My Trashy Update!

What a couple of jewels I've discovered this weekend. Having spent the last few weeks indoors at my computer, it was a true delight to go out and play. And look what I've found.

My first discovery was Raspberry Rascals, a fantastic children's shop that's just opened in Langton Place, Bury St Edmunds. Here's Heather, the founder, sorting out a few clothes that I decided to buy for the children.



Now this shop might look expensive, but Raspberry Rascals isn't just any old new shop if you get my drift. It's a gorgeous nearly new store aimed at children under 5. With clothes, toys, books and nursery equipment, Raspberry Rascals stocks a wonderful range of items in such excellent condition, you'd hardly know they were pre-loved.

It's a real gem of a shop and a perfect addition to the town centre. I can see it will be a regular hang-out for a fussy bargain-hunter like me.

Talking of real gems, on Sunday I popped over to one of Bury St Edmunds' other treasures, the wonderful craft fair at Blackthorpe Barn, a major event in Suffolk's Christmas calendar.

And look who I bumped into! The fabulous Steve Weeks, who'd travelled all the way up from Wiltshire to promote her stunning collection of handcrafted bags



And they really are beautiful, but as you can jolly well guess, I wouldn't just rave about any old bags, apart from my gorgeous Radley of course.

You see, each handbag is made from rescued materials that are sourced locally, which means every item is unique and a real eco-friendly find. Steve's work is really worth a blog post of its own, so I'll be coming back to that in the new year. In the meantime, take a look for yourself at www.beaubags.co.uk.

And if the weekend wasn't exciting enough, Just Gai over at Zero Waist has published December's Carnival of Trash today, so do hop over and have a read of all the fabulous posts. Then when that's done, tune into BBC Radio Suffolk's James Hazell Show on Tuesday morning when I'll be popping up at around 11.10 to chat about minimising waste this Christmas.

At last I'm beginning to feel some festive vibes. It's about time too. After all, I've done nothing but polish off mince pies since Friday. So before my Christmas spirit takes another nosedive, I'm off to decorate the Christmas Tree and wrap some presents.

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A right rubbish matchmaker

Oh...I'm feeling like Cilla Black on Blind Date...

I've been matchmaking...and it's so exciting...but not how you'd think!

This particular story begins with an evening out with friends at an Indian Restaurant last night. An evening of hilarity and good humour, full of all sorts of innuendos...the fun, the laughter...well you know how it is!

One minute you're having a regular night out innocently enjoying your meal. Then before you know it time's whizzed by and the hot towels arrive, a refreshing treat at the end of the evening.

Of course I couldn't wash my hands without asking THE question about what happened to the towels once they were used.

"Madam, I'm afraid we throw them away" came the answer.

"AWAY!"

"Er yes madam."

Well I wasn't having that. Looking at the towels again, there was no logical reason why they couldn't be put to good use as reusable wipes for the kids or as cleaning cloths perhaps...so I popped them in my bag and brought them home to wash.

Yes I know it might appear to be eccentric behaviour, others might say my rescue mission was fuelled by wine.

But when you wake up to waste, I'm afraid you can't close your eyes to it even after a few glasses of the white stuff.

So yes, I rescued 7 hand towels. But thinking about it, they are just a drop in the ocean when you consider the numbers that must be used in a whole day, a week, or indeed a year, not by one restaurant but the thousands of establishments across the country.

But guess what...for this particular restaurant, there is indeed a happy outcome.

In idle gossip today, I mentioned the story to a friend.

We both frowned, seethed and tutted.

Then came the spark of ingenuity.

"I always need cleaning cloths" she remarked

"I can give 'em a wash and use them in my cafe".

Well, what can you say to that!

The only thing to do was to skip home, get on the blower to the restaurant manager and make a date!

And that's where this story ends...well for the moment.

I've got his mobile so she can give him a call and arrange a regular pick-up.

A neat solution to a wasteful issue.

I think my work is done!

So next time you're out for a curry and are freshening up at the end of your meal, please do be inquisitive. Who knows what could happen!

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Liquid Soap Virgin

Sorry I haven't got time to blog much at the moment, busy writing book and all that. But I did tear myself away to make some new liquid soap for the bathroom.

I've never made it before, so I thought I'd video it so we could all see how easy or indeed difficult it was. What's great about the ingredients is that they're all natural and don't contain any nasty chemicals and they can be used to keep refilling any old bottle you've got hanging around. And of course it's one less thing to pick up at the supermarket.

So how easy is it? Well here's the video




All ingredients can be purchased from Summer Naturals. And if you want to see what else you can make, check out some recipes here. If anyone else knows of other things that are just as simple for a novice to make, please share, who knows what I'll get up to when in the mood.

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The Hen Party

My weekend was so exciting. I went to a neighbour's house to meet up with some special girls. It was a Hen Party run on behalf of Omlet for people interested in keeping chickens. Truth of the matter is I've been feeling broody for years and these ones had me running home clucking with intentions.

So if you fancy the idea of keeping some too and want a sneaky peek at how to handle a chicken, check out the video below. They're gorgeous! (Huge thanks to Graham for agreeing to be uploaded and featured).






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All in a Christmas lather

Blimmin 'eck. It's Sunday night and there's a bit of a lather going on in the Almost Average household.

I've been falling over myself with responsibilities with the dawning realisation that the festive season is upon us and the one thing that I really want for Christmas isn't really possible. It might sound drastic but I could do with the whole thing being pushed back a few months.

Blubbedyrubbedyflibbedy-woo. The tell-tale signs are starting.

Take last week. Mr A went brought our Christmas tree home and put it up on Wednesday (we always do it early in our house). I had explained that it would not be possible to decorate until Friday.

So the bare tree sat in the corner of the living room.

There were my school governor responsibilities to deal with on Thursday followed by speaking at a regional Climate Change conference on Friday. With so much impending excitement leaving me on the cusp of turning green, by the time the evening arrived I'd felt like an alien had eaten my brain. All I could do was stay awake long enough to enjoy the curry that Mr A had made to celebrate the anniversary of when we first met back in 1992. A delicious Rogan Josh followed by a big long sleep.

So the tree stood bare in the corner again.

Then there was the book to write in the morning, followed by a quick visit to the market and then an afternoon Hen Party with a difference as well as a champagne laced Christmas party on Saturday night.

Flibbedy-wibbedy-wotsits.

Another busy day today and the tree's still bare. Too tired to do it tonight. It's a two hour job that'll have to wait till tomorrow.

Problem is...I'm beginning to like the minimalist look and I think I'd like it to stay. Perhaps pop an angel on top to show some festive spirit.

But someone's been busy in my absence. I think they're a bit desperate, either that or the Christmas fairies have got some other ideas. Have a look at the photo again. It's certainly a new take on a hanging decoration.

Having been woken up early by my 4 year old for the 7th day running, I'm now off to bed to catch up on my beauty sleep. But don't let that spoil your fun.

Before you head off, be sure to visit the brilliant Just Gai over at the ZeroWaist blog to find out how you can take part in the Christmas Carnival of Trash that's taking place on the 15th December. Looks like I've got the perfect Christmas Tree photo to kick off the seasonal fun. So please join in and submit your entry by Friday 12th and do take time to find out how Just Gai managed with her own zero waste challenge earlier this year.

And come back soon, when I'll be revealing some photos of my neighbour's hen party. It was definitely the best zero waste event I could have wished for

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We would love you to recycle this packaging...

"....but you have to separate the cardboard from any plastic. Just pop it along to your local recycling centre, and place it in the relevant bin."

Well what can I say? I must be in chocolate heaven and so close to Christmas too! Not only am I sat enjoying a box of yummy Thorntons chocolate mints, but the considerate product designers have included instructions on what I should do with the packaging.

It's common knowledge that one of the problems with getting people to recycle is the lack of knowledge about whether something can be recycled. Indeed 48% of recyclers interviewed for WRAP's Barriers to Recycling study admitted to throwing things in the bin because they weren't sure what to do.

Which is why explicit instructions on consumer products is an absolute necessity.

So if you're the type of person who screams at products that whisper the words "Recyclable if facilities exist" with no hint of the materials used, you'll be inspired by Thorntons' range of chocolates that shout their credentials so loudly you'll no longer need a degree to work out your options.

Take the Mint Collection for example. The instructions explicitly state that the plastic used is 50% recycled PET, enabling consumers to check local facilities with confidence. The cushion pad that protects the chocolates can be recycled too, as it's just paper. I know that from simply reading the box. I didn't even have to tear it up to work it out.

How refreshing to find a product where there is no ambiguity over its core packaging. This is most definitely a worthy zero waste benchmark, especially as Thorntons are one of the few chocolate manufacturers to avoid wrapping their products in that annoyingly awkward film. Of course if I wanted to be picky, I would suggest an extra note for recycling the foil wrappers, but I'll be thankful for small mercies that things are moving in right direction.

And Thorntons aren't the only ones at it. It seems Nestle have been making an effort too, proudly announcing their kids' selection box now uses 40% less packaging than previous products and boasts clear instructions to recycle the plastic tray, which itself is made from 50% recycled PET (RPET) and 75% recycled board.


Yes I know it's cheaper and a more sensible zero waste option to pick your own selection and package them up yourself, but millions of people buy these things and even I remember the excitement over that special box at Christmas, so this feels like positive progress too.

But we can't forget that all these positive noises about recycling come at a time when the market for recyclables has taken a nose-dive. The good news is that WRAP has just launched a help service for local authorities that have concerns about their mounting piles of materials and their advice to the public is to keep recycling what packaging you can. I suppose these resources are just like stocks and shares. What's down one day is up the next and markets are still available for quality products, just as these chocolate boxes illustrate. Now that should inspire consumer confidence.

And talking about quality products...it's time to get back to that box of chocolates. Well this is The Rubbish Diet after all...but at least you know I'll be responsible with the empty box.

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Just look how I fell off the wagon!

Now if you'd spent a whole month trying to avoid buying nothing new, what would be the first thing to encourage you to part with your cash? Bet it wouldn't be a tub of dishwasher powder! Something with a touch of luxury would probably win the day and who could blame you.

But for me it was pure unadulterated minimal packaging that broke the financial fast, a tub of Bio-D dishwasher powder, a gleeful alternative to packaged tablets that are not just fiddly to open, but make it difficult to be more economic with measures, especially those with the plastic wrappers that dissolve in the dishwasher.

By now you probably think that I'm either jolly sensible, satisfactorily frugal, or indeed barking mad. A combination of all three might be appropriate. A Buy Nothing New month, in November, just before Christmas...perhaps bonkers might spring to mind.

But with the exception of some new pyjamas - bought to cobble together an elf costume for the Defender of the Bin's Christmas play - we did it! And oh boy did we save a decent amount of cash in the process. Mr A avoided the departments stores down in London and rejected the temptation of a brand new extension set for his Warhammer hobby. That alone saved us a whopping £100. I denied myself a couple of books and avoided all my usual retail haunts. Altogether, I reckon we saved ourselves about £200 from our usual whimsical spending.

So what about Monday...the first day of December and the end of our month's challenge?

Did I rush to the shops? No

Was I itching to treat myself? No

Was my credit card burning a whole in my pocket? No

So I got away with it for another day then....a whole new me?

er..............hum......................No.

Well, I would have got away with it if it hadn't been for those pesky kids, er I mean the most wonderful people over at Natural Collection with their fabulous range of goodies.

You see, all I did was innocently log on during Monday evening to buy a a tub of Dishwasher Powder. Yep, the one shown above, which is refillable and a super duper Zero-Waste winner.

But with my Christmas browsing head on I happened upon this....



a solar powered lamp that would be perfect for the kids' playden, which means they can hang out there after school even in the Winter.

Then this...


a solar powered multi-gadget recharger, ideal for charging up Mr A's phone and other gadgets. Never will his Blackberry be out of juice again.

And just as I was closing down, I saw the most delicious present for the kids...



Mr Robot Head, a wind-up toy which looks like it could prove an interesting challenge for the whole of the family and no doubt will create a big buzz this Christmas.

Look at him....how could I say no!

Kerching!

The best bit for me is that I covered most of my Christmas shopping in just one evening and even remembered the wrapping paper, recycled of course. And with all that's on offer, I may be revisiting Natural Collection very soon to finish the task in hand.

So there you have it. The end of the challenge and the credit card put to work again.

I just hope Gordon Brown will be pleased with my efforts as I'm always a good barometer for the economy you know.

So it's now feet up and rest until I welcome my delivery!

This is my kind of Christmas shopping.


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