Being eco is not for the busy!

I am sure that being eco is for people with lots of time! I hate to say it but for me it is kinda true. Life got really manic at one point and work was busy busy busy. It was at this time that I found that I was just getting through. It was quicker and easier to go to the supermarket for the household shopping. Can you believe it! As sad as it is it really is true. I simply didn't have the time or the inclination after a hard days work to then spend the time going round lots of little independent shops. As for the garden, well I pretty much gave up and am sorry to say that all the salad has gone to seed.

That is just how it is. I can't say that I am happy about it or enjoyed it per se but equally I think it was kind of important to be this way to appreciate how hard it is for working families. The convenience and time saving just simply takes precedent.

I even found that cooking went out the window. We went out to eat or got take aways. We were actually spending the money we were making at work on feeding our selves because we didn't have time to make healthy cheap food. It is insane when you look at it like that. We were basically working to buy the things that we couldn't do because we were at work.

And you know what, the more money I made the more I spent. The more I wanted to spend too. When I don't have so much it is not a case of can't spend it is a case of not really being bothered as I get my feel good factor from the cooking, gardening and craft activities.

It really is all very nuts!

A gift from the Potting Shed

Even though it has been raining for what seems like forever, we still have major problems with our water reserves and we need, like it or not, to start doing something about it. We can all do our bit to help conserve water and use less than we currently are. The government wants to help us too as does the local water board.

We sent away for our FREE kit from Anglian Water.....

We have used the contents now, it's not massive but it is FREE after all! At the end of the day though every little bit helps as they say so it is just a small step to using just that little bit less water.

Inside the kit there were two bags of gel crystals which you add to your compost, these then swell up when wet and help to retain the moisture in the soil thus saving the need to water, at least as often anyway. Apparently they swell up to 400 times their size and you only need a teaspoon or two in a large container. We have used ours so it will be good to see how efficient they are. We certainly managed to spread them along way.

Also in the kit which we haven't used yet are some mats to line hanging baskets with. Hanging baskets are notorious for needing a lot of water. Again these are supposed to help with water retention.

If you are in our Area and want to claim a kit for yourself all you need to do is go to: The Anglian Water Website

In fact Anglian Water really want us to reduce the amount of water we use so much that there are a whole host of goodies available for FREE here. I am going to be sending away for them to see how much we can save in just a household of two and will let you know how we get on.

At home, we each use an average of 145 litres of water a day. Some of that could easily be saved. Imagine if everyone in your house, your neighbours and in your community dropped that amount by 20 litres, every single day. That’s a lot of water saved for tomorrow.

Our homes aren’t always as water efficient as we imagine. An average toilet flush or  a leaky tap can waste lots of water. Have a quick check around your kitchen and bathroom and you could be dropping 20 litres before you know it.

 There is also lots of information on ways you can reduce how much water you are using. Check out the Anglian Water website to find out how!

Natural Cleaning - will you take the challenge? #NatClean2012

Please note: This blog post is not my writing, I read it on their blog and because I thought it was a jolly good thing, I have copied and posted it here too. Looking forward to following you all on Twitter!

So from the blog of Bath Bomb Biz.......

With the advent of shops such as Poundland and The 99p Store, buying cleaning products has never been so cheap. Add into that the millions of pounds that manufacturers throw into their advertising campaigns, and you'd be forgiven for thinking that you had the best bargain in the world with a £1 toilet or kitchen cleaner from a well known brand.

But most of us know life isn't just about money or glamorous brands; it's about being eco-friendly, about staying healthy and about avoiding the chemicals and additives that most modern cleaning products contain.

So, with that in mind, we at Bathbomb.biz are issuing a challenge - a natural cleaning challenge!

Over the next few weeks we're going to challenge you to replace one of your cleaning products a week with a natural alternative. Even better than that, we're going to give you the recipes and guidelines you need for that alternative, using things you probably already have around your home.

Think about it; currently you probably use a lot of the following:

• Chlorine
• Phosphates
• Caustic cleansers
• Hydrocarbons
• Benzisothiozalinone

Without even thinking about it - they're found in toilet cleaners, oven cleaners, kitchen sprays, detergents and more. And that's just the start.

Yes they make things clean and sparkly. Yes they make things smell good. But these chemicals (and more) are also linked to a  variety of health and environmental problems, due to the way they are manufactured as well as the impact they have once they're washed down the drain.

We owe it to ourselves and our environment to avoid them.

So we're going to show you how to use:

• Vinegar
• Baking soda
• Essential oils
• Salt
• Olive oil
• Bread
• Walnuts
• And more

to make your home shine, smell fresh and most of all BE CLEAN.

No more toxic chemicals, no more fabricated smells that don't last, and we'll even bet that our natural cleaning challenge recipes are cheaper too!

So are you up for it?

Let us know in the comments if you're in, and look out for our next post or watch Twitter for the hashtag #NatClean2012