Inspiration from Abroad

On our recent trip to Australia we stayed with my stepson and daughter in law, and baby Kian. Amy is a great mum, making conscious green decisions about parenting. She uses cloth nappies for Kian, which come in cute designs, but reports that only 2 out of her mother's group of 20 do this. We obviously have a long way to go...

They also have a room of sturdy plastic toys and play equipment. Alarming? No, they got them preloved from Gumtree for a song, and will sell them again when they are finished with them.  

We also visited with friends, and I had admired these quirky little glass artworks, with text, which so appealed to me. As we were leaving, Bindy gave me a couple to take home for inspiration.

I happened on an interesting site while reading my Aussie magazines on the plane. It is 3things.org.au - this is a link to the blog, but there is also a place for everyone to list 3 things that they are doing to change the world - from small to large. It's inspiring to read what others have written.

Washing Clothes
It is well publicized that we wash our clothes too much, which is not the environmentally friendly thing to do, but it is a hard habit to break. There is nothing like travel to break you of this habit  - with one case of clothes, and not your usual easy access to washing and drying. Even I, who hate to travel light, managed more rewear than usual. I still couldn't wear my jeans for 4 weeks, every day without washing them as was suggested in one article I read. It's easy to manage the rewear thing at home though, as no one sees me, and I can end up with some weird and wonderful combinations.