All posts by A lazy Girl Goes green

A self-confessed dreamer and wannabe hippy; I’m passionate about living greener; for a happy, healthier body and planet. But unfortunately, I’m also passionate about lie-ins, catch up TV and convenience food! Can I change?
Green food, Green Living, War on waste, What to buy, Where to shop

Day 5 of Local for Lent: The Natural Store

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I’m now five days into my attempt to avoid supermarkets for lent, and so far so (almost) good. I had a little hick up late on Friday night when I needed to get a few bits and all the shops in my village were shut apart from a large supermarket chain. So I must admit I did cheat a little, but compromised and bought two things that couldn’t wait till the morning when the local shops opened again. Note to self: be better prepared next time!!

So yesterday, whilst enjoying a day out in Falmouth, I popped into my favorite Cornish chain, The Natural Store, to stock up on some bits and bobs (and indulge in a few non essential treats!) Alongside the Falmouth branch there is one in Helston and nearer to me in St Austell, but Falmouth is much bigger and is in fact slit into two stores; one for food stuff and one for home and body.

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Continue reading Day 5 of Local for Lent: The Natural Store →

Green fashion, War on waste, What to buy, Where to shop, Zero Waste Week

Plastic Bottle Fashion

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Along with my purse, phone and keys, I carry my bobble water bottle wherever I go. It’s not necessarily that I’m a big water drinker (in fact, sometimes I can go all day without drinking any at all) but I never want to be caught short and forced to buy bottled water from the shop. Ever since I discovered more about the devastating effects of plastic pollution,  the idea of buying water bottled when its readily available in taps makes no sense to me.

That said, we all get caught out once in a while, and the fact is that billions of plastic bottles continue to be produced worldwide. But what if these bottles could be recycled, and re-appropriated into something useful? Well I recently came across a company who is trying to salvage our plastic bottles, and turn them into things we can wear and use; and a lot of big brands are in on it.

Continue reading Plastic Bottle Fashion →

Sustainability, Upcycling, Zero Waste Week

One Big Reason to Start Stamp Collecting

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If, unlike me, you were inundated by Valentines cards last weekend, you might have a backlog of stamped envelopes at home. If not, there is no reason you shouldn’t start  the age old tradition of stamp collecting for one big reason: charities can make money from them.

Until not long ago, any old paper items went straight into the basket next to our log burner for bulking up our winter fires, or straight into the paper recycling box. And it never really occurred to me that peeling stamps off envelopes would be of any use to anyone. But, perhaps 10 years after everyone else, I discovered that charities like oxfam, PDSA and RNIB all raise funds through the collection of stamps. All you have to do is cut them off your envelope, save in a pot and post over to your chosen charity using the address’ below. What a great way to recycle, reuse and fundraise!

Charities who receive Stamps:

RSPB: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
Send loose stamps to: RSPB Stamps, PO Box 6198, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, LU7 9XT

PDSA: People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals
Send used stamps to: PDSA Stamp Appeal, PO Box 9191, Wishaw, Lanarkshire, ML2 0YB

Hearing Dogs for Deaf People
Send to: PO Box 6198, Leighton Buzzard, Beds, LU7 9GW

Animal SOS Sri Lanka o Send to: Animal SOS Sri Lanka, 64 Fair Acres, Prestwood, Great Missenden, Buck, HP16 0LE RNIB: Royal

National Institute of Blind People
Sort into UK and foreign and send to: RNIB Stamp Recycling, PO Box 185, Benfleet, SS7 9BH

OXFAM
Donate to any shop, email jawhitaker@oxfam.org.uk for more info

MS Trust: Multiple Sclerosis Trust 
Send to: MS Trust, Bridge Road, Letchworth Garden City, Herts, SG6 4ET

You can see a comprehensive list, including local charities here .

Green food, Green Living, What to buy, Where to shop, Zero Waste Week

Giving up supermarkets for Lent

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Coffee, chocolate and wine…the many pleasures I have tried to give up for lent. Unsuccessfully of course. But why is it that giving something up always sounds like a depressing way to deprive yourself of something you like? What if we switched it, and gave up things we couldn’t give two hoots about?

Well, that’s exactly what I’m planning to do this time around. Instead of giving up something for lent that becomes a countdown to the moment it meets my lips again, I’m giving up something I have been trying to do for a while: Supermarkets. Not like I have anything against the big boys, they offer incredible vale on tinned tomatoes and sacks of rice; but when you live somewhere with such a thriving local foody culture, it seems mad not to tap in to some good old Cornish produce. There are markets and farm shops galore around here, and we happen to have one of the most delicious bakeries where I work at the Eden Project.

In fact, even our local independent healthfood shop sells everything I need for my vegan diet; from nuts, seeds and flour, to soy milk, tempeh and (most importantly) dairy-free ice cream!

My biggest worry though, will be reigning in my budget so I can keep on track with my recent realisation that my travelling savings has gone a little bottoms up. But buying in bulk, cooking smart and eating for my height (instead of my greed) will certainly help.

So what do you think? Fancy challenging yourself to live supermarket free for lent? I can guarantee it will be rewarding to switch those pesky trolleys and grumpy checkout ladies, for local producers doing their thing in your community. Plus, it’s much nicer proposition that giving up something you actually like, surely?!

Keep up with me, and some of my wonderful green blogging freinds, on Twitter to see how we get on:   

Green ideas, Green Living, Reviews, Sustainability, What to buy

Book Review: Green Moxie’s Guide to Sustainable Living

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This weekend, I’m a bit of a kid in a (vegan) candy shop. I’ve managed to get my hands on one of the most exciting green books of the year: Green Moxie’s Guide to Sustainable living, and I’ve been dying to share my thought with you all!

I’ve been a massive fan of Toronto based Nikki Fotheringham and her website Green Moxie ever since I began A Lazy Girl Goes Green last year, and have be fortunate enough to do a few blog swaps with the sustainability legend. What struck me from the outset was how honest, funny and down to earth Nikki was with her approach to sustainability. Though she specialises in environmentally-friendly building technologies and renewable energy, her cheeky and stylish approach to green living makes it a more accessible, and in fact desirable, way to live.  Continue reading Book Review: Green Moxie’s Guide to Sustainable Living →

General ramblings

Can you really be green and poor?

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This past year, my lazy green journey has generally led to the formation of habits which are not only healthy for my body, and nice to the planet, but save me a bit of money too. I buy less stuff – such as clothes, toiletries and gadgets – and save on things like petrol, electricity and heating bills. I’ve banked hundreds of pounds a year from carrying my own water bottle and shopping bags; all in the name of throwing away less, and saving more.

But an interesting thing happened this week, when I had to go over every inch of my outgoings, in order to penny pinch in preparation for  my upcoming backpacking trip. At a point when I’ve realised my savings budget has been dipped into one too many times, I need to save big time if I’m going to live the dream in less than 8 months time. But how do you save even more money, when you already feel like a budget conscious cave woman living a life of little frivolity?  Continue reading Can you really be green and poor? →

Green Living, Green news, Interviews, Sustainability

Your Green Life: Elsie Bryant (Development Truths)

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I’m sure I have said before that sustainability is not just about recycling, organic food and solar panels. It’s also about all of us wonderful human beings, and how we treat each other and the world around us. I choose to be an optimist when it comes to the intentions of others, and believe that deep down we all want the best for the world; and will do anything in our power to make it fair, safe and enjoyable for everyone in it. But as we all know, information spins around so freely these days, conflict and confusion can happen; and we are often unsure what to believe when it comes to “making a difference”.

Well, let me introduce a very inspiring young lady, who happens to be one of my nearest and dearest friends: Miss Elsie Bryant! Having worked in many areas of sustainability – from Start UK and UK Green Building Council, to  awesome events such as Bristol’s Big Green Week – Elsie has worked her communications & campaigning magic across the UK green world. But her true passion lies in people; and her interest in international develop has lead to her fabulous work as an inspiring Humanitarian and environmental entrepreneur. Her personal blog, Development Truths, is an honest and frank look at the world of international development; which seeks to challenge, but not judge, our perceptions of the world around us.

And from a personal, extremely biased perspective, I simply love this chick!!

Continue reading Your Green Life: Elsie Bryant (Development Truths) →

Facts and Stats, Green Home, Green news, renewable energy, Sustainability

Understanding: Fracking

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I’ve been seeing an increase of stories in the news recently about ordinary people rising up, and standing up against plans for fracking in their local area. Using assertive, yet relatively peaceful, campaigning method; I’ve seen everyone from passionate, student activists to concerned, middle-aged housewives taking to the streets with placards, or writing forceful letters of objection to their MPs. This subject is a hot bed for debate in the UK right now, and everyone’s in on it.

But I must admit, until not long ago, I had largely been oblivious to what fracking actually was; simply relaxing into the view that it was something that was bad for the environment but too technical for me to understand. I’m guessing I’m not the only one to shy away from the more industrial side of sustainability, so I thought a “Fracking in a nutshell” post might be helpful! (plus I’m a massive Battlestar Gallactica fan so have been dying to over use the word Frack for years!)

Continue reading Understanding: Fracking →