up. The balls are supposed to reduce the amount of drying required. Second conundrum
Kitchen sink plug – simple buy a metal washing up bowl – if I can find one….
Fermenting bin. This isn’t my area of expertise, can you use metal bins?
packaging. A parcel came today wrapped in bubble wrap. Normally I would keep it to reuse, it seems pointless to throw it away and I will need to wrap parcels at Christmas?
Packing tape. Apparently non plastic does exist, I just have to find it.
Folders. Plastic does last longer than cardboard. Research required.
Meat baster. I did have a glass one once.
Shower cap? Help here please.
Husband has metal razor, I see no reason why I can’t.

|I’m exhausted already!

stop

July 17, 2013July 17, 2013 ~ Gillie ~ 14 Comments

The Singers are 15 next week. We will be flying to Turkey on their birthday and they are none too pleased. Not least when they discovered that the Boss has paid extra for two seats with extra leg room because he is fed up of sitting on planes with his knees roughly the same height as his chest. They (perhaps understandably) thought that as they were flying on their birthday they should have extra leg room. The fact that they are built like butterflies doesn’t apparently count.

I digress. We are going on holiday and the Singers are having a birthday. Consequently we have to go clothes shopping for apparently the rooms that make backstage at London Fashion Week look like a minimalist’s dream, do not contain “a single item of summer clothing.” I did point out that as they have not been wandering around naked during the current heat wave there must be a few usable pieces. I was met with the standard teenage sad face. Not the sad I am unhappy face, the sad you are a sad person who really doesn’t understand and clearly was never a teenager and has no idea what being a teenager is like and so on…..

Actually I quite enjoyed it because I didn’t have anything to buy, I just followed them around and marvelled at how they could look drop dead gorgeous in a bin bag. Shopping for a size 6 willow is a breeze. It’s going to look fantastic on you whatever it is.

Much planning and mental arithmetic was required. When you are 14 (okay almost 15) you have limited funds and no access to a credit card (well not in this house anyway). You cannot buy whatever you want and just “put it on the card”. You are paying with cash that has been earned or given as a gift. There were complicated deals that would frazzle the brain of the most devious hedge fund manager juggling swaps and futures. If one had an advance on their birthday money from Grandad and the other owed me for the ebay shop and the first hadn’t made any ebay purchases but was owed £10 by Dad for the garden work did that cancel the £40 owed to me by the Dancer? I don’t know either.

The point is they knew the value of the purchases and they knew precisely how much they could spend (and still have enough to purchase each other a birthday present). If you pay with cash you are much more thoughtful about how you spend it. If you pay with plastic you are not. Granted, turning up at the travel agents to pay in cash for five return flights to LA would probably cause a minor disturbance. There is a place for plastic. But too many of us don’t know what that place is.

One of the reasons we have so much clutter in our lives is because we buy things on a whim, with little thought. We get home and they may be used once or twice but we didn’t really want or need them so they go to the back of the cupboard. They stay there either because we have forgotten they are there or because of an undercurrent of guilt that since we paid for them we should keep them.

Refusing to let them into the house in the first place is so much easier and a heck of a lot cheaper. Shop with cash. If you must keep your plastic in your purse for an emergency hide it. I keep a £50 note in my purse for emergencies. It is too big to spend without some thought and in fact I would probably have to go to a bank and get it changed into smaller notes. It has been there unspent for over three years. I have never actually needed it. You don’t need to take the plastic out with you. Leave it at home.