All About You...and your credit-crunching eco-tips!

Photo: Winter Brightness by Grant MacdonaldWell here's a wonderful surprise for the weekend and a fabulous start to February and I'm not talking about the forecast of snow. It's far more exciting than that.The folks behind Allaboutyou.com (the online home of Good Housekeeping, Prima, SHE, Country Living, House Beautiful and Coast magazine) have asked readers of The Rubbish Diet to have a good natter and submit their favourite eco-friendly tips that can help with the credit crunch.Examples include making potatoes last longer by adding an apple to the bag (cor, I never knew that) or using vinegar,...

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Back to School!

It may have looked like I've been in hiding this week, but in truth I've been out and about enjoying myself.And the focus has been education. Yes, folks Almost Mrs Average has been back to school. And I've loved it every minute of it.The main event has been kicking off a new project at my sons' school of which I'm a governor. But I wasn't wearing my governor hat on this occasion. Instead, I'd been invited into Years 3 and 4 as a "parent expert" to inspire almost 50 learners to find ways of reducing waste both in the school and at home.Well I can certainly say that as far as inspiration goes,...

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Busy watching my garden

This weekend is the RSPB's GARDEN WATCH, where they're asking people all around the UK to spend just one hour watching their garden and record the birds that they see. Just one hour that's all, an opportunity to relax and look out for your feathered friends. And if you have leftovers from your Sunday lunch, this is the perfect opportunity to put them to good use, as birds are happy to peck at such a wide variety of food, including mashed up potato and pastry.And don't forget they love fatballs too. So don't pour your fat down the drain. Instead pour it into a mould and then chill in the fridge....

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Zero Waste: On avoiding obsession

So it's the end of a long week of celebrations. I've just dropped little J off at his chess club and I've got a delicious hour to myself in the lounge of the stunning Angel Hotel, in Bury St Edmunds.Peace at last eh... one whole hour to stop and pause in the perfect setting, sat next to the glowing embers of the open fire. Just what I need after the mad rush of yesterday, an opportunity to quietly reflect on the developments of the last twelve months.Like any other challenge, a zero waste lifestyle requires focus, careful attention and a particular drive to achieve your goal, bringing with it...

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Our Zero Waste Home in One Mad Dash

Continuing the celebrations of the first anniversary of The Rubbish Diet, I couldn't resist the opportunity for one extra special challenge and give you a quick video tour of some of the zero waste choices that we have made in our home over the last 12 months. I've tried to squeeze in 25 examples from all over the house, including our laundry choices and a variety of bathroom products. Our yoghurt maker even got a special airing. The great thing is, by reducing what we've bought, buying some things in bulk and swapping product choices, we've also seen a saving in our well-earned cash. It's just...

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It's Party Time: One year old today!

Blimmin' 'eck. I've got here. One year old today.Wahooooo!I never thought that would happen you know. The blog was only meant to last for eight weeks, as a simple diary for my bizarre Zero Waste challenge. After that I was expecting to take a bow and booger off gracefully, back to what I do best...minding my own business and avoiding the housework.But there was something about rubbish that got me hooked, and after eight weeks I realised that actually I was only halfway up the rubbish heap and there was so much more to experience. So being keen to see what life was like on the other side,...

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How it all began!

Almost Mrs Average and her Rubbish Diet - The Inside StoryIn January 2008, my local council set up a bizarre challenge: for one week in March, in order to reduce the rubbish that went to landfill, participating households should not buy or use anything that produced waste that couldn’t be recycled or composted.A Zero Waste Week!Strangely, reducing waste had been one of my new year’s resolutions. I wanted to do something about my bins. So I was keen. The council were keen. They wanted to know why I was interested so sent me some questions, and they wanted a photo to feature in their local...

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Don't Bin It - Fran it!

If you were waiting in anticipation of today's news, I am so sorry to have kept you hanging around. It's just that after I cleaned the floors, made some cookies and popped the teapot on the table, my guest of honour arrived and for the rest of the day we both talked rubbish.T'was a good job Cockney songsters Chas 'n' Dave weren't listening in, otherwise they may have been tempted to change their lyrics.Yup-yup-rubbish rubbish. Yup-yup-rubbish rubbish You see, my guest wasn't just anybody. It was my new friend Fran who'd popped over to pick up my booty of unrecyclable odds and single sods...

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Coming of Age!

Hi everyone. Don't have much time to hang around at the moment, because I am expecting a very special guest this morning and I've got so much to do...clean the floors, get things ready, make some bread etc. You know how it is when you've only got an hour or so...blah,blah blah.But I just wanted to pop in to say that this week is a real special week, which is why I am so glad my guest can make it today......because, later this week I will be celebrating the first anniversary of my Zero Waste challenge and indeed the first anniversary of this blog...a blogaversary as they say in the business.But...

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Cosmetic changes in the bathroom cabinet

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Folks, this is what we're up against!

Sourced from an article in yesterday's online Guardian:"Millions of people who recycle their rubbish could find it becomes a futile exercise due to the government's failure to provide enough facilities to prevent it from being dumped in landfill sites, a report from a Whitehall watchdog warns today.Homeowners and tenants could also have to foot the bill for fines totalling hundreds of millions of pounds because their council has fallen behind in developing recycling schemes.The EU has set a deadline of 2013 to halve dumping in landfill sites; the government faces fines if it misses the target...

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Buying fish on my doorstep

"Are you interested in buying fish?" asked the man at the door."Well I'm a bit busy at the moment. Just finishing off my work!" I replied.Work(?)...gerroff...I was just desparate to put the Eglu video on my blog. I looked at my watch. Time was tight and I'd soon have to pick up the kids from school.Then came my inner nag. The one that said I should eat more fish along with the rest of the family. I paused. Do I? Don't I? Shall I? Shan't I?"What's the packaging like?""It comes in recyclable cardboard box, which we can take off your hands - would you like me to show you?"Now if a man wants...

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The Eglu has landed

Looks like we've now got some work to do. So it's time to start preparing the chicken run and get to know some more chicken folk before we go and select our brood.It's so eggciting... I know, I know. I'm not known for my jokes. But at least I'm a "good egg". Boom B...

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Make do and mend!

Being a stay at home mother, I spend many an hour doing the washing. You know how it is. With two little boys on the go and a husband, my life is surrounded by wet clothes.And the one thing that has supported me through all this has been my trusty clothes horse, bought sometime last century from Habitat for just £12.50. I remember this detail simply because I only pulled the price label off last year. Life's just been too busy washing pants. Pants here, pants there. Indeed pants every-blimmin-where.But with so much washing my poor clothes horse has begun to lean under the sheer weight of...

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Ruby's Rubbish Surprise: reporting live from York

Today I am delighted to feature a guest post by my dear friend Ruby. If you've been following The Rubbish Diet for most of the last year, you may remember her own rubbish revelations when she had a go at slimming her own bin last summer.After working hard to sort out her compostables in her brand spanking new brown wheelie bin, her recyclables in her old blue one and reducing her HUGE black landfill bin by an amazing 50%... she only went and boogered off to Yorkshire.Well life's not the same without her in Bury St Edmunds. And as far as rubbish is concerned Ruby certainly got a shock when she...

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