GoodLiving Tips

Away

Away working this week so will be quiet on the blog.  Back soon!

Buy Nothing New for a Year

I have on the road with work and very busy with college work this week so hence the blog has been quiet.  Interested piece on the radio this morning about buying nothing new for a year (apart from food, toiletries and medication).  Has made me think about how much we buy we could get second hand, borrow or do without.  We do use eBay a lot to see if we can get things second hand as well as Freecycle but I am sure we are just scraping the surface.  More pondering on this to do, perhaps we shall give it a go...

Tip of The Week

This tip of the week is my tip of the year so far!  An Antisnor ring - it actually works!  It works by using acupressure (form of acupuncture without the needles) to stop you snoring at night.  You put it on your little finger of your left hand up to an hour before going to bed and that's it!  I was skeptical but I had to try something to stop my wife's snoring (OK, mine really!).  It can take up to 10 days to take effect, mine reduced dramatically and went over a period of about 4 days.  They offer a 30 day money back guarantee so what is there to loose!  I even find that I start yawning and am really ready for bed after about 15 mins wearing it.  I think it also helps you sleep deeper as you don't snor in deep sleep. 

Mind/Body Connection

I am reading a great book about the mind body connection.  It is Love, Medicine and Miracles by Bernie Siegel.  Bernie is a surgeon in the US who became disillusioned with his work and discovered it was because he was not engaging with his patients on a personal level, understanding their feelings and fears etc.  He started doing this, going against the tide of his training and the profession and the more he did this the more he could see a connection between peoples feelings and beliefs and their recovery rate.  He nows runs a centre for cancer patients which utilizes the power of the mind/body connection. A group of London researchers under Ken Pettingale reported a 10 year survival rate of 75% among cancer patients who reacted to the diagnosis with a ‘fighting spirit’, compared to a 22% survival rate among those who responded with “stoic acceptance” or feelings of helplessness or hopelessness.  There is nothing new about the mind/body connection it has been known about and used for 1000's of years, it is only in the last few centuries and with the invention of penicillin and anti-biotics the medical profession has focused on the biological science of healing.  Very easy to read and hard to put down. 

May well best the best 2 mins of your day....

Awesome short video:

Tip of The Week

My tip this week is to be creative when thinking of things you need - can you re-use something else?  My wife wanted to grow some vegetables but our garden has 3 inches of top soil.  The solution - some containers such as a water tank from a friend loft they no longer require!   Next time you go to the tip, see what there is you can re-use.  We have found the staff there really helpful and friendly if you ask them for anything.  We rescued a water butt - has a small crack in the bottom but I am sure we can repair that.

What's in your garden?

I have taken to putting some bird food on the window sill of my office and we have put some of our dog's fur from bushing him out in the garden.  It is a joy each day to see blue tits and other birds come and get some of the fur to make their nests nice and warm and see a Robin visit my windowsill frequently, even when the window is open! 

Great video

why aren't all companies like this?

I love my crocs.  Bevan was in Colorado a few years before crocs hit the UK and came back with a pair claiming they were the most comfortable and practical shoes she had worn.  It took my a while but soon I was a crocs fan.  I live in mine summer and winter.  Yesterday they broke :(.  The rivet that holds the strap on broke.  But I found out that all you need to do is email customer services and they send you a replacement free of charge - they can even send new straps.  Now that is customer service.  I am not sure how environmentally these shoes are (pastic/rubber construction) but at least they are aiming for owners to keep them for as long as possible before they get discarded. 

Tip of the Week

My tip this week is to look around you and see the wonder of creation.  I think we miss so much of the beauty in the ordinary and extraordinary around us as we rush from one thing to another.  As you walk life you head and look around you.  You may be surprised at what you see.  Walking to dog in our local park we came across a heron and a pair of song thrushes in their nest.

Arggh... it's started...

..hayfever season has started.  The tree pollen kills me, we have a number of large trees behind our garden that shed in to the garden, through the windows etc.  I have cutout/reduced dramatically wheat & diary which I believe helps and makes me feel so much healthier anyway.  Any other natural remedies, esp for tree pollen?!

At last....

It as always amazed me at how many different ticket types you can get when booking a train ticket.  When you read the description of them they lots of them seem identical but perhaps with a word changed and I never can tell what it means!  You sometimes even get the same ticket type listed twice and two different prices!  I am surprised that no-one has tackled this up until now as it must lead to some much complexity in the business which result in higher costs.  The good new is that today they announced a radical simplification of the fare structures making train travel easier to book in the future!

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day!  Are you doing anything to celebrate?  All seems a bit quiet in the UK.  I notice google are acknowledging it.

PS I have hurt my little finger - until now I have never realised how much I used it when typing! (ouch)

Tip of the Week

Over the last few days I have been reminded in how effective our No Junk Mail sign is on our letterbox. We used to get shed loads but now get hardly any. Over the weekend I have seen people delivering junk and  bypassing our house (and the few either side of us who also have similar signs).  We do get the occasional leaflet and if I happen to see it coming through the door I open the door and politely l point out the sign handing the leaflet back.  This happened on Saturday and the reply came back 'it is not junk it is advertising' !!!! For more details and where to get a sing see here.

Earth Day

It is Earthday next Tuesday (22nd), not heard much about it here in the UK but two things people have sent me of things happening in the US:

SwapTree is a site where you can arrange swaps of books, CDs and DVDs you no longer want.  Great ideas.  They are giving $1 to charity for each swap that takes place on Earth Day.  Get stuck in (if you are in the US).

TCP Inc the biggest manufacturer of low energy lightbulbs have a on-line session called 'illumiNation' giving people the ins and outs of low energy bulbs and responses to the media speculation about health scares associated with them (that are apparently not true).  More details here.

Have you thought about doing something to mark Earth Day? 

It can cost more to be green and ethical...

We have recently bought a new mattress and went ahead and found one we like and bought it.  It wasn't until afterwards we thought whether there was a more eco friendly option (oops!).  Have had a quick look there are, but a lot of them use horse hair which I am highly allergic to so not a good option for us. (I did however get a great deal on the one we bought.  I asked what there best price was, he gave me a 5% discount.  I walked away with a 38% discount!!!  So don't believe the prices they have on the label!)  We are now looking for bedding and have established that organic fairtrade cotton bedding is about twice the cost of 'usual' bedding.  We have decided to with the organic fairtrade.  It will cost us more and we will have to cut back in other areas, but I cannot live with the possibility of   workers not getting a fair price for making something I have bought.  I see it as the true cost of the item without stealing from the workers or the earth.  So whatever you are buying, check out whether there is an eco friendly/fairtrade option, you may be surprised to find there is.

Have you seen The Story of Stuff yet?

Here's a short clip from The Story of Stuff.  I know I've mentioned it before but really recommend you see it if you haven't. Although refers to the US I think the message is still true for the UK. 

Tip of the Week

How many times have you gone to buy something but have not got a plastic bag alternative with you and have to be-grudgingly use a plastic bag?  We here's the answer - an Onya bag.   Small enough to keep in your coat pocket or handbag.  Leave one in every coat!

Friday Fun

I do enjoy the BBC's Odd Box each Friday - the weeks wierdest video clips.

Eurostar is the star...

So, my first trip on the Eurostar last week to Brussel. Fab.  2hrs to the centre of Brussels, hassle free.  Even though we broke down on the way home and had to return to Brussels, the information was flowing, clear and helpful and we finally got back to London exactly when they said we would.....with our bags!!