I was really excited to find out about the new Take Out With Out Campaign, directed at reducing the use of unnecessary plastics and packaging with take out food. They have the very sensible creed:

ReFuse Unnecessary Stuff

When taking out, refuse the unnecessary packaging! Think about the spoons, forks, straws, and napkins that you get served (why do they give you enough for a family of 20 when eating alone?). Ask yourself before accepting all these items, “Do I really need all of this?”, “Am I going to be eating this right away?” (If so, why take the bag or the napkins)… just enjoy your muffin – and be neat so the napkin isn’t needed!

ReTakeYour Own Reusables

Bring your own reusables (BYOR) and you won’t need to use the can – garbage, that is. You can bring your own containers, straws, cutlery, mugs, bottles, and even your own bag – It’s so easy to find and use!

ReConsiderYour Habits

It’s easy to fall into a routine, so why not choose to create a new one? Reconsider and readjust your habits and adopt healthier eating strategies – it might be challenging at first – but it will save you time, money, your health, and our world. The bonus? You’ll feel like an eco-hero and will inspire others around you to follow suit.

It’s a great little campaign which includes posters and wallet sized tips you can download, an interesting blog and a list of restaurants which support the cause. I usually bring my own bags where I go, and still often have to state more than once “I don’t need a bag thanks”, and I think this is a great extension of the BYO bag idea, taking it up a notch. We’ve seen it happen with the reusable coffee cups such as the Keep Cups we reviewed last last year and I think this is the next step. It would be great if restaurants and cafes supported the enterprise by offering a small discount to those who BYO their own containers etc since they are saving on packaging.

pic from here

Curtains have many benefits in keeping out heat and sunlight. Ask around your relatives, most people seem to have a spare pair of the rubber backed insulated curtains stashed in a cupboard somewhere.

Alternatively you might like to pick up a pair cheaply at a charity shop or ebay or even make your own. Make some ties whilst you are there, you’ll want them open in the mornings. Here’s a great easy tutorial, making curtains is pretty much just about sewing straight lines which get easier with practice!

1. Stay home and celebrate
Seriously, I ‘ve always suspected that NYE is the night for people who don’t go out any other night of year.

As green planet suggests

if you stay home and host your own ring-in-the-new shindig, you’ll save transportation emissions—and, of course, money. You’ll also be able to better control the environmental impact of your night, from sending out email invitations to preventing the food and paper waste that comes from bars and restaurants.

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Who needs pricey wrapping paper when you can make the most of old clothes? Cut flannel shirts or pants apart at the seams, making large rectangle-ish pieces. Make sure that you have enough to cover the box you’re using, then wrap as if you were using paper and secure with double-stick tape. (Put a few strips of double-stick tape on the box to help hold the fabric in place.) Tie bows out of shoelaces or with strips of felt. To make a fabric box topper, cut the hem off a leftover shirt and spiral it into an overlapping circle. Scrunch and gather in the middle. Stitch the center with a needle and thread and use double-stick tape or a safety pin to secure it to the top of your box. (By Amu Palanjian via ReadyMade)

Photos by Kathryn Gamble & Rick Lozier

As a renter I don’t really see the point of store bought Christmas trees. They’re synthetic and kinda ugly and we have no where to store them inbetween Christmases (like most rental properties, storage cupboards are lacking). I don’t see in the point of a cut tree, and the potted variety seem to die off in the summer heat anyway.

I also should mention that we don’t really have the space for a big Christmas tree, our living room is quite small!

So I was excited to see these photos of DIY christmas trees using household objects…

The first three are from here. The ladder looks great and I like it as it doesn’t take up too much space. The second photograph is of an old drying rack, I think something similar could definitely be made with an old clothes horse!

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People are incredibly sentimental about gift giving and card sending at Christmas. Even as they grow older, many people are miffed, disturbed or shocked by the idea of buying people gifts. Many are even worse about Christmas cards

Do you send Christmas cards? Do you give gifts? For whom? Why?

Some thoughts on Christmas cards

Why use them?

We tend not to bother at all. Greeting cards and gift tags are abundant in almost every household over the festive season.

pic via here

They represent an investment in energy, water and raw materials – so choosing wisely can minimise their environmental impact

We generally send Christmas cards to let people know we are thinking of them in the ‘holiday’ seasons. What’s wrong with a thoughtful phone call? Or failing that, an SMS? Since the advent of SMS I’ve been getting at least 15 SMS messages from friends all around the world on Christmas Day, not to mention all the ones complaining about their family members.

For a more personal touch we tend to make web cam videos with a brief greeting which we send to friends and family overseas. Not those kind of videos! Just us saying Merry Christmas and whatever else we can think of. Much easier than attempting neat handwriting after a year of typing!

If you must buy some, look for those made from recycled materials. You can often find ones made locally where the proceeds of their sales go to various charities. Visit Planet Ark for info about recycling in the festive season.

You can also buy or make some re-use Christmas card labels so you can re-use this year’s cards next Christmas. You could add a couple with any card you send so that they in turn can be reused again.

In regard to gift tags to stick onto presents I find it’s easiest to just make my own. These were made from some left over paint chips.

Ways to reduce gift giving

By arrangement everyone puts all the names into a hat and only has to give one gift each, kris krindle style.

Offer people a homemade meal in the new year rather than a gift.

Make a donation to charity on the person’s behalf. Especially if they are someone who has everything anyway.

Organise a swap party at your workplace of previous unwanted gifts you’ve recieved that you haven’t had the opportunity to throw away.

Over the next few weeks we’ll be featuring a range of easy tutorials for gifts you can make for friends and family. We’ll also be looking at why you should be locally, buy ethically and buy handmade.

I successfully managed to avoid Melbourne Cup shennanigans and did loads of stuff at home. I finally had  time to do some batch cooking. I’m a strong believer in batch cooking. It allows you to cook in bulk and freeze in smaller portions, saving money and food wastage. I cooked up a heap of brown rice, dahl and mexican beans.

Chris picked a heap of produce from our garden so I sorted it out into cooking, salad and beans!Amazing stuff when it’s from your very own garden.

For breaky I had a potato (cooked in the microwave with the brown rice) with mexican beans and avocado.

I paid a visit to the rather good Radical Grocery Store in Sydney Road, Brunswick. I was pleased at the wide range of products but a little disappointed how many products aren’t available in ‘mainstream’ supermarkets.  I guess it shows how hard it is to run a ethical company and compete with all the big producers, let along get your products stocked!

Not everything was super cheap, but it would be no different to doing all your shopping at a gourmet deli or some such. Further, I’m trying to eat lots of fresh wholefoods rather than only vegan alternatives of carnivore products so it’s not like I’m relying on speciality shops for the bulk of my meals. Far from it.

I picked up some quinoa, chai tea, vegan cheese, vegan schnitzel (Chris loves these)  and a rather splendid Funky pie. Funky pies are a vegan pie making company in Sydney that sell their products all around Australia.

The pie was really yummy: