soapnuts, sewing and garden happiness

remember the other week when I said I ordered a sample of soapnuts? I used them and still feel undecided. I love the feeling knowing I m using something eco, but I am not a fan of their smell. The smell does fade after being on the washing line, but what about in the winter when everything is dried indoors?

I decided that a smell should not put me off doing something so good. With this in mind I ordered 500g of them to make a more informed decision. I have found that if I add a small amount of white vinegar to the wash the smell isn't as noticable.

So today I ran out of washing up liquid, was about to go to the shop to buy some more when I saw that you can make a cleaning liquid from the nuts which can be used for just about everything; washing up, cleaning the house, washing, screen wash for the car- I am amazed how versatile it is and decided to make some.  I washed up with it after dinner and the plates were clean, the real test will be after roasts or something similarly hard to wash up after.

I also managed to finish the dining chair cushions;

 Well they are finished if you overlook the lack of zip, to fasten them! That will have to wait til next when when I have had time to go and buy them.

 I am pleased with the results of them, not exactly as I had imagined, but I like them a lot.

I am also liking how full of food my garden is;

This is our main vegetable patch, full off carrots, onions and salad mainly. The raspberried are starting to form as well. further up the garden the peas are starting to grow pods, and the first tomato is starting to grow, am so proud of my veggie babies.

My new challenge

I have decided on a new goal I want ot reduce the amount of waste we produce as a family. Since moving to the house and having the compost bin I have found that we have almost halved our waste. I would like to reduce this further. Currently when I put my rubbish out for weekly collection we have 1 full black bag going to landfill, my aim is to reduce this further. I have discovered one main way I can do this as most of our waste is the plastic packaging that food comes from the supermarket in, you know those clear plastic pots that your pork chops are laid out in.
The main way I can do this is by not buying these products in the supermarket. I am planning on either going to the butcher or ordering meat direct from the farm with my veg box (which I am ticked off I forgot to order this week, hence the trip to the supermarket).

Have been doing a lot of thinking today, some products I buy in the supermarket because thats what I have always done. I don't think I can realistically stretch my budget to buying erveything from the farmers, so some things will still have to be purchased in the supermarket. I try to drive as little as possible especially now I need to drive the children to shool/ nursery everyday as the distance would be impossible for us to walk and still be on time, or not need to wake up at stupid o'clock! So I try to combine trips like going to the supermarket when I dro the children up, therefore reducing the amount of miles I would drive if I made seperate trips out.
I have a supermarket I prefer to use, but it is not near to the school so today I went to the one nearest the school. I found though that a lot of the produce that I know I can get british of, were not available from the UK in this supermarket. So I have ended up buying products with huge food miles.
Clearly this doesn't make sense, I drove 5(?) miles less to buy food that has flown hundreds of miles more. So lesson learnt when I do have to frequent the supermarket I will go to my preferred one and have food without the massive airmiles.

I guess then that there are 2 new efforts for me to make from that long rambling post
1. to buy less at the supermarkets thereby reducing waste
2. To reduce the airmiles my food has flown to get to the supermarket when I do have to go there.

not much talking but lots of reading!

I have been absent from blog land for a few days, due to busy real life! I have done lots of reading about more eco changes we can make as a family. I have been reading about using herbal infusions to help medically with coughs/colds etc; as a result I am planning to grow some herbs. I have tried in the past but they were not successful- this could have been due to trying to grow them in my flats kitchen, the kitchen there never had a window. My kitchen in the house has a nice size windowsill, which will be good to grow some herbs on according to my new book.
Talking of plants my garden is looking good, my strawberries have small green strawberries on am feeling rather excited about the fruits to come.

Another interesting idea I have been reading about is that of not using the soaps and cleaners which I usually use that contain all sorts of harmful chemicals. I have been replacing my existing products with eco versions as necessary; which are much better for the environment. I have also discovered soapnuts.
also found more websites which say that you can use them for more than cleaning your clothes, you can use them to make a liquid to clean the home, as well as your body and hair. Sounds pretty amazing things, can't wait to get my free sample and try them out.




I have made another pretty little dress with the plan to selling it, I still haven't decided the best place to sell it yet. So will store it and hopefully make some more produce by the time I have decided.