Catch Up Mayhem Part 1 Green Loan

Well with the school holidays and returning to work I have been away from my blog.
So the catch up begins with our Green Loan Home Assessment that took place yesterday.
Our lovely assessor Chris took a thorough look at our house and our energy use and had lots of great tips. What a great resource.Talk about eye opening. We went through every room and estimated the frequency of use of every and I mean every switch,light and appliance in the house.
We anxiously await our report so that we can see exactly where we can improve our energy use.We had some great conversations about gardening and products available.
To follow up he sent me some great links about aquaponics and wicking garden beds that I would love to implement.
I recommend that everyone gets an assessment even if you are not planning on taking out a loan.

Waste Free Week

Well today was to be the beginning of waste free week,where we tried to create zero landfill waste for the week.Well within 5 minutes of waking I discovered that this challenge was going to require a lot more research and preparation before just diving in.
Firstly I awoke to the plastic insides of the cereal boxes as the kids finished the cereal this morning, hmm first obstacle.
Solution: buy cereal from the bulk food place in town and take my own containers.
Secondly a deliver of clothes from a party I had a week ago wrapped in a large plastic delivery bag and each piece of clothing individually wrapped in plastic.
Solution: a) don't buy from this company again
b) ask specifically to have my garments sent unwrapped or at least wrapped in one bag only (not sure this would happen)
Thirdly: the kids went to the deli so buy themselves a treat. Bubblegum!! The paper looks like it might biodegrade but the out wrapper and actual gum i am not sure about.
Solution: research recyclability of bubblegum and educate the kids on making other choices that are more environmentally friendly.
Fourthly (phew) nappies!!! Now I have a huge stack of cloth that I have gotten slack about using so I washed and prepared them all yesterday and have them on him today but I still have last nights nappies to deal with. Granted they are envrionmentally friendly nappies but I am sure they will still create waste. Will look on their website for more details.

All this and only 11 am. So some changes to make already. I guess this is the point, to learn and then to make the choice to change.
Maybe we will call this week waste free training week!!

Simple Home Audit

Rhonda over at down-to-earth has challenged us this coming week to do a home audit. After the whole clothes dryer discussion I am feeling like I really need to put things back in perspective. Only half a year left and time to follow through on those New Years Resolutions and prepare for the growing season.
You can find Rhonda's daily audit on her site and I will post my results here.

Another MacGyver Moment

Sunshine sunshine glorious sunshine.

Inspiration struck this morning when I decided the chicks needed some much longed for sunshine. With the chicken tractor still not finished..yes I know!!!...I needed a place for them to safely run around and enjoy life as a true shook should. So the Chicken tent 2009 was invented. I can move it around while they are just visiting outdoors and give them sunshine and fresh earth to have a field day in.



And just for you Trisha...look washing outside...see how small my backyard is (that photo is taken standing at my back door!!)