Monday, June 2, 2014

Crafts and recycling for summer


This image was taken from www.onegreenplanet.org which has great crafty ideas. Click link to view.


Its coming up to that time of year when kids will be off school and despite their excitement you will soon here "I'm bored." Looking through my Facebook page I came across a page I had 'Liked' called greenme.ie which had some crafty ideas which incorporated recycling. I saw that they had used jars and decorated them as candle holders that I thought looked really nice and would be perfect for garden parties that roll into summer evenings. In fact you could use a candle to repel insects while you are out there. It is definitely worth taking a peek on their page which lead you to other green websites. Many ideas may not require you to purchase anything but simply use what you already have and no doubt you can adapt things to suit what you do or don't have. Anyway get nosing and liking the Greenme.ie page on Facebook if you have an account. They can give you great ideas such as I've mentioned and help you consider the what might be done in the home to keep the bills and energy usage down. Prepare and be ready to get busy with the kids rather than sticking them in front of the television this summer. Make it one to remember!

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Beautiful day, beautiful compost



There's plenty more tidying up to be done as you can see but if the sun
hangs around that wont be a problem



The final year at college is nearly over and I can tell you that I cant wait to get back to normality. Studying is all well and good but it prevents me from doing all the things I love, like gardening. Still, I took yesterday off and went out into the sunshine and enjoyed the garden immensely. Its been about 3 years now since we started composting and it has been a major help in the garden as well as a money saver. Compost on tap, you might say. This year we bough a new composter, same as the old one but the old one needed emptying cleaning and reviving. We emptied it yesterday and I used it all over the place. What I was most happy with is the fact that it was fabulously broken down and gave me 4 barrow loads. Enough to add to the potatoe drill, the bed where I planted the peas, improving the soil where I have planted cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli. It just seemed to go on. Granted its all been used up now as the new composter is only just up and running but I really felt that the effort with it over the past few years really paid off. It wasnt a fancy pants composter and didnt cost alot but was everything and more than I expected. Furthermore, it added to a great days gardening. Lots of the veg is very late in being put out but then that's exams for you. Better late than never and the enjoyment in the sunshine was immense. Here's to a successful veggy patch this year. Cheers!

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Rechargeable energy


I just recently bought a really good book with great tips for saving money. Some of the tips within the book are very much in line with looking after the environment (although that isn't of course the main object of the book). I for one have a few devices at home that require batteries as I'm sure do many people. However, it was not until last week that I learned that some rechargeable batteries are better than others. No, I don't mean with regard to brand names, I mean with regard to the mAH or milli amp hours. Basically to cut an explanation short, the higher the mAH on the batteries the longer they will last. So, for example I have a voice recorder for college lectures which takes AAA batteries. Apparently, the mAH on some of rechargeable batteries ranges from 600-850 mAH. I thought, "Typical, I bought the cheapest ones in the supermarket and therefore probably lost out" but as it happens I had 850 mAH batteries and was very impressed with myself. I popped into the local supermarket again to check other brands and yes, many of the well known ones are a bit of a disappointment. Furthermore, I checked the AA batteries that are always required around the house: TV remote controls, toys, torches etc, and these too can be anything up to 2500 mAH. While I don't have an expensive charger, it isn't very "green" to just throw my present one out and purchase a higher quality one. If you are thinking of making a purchase it might be wise to research one which might be more efficient.
So firstly: