It is the little things

This just part of the spring floral display at King's Park. The everlasting flowers are so wonderful when grouped together like this...and that is what we are, all of us, who are living more simply and taking care of each other and the environment in which we live. Grouped together we make a lovely display of hope for the future.

This is the season of Kambarang- the indigenous people see it as the season of birth -when there are baby birds, and possums, and all sorts of things growing. Little things which become big things if the conditions are right!

I have been thinking about the little changes, which when grouped together, make a lovely and powerful change for our world in the face of the environmental crisis we are now facing.

Simple things like not buying or using tea bags, but just making tea with leaves and a teapot or infuser. Why? Check this out -(the link explains the use of plastic in tea bags) and then change to leaf tea and a teapot. No need to add plastic to your tea! In Australia we have one brand of black tea which comes in a simple cardboard box, no plastic lining!

I have several teapots. I have the red one with the infuser basket, which I keep for herbal tea, and a bigger stainless one which makes our morning Earl Grey. I also have a silver one which belonged to DH's mum and Dad, and I have a pretty china one too.

The whole ritual of tea: the boiling the kettle, the waiting while it brews..all invite a slow moment in our day.

We make herbal infusions and also drink commercial ones -if they come without teabags! My own herbal favourites are lemon thyme and lemon grass.

I don't drink tea in shops when I am out because they mostly serve it as a coffee cup of very hot water with a tea bag on the side...and usually don't even provide somewhere to put the teabag after you lift it from the cup.  Not ideal....in fact a bit ugly and inconvenient. I always return to shops which make me a cup of tea with a pot, and provide me with a strainer and even a pot of hot water...for the second cup!

I loved this post from 1millionwomen  regularly buy second hand clothing.

I try to buy everything I can second hand -if it available when and where I need it. Just by choosing to try to source something second hand as our first option, also has an added benefit: it makes us slow down or even re-think -our purchases. 

I give as an example my idea that it would be good to try the 'haybox' method of slow cooking. This is a traditional method of slow cooking using an insulated box rather than an electrical slow cooker. I looked online and in stores to see if I could buy a modern version -they are often used by caravan and camping folk, who start the night's meal on the stove, pack it in the insulated box and when they get to the other end, they have a hot meal.  I did find a few examples, but did nothing. Now my DH has it in mind that he can make me a 'haybox' with some salvaged wood and a small amount of roll of insulation which was left over from another job. He can make it just the right size for my roasting pan -which I use to prove my bread overnight. In winter I put it in the oven after it has been warmed up slightly. An insulated box could also do double duty as a stool for the table outside.

Now, slow cooking using an electric appliance doesn't use a lot of energy, so swapping to the insulated box won't make an enormous difference to our energy use, but it is part of us wanting to build resilience and generally act respectfully towards the planet. If there is a way of achieving a meal with less energy, it would be good to develop that habit.

Here is a YouTube video of someone making a box using styrofoam. 

This week I am starting a new project -to paint a west facing wall in order to better reflect heat away from our house. Again, it is a little project which I hope will provide us with more internal comfort without the need for electrical cooling like air conditioning. The reasoning is set out here. Our home is double brick with a dark colour. We have already painted the walls on the patio, so we know what it can do for brightening up a space. Painting brick is tough -especially rough faced brick like ours- but it is cheap and I hope will be a good little project for us. I hope to have pictures in my next post!