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	<title>zero waste Archives - Eco Thrifty Living</title>
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	<title>zero waste Archives - Eco Thrifty Living</title>
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		<title>Intelligent or remote heating controls &#8211; what&#8217;s the point?</title>
		<link>https://ecothriftyliving.com/2016/12/intelligent-or-remote-heating-controls.html?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=intelligent-or-remote-heating-controls</link>
					<comments>https://ecothriftyliving.com/2016/12/intelligent-or-remote-heating-controls.html#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Zoe]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 15 Dec 2016 08:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[eco]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Energy Saving]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[heating bills]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[intelligent heating system]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[remote heating control]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[smart thermostat]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://ecothriftyliving.com/wp3/uncategorized/intelligent-or-remote-heating-controls/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Remote heating controls are all the rage at the minute, with Nest* now available in the UK, Tado*&#160;having been around for a little while and British Gas&#8217;s Hive*&#160;being pushed really...</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com/2016/12/intelligent-or-remote-heating-controls.html">Intelligent or remote heating controls &#8211; what&#8217;s the point?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com">Eco Thrifty Living</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nest-Learning-Thermostat-3rd-Generation/dp/B016PW3JSG/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&amp;linkCode=li3&amp;tag=ecothrliv0f-21&amp;linkId=742fd77286e40e427eec029b88c4df15" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img decoding="async" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&amp;ASIN=B016PW3JSG&amp;Format=_SL250_&amp;ID=AsinImage&amp;MarketPlace=GB&amp;ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;WS=1&amp;tag=ecothrliv0f-21" border="0"></a></p>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><img decoding="async" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px;" src="https://ir-uk.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=ecothrliv0f-21&amp;l=li3&amp;o=2&amp;a=B016PW3JSG" alt="" width="1" height="1" border="0">Remote heating controls are all the rage at the minute, with<a style="text-align: justify;" href="http://amzn.to/2gt2YhE" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer"> Nest*</a> now available in the UK, <a href="http://amzn.to/2gt2et1" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Tado*</a>&nbsp;having been around for a little while and British Gas&#8217;s <a href="http://amzn.to/2hB2J09" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Hive*</a>&nbsp;being pushed really hard on the radio and TV as well as a growing number of lesser known alternatives.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">So what&#8217;s the point of an internet connected heating thermostat? How will they save me money and will I actually use it?</div>
<div></div>
<div><em>This is a guest post from Mr ETL and it contains affiliate links which are marked with a *. The content of this post was not affected by the links, it won&#8217;t cost you anything extra if you buy through them and if you do it will help to support the blog &#8211; thanks!</em></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">Every house it&#8217;s different and each family will want to heat their houses at different times and to different temperatures. The traditional thermostats allowed you to set schedules for your heating, normally by day or weekday and weekend and allowed you to set lots of different times and temperatures during each period. Those of us who did make good use of these were probably saving more than those who just set a morning and evening temperature and a lot more than those who just had the heating on the whole time. They normally allowed you to override the settings as well so giving you quite a lot of flexibility. So again, what&#8217;s the point?</div>
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<p>Well the main point is every time you are not at home when the heating has been set to come on, you are wasting energy, which directly impacts your heating bills and the environment. Although you probably are able to predict when you will be at home and when you won&#8217;t during the working day, it isn&#8217;t always easy to predict which evenings you will be in or out and what you will be up to over the weekend. With a heating system that you can control on your mobile phone, you can delay it or turn it off for the evening if you decide not to come straight home from work and you can also tell it to start heating your home when your plans change and you come home earlier than expected. Although there is an initial outlay, over time these products should be able to save you moneyThe three main products on the market are all slightly different and here are some of those differences</p><div class="ecoth-content" style="margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;" id="ecoth-531616555"><a href="https://ecothriftylearning.thinkific.com/courses/cut-the-wrap" aria-label="Sustainable gift wrap course"><img src="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2.png" alt="Sustainable gift wrap course"  srcset="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2.png 1080w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-300x300.png 300w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-1024x1024.png 1024w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-150x150.png 150w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-768x768.png 768w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-500x500.png 500w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-60x60.png 60w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-980x980.png 980w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-700x700.png 700w" sizes="(max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px" class="no-lazyload" width="300" height="300"  style="display: inline-block;" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://amzn.to/2gt2et1" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Tado*</a></div>
<p>We have had Tado installed for over 2 years now, &nbsp;It is really simple and easy to use and controllable via your mobile phone. You set the temperature you want the house to be when you are at home, and the temperature when you are asleep along with what time you wake up and go to bed. Tado knows if you are at home or not by seeing how far your mobile phones are from the house and so as long as each member of the family has a mobile it knows if someone is home or not. The further away from home you are the cooler it will let the house get when you are out and it starts to warm it up as you get closer. They have recently also released some&nbsp;intelligent radiator valves which have the potential to save you even more money, we have had some for a year now (not Tado) and I&#8217;ll be giving you my thoughts on them soon. Tado has gone for a simple and neutral looking thermostat unit, which &nbsp;shows current temperature and you can manually adjust it (although ours is a first generation which has no manual controls).</p>
<p><a href="http://amzn.to/2gt2YhE" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Nest*</a></p>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">Nest has gone for the pretty thermostat prize and it looks good. This thermostat needs to be taught what to do. To start with you need to change the temperature on the unit manually for a week or so &#8211; when you get up, you turn it up to a comfortable setting, when you leave for work, turn it down and so on. Within a few days it starts working out what time you get up, go to bed and everything in between. If your schedule changes you need to manually adjust the settings and after you have done it for a few days, Nest learns. It also has a movement sensor on the thermostat in your house, which will turn the heating down if it hasn&#8217;t seen movement for a while (you need to walk past for it to know you are there, so it needs to located in a place you would frequently walk past) and they have recently started integrating with their other smart technology to improve this. If you have their smoke detectors for example (which should be spread around your home) they also have movement sensors which can feed information into the heating system. You don&#8217;t need to have a mobile phone for Nest to work (you can control it via your laptop or tablet) but they have recently introduced a function for Nest to know if are at home or not via your mobile if you want it to.</div>
<div></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://amzn.to/2hB2J09" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Hive*</a></div>
<div></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">Hive is going for a much simpler approach, a traditional schedule thermostat with the ability to remotely adjust the temperature. So if you go out for the day and forget to turn the heating off, you can use the phone app to turn it down, or if you&#8217;re coming home at an unusual time you can turn the heating up a bit earlier.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;"></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">All of the products say they will save you money by giving you more control of your heating. How much you save and which is right for you will depend on your individual circumstances. So for instance, if you have a quite fixed schedule and just want to be able to control the temperature manually then maybe Hive is good enough for you. If you like your gadgets to be good looking and functional then Nest may work for you. If all the people in your house have mobile phones and you are at home at different times then maybe Tado is the thermostat of choice.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">I might be biased towards Tado as I have one of their thermostats, but I did my research beforehand. Do yours and think about how often you are out and the heating is on or how often you are sitting on your sofa thinking it would be great to keep the heating on another hour.</div>
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<p>Which intelligent thermostat would you choose and why? Let me know in the comments below.For more tips on how to save energy check out my post on&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ecothriftyliving.com/2016/11/6-easy-ways-to-reduce-your-heating-bill.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">6 easy ways to reduce your heating bill</a>!</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Coming up next: Look out for my blog post next Monday which asks the question &#8211; does going zero waste mean you can&#8217;t have fun (especially with events like Christmas and New Years Eve coming up)?</p>
</div>
<p>The post <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com/2016/12/intelligent-or-remote-heating-controls.html">Intelligent or remote heating controls &#8211; what&#8217;s the point?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com">Eco Thrifty Living</a>.</p>
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		<title>How not to upcycle a necklace!</title>
		<link>https://ecothriftyliving.com/2016/04/how-not-to-upcycle-necklace.html?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=how-not-to-upcycle-necklace</link>
					<comments>https://ecothriftyliving.com/2016/04/how-not-to-upcycle-necklace.html#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Zoe]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 08 Apr 2016 19:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Stuff]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[fail]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://ecothriftyliving.com/wp3/uncategorized/how-not-to-upcycle-necklace/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>The necklace in the picture was left at my house during a clothes swap party (read more&#160;here). The beads are made out of old magazines and I really like it....</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com/2016/04/how-not-to-upcycle-necklace.html">How not to upcycle a necklace!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com">Eco Thrifty Living</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3b3qVr88MFk/VrkEcHWAxiI/AAAAAAAADr0/ts5UMcW8fJc/s1600/20160208_123236.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" border="0" height="320" src="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/20160208_123236.jpg" width="240"></a></div>
<p>The necklace in the picture was left at my house during a clothes swap party (read more&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ecothriftyliving.com/2015/02/get-your-clothes-for-free.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>). The beads are made out of old magazines and I really like it. I don&#8217;t think it really suits me though as it is too long for me and I have only worn it once or twice since I got it.</p><div class="ecoth-content" style="margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;" id="ecoth-1237313212"><a href="https://ecothriftylearning.thinkific.com/courses/cut-the-wrap" aria-label="Sustainable gift wrap course"><img src="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2.png" alt="Sustainable gift wrap course"  srcset="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2.png 1080w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-300x300.png 300w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-1024x1024.png 1024w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-150x150.png 150w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-768x768.png 768w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-500x500.png 500w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-60x60.png 60w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-980x980.png 980w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-700x700.png 700w" sizes="(max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px" class="no-lazyload" width="300" height="300"  style="display: inline-block;" /></a></div>
<p>I decided that it would be a great idea to turn it into a necklace and a bracelet and thought it would be as simple as chopping it up in the right places and then tying the ends.</p>
<p>The chopping part went really smoothly although a few beads fell of the ends as you can see pictured below.</p>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--JuEqVa8U3E/VrkEfqt_yhI/AAAAAAAADsA/GJ5d94lN0wA/s1600/20160208_123508.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img decoding="async" border="0" height="240" src="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/20160208_123508.jpg" width="320"></a></div>
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The tying it back together part went far less smoothly. The plastic twine the necklace was on did not want to be tied and the beads kept falling off and it was very frustrating to say the least.&nbsp;</div>
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I decided to give up and use thread instead, which would tie better. I put some thread on a needle and threaded it through the beads. After doing that I realised that was no good either. The problem was the size necklace I wanted was too small to get over my head. What I actually need is some stretchy string or a clasp and I have neither of those to hand so for the moment the beads are all sitting in a glass jar awaiting the right materials!</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yYhiwteAwAY/VrkEgju8jrI/AAAAAAAADsA/JdBBEtlQYLs/s1600/20160208_125602.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img decoding="async" border="0" height="320" src="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/20160208_125602.jpg" width="240"></a></div>
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Sometimes I find I ruin things in an attempt to upcycle them and think I should have just given whatever it was to a charity shop in the first place! On the other hand it is a learning experience and I now know how not to upcycle a necklace!</div>
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Have you ever tried to upcycle something that didn&#8217;t quite go to plan?</div>
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If you liked this post please click like on&nbsp;<a href="http://www.facebook.com/EcoThriftyLiving" style="text-align: justify;">Facebook</a>&nbsp;and follow on&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/ecothrifty" style="text-align: justify;">Twitter</a>&nbsp;&#8211; thanks so much!</div>
<p>The post <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com/2016/04/how-not-to-upcycle-necklace.html">How not to upcycle a necklace!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com">Eco Thrifty Living</a>.</p>
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			<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		
		
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		<item>
		<title>Epson EcoTank ET-4500 Printer Review</title>
		<link>https://ecothriftyliving.com/2016/02/epson-ecotank-et-4500-printer-review.html?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=epson-ecotank-et-4500-printer-review</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Zoe]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 13 Feb 2016 19:55:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Paid Content]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://ecothriftyliving.com/wp3/uncategorized/epson-ecotank-et-4500-printer-review/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>I was recently sent an&#160;Epson EcoTank ET-4500&#160; printer to review. It is an all singing, all dancing faxing, photocopying, scanning and printing machine, which can connected to your home network...</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com/2016/02/epson-ecotank-et-4500-printer-review.html">Epson EcoTank ET-4500 Printer Review</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com">Eco Thrifty Living</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FkwDBWx40C8/Vr956OaRzII/AAAAAAAADtI/h7n_PigMt2c/s1600/allwet-4500-visual%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img decoding="async" border="0" height="640" src="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/allwet-4500-visual5B15D.jpg" width="598"></a></p><div class="ecoth-content" style="margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;" id="ecoth-1400193480"><a href="https://ecothriftylearning.thinkific.com/courses/cut-the-wrap" aria-label="Sustainable gift wrap course"><img src="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2.png" alt="Sustainable gift wrap course"  srcset="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2.png 1080w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-300x300.png 300w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-1024x1024.png 1024w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-150x150.png 150w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-768x768.png 768w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-500x500.png 500w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-60x60.png 60w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-980x980.png 980w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-700x700.png 700w" sizes="(max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px" class="no-lazyload" width="300" height="300"  style="display: inline-block;" /></a></div>
<p>I was recently sent an&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&amp;camp=1634&amp;creative=19450&amp;field-keywords=ecotank&amp;linkCode=ur2&amp;tag=ecothrliv0f-21&amp;url=search-alias%3Dcomputers" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Epson EcoTank ET-4500</a>&nbsp; printer to review. It is an all singing, all dancing faxing, photocopying, scanning and printing machine, which can connected to your home network with a cable or wirelessly! I was offered it for review as it has a tank for the ink instead of cartridges and the ink is meant to be sufficient to last 2 years.</p>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As far as printers go it seems like a really good one so far. I have been doing a lot of decluttering recently and managed to free up a cupboard which has power in it and love the fact I can keep it in the cupboard and print to it through wifi! This printer is not zero waste as it came packaged in plastic and the ink to fill up the tank was provided in disposable plastic containers which were again wrapped in plastic. The benefit of these over other cartridges though are that less of them are needed and there is less ongoing waste with this printer. Also as the ink can be refilled, although it is an expensive initial outlay, it is likely to work out cheaper in the long run than using a printer which won&#8217;t allow cartridges to be refilled.</p>
<p>Putting the ink into the machine was quite simple. Working out how to get it to work with my computer was a little complicated but once we got it all set up it has been easy to use. I particularly like being able to scan things in like my kids artwork, so that I can then put the originals in the recycling or use it to wrap gifts without feeling too guilty :). &nbsp;As much I would like to reduce my printing there are times when I need to print and it came in really useful for printing out pictures for one of my kids homework recently.</p>
<p>You can adjust how quickly the printer goes onto standby with the eco setting and it is worth changing it so that it isn&#8217;t on fully for too long (or even better turn it off when you aren&#8217;t using it). It isn&#8217;t going to cost big bucks either way though. We plugged it into a plug-in energy monitor and worked out that if it was left on all year (without printing) it would cost us around £6 a year in electricity costs and if it was on standby (again without printing) it would cost us only about £2 for the year!</p>
<p>There is a range of these printers to suit different needs, which you can find out more about&nbsp;<a href="https://www.epson.co.uk/gb/en/viewcon/corporatesite/cms/index/11409" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">on the Epson site</a>.</p>
<p>UPDATE: I have found that I have struggled to keep the printer connected to my laptop via WIFI, I don&#8217;t know if this is something to do with my home network, laptop or the printer though.</p>
<p>Disclaimer: a printer was received for review and affiliate links have been used in this article, but the opinions were my own!</p>
</div>
<p>The post <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com/2016/02/epson-ecotank-et-4500-printer-review.html">Epson EcoTank ET-4500 Printer Review</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com">Eco Thrifty Living</a>.</p>
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		<title>20 ways to help halt climate change!</title>
		<link>https://ecothriftyliving.com/2015/09/help-halt-climate-change.html?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=help-halt-climate-change</link>
					<comments>https://ecothriftyliving.com/2015/09/help-halt-climate-change.html#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Zoe]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 24 Sep 2015 11:57:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[#climatechange]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[eco]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Frugal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Green]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plastic free]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thrifty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[zero waste]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://ecothriftyliving.com/wp3/uncategorized/20-ways-to-help-halt-climate-change/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>With so much negative news about the climate it can feel like as individuals we are powerless. Here are 20 ways you can positively help climate change. </p>
<p>The post <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com/2015/09/help-halt-climate-change.html">20 ways to help halt climate change!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com">Eco Thrifty Living</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img decoding="async" src="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/water-butt.jpg" alt="help climate change" class="wp-image-4720" width="360" height="480" srcset="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/water-butt.jpg 480w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/water-butt-225x300.jpg 225w" sizes="(max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px" /></figure>



<p>I recently read Naomi Klein&#8217;s, This Changes Everything as part of the Sustainable Book Club (read more about that&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://www.ecothriftyliving.com/p/book-club-reading-list.html" target="_blank">here</a>). It is a scary book and it is trying to shake us and tell us to wake up &#8211; climate change is on our doorstep. It would easy to read the book, pretend I hadn&#8217;t and move on because what difference can one person make to this vast issue? Well I think&nbsp;doing even just one thing is a whole lot better than not doing anything. To quote Lao Tzu &#8211; &nbsp;&#8216;a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step&#8217;.</p><div class="ecoth-content" style="margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;" id="ecoth-1458304754"><a href="https://ecothriftylearning.thinkific.com/courses/cut-the-wrap" aria-label="Sustainable gift wrap course"><img src="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2.png" alt="Sustainable gift wrap course"  srcset="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2.png 1080w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-300x300.png 300w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-1024x1024.png 1024w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-150x150.png 150w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-768x768.png 768w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-500x500.png 500w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-60x60.png 60w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-980x980.png 980w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-700x700.png 700w" sizes="(max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px" class="no-lazyload" width="300" height="300"  style="display: inline-block;" /></a></div>



<p>There are 20 ideas below for things each of us could do to help halt climate change! They may not all be for you (they aren&#8217;t all for me) &#8211; but let&#8217;s do what we can</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How can we help climate change? </h2>



<p>1.Switch to a renewable energy provider</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://share.octopus.energy/red-eland-212" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow"><img decoding="async" width="300" height="250" src="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Green-Photo-Art-Supply-Medium-Rectangle-Banner-1.png" alt="Octopus Energy" class="wp-image-3877"/></a></figure>



<p>2. Compost garden, food and other biodegradable waste </p>



<p>3. Avoid using paper wherever possible. Take a look here into how to&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://www.mpsonline.org.uk/mpsr/" target="_blank">stop unsolicited mail</a>.</p>



<p>4. Conserve energy around the home</p>



<p>5. Walk, cycle and take public transport where possible</p>



<p>6. Don&#8217;t buy anything new for a year (read about Jen&#8217;s experience of that <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://mymakedoandmendlife.com/" target="_blank">here</a>)</p>



<p>7. Grow your own fruit, <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com/2016/05/grow-your-own-mint.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="herbs (opens in a new tab)">herbs</a>, vegetables</p>



<p>8. Boycott palm oil and anything containing it (read more&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.rainforest-rescue.org/topics/palm-oil" target="_blank">here</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/which-everyday-products-contain-palm-oil" target="_blank">here</a>).</p>



<p>9. Boycott fossil fuels and fossil fuel products (you could&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://being.successfultogether.co.uk/click.asp?ref=775841&amp;site=14912&amp;type=text&amp;tnb=2" target="_blank">switch to a renewable energy supplier</a>).</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://amzn.to/2NqRk5h" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow"><img decoding="async" width="728" height="90" src="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Book_ad.png" alt="Book ad banner" class="wp-image-3829" srcset="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Book_ad.png 728w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Book_ad-300x37.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px" /></a></figure>



<p>10. Avoid meat and dairy products or at least reduce your intake of them. Ease yourself into it by having meat free Mondays.</p>



<p>11. Move your money away from banks which fund the fossil fuel industries read more&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://gofossilfree.org/what-is-fossil-fuel-divestment/" target="_blank">here</a></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">More ways you can help climate change </h2>



<p>12. Write to your MP &#8211; e.g. to ask for a fracking ban.</p>



<p>13. Start up a government petition (or several)&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://petition.parliament.uk/" target="_blank">here</a></p>



<p>14. Susie suggests joining your local councils community panel &#8211; read more&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://secondhandsusie.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/make-one-small-change-join-your-local-councils-community-panel.html" target="_blank">here</a></p>



<p>15. Take good care of the stuff you do have and make it last</p>



<p>16. Join in with protests and marches over environmental issues</p>



<p>17. Spread the word about climate change and what we can do about it even if it is just sharing stuff on social media sites.</p>



<p>18. Host events in your home &#8211; a sustainable book club, <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://www.ecothriftyliving.com/2015/02/get-your-clothes-for-free.html" target="_blank">clothes swap</a>, a food swap&#8230;</p>



<p>19. Give unwanted food to friends, family and neighbours before it goes off. If you don&#8217;t know anyone locally to do that with, set up a food sharing group (read more <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://www.ecothriftyliving.com/2014/03/my-year-of-eco-challenges-challenge-7.html" target="_blank">here</a>).</p>



<p>20. <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://www.ecothriftyliving.com/2015/09/my-first-zerowasteweek-event.html" target="_blank">Give talks</a> about climate change and what we can do about it &#8211; if you have kids do a talk at their school, if not volunteer to do one at a local community centre or library. Talking about climate change in person and what can be done about it brings the subject to life and connects with people who may not want to read about it.</p>



<p>Disclaimer &#8211; this blog post contains an affiliate link. All words and views are my own.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img decoding="async" src="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Halt_Climate_Change-683x1024.png" alt="" class="wp-image-4780" width="342" height="512" srcset="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Halt_Climate_Change-683x1024.png 683w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Halt_Climate_Change-200x300.png 200w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Halt_Climate_Change-768x1152.png 768w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Halt_Climate_Change.png 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 342px) 100vw, 342px" /></figure>
<p>The post <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com/2015/09/help-halt-climate-change.html">20 ways to help halt climate change!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com">Eco Thrifty Living</a>.</p>
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		<title>How to make a lavender wand the zero waste way!</title>
		<link>https://ecothriftyliving.com/2015/07/how-to-make-lavender-wand-zero-waste-way.html?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=how-to-make-lavender-wand-zero-waste-way</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Zoe]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 29 Jul 2015 21:21:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Lifestyle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[eco]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Frugal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gifts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Green]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[grow your own]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plastic free]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thrifty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[zero waste]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://ecothriftyliving.com/wp3/uncategorized/how-to-make-lavender-wand/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>How to make a lavender wand the zero waste way! </p>
<p>The post <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com/2015/07/how-to-make-lavender-wand-zero-waste-way.html">How to make a lavender wand the zero waste way!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com">Eco Thrifty Living</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p>Want to know how to make a lavender wand the zero waste way? Look no further! </p><div class="ecoth-content" style="margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;" id="ecoth-2807852594"><a href="https://ecothriftylearning.thinkific.com/courses/cut-the-wrap" aria-label="Sustainable gift wrap course"><img src="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2.png" alt="Sustainable gift wrap course"  srcset="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2.png 1080w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-300x300.png 300w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-1024x1024.png 1024w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-150x150.png 150w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-768x768.png 768w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-500x500.png 500w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-60x60.png 60w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-980x980.png 980w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-700x700.png 700w" sizes="(max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px" class="no-lazyload" width="300" height="300"  style="display: inline-block;" /></a></div>



<p>Lavender is in season and I have loads of lovely fragrant lavender growing in my garden right now. There are many uses for lavender, but my current favourite is to make lavender wands. I don&#8217;t use them for casting spells &#8211; I use them to keep my clothes smelling nice (but if you or your kids want to make one for casting spells, don&#8217;t let me stop you :)).  </p>



<p>These wands make great gifts and one year, I made a load as <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com/2015/06/party-bags-zero-waste-zero-cost-way.html">going home gifts</a> from my kids birthday party and they went down a storm! </p>



<p>I&#8217;ve shared my instructions for how to make a lavender wand below: </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E-RF9sxmzvw/VblDaNaf-EI/AAAAAAAADWU/CxBT4oHptGE/s1600/To%2Bmake%2Ba%2Blavender%2Bwand.jpg"><img decoding="async" src="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Tomakealavenderwand.jpg" alt="how to make a lavender wand"/></a></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">How it is zero waste?</h3>



<p>I made use of lavender growing in my garden, so it was unpackaged, home grown and used up. I also made sure to leave plenty for the bees, as that was the main reason I decided to grow lavender in the first place!</p>



<p>The ribbon had been sitting in my cupboard for years and needed using up. I also save ribbons from clothing, gifts and more to reuse for this kind of project. <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com/2017/01/10-alternative-uses-for-old-toiletry.html">I store my ribbons in an old toiletry bag!</a></p>



<p>

It is really simple, doesn&#8217;t take long and they make great gifts!&nbsp;

</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com/2015/07/how-to-make-lavender-wand-zero-waste-way.html">How to make a lavender wand the zero waste way!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com">Eco Thrifty Living</a>.</p>
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		<title>Stop buying new clothes now!</title>
		<link>https://ecothriftyliving.com/2015/02/stop-buying-new-clothes-now.html?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=stop-buying-new-clothes-now</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Zoe]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 07 Feb 2015 20:20:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Stuff]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[clothes swapping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[eco]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Frugal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Green]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thrifty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[zero waste]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://ecothriftyliving.com/wp3/uncategorized/stop-buying-new-clothes-now/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>If you care about the&#160;environment, yourself and people in general, then you need to stop buying new clothes and you need to stop doing it now &#8211; at least until...</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com/2015/02/stop-buying-new-clothes-now.html">Stop buying new clothes now!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com">Eco Thrifty Living</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>
<p>If you care about the&nbsp;environment, yourself and people in general, then you need to stop buying new clothes and you need to stop doing it now &#8211; at least until we run out of secondhand clothes and fabric, which I can&#8217;t see happening any time soon! Our clothes buying habits are seriously messed up and we are ruining peoples lives all over the world as well as potentially our own.</p>
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<p><b>Here are some of the problems with buying new clothes:</b></p><div class="ecoth-content" style="margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;" id="ecoth-96714305"><a href="https://ecothriftylearning.thinkific.com/courses/cut-the-wrap" aria-label="Sustainable gift wrap course"><img src="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2.png" alt="Sustainable gift wrap course"  srcset="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2.png 1080w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-300x300.png 300w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-1024x1024.png 1024w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-150x150.png 150w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-768x768.png 768w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-500x500.png 500w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-60x60.png 60w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-980x980.png 980w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-700x700.png 700w" sizes="(max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px" class="no-lazyload" width="300" height="300"  style="display: inline-block;" /></a></div>
<p><b>Are you being poisoned by your new clothes?</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
When textiles are made they are filled with hazardous chemicals. These range from bleaches to dyes to substances which make the textiles non-iron (e.g. formaldehyde) or antibacterial (e.g. triclosan). These are not chemicals you want leaching into your skin or being pumped into rivers and potentially bioaccumulating in the food chain but that is exactly what is happening. &nbsp;Greenpeace is working hard to convince brands to change their ways, but they aren&#8217;t there yet. As things currently stand every time you buy new clothes you are putting yourself and the environment at risk as this infographic explains:</p>
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<img decoding="async" src="http://grist.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/greenpeace_np_cycle"></div>
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<b><br />
</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Discarded clothes are polluting our land and potentially our air</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Most clothes are not made entirely from natural fibres, they come from a mix of fibres and once they have reached the end of their life, if they cannot be reused or recycled, they will end up on landfill or in an incinerator. &nbsp;According to WRAP &#8216;around £140 million worth (350,000 tonnes) of used clothing goes to landfill in the UK every year&#8217;, &#8216;More than 30% of our unwanted clothing currently goes to landfill&#8217;. Landfill is bad and incineration is worse as it produces dioxins which although in theory prevented from being released into the air by filters it may not always work in practise. Dioxins known as Agent Orange were used in the Vietnam war and years later the effects are still being felt with babies being born with birth defects. Watch Jeremy Irons &#8216;Trashed&#8217; film to find out more about the problems with landfill and incineration.</div>
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<b>Washing our clothes is contributing to the plastic problem in our oceans</b></div>
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<b><br />
</b></div>
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Recently a blogging friend dropped what was for me a bit of a bombshell, @polytheenpam of <a href="http://plasticisrubbish.com/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Plastic is Rubbish</a>&nbsp;informed me that &#8216;washing machines shed..thousands of microfibres into the sea&#8217;. &nbsp;I had no idea that from washing my clothes made out of synthetic fibres I was polluting the sea with plastic. That is not something I like the idea of at all!</div>
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<b>The ugly truth about cotton</b></div>
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Even when natural fibres like cotton are used, which can be composted at the end of their useful life and don&#8217;t contribute to the problem of plastic in the ocean there are problems. To produce cotton takes a large volume of pesticides, it&nbsp;<a href="http://www.elephantjournal.com/2014/01/6-things-you-didnt-know-about-fast-fashion">&#8216;soaks up 11-12% of the world&#8217;s pesticides&#8217;</a>. Pesticides can be very damaging to the environment and to those that work with them. There are even more problems with cotton &#8211; water diverted to cotton plantations has been blamed for the drying up of the Aral Sea (read more&nbsp;<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/sustainable-fashion-blog/2014/oct/01/cotton-production-linked-to-images-of-the-dried-up-aral-sea-basin" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>). &nbsp;</div>
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<b><br />
</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Factory workers lives are being put at risk to bring us fast fashion.&nbsp;</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
New fashion trends are being turned around so quickly that factory workers are being put under tremendous pressure. In 2013 the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/rana-plaza" style="color: black; outline: none;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rana Plaza</a>&nbsp;disaster brought to light the shocking practise of locking factory workers in until their work was finished. Tragically more than 1100 workers died and over 2500 were injured when the factory collapsed. This factory produced clothes for well known brands ranging from Primark to Benetton. Have things changed in Bangladesh since then? I don&#8217;t know but I don&#8217;t think fashion hasn&#8217;t shown any sign of slowing down.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Private companies are profiting from our charitable donations&nbsp;</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If you donate your old clothes to charity to make way for your new ones, you might imagine someone else in your local area will soon be wearing them, but actually that is pretty unlikely. Most of the clothes donated to charity in the UK are purchased very cheaply by private companies who then sell them at a large mark up to vendors in developing countries (<a href="http://wovin.me/pages/about" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">this site</a>&nbsp;says at a 1000% mark up). According to <a href="http://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/VoC%20FINAL%20online%202012%2007%2011.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WRAP</a> &#8216;around 50% of clothes are<br />
re-used, and over two-thirds of these<br />
go overseas&#8217;.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>We are contributing to loss of skills and culture in Africa.&nbsp;</b>&nbsp;&nbsp;</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The clothes sent overseas are often sold at markets and although they may be cheaper than new clothes, the market stall owners still need to make a profit. The effect on developing countries and in particular Ghana is that they are paying good money for our secondhand clothes and losing their own local textile industry in the meantime. &nbsp;This results in skills lost, textile making equipment and facilities lost and culture lost as instead of wearing traditional clothes, they are now wearing western ones. (read more&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3NCQT8fPDn9KfbLGmqqGZvF/the-secret-life-of-your-clothes" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>What should we do instead?</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
What do you think? &nbsp;Look out for my next blog post with my thoughts on this.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If you liked this post please click like on&nbsp;<a href="http://www.facebook.com/EcoThriftyLiving" style="text-align: start;">Facebook</a>&nbsp;and follow on&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/ecothrifty" style="text-align: start;">Twitter</a>&nbsp;&#8211; thanks so much!</div>
<p>The post <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com/2015/02/stop-buying-new-clothes-now.html">Stop buying new clothes now!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com">Eco Thrifty Living</a>.</p>
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		<title>A mendathon!</title>
		<link>https://ecothriftyliving.com/2014/05/a-mendathon.html?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=a-mendathon</link>
					<comments>https://ecothriftyliving.com/2014/05/a-mendathon.html#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Zoe]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 08 May 2014 09:58:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Stuff]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[eco]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Frugal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Green]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[making do]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mend]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mending]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recycle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reduce]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reuse]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sustainable]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thrifty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[zero waste]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://ecothriftyliving.com/wp3/uncategorized/a-mendathon/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Ages ago I put a whole load of things that needed mending in a large laundry bag, which I then didn&#8217;t look at again until yesterday. I tipped everything out...</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com/2014/05/a-mendathon.html">A mendathon!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com">Eco Thrifty Living</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: justify;"><a style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" href="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Broken-things-1024x1024.jpg"><img decoding="async" src="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Broken-things-1024x1024.jpg" width="640" height="640" border="0"></a>Ages ago I put a whole load of things that needed mending in a large laundry bag, which I then didn&#8217;t look at again until yesterday. I tipped everything out of the bag and I was pleasantly surprised to rediscover some clothes, bags and even a pair of sandals that I had forgotten about. &nbsp;I decided that it was time I went on that <a href="http://www.ecothriftyliving.com/2013/11/the-things-i-need-to-mend.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">mending spree</a> I planned to months ago (plus I promised I would mend at least 5 things this month &#8211; read more <a href="http://www.ecothriftyliving.com/2014/04/my-year-of-eco-challenges-challenge-8.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>) and I was quite excited about the prospect of being able to wear/ use the things that needed mending again. &nbsp;I had a kid free day and was able to just sit for hours and fix things. I managed to mend 12 things in total including a shopping bag, a handbag, a dress, 3 tops, a rain coat, a belt, a pair of shorts, a cardigan, some sandals and an apron!&nbsp;In the last few weeks I have also mended a <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com/2017/01/a-brilliant-and-simple-trick-to-make.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dishwasher cutlery container</a> and a backpack.</div>
<div></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">I started off my mammoth mend with a <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com/2014/05/broken-buttons-and-ripped-seams.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rain coat that had a broken button</a>, a missing button and problems with the seams under both arms. It was a frustratingly slow mend to start off with and took up the entire morning. I began to wonder whether I was being ridiculously idealistic about the whole mending thing and whether I could really justify spending hours mending one jacket. &nbsp;As the day went on though I felt more relaxed, the mending got easier and time flew. In the end I actually really enjoyed the day.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">As I was mending things I was thinking that each mend might be the first of many mends. &nbsp;We have a backpack (the one mentioned earlier) which we take everywhere with us when we go out with the kids and we have mended and mended it. Things wear out. &nbsp;Better quality things last longer and taking good care of them helps but eventually almost everything that gets used will wear out. &nbsp;So the mends I did yesterday may well just be the beginning in a long line of mends on each item.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">It got me thinking about two things:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<ol>
<li>there is no better incentive to only buy good quality long lasting items than the prospect that things can&#8217;t just be chucked out and replaced i.e. I will have to mend them when they break and that</li>
<li>although I did enjoy my day of peace and quiet and mending, if I&#8217;m going to be mending things regularly it would have been more fun if I had some company (and I would be more likely to do the mending more frequently).</li>
</ol>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">I didn&#8217;t need to spend a whole day mending by myself, some of the mends only took me 5 to 10 minutes. I could have very easily done a mend or two an evening while watching tv with my husband.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">I also could mend in the company of other menders:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<ul>
<li>I could go to the monthly Brighton Repair Cafe &#8211; find out about them&nbsp;<a href="http://brightonrepaircafe.wordpress.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>, although they are more there to help with mends that people don&#8217;t know how to do themselves, or</li>
<li>I could start up or look for a more local mending group&#8230; &nbsp;I&#8217;m now getting why people go to stitch and b*tch or the more politely named knit and natter groups <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72x72/1f642.png" alt="🙂" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /></li>
</ul>
<div>For the time being though I&#8217;m really happy that I have crossed 12 things off my mending list and I&#8217;m going to be publishing a series of blog posts showing some of the things I mended and how I did it, so watch this space!</div>
<div></div>
</div>
<p>The post <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com/2014/05/a-mendathon.html">A mendathon!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com">Eco Thrifty Living</a>.</p>
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		<title>What is the problem with fast fashion and a challenge for you all!</title>
		<link>https://ecothriftyliving.com/2014/05/what-is-problem-with-fast-fashion-and.html?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=what-is-problem-with-fast-fashion-and</link>
					<comments>https://ecothriftyliving.com/2014/05/what-is-problem-with-fast-fashion-and.html#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Zoe]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 06 May 2014 10:53:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Stuff]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Clothing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[eco]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fashion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fast fashion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Frugal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Green]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nothing new]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recycle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reduce]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reuse]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[slow fashion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thrifty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[upcycle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[zero waste]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://ecothriftyliving.com/wp3/uncategorized/what-is-problem-with-fast-fashion-and/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>My next challenge on My Year of Eco Challenges will be all about slowing down fashion. &#160;I am writing about it early, because I want to invite you all to...</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com/2014/05/what-is-problem-with-fast-fashion-and.html">What is the problem with fast fashion and a challenge for you all!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com">Eco Thrifty Living</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/20140416_112217-1-1024x768.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img decoding="async" border="0" src="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/20140416_112217-1-1024x768.jpg" height="480" width="640"></a></div>
<p>My next challenge on My Year of Eco Challenges will be all about slowing down fashion. &nbsp;I am writing about it early, because I want to invite you all to join in with this one!</p><div class="ecoth-content" style="margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;" id="ecoth-3647747298"><a href="https://ecothriftylearning.thinkific.com/courses/cut-the-wrap" aria-label="Sustainable gift wrap course"><img src="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2.png" alt="Sustainable gift wrap course"  srcset="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2.png 1080w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-300x300.png 300w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-1024x1024.png 1024w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-150x150.png 150w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-768x768.png 768w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-500x500.png 500w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-60x60.png 60w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-980x980.png 980w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-700x700.png 700w" sizes="(max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px" class="no-lazyload" width="300" height="300"  style="display: inline-block;" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Why do I want to slow down fashion?</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
These days very cheap fashion items are readily available. &nbsp;Why mend, repair or embellish something, when it is so cheap to just buy something new? &nbsp;Why buy only what you need, when at those prices you can wear something new every day?&nbsp;</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Well some of the problems with constantly buying new low quality clothes are as follows:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div>
<ul>
<li>Many clothes contain cotton. To produce cotton takes a large volume of pesticides &#8211; according to <a href="http://www.elephantjournal.com/2014/01/6-things-you-didnt-know-about-fast-fashion" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">this site</a>&nbsp;cotton &#8216;soaks up 11-12% of the world&#8217;s pesticides. Pesticides can be very damaging to the environment and to those that work with them. The same site also claims that most of the cotton grown in the US is genetically modified.</li>
<li>New fashion trends are being turned around so quickly that it is putting tremendous pressure on factory workers, who in some cases are being locked in factories with no regard for health and safety, until the work has been finished&nbsp;e.g. Rana Plaza (read more&nbsp;<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/rana-plaza" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>).&nbsp;</li>
<li>Clothes are being chucked out at a fast rate and a large proportion of them are ending up in landfill &#8211; according to WRAP &#8216;Around £140 million worth (350,000 tonnes) of used clothing goes to landfill in the UK every year&#8217;, &#8216;More than 30% of our unwanted clothing currently goes to landfill&#8217; and &#8216;More than 60% of householders in the UK say they have unwanted clothes and textiles stored in their homes&#8217; (see&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/fast-facts-textiles" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>&nbsp;for more info). &nbsp;There are a large proportion of clothes being recycled too, but recycling puts pressure on the environment too.</li>
</ul>
<div></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When I stopped buying new things and started shopping in charity shops, although it is a more eco-friendly way to shop, I had the same attitude. It was so cheap I felt that I could buy as much as I liked and I didn&#8217;t take quality into account at all. Last November I decided to take things further and haven&#8217;t bought any new clothes new or secondhand for myself (read more&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ecothriftyliving.com/2013/11/my-year-of-eco-challenges-challenge-3.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>), but I think I can do more.&nbsp;</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Just because I&#8217;m not buying any new clothes it doesn&#8217;t mean I can&#8217;t have any fun or look good, so I am going to set myself and anyone who wants to join in a new challenge.&nbsp;</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>The challenge:</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Over the course of a month (beginning on the 1st June 2014) I am going to try and create an outfit from my wardrobe i.e. without buying anything new, that fits in with the latest fashions. I don&#8217;t plan to buy new things, I just plan to modify or embellish things that I already have.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I appreciate that not everyone will have time for or will want to do this exact challenge so I have the following alternative suggestions for anyone who wants to join me in slowing fashion down for the month:&nbsp;</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div>
<ul>
<li>Wear the same pair of shoes every day for a month</li>
<li>Thin out your wardrobe and choose a set number of clothes to wear for the month &#8211; how low can you go? &nbsp;Do you need 20 items or could you cope with 5 or even less?</li>
<li>Get creative and embellish just one unloved item of clothing, shoes or accessories. You could even make an accessory like a brooch with scraps you find around your home..</li>
<li>Mend something that wouldn&#8217;t otherwise</li>
<li>Take on the Passion Fashion DoAction in support of my Year of Eco Challenges &#8211; see more info&nbsp;<a href="http://www.thedonation.org.uk/doers/ecothrifty/i-am-taking-year-eco-challenges" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a></li>
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div>
<li>Or join me and create a whole new outfit &#8211; it doesn&#8217;t have to fit in with the latest fashion trends, it could just be a reflection of your own personal style!</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In case you are wondering what the latest ladies fashions are, I have been doing a bit of research (sorry guys, I didn&#8217;t get as far as men&#8217;s fashion). Apparently pastels, culottes and ripped denim are in this spring.&nbsp;There is a whole article about wearing ripped denim&nbsp;<a href="http://www.fashionising.com/trends/b--ripped-jeans-and-denim-fashion-trend-1150.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>, with some of the jeans pictured looking like they might not make it until the end of the day! I feel so much better about letting my kids run around with massive holes in their trousers now! It&#8217;s hard to tell in the picture at the top, but there are holes in both kids trousers. &nbsp;The Metro has an article with spring / summer trends <a href="http://metro.co.uk/2014/03/13/spring-has-sprung-the-springsummer-2014-fashion-trends-you-can-buy-and-wear-now-4540106/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>, which features some patchwork Karen Millen jeans &#8211; I think I can rustle up some patchwork jeans without the £99 price tag!&nbsp;</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;"></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Thanks to Nancy Carter who blogs at Mum-Ra (you can read her blog&nbsp;<a href="http://mummingatmumra.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>) for inspiring this challenge! Nancy and Emma Northcott (who blogs&nbsp;<a href="http://mommyemu.wordpress.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>) have both agreed to join me in this challenge and there may be some more bloggers joining in (I will keep you posted about this). &nbsp;Everyone is welcome to join in and I would love to hear about how it goes for you. &nbsp;Keep me up to date on Twitter or Facebook (or even by email) and I will share what you are all up to (probably in a round up at the end of the challenge on the blog, but I will also retweet what you are up to on Twitter and share on Facebook).</p>
<p>I am currently undertaking a&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ecothriftyliving.com/2013/09/my-year-of-eco-challenges.html" style="text-align: start;">Year of Eco Challenges</a>&nbsp;. If you have a moment I would really appreciate it if you would consider sponsoring me with an action (no money involved) on my&nbsp;<a href="http://www.thedonation.org.uk/doers/ecothrifty/i-am-taking-year-eco-challenges" style="text-align: start;">DoNation page</a>. Also if you liked this post please click like on&nbsp;<a href="http://www.facebook.com/EcoThriftyLiving" style="text-align: start;">Facebook</a>&nbsp;and follow on&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/ecothrifty" style="text-align: start;">Twitter</a>&nbsp;&#8211; thanks so much!</p>
</div>
<p>The post <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com/2014/05/what-is-problem-with-fast-fashion-and.html">What is the problem with fast fashion and a challenge for you all!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com">Eco Thrifty Living</a>.</p>
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		<title>Introducing Catchbox!</title>
		<link>https://ecothriftyliving.com/2014/05/introducing-catchbox.html?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=introducing-catchbox</link>
					<comments>https://ecothriftyliving.com/2014/05/introducing-catchbox.html#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Zoe]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 01 May 2014 08:53:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[zero waste]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://ecothriftyliving.com/wp3/uncategorized/introducing-catchbox/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>I have recently signed up to a great local scheme called Catchbox (see their site&#160;here). Catchbox is a &#8216;not for profit, community run co-op&#8217; which connects local fisherman with the...</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com/2014/05/introducing-catchbox.html">Introducing Catchbox!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com">Eco Thrifty Living</a>.</p>
]]></description>
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<a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/catchbox.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img decoding="async" border="0" src="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/catchbox.png" height="450" width="640"></a></div>
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<p>I have recently signed up to a great local scheme called Catchbox (see their site&nbsp;<a href="http://www.catchbox.coop/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>). Catchbox is a &#8216;not for profit, community run co-op&#8217; which connects local fisherman with the people who want to buy the fish they have caught. &nbsp;You have to pay in advance for a season (which lasts 12 weeks) and can choose to either buy 1kg of fish or 2kg of fish each week for the 12 weeks or every other week for the 12 weeks. &nbsp;You don&#8217;t know what you will get each week, as it depends what the fisherman or woman caught that day, but if you get to the pick up point early you can choose from the fish available. &nbsp; You can also opt out of having shellfish if you want to. Around Brighton and Hove, Worthing and Chichester volunteers have offered to run pick up points once a week where people can go and pick up their fish.</p><div class="ecoth-content" style="margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;" id="ecoth-3050186306"><a href="https://ecothriftylearning.thinkific.com/courses/cut-the-wrap" aria-label="Sustainable gift wrap course"><img src="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2.png" alt="Sustainable gift wrap course"  srcset="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2.png 1080w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-300x300.png 300w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-1024x1024.png 1024w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-150x150.png 150w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-768x768.png 768w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-500x500.png 500w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-60x60.png 60w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-980x980.png 980w, https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sustainable-gift-wrap-course-ad-2-700x700.png 700w" sizes="(max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px" class="no-lazyload" width="300" height="300"  style="display: inline-block;" /></a></div>
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I had heard about this scheme a while ago, when their only pick up point was in the centre of Brighton and it didn&#8217;t seem practical to me at the time as it can be a hassle to get into town and I wasn&#8217;t sure I would always be able to make it. They have lots more pick up points now though and there is one in Hove now which is much easier for me. &nbsp;The other thing that helps is that I advertised Catchbox on my food sharing group (read more <a href="http://www.ecothriftyliving.com/2014/03/my-year-of-eco-challenges-challenge-7.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>)&nbsp;and some of my friends also signed up to it. &nbsp;I wasn&#8217;t able to pick up my first catch on Wednesday evening, but one of my friends picked it up when she picked up her own one.</div>
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Catchbox care about the fishing methods used, fishing with pole and line or static nets, not trawling ones, which I think can cause more damage. &nbsp;They are also encouraging people to eat a variety of fish and not just to buy the same fish all the time, which can contribute to the problems of over fishing. &nbsp;It is local, it is fresh, it is the most sustainable fish I&#8217;m going to get my hands on and it tasted delicious! Oh and one more thing &#8211; you can take your own box along to pick up the fish, so it is plastic free too &#8211; I forgot to give a box to my friend, but will definitely be doing that next time!</p>
<p><a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/20140424_164639-1024x768.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img decoding="async" border="0" src="https://ecothriftyliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/20140424_164639-1024x768.jpg" height="480" width="640"></a></p>
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For our first share of the fisherman&#8217;s catch we had 7 nice sized plaice (we paid for 2kg). &nbsp;I love plaice and we put it in a bit of butter in a pan and had a seriously yummy dinner (in case regular readers are wondering about the butter, we are back on the dairy now, for the time being).</div>
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You do have to gut them and chop the heads, fins and tails off, but there wasn&#8217;t much to gut in the plaice and it didn&#8217;t bother me at all. &nbsp;I am really looking forward to seeing what is in the next catch!</div>
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In case you are wondering this is not a sponsored post and they didn&#8217;t ask me to write it &#8211; these views are my own. Please bear in mind I am only commenting on my experiences so far (i.e. having received one lot of fish) and will try to remember to provide an update on how it all went after this season is over!</div>
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I am currently undertaking a&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ecothriftyliving.com/2013/09/my-year-of-eco-challenges.html" style="text-align: start;">Year of Eco Challenges</a>&nbsp;. If you have a moment I would really appreciate it if you would consider sponsoring me with an action (no money involved) on my&nbsp;<a href="http://www.thedonation.org.uk/doers/ecothrifty/i-am-taking-year-eco-challenges" style="text-align: start;">DoNation page</a>. Also if you liked this post please click like on&nbsp;<a href="http://www.facebook.com/EcoThriftyLiving" style="text-align: start;">Facebook</a>&nbsp;and follow on&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/ecothrifty" style="text-align: start;">Twitter</a>&nbsp;&#8211; thanks so much!</p>
<p><i>Picture credits: Thanks to Catchbox for providing the picture at the top of this post! The picture of the plaice is my own.</i></p>
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<p>The post <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com/2014/05/introducing-catchbox.html">Introducing Catchbox!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com">Eco Thrifty Living</a>.</p>
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		<title>What a great haul!</title>
		<link>https://ecothriftyliving.com/2013/10/what-great-hau.html?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=what-great-hau</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Zoe]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Oct 2013 21:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Stuff]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[eco]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Frugal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gifts]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Green]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[kids]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[thrifty]]></category>
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					<description><![CDATA[<p>This half term I&#8217;ve booked in playdate after playdate &#8211; a great way to keep the kids entertained in the holidays. &#160;Today I met up with a school mum and...</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com/2013/10/what-great-hau.html">What a great haul!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com">Eco Thrifty Living</a>.</p>
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This half term I&#8217;ve booked in playdate after playdate &#8211; a great way to keep the kids entertained in the holidays. &nbsp;Today I met up with a school mum and we had a lovely day &#8211; the kids played, we chatted, perfect! &nbsp;We went back to hers for a yummy lunch and while we were there said she was having a clear out of some of her sons toys and clothes that he had grown out of.&nbsp;</div>
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She gave me everything pictured above (as well as the clothes) and now &#8211; ta da I have my younger son&#8217;s Chrismakah (Christmas/ Chanukah) presents sorted! &nbsp;Thanks lovely school mum! &nbsp; Having only spent&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ecothriftyliving.com/2013/10/ooh-arr-me-hearties.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">£2 on gifts for my older son</a>&nbsp;this festive season is really not going to cost the earth in my household!</div>
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If you liked this post I would really appreciate it if you click like on&nbsp;<a href="http://www.facebook.com/EcoThriftyLiving">Facebook</a>&nbsp;and follow on&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/ecothrifty">Twitter</a>&nbsp;&#8211; thanks!</div>
<p>The post <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com/2013/10/what-great-hau.html">What a great haul!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ecothriftyliving.com">Eco Thrifty Living</a>.</p>
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