There ain't no such thing as a free lunch...?

Food waste is a massive issue here in the UK.

According to the LoveFoodHateWaste website, we waste 4.5 million tonnes of edible food waste, per household, per year!
To put it simply, this is safe, fresh food that's still good to eat and we are chucking it out.
Crazy if you ask me!

For years now, I have had some understanding on the impact food waste is having on the environment and as a result I have been keen to not waste food or at the very least very very little of it.
Not only is it good for the planet to not waste food but also good for the budget!

Last year, I signed up to the app Olio.
Olio is an app that connects with neighbours and local businesses so that surplus food can be shared out rather than wasted for FREE!
I have benefited from this many times and have always been really pleased.
Just yesterday, someone in my village posted several items from our local Co-op.
I requested the wraps, croissants, bread and the most deliciously Sourdough bread!
Little Girl and I ate the wraps and shared a chocolate croissant for our lunch. A free lunch!
The bread has gone into the freezer and I'll just take slices out as and when I need them.
So much better than the food rotting in landfill.

In my area, there is always food being offered via Olio several times a week. I will request items if I know that I will eat them but if I think it's unlikely that I will use an item then I won't make contact as it's not good if it's just going to sit in my freezer or even worst go to waste!

I know in cities particularly London, lots of food is offered such as sandwiches, wraps and pastries from bakeries and shops - the list is endless.

I think this is a fantastic initiative and certainly helps the food budget.

If you've not heard of Olio, why not check it out?

Speak soon, take care,

Amanda

Water saving experiment...

I am careful with my water usage.
I view water as a valuable and precious natural resource.
It's certainly not wasted on me how very lucky I am to just turn a tap and have fresh, clean and safe drinking water.

I am on a water meter and already do things like turn the tap off when brushing my teeth, only putting the washing machine on when I have a full load and the like.

Just recently, I have noticed that my water bills are creeping up a little bit.
I always submit my meter readings every fortnight on my water provider's website and then pay the bill on the receipt of the meter reading.
It was definitely creeping up though I don't think we were using any more water than usual.

I have a daily shower but I am always in and out in just a few minutes. I have a hot bubble bath every so often as a relaxation thing usually with some candles and sometimes a cheeky glass of wine!
I have to admit though Handsome Boy does like to chill out in the deepest bath that he can get in, though this isn't as often as it used to be.
Little Girl has a bath most nights but with only being a baby, her baths are only a few inches deep.

I am deemed as a 'low user' by my water company but I wanted to lower my bills so I decided to take on a little experiment to see if it made a difference.

I decided to save all my used water from my daily showers and the kids' baths. I would use this water to flush the toilet to lower my usage and hopefully in turn my bills.
I think this is referred to as 'grey water' and it means that I would be making the same water work for me twice!
I have to admit, I have always found it crazy that clean fresh water is used for flushing the loo!
I think about all the energy and processes to clean our water and make it safe to drink only for a large quantity of that water to literally go down the toilet!

A few years ago, I was visiting a new local college and I remember being particularly impressed how the building had been designed to collect rain water from the roof to flush the toilets. The water would travel from the roof of the building and into the toilet cisterns (I’m not sure exactly how it worked but I would love to find out!)
It would be great to see this incorporated into all new build properties, it would certainly ease the demand for water.

So back to my experiment.... just over a week now I have been putting the plug in the bath tub for all showers and then scooping the water into buckets ready to use for flushing.
I've been doing the same with the kids' bath water too.
It's been easier than I thought it would be and takes literally two minutes to scoop the water out with a little jug into buckets and bowls.
Our personal best this week is going over 48 hours without traditionally flushing the toilet as our buckets have done the job perfectly well.
I've been squirting some disinfectant into the buckets to tip into the toilet and I've honestly so far not had any issues with anything such as smells, soap scum - nothing at all!
I really can't see any negatives only positives especially for our precious planet and the constant demands we make of her.

The big result was today. So today revealed if my experiment has paid off or not.
I checked the water meter and I have only used 1m of water! That is a good result! It's definitely made a difference so I will continue with this.

I also have a water butt in my garden connected to my drainpipe. I use rainwater collected in that to water my plants so I save water there too.

If anyone has other water saving tips to share that I've missed, hit me with them.

Take care,

Amanda