Wordless Wednesday

Australia

A Little Gift.....

from a darling son.

Who is able to always find me a gift I love even when he's on the strictest of budgets-now that's one gift that HE has!!

Do you have THAT gift??

Caroline xoxo

Reducing Plastics in your Home & Thrift Shopping

For many many years now I have been trying to reduce the use of plastics in my home. This came to the forefront of my concerns when my last child was born with Autism. These kids are and/or very likely to be overloaded & effected by chemicals.

By the way Lego is one of the most stable plastics you can get, thank goodness -my last born is obsessed with it.

Most people know of the nasty chemicals used in the making of plastics and how these can leach into the products contained in them. Plastics contain molecules called Phthalates (which effect the endocrine system) they infiltrate everything they touch as well as this they are by-products of the petroleum industry which makes them a big pollutant.

Usually the cheaper the plastic container the more chemically unstable it is. For example pharmaceutical plastic is much more stable than say your cheap plastic container from the dollar shop.(Have you ever walked into one of these dollar shops and smelt the plastic chemical in the air? my youngest used to go troppo in those shops) this is because the harder the plastic the more chemically stable it is.(hence leggo being ok)

So please, if you do have a lot of plastics please make sure they are not the soft variety and avoid vinyl's which are highly unstable. Leather is a good alternative to vinyl and yes, I know of the price difference but the initial outlay is nothing compared to the years of use you will get out of leather if you maintain it well.

The photo above of the ceramic pumpkin container is what I picked up at the op-shop for $8. I was going to use it to store my homemade Laundry Detergent in but the shelf in my laundry isn't big enough for it so I am now storing my dog treats in it. Unfortunately the lid does not seal well enough to store food stuffs in it. Still a great thrift shop bargain though which I am sure I will use for many years to come.

I certainally can not eliminate all plastics from my home but I do try to find alternatives if it is at all possible.

Do You??

Caroline

Cooking.....

Daughter's in the kitchen baking up some of these pretties.

YUM!!

Caroline xoxo

For Today....

"Write in your heart that every day is the

best day of the year"

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Kids....You've gotta love them!

This morning

she told me she was leaving home....

But nah!,

I bet she'll be in by dark.

Caroline xoxo

Photos!

Photographing Boys is always hard

It wasn't TOO bad

Then it went bad

Then it went even badder!!

Mean while Emerald smiles away.....

Photographing girls is SO much easier.

Have a great weekend

Caroline xoxo

Thrift Shopping & Reducing Disposables

In my quest to cut down on disposable consumables in my home like paper towels, serviettes etc for environmental reasons and the fact that it reduces my grocery bill. (saving money is always a good reason) I have been trawling the local thrift shops for items I may be able to put to good use.

The other day I was lucky enough to find these four vintage Western Australian Placemats 50 cents for a set of four.

They had never been used as they still had the stickers on the back of them and while I won't be using them as placemats I have found a use for them where once I used disposable paper towel.....Lining the basket I keep my potatoes in.

One on the bottom to stop any bits of soil or dust going through the basket and one on top to stop the light getting on the potatoes and sending them green!

As there are four in the set, yesterday I threw the two I was currently using in the wash & replaced it with the other two. Easy Peasy.

I am now also using knitted dish cloths instead of buying chux. (disposable dishcloths)

I actually think this is more hygienic as every morning after cleaning the kitchen I throw it in the wash to then be hung out in the beautiful sunshine-Natures disinfectant.

A roll of disposable paper towel is now lasting me AT LEAST a month and I hope to reduce this even more and I'm not buying Chux at all now. Which has been a good saving.

Have you ever tried to reduce your disposable consumables??

If so HOW?

I know this is not a new thing to alot of you, so please leave me some tips.

Caroline xoxo

Wordless Wednesday

Where to......

Caroline.....