I can't help but feel overwhelmed...

...as I continue to read about self-sustainability and living a greener life. It is mind boggling how programmed to consumerism I have become. EVERYWHERE I look around this house I see waste, I see inefficient energy use, water wastage and plastic plastic plastic.. Don't get me wrong, we're far from excessive! We buy very little, we have short showers, we don't have many gadgets, we turn our lights off, we limit unnecessary toilet flushes, we don't shower our daughter in toys, we rarely have treats and very seldom will we go buy luxury items. However there is still an abundance of waste, so many areas where we could do better, gosh it really has become so easy to just bury your head in the sand. I'm really excited about all the little changes we can make!

Today we found out where our local fresh farmer markets were hiding, there is one in Subiaco and Mt Claremont that would work for us, although they are quite far away. We might need to check out one we've spotted in Hilton. I had also previously heard of food swaps or bartering for your food with food you grow yourselves and researched this some more, I wasn't pleased to find out it doesn't run over here in the west (although i shouldn't be surprised really, we're so backwards). I thought it was such a shame.

I paid our local library a visit to get some gardening books, Luke and I have wanted to grow a few vegetables and herbs for a long time so plans are under way for that. We are also building our Lila a sandpit out the back and we are busy sourcing materials from second hand sites such as Gumtree and Freecycle, which I signed up for today.

Before I go I thought I'd share a tip I discovered today..

Place a water bottle filled with water in your toilet cistern, it saves a bottle full of water each flush!! 

Ahh the small things hey?