38 Degrees and other campaigns (Power to the People)

Cutting down on waste, freeing up clutter and starting to take control of our finances seems to have simultaneously increased how much I care about issues outside of my little world, and given me the energy to do something about them.

Here are a few of the campaigns I have joined:

38 Degrees

I joined Hugh Fearnley-Wittingstall's Chicken Out campaign when it first started but it remains one of the campaigns I care most about.

Anyone who knows me, knows that my other big dream in addition to owning rescued chickens, is to have my own bee hives. I have recently put my money where my mouth is for bumble bees here.

and signed a petition to ask the government to ban pesticides to save honeybees here.

While I was on the Soil Association site I also joined and signed up to be a letter writer. I will report back on the benefits and discounts I receive on top of feeling good about myself!

It feels good to be in a place where I can give back some of the energy and riches I have in my life now.

SarahandJoe x

We Few Form A Multitude

As part of my ongoing commitment to being green and being frugal, I set up a Facebook Group for friends and friends of friends in the Norwich area, to swap or barter plants, seeds equipment or produce and who are also interested in using collective buying power to get a better deal on organic/local/green produce and groceries.

We range from allottmenteers to window boxers, but all have in common a love of growing our own on whatever scale and a desire to live as carefully and frugally as possible.

I got the idea from the superb Soil Association website which you can find here:

http://www.soilassociation.org/Takeaction/Buyorganic/Organicbuyinggroups/tabid/203/Default.aspx

While you are on the site please take the time to sign the Save the Bee petition.

If you live in the Norwich area and want to join our Facebook Group, you can find us here:

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=10054&uid=106013998111#/group.php?gid=106013998111

We have a PYO and jam making day coming up, seeds on offer, a seasonal recipe section and groceries order coming soon.

SarahandJoe

Why I love debt by Miss Thrifty

I've been a fan of Miss Thrifty for a long time, but the more I read of her blog, the more inspirational I find her.

I think it is definitely time for Joe and me to start putting this inspiration into practice - after all our ideal Guynan life is debt free!

Read Miss Thrifty's story here:

Why I love debt

Posted using ShareThis

Follow her blog here:

http://www.miss-thrifty.co.uk/

Jolly Green Guynans ...

It occurs to me that I can't really achieve an aim of going greener, or living more authentically, without first trying to gauge how green and/or authentic we already are.

Accordingly we challenge ourselves to a month without supermarket shopping, to get a feel for how dependent we are, and also to give ourselves the incentive to find local, greener and possibly more frugal ways of fulfilling our needs.

While we don't exactly fall at the first hurdle: we have a local butchers, grow some fruit and veg in tubs in the garden and have a local shop/off license; (although oops we buy French wine - will have to work out how to offset those food miles later) it does throw up some areas that need more serious research, not least of which are cat food, toiletries and petrol.

While I'm sure that most people would laugh at the idea of green petrol, as someone with a disability which completely precludes cycling at present, and often means public transport isn't an option, the question of how best to remain mobile and still minimise my impact on the planet is not as simple as it might seem at first.

Obviously more research is needed, and if anyone out there has any pointers, I'd be most grateful.

SarahandJoe

Rub-A-Dub-Dub 3 Plants in a Tub

Our neighbors have been refurbishing their bathroom and being the kind of person that hates to see something go to waste I have been covetously eying their discarded bath tub. No one therefore could have been more delighted when they mentioned somewhat gloomily over the garden fence that they didn't know how they were going to get rid of it.

Needless to say it now resides in my garden and 8 bags of compost later is now home to my large pumpkin plant and two gourd plants, and when I harvest them I'm thinking deep enough for carrots!

The story so far ...

After the shadows of court cases, job loss and chronic illness, Joe and I suddenly find ourselves standing in sunlight. The court case over, the new job satisfying and a potential miracle drug for the pain. I'm still thinking about the miracle drug - there could be a lot of side effects, but it's nice to have time to think, time to make plans, time to think how we want our lives be.

And needless to say we have lots of ideas on how we want our future to be. Some of those ideas will be the subject of this blog, but for the moment I want to start our new life by saying I feel blessed, and I am grateful.

Sarah&Joe