So many of our personal care products are filled with toxic ingredients like lead, mercury and carcinogens. Trying to stop using products with these ingredients can seem impossible.

Annie Leonard has produced another great Story of Stuff animation – this time focusing on cosmetics and the ugly truth of toxics in, toxics out. Read the rest of this entry

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It’s good to see my compost bins are getting around.

I spied my lovely bins on this DIY composting blog – actually they did ask permission to use my Flickr image. Glad I, and my bins, can be of service ;-).

Good to know we are helping to spread the composting word.

Those wonderful rubbish-free New Zealanders are at it again. Mathew and Waveney have relaunched their Rubbish-free website to provide as much information as possible about living without generating rubbish.

A lot of the information is based on what the couple learnt while living rubbish-free for most of 2008, what they learnt after that and what they learnt from other people trying to also reduce their rubbish. Read the rest of this entry

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It has been raining heavily in Sydney for a couple of weeks now and my worm farm catchments are overflowing. With so much worm wee (juice) and rain I am also running out of plants to put it on.

Rain, particularly heavy rain, is just one of the reasons you need to protect your worm farm from the elements. Luckily my worm farms are out by the shed and under some native trees so they don’t get directly rained on and are protected from harsh sunlight (when it isn’t raining).

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I recently read an interesting article in the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) saying green features in a house could improve its resale value.

The article sited a report by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which found that a house in the Australian Capital Territory worth around $365,000 could increase its sale price by nearly $4,500 if its eco star rating improved by just half a star.

This is pretty interesting and a valid point considering electricity prices in Australia are rising rapidly. According to the SMH article, prices in New South Wales are expected to increase by 64 per cent during the next three years. And according to NSW’s Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal, the average electricity bill will rise by between $577 and $918 a year by 2013.

Quite a substantial price hike, and probably a good reason to improve the energy efficiency of your house. Read the rest of this entry

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Did you know that about 60 per cent of rubbish Australians throw away could be composted? No? Just as well it’s International Compost Awareness week (May 2 – 8 ) then.

Actually, maybe you did know that but I thought I’d share my composting tips with you anyway. Read the rest of this entry

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Chickens seem to be making a come back to suburban gardens across Australia.

And why not? Chickens eat your food scraps, fertilize your garden, eliminate bugs, keep your kids entertained and best of all produce tasty, fresh eggs. Read the rest of this entry

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I love Autumn in my garden. It’s lovely and cool but not too cold, plus there is still a lot of sunshine about.

Sydney’s autumn weather is great at the moment and I have managed to plant out my vegetable patches. I’ve also (with the help of hubby) emptied out all my compost bins, which cooked nicely over the summer, over the patches.

There’s nothing better than the smell of fresh, new, crumbly compost. A symbol of life really.

This is what I’ve planted: Read the rest of this entry

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School holidays means keeping the kids entertained. Like most mothers I’m keen to get the kids away from the TV and outside.

Today, we made seedling pots out of toilet rolls and egg cartons – not only cheap but a great way to reuse packaging. All you need are the toilet rolls, egg cartons, soil, seeds and water.

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There is nothing better than a good music festival and one of my favourites is Womadelaide, in Adelaide, SA.

Besides the impressive music, relaxed vibe and child friendly feel the festival’s waste management practices are really inspiring. Red wine aside, these practices are enough to leave anyone with a happy, warm, nicely wasted glow.

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