Welcome to a gorgeous baby: Millie Clare. Such a delight and joy. I am once again overcome with all those emotions that having a new life leap out of you bring and spend as much time as possible gazing in amazement.
I am 39 weeks pregnant with my second bubba and have been busy washing all the clothes that have been stored in musty, possum-filled sheds for the last few years.
I have just received a lovely surprise from my electricity bill. I am $63 in credit. This is not a printing error or because a dog was hounding the meter reader into a nervous state...
I love washing. It is one of those domestic chores I really enjoy when I have to do it - but I don't do it unnecessarily. I love other things more!
I don't mean to bring toilet humour onto such a classy site, but I have just had the plumber around to clear a blocked toilet.
We have just moved again. When you are moving, less definitely is more. After packing up and unpacking for the third time in three years it feels good to be given the chance to trim down my stuff...
It has been a bit of a debacle, hasn't it. Such great intentions, such a great concept but a little bit lacking in the thing that our Government should be so good at - detail, legislation and bureaucracy.
It's getting stinking hot outside and in. Is your house a hotbox? A sauna without the Scandinavian scent? Mine is. But what can we do about it?
When I do my thing, as a carbon cop or as my banging-on self, I carry on about the benefits of turning off stand-by appliances. I spout great wisdom and motivation - stand-by power accounts for 10% of household electricity, all the little bits add up, you really can save 10% of your bill at the flick of a switch, no pain blah blah blah...
I'm the type of cook that can't cook small portions. If I am cooking I figure it is almost the same amount of time, effort and energy to cook for a small family as it is to cook for a small army. My meals take the shape of my containers, most of which are catering-size.
This winter has been a cold one. We live in a wee brick venereal rental house in Canberra. Being a type of nerd, I have my indoor/outdoor thermometer measuring temperatures around the house. Over winter it has consistently recorded around 8ºC in the bedrooms (all unheated) and with the efficient gas heater on in the living space, gets to about 18ºC (until the heater is turned off and the house turns into a fridge in about 15 minutes).
Timber – it’s natural, sustainable, strong, abundant, low on embodied energy AND grows on trees! But not all timber I as sustainable as you would like to believe.
I enjoy writing this blog. It gets me thinking each week. It holds me accountable! I need that! The other day I was getting a bit down about the whole environment/climate change thing.
After washing your hands in a public bathroom, what is the most planet-friendly way to dry your hands - hand-dryer or paper towel? Which has a lower environmental handprint?
Did you set yourself some fabulously cleansing resolution for 2009? Every year I resolve to do more than I dream … and tidy my room. This year it was getting back on my bike.
I am still a renter. At this stage in my life I thought I would have been the proud owner of a small energy efficient home with a glorious garden given over to vegetables, chooks and magical places to explore. This dream is still sleeping.
This week my thoughts, like most Australians, are tuned into the tragedy surrounding the bushfires in Victoria and NSW. It must be such a sad time for so many people who have lost their homes, family and friends. My thoughts go out to them and all the brave, tireless and generous folk who are helping them through this time.
There is a sign on a highway nearby that tells me of our daily water use – me and the giant community I live in. Yesterday it told me we had use 193.7 megalitres (or 193,000,000 litres).
I have a friend who has ‘COMPOST CAM’ – a web cam to watch his compost heap while he’s at work. He looks at it every few hours to check its temperature and marvel at the microorganisms munching away at everything he couldn’t!
Water water everywhere ..but only imported stuff in little glass bottles to drink!
How leaky is your house? I’m talking air leaky as opposed to water leaky. Drafts can account for up to 40% of heat loss from a building, yet so many Australian homes are like tents.
I have just spent a lovely week in Melbourne at the Save Water Save Energy Expo. This is a fantastic event that is all about - hardly surprisingly - saving water and saving energy!
Windows. Don’t glaze over – it is a clear and simple post today! I just want to talk about good old fashioned window cleaning.
I have counted 15 homes with in a 1km radius of where I live that have solar hot water. 15! That's about 1 percent. In Isreal it would be 90%.
To dish-wash or to wash-dish. That is the question. Dishwasher versus hand washing is an ongoing debate. But when really put to the test, how do they stack up?
I grew up on a large cattle station in the Snowy Mountains and dinner was regularly a meal of three meat and veg. Rarely the other way around.
What are you doing this Sunday 14th September? Do you want a suggestion? If you are reading this blog I suspect you might enjoy Sustainable House Day.
‘Do you like chickens?’ a friend asked me. I was thinking of dinner. ‘Well, yes. I love chicken. How are you doing it?
What is your feeling when you get your energy bills? Dread? Excitement? Curiosity?
Every kilometre that you DON’T drive saves about 0.5kg of carbon dioxide going up into the atmosphere.
Lighting and light fittings can add so much to a space and is so important – for mood, decorative style and helping us to see our way in the dark.
This is not a particularly practical post but I just wanted to clear something up. There is so much talk about climate change, about looking after our environment, about being responsible, global citizens.
The rebate was generous, the panels were the perfect accessory and the sun always seemed to be shining.
My little family have just moved to Canberra and are renting a small house in the inner suburbs. It looks like every other house in the area - a brick venereal construction built in the ‘70’s when there was little attention paid to energy efficiency.
What used to be done with elbow grease and a bar of soap is now done with high-tech, sensitive, ‘intelligent’ washing machines.
Recently I got a call from a friend who had finally gone out to the hardware shop, bitten the bullet and bought some compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. She had returned home with an eco-green glow, only to find when she put them in the light was awful. They weren’t as bright as the old ones and they looked ugly. She was even considering stock-piling incandescent bulbs before they were phased out!
Sitting down to write my blog I put the kettle on. There is something about a cup of tea that lets the mind unravel. As a Carbon Cop I like to think I walk-my-talk about reducing carbon emissions and leading an energy efficient, sustainable lifestyle. There is so much we can do to reduce our impact on the planet, from little behavioural changes through to big technological ideas. But the key to making a difference is real action and ensuring you make the change – however small the action is.