Re-HASH-ions #1

I would really love to think that I was able to Refashion things, but my creative skills and my aptitude with the sewing machine are just not up to scratch for that. Instead I have been working on a number of 'Re-hash-ions'- like a Refashion, but more poorly put together.

I have had a lot of time on my hands since I have been back in the UK (a broken leg does that for you!) so I have been working on a number of little projects when I have been bored. One of these projects has been to create more wearable day-time tops, which I do not have many of. However, I do have a large number of T-shirts with slogans and logos that I have inherited, but they are either an unflattering shape or men's which are too big for me so they end up becoming bed-time T-shirts.

My first go at this was to turn a extra large men's Dallas Mavericks T-shirt in to a more feminine and flattering top.

Now a bit of an oversight on my part... no before picture. However, I think we can all imagine what a men's extra large standard T-shirt looks like, right?

What I did...

First I started off by cutting a new neckline and sewing a dodgy new hem.

I then turned the T-shirt inside out, taking it in on both sides to make a closer fit shape, although I didn't want it too fitted. Luckily bad sewing did not matter at this point!

I finished it off my cutting down the original sleeves and turning them up to create a rolled sleeved look, securing it under the armpit where it can't be seen.



"It's all about hydration" - Bargain Cruelty Free Moisturisers!

I poke at my skin in the mirror, complaining that I have too many blackheads and that I may be getting lines across my forehead. "Zoe, it's all about hydration," my sister tells me after I ask her advice on skin care; her skin is looking exceptional right now. "Jo's grandma used Nivea creme everyday and she didn't get wrinkles til she was in her 70's!"

I have previously written about my skincare routine, which went completely out of the window when I went backpacking. I still really love the Burt Bee's scrub and Liz Earle cleanser, but they're a bit out of my poor person price range now that my lifestyle is more focused on saving for travel and wanting to go back to university to do my Masters degree.

My sister tells me that Jo, who also has beautiful skin, just uses regular soap to wash her face but makes sure she applies moisturiser twice a day. Of course, drinking plenty of water is essential too, which she assures me cures everything including, but not limited to: headaches, spotty skin and period pain.

Her stand on buying expensive cosmetics? "They all do the same thing. These fancy products have not been proved to make you look younger at all." Well, she has good skin and I'm fed up of paying expensive prices when maybe I only need what she uses: a cheaper scrub, cleansing wash and a twice daily slathering of budget moisturiser (and that means less than £5 for 100ml).

Marks & Spencer's Formula Light Moisturiser

At £4 for 100ml this bargain moisturiser contains chamomile extract. It is fragrance free and hypoallergenic, great for those with sensitive skin.

Superdrug Vitamin E SPF15 Moisturising Day Cream

Superdrug have some great reasonably priced facial moisturisers, however this is their cheapest at only £2.99 for 100ml. On the website it has many positive reviews from satisfied customers, proving cheaper products can be the better products. I think this is the moisturiser I will be going for as I am fond of protecting my skin from the sun and Vitamin E is also meant to be good for scarring.

Honesty Geranium & Ylang Ylang Moisturising Lotion

Honesty, based in my home county of Derbyshire, have produced a huge range of animal friendly cosmetics for many years. At £6.15 for 200ml. This lotion is suitable for facial and body use. It also comes in a larger size for more frequent use.

All moisturisers are from companies approved on the Go Cruelty Free website.

Personal Cards

There is something very personal about a card which relates to you, whether it be that it has been thoughtfully picked out with you in mind or has been made for you by the person giving it to you. This is why for a number of years now I have enjoyed making my own cards for others, I previously blogged about some Christmas Cards I made when I first starting doing this. I enjoy giving these cards as it is clear people are warmed by the fact it is homemade and impressed that you would put in the effort for them, even if they aren't particularly good sometimes! I feel a similar way about gifting, not getting excessive things but things that are wanted and personal, but I will talk about that in a different post! Making your own cards is also a thrifty option with cards in a shop costing you at least a £1 for a very basic one but more like £3 for one that is right whereas a pack of 10 plain cards with envelopes to work on is more like £1!

Here are a few cards that I have recently made for my friends and family:

For my friend H's Birthday and her H party!

For my Mum's Birthday

A postcard for my friend W (think I need a bit of drawing practice!!)

For my friend JP's Birthday

Last Minute Fathers Day Card

Carbooting (decluttering my life)

I have posted before about one of my favourite spots (Tansley carboot sale on a Sunday morning) and I have also posted about the need for me to declutter my life. Although I have been doing some bits of decluttering, like ebaying things, taking things to the charity shop, etc. I had not had a bootsale. However these two things came together this weekend and I think I have finally got my incredible amounts of stuff into a manageable amount and also had a pretty good day selling things to make some additional money to travel with.

I made a grand amount of around £40 and already spent it on a Sleeping Sack, a Flask and a Travel Towel, all practical things for travelling! I usually love buying impractical things, and splurging some money, I really feel like I am turning a new page in my life!

Frugal Friday Night Takeaway

I am a big fan of Frugal Friday posts (which this month is being hosted over at Tales of Pigling Bland) about enjoying great food, while saving money. I thought I would have a go at one myself, with a Friday theme and a few extra frugal tips!

After a long week at work there is nothing I love more than having a takeaway, a couple of drinks and vegetating with a film or in front of the TV. I like to spend at least one of the weekend evenings this way, really relaxing, whether it be alone or with friends. However, this can be an expensive affair if you buy a takeaway, a bottle of wine and rent a film, but I do what I can to make this a budget evening!

TIP #1: Buying a takeaway? Make sure you have a money saving voucher!

Money off vouchers are great if you are getting takeaway to keep the cost down.. My favourite places for discounts are Student Beans and Money Saving Expert, who have a wide range of offers, vouchers and money saving tips. But there any many other voucher websites, including Voucher Cloud and My Voucher Codes. My favourite deals are 'buy one get one free' on pizza when you are having friends over or I love getting anything for free, such as a free voucher for a portion of chips.

My burger made with Quorn fishless fingers (which were on offer at the supermarket!), cheese
and tartar sauce; accompanied with sweet potato chips.

TIP #2: Alternatively, make your own takeaway! Much cheaper and healthier!

By far the healthiest and cheapest option for takeaway type food is to make your own. It obviously doesn't have the same ease as getting a takeaway as you have to cook, but it's more about having something different from your usual weekday cooking. My favourite homemade takeout ideas are Veggie Burger/Hot Dogs with Sweet Potato Wedges (seen above), Veggie Noodles and homemade Indian food.

Previous posted recipe ideas: Green Bean & Pea Curry; Quorn Kebabs; Thai Green Curry and Cauliflower, Potato & Chickpea Curry!

TIP #3: The Entertainment- keeping it cheap!

I find renting a film to be quite expensive per film, based my experience of Blockbuster in the UK. However, I love to watch movies, without the expense of buy a new one time, so I have a LoveFilm subscription which I pay £10 a month for and includes an unlimited amount of rentals, I am allowed two discs at home at any one time and I can also watch films and TV series on my laptop. Also, if you have a TV which you already pay for then that's also low cost entertainment, I don't tend to watch much TV through the week so I save up my favourite programmes to watch on catch-up for a night in.

My LoveFilm Subscription! On this occasion I got
'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' and 'The Breakfast Club'

Tip #4: Like a Tipple? Look for a good price, promotions and offers!

I am fairly fortunate that my Gran lives in France so will bring me over beautiful wine which is so reasonably priced, much cheaper that the UK. As I'm not a big drinker this, along with the bottle of fruit schnapps my Mum gets me whenever she goes on holiday, tends to last me a long time. I do keep an eye out for offers too for special occasion's or to stock up or look at cheaper supermarkets, Aldi I enjoy Budweiser and it's always good for parties and BBQ's, so if there's an offer on I like to get some as it will never be wasted.

My New TV Love...

SuperScrimpers!!

As I am trying to make changes to my life and become more thrifty, my television viewing is now also following suit, with my new love of SuperScrimpers (available on Channel 4).

Miss Moneypenny with her team of superscrimpers want us all to waste less, make the most of what we already have and save money. SuperScrimpers also looks back at the thriftiness of those who lived during WWII, which I have always found fascinating.

I have become infatuated with this new breed of television program which show ways of saving loads of money. They have given me some great tips that I am eager to try out such as vouchering, DIY nail effects and even making the most of my banking; all so that I can save towards something which is more important to me.

Could we be coming into an age where thrift is more fashionable? I certainly think so, but it is also becoming necessary for so many of us. I love that TV programs are making this more mainstream, as we could all learn something from being a bit more thrifty in life and in my opinion, it makes life more fulfilling too.

I would really be greatful for any other TV program suggestions like this!?

Capsule Wardrobe

Capsule Wardrobe: a set of clothing which can be mixed and matched to create a wide variety of outfits

Clothing Chaos

The concept of a capsule wardrobe is one that has interested me for a while now because of the many benefits that occur from dressing this way. After putting a capsule wardrobe together, the amount spent on clothes is very low, things are replaced when they are worn and only a few special items bought each year. Everything in your wardrobe works together, so no more clothes that never get worn! The benefits for the environment are great, because of purchasing less clothes, but even greater if the items in your capsule wardrobe are also ethical. And by having less good quality items, that fit together to make so many outfit combinations, you are guaranteed to always look stylish!

As I want to lighten my load, live more ethical but also stay stylish, it's become clear that this is the way that I would like to go. I want a wardrobe that works hard, gets me through every season and is timeless, stylish regardless of current trends! However, it has also left me wondering, how will this work for me? And how many items should I have in my capsule wardrobe? I decide to do a little bit of capsule wardrobe research to give me some ideas...

Mary Porta's talks of the three most important items for a woman's wardrobe: a 'wear-anywhere' dress, a beautiful pair of trousers and a great shoe. Great key items for a capsule wardrobe, but you'd obviously need to build on this.

Susie Faux invented the term 'capsule wardrobe' in the 70's. Her blog Confidence Tricks has great ideas for the modern capsule wardrobe. Susie's capsule wardrobe consists of 2 pairs of trousers, a dress or a skirt, a jacket, a coat, a knit, two pairs of shoes and two bags. My stomach turns when I think of this few clothes. I would not cope! So I look for a capsule wardrobe with more clothes...

In a great article for Red Magazine (which actually sparked my interest in the capsule wardrobe), Anna Berkeley wrote of 38 items for your capsule wardrobe which would result in over 400 outfit choices. This consists of: 4 coats, 2 jackets, 6 dresses, 4 tees, 2 knits, 3 tops, 3 shirts, 4 pairs of jeans, 5 pairs of trousers, 3 skirts & 2 shorts. For me this would be a bit bottom heavy, I'd prefer more tops, and I'm not sure if 38 would even be enough clothes for me...

My reading about capsule wardrobes start to get like maths. I read somewhere else that 15 items can make over 50 outfit combinations. And I'm not sure if any of the capsule wardrobes I'm reading about would suit me and my needs. So I go to one of my favourite books for inspiration: Green is the New Black by Tamsin Blanchard. Her idea of the capsule wardrobe is not prescriptive, it just gives ideas of what can be/should be included, so you can work it out yourself (without going too mad on the amount of clothes). In fact, she talks of having 41 dresses in hers (although she doesn't condone this), which makes me far less worried for thinking that 38 items is too few.

This article over at Ethics Girls, has also been a great help to me!!

So I guess I will just have to work out my (ethical) capsule wardrobe myself... More to follow!!

Another wardrobe example. My friend L's three rails of clothes! However, much tidier than mine! 

Carbooting My Life

For years I have collected so many things- unnecessary things and kept things that I did not really need. I don't really know if this is hoarding behaviour or whether it is out right consumerism, purchasing to excess of what I need, perhaps a little of both, but it is something that is unhelpful in my life. I live in mess/chaos because of all of my things, as I just do not have enough room to store everything- shoes spilling over everywhere, clothes bursting out of draws and off rails. It takes me at least two cars to pack my personal belongings into whenever I move (which has been more than every year more recently) and this leads to much stress, particularly as I will pack and unpack things that I will never use or wear as I travel from place to place. However, despite my feelings now, having all these things has been a real comfort to me for years. I wonder why this is. Do we really need so many 'things' around us to make us feel happy?

In recent years, I have tried to put a ban on myself buying new things, particularly clothes and shoes off the high street because of the sheer amount of 'things' I have bought over the years and now I am starting to I feel like I want to free myself from all these belongings in an ethical way.

Take my friend A for instance, who can fit all his belongings into a holdall and large rucksack. When he is travelling, he takes what he needs in his rucksack, and leaves the holdall with someone to keep safe. When questioning him on how he has so much little stuff (I was completely shocked when he disclosed this fact), he merely replied 'why would I need anymore?' And he's right! I am completely envious that he can live this way. It seems so stark but at the same time, to me, this signifies freedom!

My solution to the problem of feeling weighed down with so many things is to be ruthless! I have found it very difficult as I hate parting with things but I know this has to be done. So the ethical way to approach this? Well I'm certainly not throwing away, but I am doing this:

• Ebay all the things I don't need, wear or use- so that someone else can get some use out of them and I can save some money for future plans.
• I am going to give some things to a local charity shop- charity shops have helped me find some fabulous things over the years, so it's my turn to give back!
• Perhaps even have a car boot sale when it's warm!

I have a few ideas of what I'd like to do, such as building an ethical capsule wardrobe rather than having huge amounts of clothes, some of which rarely see daylight. I'd like to travel, so it'd be helpful to figure out what the core things I need are in life so that I can (temporarily) live from a (very large) rucksack. I would like to break my consumerist ways and realise that things aren't really what make you happy, so I don't need to buy and hoard, but I need to spend more time with the people I love and have experiences which I can always treasure.

I don't think I'll ever be living out of a rucksack and a holdall, I have too many sentimental things that I have collected over the years that I certainly wont be getting rid of! But I'd be happy with a rucksack, a suitcase and a few extra boxes!

Spiced Plum Chutney

In my Mum's garden there is a plum tree, that I can remember us planting as a family when I was a girl, it was a cutting off my Grandparents very large plum tree. For years it hasn't produced plums because after my Dad built a patio around it, it seemed to be shocked and dying a bit. However, this year it has come fully back into life and we have had a huge glut of plums off the tree. They are the sweetest and nicest plums to eat, but there have been too many to get through so I decided to make chutney.

I loosely followed this recipe here, but I made my own alternations to the spicing, adding chili and omitting the star anise- so I have labelled in Zoe's Spiced Plum Chutney, as I've decided the alterations make it my own! 

I'm really excited for it to mature and to be able to try it, as this is my first go at making preserves. I also like the fact that I will get to enjoy my plums well into winter and that I will save so much money, as I will be eating my own chutney rather than the expensive shop bought versions. I have quite a few jars of it, and with my new preserving skills, I think I will make Christmas Hampers for friends/family this year!

POTATOES!

I unfortunately don't have my own home grown veg. Do feel sad for me! I am trying to make improvements though. So I love it when people very kindly give me some of their home grown veg extras to make lovely things out of. This hasn't happened yet this year and I was hoping that someone would give me a big bag of apples as I have some apple recipes I'd like to try. While I was at work the other day, somebody unexpectedly offered me some home grown potatoes so I had to take them up on the offer. I wanted to make some lovely recipes with potatoes and this is what I came up with! Potatoes are a wonderful staple food. They're great because they're so cheap, so perfect for students and anyone on a budget. Mine are especially thrifty as they're free and I also feel that they're tastier because they're home grown.

Potato Bake

Photo's aren't my strongest point, I would like to get a fab camera and take better ones but I never get the timing right. We always eat half of the dish before I remember to take a photo anyway. So as you can see, we have eaten the majority of this.

• Potatoes
• Milk
• Onion
• Clove of Garlic
• Salt + Pepper
• Grated Cheese
• Butter
• Olive Oil

After peeling the potatoes, slice them fairly thinly and set them aside in some water. In a pan put a good amount of olive oil and butter. Gently heat and add a finely diced onion and crushed clove of garlic. After about five minutes, add the potatoes and coat them in butter/onion mixture, then add milk to just cover the potatoes. Simmer until the potatoes and tender and layer the mixture (along with the liquid) with grated cheese and season. I did around 3 layers and added extra cheese to the top. I baked it at 200 degrees centigrade for 40 minutes.

Bubble & Squeak Cakes

• Potatoes
• Cabbage
• Seasoning
• Olive Oil

Boil the potatoes, boil the cabbage after you have shredded it. Mash the potatoes (I usually put in a bit of butter) and then combine the cabbage. Season and then make into patty shapes and set aside. Fry in olive oil when ready. I served mine with fried eggs.

Quorn Recipe Book

Have you entered the Vegetarian Girl Give-Away?!

Quorn was on offer, 3 for £5 at Sainsbury's so I recently bought 3 packs and at the till I realised that on certain packs of Quorn you can get promotional vouchers towards a Quorn Recipe Book. If you buy two of these special packs and go on to the Quorn Website you can get the recipe book for £2.99 with two promotional codes.

I sent off for this offer and this is my recipe book:

I will post pictures soon of any recipes that I make from it!

Homemade T-Shirt!

During some of this summer I have been working at a summer play scheme and one day the morning activity was to make T-Shirts! The kids encouraged me to have a go at make one too!

We used Berol fabric pens which you then iron to keep the design permanent. I did mine with colourful hearts and then wrote 'Vegetarian Girl' as a tribute to this blog! We also made up our own brand names to write on the collar and I made mine 'ZoLo Designs'.
Have a go at making your own T-Shirts: Cheap and loads of fun!

First Sewing Creation

This is my first use of my sewing machine and in fact the first piece of clothing I have ever made! I am quite proud of myself really because it looks really good, well, as long as you don't look too close and see that all the stitching isn't that straight! However, it was my first go and I really enjoyed it, so I am hoping for lots more handmade pieces to add to my wardrobe!!

This is my lovely John Lewis Mini Sewing Machine that I got for Christmas.

This is a pin cushion I made out of felt to keep all my pins together. I stuffed it with scrap fabric rather than wadding.

Saving the Pennys!!!

Now that I am a poor student I have had to adapt my ways a little bit to suit my new budget. I have with some areas found it a real challenge, but I have also found that being thrifty is a fun challenging and it's very fulfilling when you make a big saving. These are a few of the things that I've done to cut back, which are saving me loads of money! These aren't just suitable for students but anyone who is feeling the pinch at the moment!!

Taking Lunch

I have always taken lunch to work so this isn't a new thing for me, however, it has been very tempting while I am at uni to have the dish of the day or grab something from the delicious sandwich shop down the road. I have put a stop to this though as lunch can end up costing as much as £5 a day, where as my homemade lunch probably costs me no more than a £1!

Taking a Flask

I have always made sure I take water out with me, but usually when shopping, or doing anything actually, I get tempted to buy tea and coffee to drink while walking around. Some of the expensive coffees are more than £3 a cup. At the beginning of uni I also fell into the trap of buying coffee between lectures, which although cheaper, still adds up when your having 1 or 2 a day. So now I have invested in a thermos flask (just £5 from Asda) and take my own hot drinks to uni to enjoy in my coffee break.

Walking & Cycling

Until I got my bike I hadn't cycled in years! I didn't often walk places either as I would use my car or the bus to get about (which isn't very green, I admit!) I go to uni everyday by foot and either walk or cycle into town. I do occasionally use the bus to town if it's wet or get a lift to do my food shopping, but that's about it. It saves me a fortune and leaves my conscience clear.

Using the Library

The library has so much to offer, especially if you're at university! I have been taking out novels to read, get all my text books from the library and I take advantage of the large audio-visual room which allows you to take out DVD's on free overnight loan! So not only can you get all your studying done at the library without having to buy any books, but it also offers fantastic free entertainment!

Cooking Meals

A natural advantage of being vegetarian is that meals are cheaper because of meat being so expensive to buy. However, things can get expensive if you're living off expensive vegetarian ready meals. I find that cooking from scratch is really cheap, especially as I use a lot of beans and lentils to supplement more expensive items like soya 'meats' and quorn.

Loyalty Cards

When I do go out for coffee, I always like to go places that offer loyalty cards. My university has a system where if you buy 6 hot drinks, you get the next one free, I also like Cafe Nero for it's loyalty card scheme. One of my favourite restaurants back at home also has a loyalty card scheme, so I am saving them up at the moment for a free lunch!

Charity Shops

I love shopping and I find it difficult that I can't just buy whatever clothes that I see and want. However, you can get some great cheap finds in charity shops! If you're willing and have the time then spend the day routing through different charity shops, and you may get some amazing piece of clothing, like a beautiful vintage dress priced at £3. The fact that you have got a bargain as well is an amazing feeling. However, some days when you go in, it seems like they're full of nothing but tat!

Eating Out

Going out for meals is a very expensive hobby that I am having to cut back on, which is unfortunate because I love food! However, you can still go out to eat cheaply as they are some great budget restaurants out there and deals (like eating at certain restaurants at an earlier time or at lunch). I also save any vouchers that I get given to eat out places to get money off my bill, you can pick up loads at freshers fairs!

Fun & Activities

I also usually wouldn't bat an eyelid at paying whatever amount to do the things that I want to do. Now I feel very frugal, and unless it is a special time where I let my hair down.

When I go out for a drink, I usually like to look at deals and go to the bars with the best ones on.

I also like to go to the cinema, but either on a Wednesday using my 2 for 1 discount through Orange or going to the student cinema, which is considerably cheaper.

I like to find free activities to do in the new town that I am living and at the university. So far I have found beautiful walks, historical things to explore, art galleries and museums.

I also like to take advantage of cheap activities that are offered through the university.

My New Bike

This post actually has a few purposes. 1) I want to talk about the benefits of cycling, 2) I want to talk about recycling projects and 3) I just want to show off about my shiny new bike!!


The city that I moved to is really great for cycling! Everyone cycles here and there are bike paths everywhere (good for people who are a little bit apprehensive about cycling on roads like me). So I decided that I would get a bike before I even moved here.

I looked for a new bike but it was going to cost me £250 for a very standard hybrid bike. So then I started looking on ebay as I prefer the shape of more retro looking hybrids but I had no success there either, although the bikes were pretty they would need some work done on them and I had now idea how to do that or who could do that for me.

When the university gave me a cycling map of the city with all the different bike shops in I found the perfect solution! York Bike Rescue takes bikes that people have donated to them and revamp them, putting new parts on and making sure that they are safe. Bikes cost around £50 (for standard) and up to £250 (for vintage). Mine cost around the middle at £100 for my retro shaped hybrid bike. I simply picked out my bike, they did all the work on it and then after 10 days it was ready for me to pick.

I know that other places around the UK have these sorts of projects or bike shops who reinstate old bikes to their former glory and I really would urge people to go to these instead of getting brand new bikes. I feel my bike has more character because it is older, it has already seen the world, but also, I feel better that not only am I reducing my carbon footprint by cycling over using a car but that my bike also has a smaller carbon footprint as it is getting double the use.

There are numerous benefits to cycling, not only does it reduce your carbon footprint but it also is really good for your health and keeping you fit. It saves you loads of money if you usually drive a car, like me, as you aren't paying for the endless expenses that they seem the create. It saves money over using public transport and you have the added benefit of not waiting around for buses. If you do need to take a longer journey though, as I do to go home, most trains have bike racks that you can reserve for free. There's also the obvious benefit of that it is actually fun, you get to see more and it is lovely just to go for a bike ride for the fun of it, to somewhere pretty.

It's not too expensive to get set up as I have spent less than £200, as I have had to get all the essential safety equipment: a lock, lights, helmet, etc, but after this I know my bike will cost me no more money.

So look at my pretty shiny new bike and consider taking up cycling yourself!

Second Hand, Vintage, Swapping...

Yes, I am talking about clothes! I have to say that I do have a passion for shopping and buying clothes but I am turning to more ethical and environmentally friendly ways of getting my fix!

Lately a lot of my purchases have been second hand or vintage. This is kinder to the environment as things are being reused rather than thrown away and it means you can share the items carbon footprint with its previous owners! Swapping is basically the same principle!

Second Hand Clothing
I tend to nip into charity shops whenever I walk past one! However, I have found that you can get better finds in charity shops in more affluent areas, but don't right off the other ones! If you like to browse online then Oxfam have got there own online shop.
I particularly love charity shopping because it feels so much better than going to a high street shop. When you have routed and found something fantastic for so cheap, you feel a real sense of achievement!

Vintage Clothing
I am a huge fan of buying vintage because I like the individual look of it. My favourite place to go vintage shopping is London because there is so much available! Two of my favourite shops are Rokit and Beyond Retro. When I can't go to London shopping though I like to browse Rokit's online shop.

Clothes Swapping
This is not something that I have taken part in yet, but I have been browsing and I am very excited about starting! You can clothes swap with your friends or even turn it into a party where everyone brings their unwanted items. There is also the option though of clothes swapping online. Whats Mine is Yours seems to be a fantastic website with loads on offer. It is free to join and use, you post items that you want to swap and also can look at what others want to swap. The only thing you have to pay for is the postage and packaging of the item your sending.

Freecycle

Freecycle is an organisation that allows free trading to take place. People post unwanted items and you can have them for free if you'll collect them, you just have to contact the owner of the items! You can also post your unwanted items for someone to collect and reuse!

Freecycle has benefits for the environment. It encourages people to reuse things and buy second hand over brand new. This then has a positive impact on the environment as it reduces waste that is going into landfills and also reduces your carbon footprint!

All you have to do is join Freecycle and then you can browse for groups in your area on Yahoo and then join them as well. I have joined a few groups that are in easy driving distance from where I live.

I am very excited about this and am now looking for camping equipment to my hearts content!

Healthy Lunches: Leftover Vegetable Soup

I think most people get to the end of the week and they just have a few odd vegetables floating around at the bottom of their fridge. Not enough of one vegetable to make an accompaniment to a family meal but just about to turn so you wont be able to use them next week when you get more vegetables. I really hate just having to throw leftovers away and love soup, so I thought I would combine the two!


I had a leftover sweet potato, a carrot, a leek, some celery and some cabbage. Although I used these vegetables this would work with absolutely any vegetables that you have leftover!

1. I cut my vegetables into small chunks and roughly shredded the cabbage. I then added them to a pan with a little olive oil to sweat.
2. I added vegetable stock (this will depend on the quantity of vegetables that you use), a tin of chopped tomatoes, parsley, salt and pepper. I then left it simmer for 20 mins with the lid on (so it doesn't loose any of its lovely liquid).
3. Then it was done! As easy as that! I tried it for seasoning, which was fine and then froze into 4 separate portions, so I have lovely, healthy lunches at hand!

Don't Buy New Books... Book Swap!

Although owning brand new books to read is fantastic, it is not environmentally friendly or cost effective (you read it and it sits on a shelf collecting dust for years). However, book swapping is a fantastic solution!

The one I have been taking part in gives the following instructions on an A4 piece on paper. Attached to the left hand corner is a piece of scrap paper with two address on numbered 1 and 2 (if you're just starting this then put a friend as number 1 and yourself as number 2) and then hand out copies of the instructions with the addresses to your other friends!

WELCOME TO THE PAPERBACK BOOK SWAP

This is just for fun!

Please send a used paperback to the first person on the list (number 1).

Books can easily be sent in an envelope.

Then re-do the list:

• Remove the name under number 1
• Move the name currently at number 2 to the number 1 position
• Write your own name and address under number 2

There should only be 2 names on the list at all times!

Send a copy of the new list and the instructions to 6 of your friends who enjoy reading.

You could recieve back up to 36 books. It will be fun to see where they come from and what types of books you are introduced to.

Please now send your book onto number 1.

HAPPY READING!

If anybody is interested in taking part, but isn't quite clear from the intructions then do not hesistate to comment and I can clear up any misunderstandings.

Alternatively, why not swap books with friends and family to get as much use as possible out of them!

Ethical Solution: make your own clothes

I have been looking for other ethical clothing solutions lately, other than just buying from ethical clothing shops and websites. After looking on the internet I found that making your own clothes is another ethical fashion solution. You make it yourself, so there is no worry about unfair pay and treatment of the workers making your clothes. Also, using ethical fabric means that you are not making a big impact on the environment.

Gossypium produce their own DIY Kits, which include all the parts you need to make your own smock top, short smock dress or long smock dress. All you need is sharp scissors, an iron and a sewing machine. It also comes with variations, so you can add sleeves and collars to personalise your creation. I personally like the Butterflies Kit, but there is 4 kits that you can choose from. Also, ranging from £19.95 to £25.95, they're a bargin.

Topshop wants your rubbish offer a free pattern and instruction guide to make your own shopping bag. All you need is to buy your own ethical fabric to make it with. Alternatively you could make it with old clothes or scraps of material you want to recycle.

If your getting a bit more confident with the sewing machine, then you can also make your own clothes either from your own sewing patterns, or if your not that confident, then from already made patterns. Try Burda Style for free patterns.

For eco-friendly fabric, you can go to Green Fibres, which sells organic and natural materials, however, much of this is plain neutral coloured fabric. Gossypium make a lovely range of organic cotton fabric that is printed with water based inks, they do particularly nice childrens prints. Bishopston Trading Company do a more colourful range of organic and fairtrade cotton. Harmony Art produce goregous printed fabric. You can also try Hemp fabric at Hemp Fabric UK, as it is far less destructive on the envirionment than producing cotton.