Happy Eco New Year 2010!

Okay, Sooz of the awesome Last Biscuit blog (together with Danda of Dandaworld!) is directly responsible for this! And this:



Air purifier #1! And pretty purple air purifier #2 of unindentified name!



(Air in the atticks can get mighty bad! I think these two are helping! Plus they are pretty!)

The orange cupboard is a retro vintage authentic piece my Mum's had since the 70's (I think) and it makes me happy too! The small wicker basket above is a cute random tiny basket that I repurposed as GTD inbox to keep stuff organized!

I've had the blackboard for years (Dad made Sis and me each one when we were kids, later I used it for teaching kiddies, and then it lay in the atticks forgotten - until recently!) Dad's made the art painting gizmo years ago too, and then I mostly didn't use it! (air system in the atticks not enough for a studio! - I still have a board that could be used for art too, the one bought for painting was too heavy & I mostly never used it!)

I repurposed this for jotting down things to do on computer, because it is too big to ignore! (Hopefully - my new goal is to change or tweak time management systems weekly to keep up inspiration & novelty factor!)

The home office (and the rest of the atticks) is still in the process of organizing!

They are all things that make me happy, and they are making my home office more beautiful! :) So that's 5, right?

Sooz nominated me for a Happy 101 award!



The rules: List 10 things that make you happy.
Try to do at least one of them today, and tag 10 bloggers that brighten your day.
For those 10 bloggers who get the award, link back to my blog..... of course if you want to!

So, what's the rest?

6) ORGANIZING - call me crazy, but I adore it! I LOVE bringing order into chaos: be it in closets, or elsewhere! :)

7) books - adore them too!!
I recently read a lot of cool books and hope to report more about them later on!
One of them is Refuse to Choose by Barbara Sher - a book for scanners, people with too many interests! :) (That's me!)

8) my friends - online & offline!!*

9) #ideaparty every Thursday over at Twitter - bring a wish and an obstacle!
Barbara Sher herself and many other AWESOME peope with COOL ideas make it super exciting!!

10) Japanese Drama - laugh all you wish, it's tremendously inspiring - crazy plots, strong women & cute boys! What else do you need? :D
Plus, in Hana Yori Dango (or Boys Over Flowers, crazy Japanese word game noone fully understands!) a whole episode or more are devoted to a reusable bento box and a cloth handkerchief!! (PS Am in love with one of the co-stars there, sigh!!)

*And that includes all of you awesome bloggers out there!! :)

Actually Sooz has listed many of you already!!
Dandaworld
My Zero Waste *and* The LittleGreen Blog (Did you know The Little Green Blog was first?:)
The Rubbish Diet
Blah to Tada
Easy Eco to Go
All of you inspire me to be more eco! :)

So I'll add new awesome people - check 'em out!

Rachel at ProNagger.com - The idea of nagging people for money kinda appeals to me immensely, he he!!
Oh, and she's legally blind! She says, "first blind chic to get an MFA from UofM in "visual" arts...I have a LOT to say about creativity, it's power and pull" WOW!
Check out her blog, it's full of COOL ideas and inspiration!! She helps artists finish things etc!

ScannerTribe blog led by the awesome Skannie! If you want to know more about scanners (or suspect you are one, lots of info and links there!)

Nukapai.typepad.com - Don't you just LOVE a blog with the title Tomorrow Could Be Boring? lol! (Of course, she's a scanner too!) I bet it's not boring where she lives! Wants to learn pottery & jewelry making, & she lives next to London, WOW!!
Love some of her thoughts on time management too!

Breanne of Sententia.net: another scanner with thoughts & ideas for time management & personal productivity!

The Lonely Craftivist that became Craftivist Collective (Craft + Activism = Craftivism!:) Also check out their fabulous website & youtube account (with a video on how to make a mini protest banner!

kAy of Gurly Things who's totally gorgeous & loves to go more eco too!! (Yes, I know I'm still due to post about the orange eco things, haven't forgotten! Actually one of them is posted here already!:)

Sassy Scribbles because she has been to Japan, lives in the exotic Phillipines (where incinerators are banned!) and hangs out with politicians' wives! :) and seems like an overall inspiring person! Love her motto: "I'm in love with life... there's just so much to see, feel, listen to...with so many books waiting to be read, places to be traveled... I hardly scratched a surface!!!"
And check out these awesome cloth bags!! :)

The KissJournals a simple living blog (that needs more readers! :) and equally awesome HotBellyMama now Mimi's Mom! The blog of city slickers who moved to the country! Very inspiring!

Accidental Environmentalist 'Home of the Need-a-Bag? Project!'(They collect reusable bags and make sure they come into new loving hands!) because of her motto: "Do you ride a bicycle to work because your car's in the shop? Do you bathe only every other day because you're just too dang lazy? Welcome to Accidental Environmentalism!" LOL She makes it okay to be eco just because you're lazy, he he!! Needs & deserves more readers!! :)
(And here's to all who say living eco is 'more' difficult - duh!)
It's easy! (often easier than not being green!)

That's not 10 yet, but I'm way too sleepy! :) Oops, or is it 10 already? LOL!

And Sooz, your blog makes me happy too!! :)

Effective Eco Time Management?

If you have A LOT of projects, ideas and wishes and things to do... How to track it all and know what to do when? (And not just resort to reading the latest thrilling romance? hm!)

People at writing forums say, 'Just write', but what if you are haunted of things not done yet and vague visions of ideas to be done even before you start?

Enter GTD. Getting Things Done is a famous book on organizing and time management, and there are A LOT of spin-offs online, some for writers or designers or other freelancers specifically. (I've even DONE some of this stuff before, and it was effective, and then just stopped and wondered where my inspiration/motivation has gone!)

GTD is or can be paper-intensive. It is also very vague and unstructured, so how to do it in a more Nature-friendly way?

I am still wrestling with some of the GTD concepts and ideas, and will probably come up with a system of my own.. (I've set up the 'inbox' already and it seems strangely inspiring!) It can be mind-boggling indeed (Read this article! It's hilarious!!:).

A 'tickler' file (no idea if I need one but some people have found it helpful) can be big or small. Tracking or planning your day can be done on a daily or weekly basis (more or less paper intensive).

Judy of the Woods has more fab ideas on flickr and her website!
She makes her own project booklets/binders (out of plastic milk containers and other scrap materials!)

I've done some tweaking of my binders and such (who needs 4 holes if 2 is more handy? And am running out of envelopes used as project folders) but she takes it to the next level!
I'm wondering how doable some of that stuff is, and what I could do too... :)

What DIY projects have you done to keep ORGANIZED and have effective time management?
How do you keep organized and how do you plan and keep track of things?

My Dad Rocks!! :)

I just had to say it, lol!! :)

Well, today he brings up the mail & says,

"Oh but I miss the junk mail a bit." (maybe he used the word catalogues)

I freeze a bit, just washing the dishes...
Then he grins & says, "Not really."
I smile.

"I liked them at first," he says. "But now there has been too much of them entirely!!"

I don't know what magic Mom has made over him, or what made him change his mind, just glad he did!! :)

I was fully ready to keep putting on new & new 0.50 EUR stickers! - but now there is no need!!:)

I am just so happy!!

My Dad deserved a big KISS, & he didn't even know why!!
(I had to explain it to him!:)

He still thinks more junk mail would be acceptable than ideal - 'Just the shops near us', but luckily the post office has gone so overboard with it, that he's okay with even the 'no junk mail' option!!

And Sis doesn't really have a 'right to vote' lol & was warned with paying 50 EUR if she peels it off!;)

So yeah, the world isn't yet perfect, but my Dad almost near is!! :)

Now hmm, wondering if my neighbours could use some of these stickers, hmm...?!!

Zero Waste Week: Results!!

So, this week has been the Zero Waste Week for us!!

What was the result?

Of course I wanted to take a pic of the 'main bin' (the one outside'!) to check that no one managed to sneak any rubbish outside!!

I expected to find the bin empty:



Now imagine the shock:



And it wasn't even our rubbish!!

There was a tell-tale indicator on the top (removed immediately!) & 7 more in the neighbours' bin!!



Yes, Dad and the neighbours had had a drinking party outside (the neighbours were sawing wood!) & this was the horrible result!

I promptly picked them up & washed them & they are waiting to dry & be recycled!

If they had the nerve to put rubbish in our bin, I had the nerve to take some out of theirs to have it recycled!

(my neighbours' bin, the attick neighbours': 2 adults+2kiddies - offending recyclables eliminated already!)


(my neighbours' 2nd bin: the downstairs neighbours, Grandpa&Grandma's - Honestly I don't know why they didn't put the rubbish into their 2nd bin? - Maybe the ashes from fire were still hot?

They are 4 adults: Grandpa, Grandma, the young ones+2 kiddies, and yes they have 2 bins! I've already talked about the rubbish problem with their Grandpa@small bin, & the Mum of the attick@big bin. She said, 'But we are 4!' & I wanted to send her to Mrs A for training!!
This is the Mum that bought her son a plastic Wallee!! instead of teaching them how to make less waste!!:)
Of course she works in a shop (mini-supermarket!) & that makes it difficult to eat healthy & make less waste!!

But how much garbage did we make? Did we manage to go 'zero waste' completely?

Alas, no. But it was a good try. And I'm VERY proud of my family cause they have behaved so well & made so little garbage!!


REMEMEBER, this is the results of TWO weeks worth of garbage!!
(the bin in the front='mixed trash')

(I contemplated whether to throw the old garbage away & start with a clean slate, but that wouldn't be zero waste, would it? The plastic bag accounts for something too!)

All in all, the 1st day was the worst:
- the butter wrapper
- tiny plastic from Dad's tax ID pocket
- plastic sausage-wrapping
- AND a new wrapped butter was started! (with expiration date 20/4/2009 so not using it up wouldn't be zero waste!)
I was totally frazzled & thought I'd 'lost it'!! ;)

Then, other things mysteriously followed: (but surprisingly less & less garbage!;) - I taught people to just leave stuff on the counter!)

- unidentifiable white plastic foil chocolate wrapper
- a potentially recyclable #4 amaranth plastic wrapper (someone was too quick!!)
- a mysterious bit of paper towel? - we may fish it out again!
- some dirt from sweeping the floor on Saturday
(Sis did it! I've gotten used to taking dirt outside & just putting it under trees.. Truth is I'm in two minds about it - as we have wooden floor & stairs lacquered with conventional=toxic varnish, & PVC hall flooring..? so I wasn't as decisive & gung-ho about it.. What do you guys think?)

- tiny bit of thread from mending my pants & putting in new/re-used elastics! Haven't sewn for (at least) a decade so this is a new WAHOO!!;) And it's easier than I expected! darn!;) I also remember heaps!

- maybe some other tiny bits I've missed!

I did remove the non-cloth-hankie plastic wrappers (#4 plastics!) seen above, but honestly they did smell & I'm not sure if we won't toss them out anyway!
(Alas, there's foul smell in the bin! - due to the butter wrapper & the plastic sausage!)

I hate to say one of the yogurt tetrapaks (seen on a pic later on!) was washed too late too, & did smell.. so not quite sure what to do with that either!

There's also some used paper hankies & some hair in the bathroom bin, not quite sure what to do with those either.. (If it were my hair, I'd compost it, others' hair is chemically treated with shampoos, so I'm not sure..?)

The bird's droppings (our sweet budgie's) are collected separately, to be put under trees also.. I read it's okay to put them in compost, but my family is afraid of avian flu or such, & don't wanna risk it..


There's also plastic foil from the 'eco bananas' - I'm thinking to write to the company! & there will be the waxed paper from the carob yummy spread..

The good news is, Mom's made butter AGAIN! :)

(pic from 1st time she made it, no bought yogurt this week!;)

I do hope homemade butter becomes a true tradition!! (Mum said she only used cream from 2 or 3 milks - we get 2 liters at a time: The trick is to take away the cream before Dad manages to usurp it, & after there is some bigger amount of cream already!)

It was surprisingly easy, after all the terror & sweating, my family did their best...!! And I ADORE them for it!!

I felt like a really horrible person for making them do all these things, Mum's gone a bit ill in the process, it was a sucky week weather-wise..

I wanted to bake them a yummy zero waste treat (ispired by the lovely presents from Mrs A & Mrs G!), but alas Mum's bought some biscuits in an unindentifiable plastic container at the fair on Sunday! /sigh/

Must make sure to tell my family of my baking attempts well in advance! /at least she was supporting local economy!/
Mum also bought cheese, & while it wasn't zero waste (came in a plastic bag!) it was local & homemade - & we might turn this into zero waste cheese if we network with the supplier wisely!

The Zero Waste Week was a great learning experience!!

I managed to buy meat in a reusable container AND fix my pants, & I don't think I'd have done it without the zero waste week!!
We also made 1/2 of a weekly menu (after a veery long time!), & remembered to use up the sour cabbage & turnips, before they'd gone completely bad!

We realized this is easier than we expected, but our 'recycling' biz will have to be streamlined a bit (& I may post more about it in advance!)

I hope we will continue to make so little waste - or even less!! :)

Dad was unhappy with all the recyclables on the kitchen counter! - Well, they have to dry somewhere! (He suggested we collect them in the 3rd 'bin department' & Mum rebelled she needs that space for her chemicals=cleaners!)
How & where do you girls & guyz wash & leave them to dry? Do you have a separate box or something?

/Weening Mum off the chemicals may be a learning process & I don't expect her to go 'cold turkey'!/

Also, the recyclables need to be in designated places or they are 'forgotten' (& start to smell!) They also need to be washed regularly enough!
(This is easy if 1 person both makes & washes them, if it's 2 or more different people, & if the kitchen isn't spiffy, err, errors or miscommunication can occur! Stuff can get lost in the jungles of the counter!!)

To avoid packaging from dishwasher tablets (& make Mum happy!), I washed more dishes this week than ever!!
(The eco detergent doesn't wash so well, is a bit abrasive to dishes, & we're not 100% sure the 'recyclable' wrappings are really recyclable!)

Still to call about what actually *is* recyclable in our council.. For the purpose of zero waste week we just assumed everything that (the council & the packaging) says is recyclable is recyclable!!

Alas, I made no dish cloths! & I only got the beekeeping magazines today..
The old beehive is still waiting to be fixed too..

It was raining a lot, so luckily not much noise until Saturday & yesterday/today! YAY!! (& today the neighbours' wood is all sawed, lucky me!!)

We did some work in the garden today, & I went to fetch some zero waste honey.. :)

Oh, & I can't tell you what Mum did - it's too horrible!! - & the post is already too long! Must wait till next time! :)

New Funky Experiment: Never Buy Staples Again!!:)

Of course I just had to test it!!


Looks handy!! Wonder if it works!! :)

(full description, with more pics, at the funky Incli-nation site!)

Okay, I tried it, and it WORKS!! :)
Apparently one really does not need to buy staples - or paper clips - again!!:)

Well, if the paper can be 'sacrificed' - if it needs to remain intact, paper clips may still be better.. Also, you may wanna start with some scrap paper to 'practise', and ideally do this right, with a ruler or something (I just experimented lol - couldn't wait!:)

It may also be better to have the title on the page centred, not on the left side :)
Actually, one can do it 'backwards' - I actually prefer it that way! & in that case left-aligned titles are perfectly okay too!! :)

And if you only have a few pieces of paper (like 3 pages), you only need a single incision with a paper knife, not a wider cut like on the pic! (Maybe this is totally TMI (too much information) lol, but I did actually wonder about it, so here it is!;)

Also not sure how it photocopies or scans... (do let me know if you try this!) - But I think I may still free up some paper clips!! /been wondering if it'd be time to buy some - I now use those as reusable bookmarks instead of throwawayable post-it stickies! :)/

Come to think of it, I haven't bought any staples ever since.. uhm, ever since my tiny stapler decided to be picky and didn't like the big staples!
Now I don't have to, anymore, ever? :)
/Wonder if I should Freecycle it? ;) But it's so cute!! :)/

Wishing you happy paper-handling & GREAT organization!! :)