check out these green fingers!

We have been busy working in the garden this week. We have turned this

and this

into raised beds. It turns out I have forgotten to take the after pics yet! I will do those tomorrow. WE have planted rainbow carrots, onions, american cress, peppers and we have bought and planted a raspberry bush. The peas and sunflowers are still in the baskets they need to go into their beds. I also think I am going to plant some lettuces in the little bit of the patch that is still unplanted.

After chatting with my dad this morning I am also considering getting a fruit tree. The children were after an apple tree in B& Q the other day, I said no as I thought we would need more space to grow one. According to dad I can grow one in a large pot in the wasted psace next to our veg patch. So will look into that and how much the pot will cost during the next week.

I have been giving lots of consideration to our finances and our environmental impact this week. I have come up with a plan which wil hopefully help me spend less. I am going to go to the supermarket once a month and do a big sho rather than a small shop each week. This will (hopefully) prevent me from buying as much. Will also mean we have more time to do more fun things as a family. I am also going to remove any money not required for direct debits from my bank account eac week. Sperate what I have into different piles, e.g. food, diesel money etc etc. Any left in th epot at teh end of the week goes into the debt savings, in the hope I will begin to pay of some of my bills quicker.

I have also been thinking about my environmental impact. I have come up with a few ideas to reduce this;

1. Buy a seasonal vegetable box each week instead of buying whatever is on offer at the supermarket. I ordered one this week and was very impressed with the quality when it arrived. We got it from here http://http://www.foodforkent.co.uk/shop/basket.aspx

2. buy eco version of washing up liquid

3. buy eco wash powder. I was very impressed with the version we bought. It smells lovely, just have to hope it doesn't affect the children's excema- time will tell!

4. I bought an eco shower gel for Stephanie.

5. Not something I have done personally but it has rained A LOT so my water butt is half full, so when it stops raining again I can water the plants with rain water rather than tap water.

So very impressed with the changes so far. Plenty more I can make I have these planned;

1. Make seat cushions using my old pillows I have saved for this purpose.

2. I am going to buy a compost bin.

3. I am going to make some of our own clothes- probably Stephanie's to start with because she is smaller and less fussy than Dylan!

4. change all cleaning products over to eco versions as and when I need to replace them.

5. Look into eco toiletries for me.

There are lots more but I will discover these as I go along. I think small goals to start with as I will get too confused with lots of changes at once. I am going to check out the library when I remember to go and change our address to see if they have books with more tips in for us.

I am planning to implement the above 5 things during the month of May, then hopefully I will set some new goals for June. One I would like ot implement but is very hard given where Dylan's school is in relation to the new house is to drive less and walk more. Think we will achieve this better during weekends and school holidays.

More updates on our progress soon.