The Berry Patch

Did anyone watch Addicted to Plastic on the ABC last night? It was a documentary on the problem of waste plastic and what people are doing to solve the problem.


One person interviewed said that the plastics industry isn't evil and planned to swamp the earth with toxic plastic waste, but rather we all got caught up in post war consumerism. Plastic was marketed as the great time saver. Mum's could have more time to themselves because they wouldn't have to wash up. (More time? Yeah right.) And coming from the frugality of the war time, you can understand the desire to have a life that was very different from the reminders of war.


Since then, our desire to accumulate more stuff has grown exponentially. We want our lives to be 'simpler' and require less work so we look for disposable items, pre-packaged foods and other convenience items which means heaps and heaps of plastic being thrown out each day. Even the idea of a plastic bag that is used once then thrown out (or put in a cupboard to multiply) sounds ridiculous when you consider the alternative of a re-usable fabric or canvas bag that can be washed over and over again if needed.


Throughout the documentary, I kept thinking that the problems we have with plastic is not because of the plastic but rather because of our behaviour and attitude towards plastic. If everything that was plastic was made out of say linen, (imagine for a minute that this linen is rigid and is just like plastic - only linen) our attitude to packaging would be very different. Imagine using a tea towel once then throwing it away.


I think plastic has it's place and can be useful (think of tupperware - mmmm tupperware) but we need to let go of the idea of plastic as a disposable substance. Every time you throw out a piece of plastic remember that plastic will always remain plastic - and it has to go somewhere, forever. Now that doesn't sound very disposable.


So, what can we do about it?


I understand that changing the way you think as well as unconscious habits can be extremely difficult, but with some effort on our part there are things we can do.

• Stop excessive buying. Plastic is in everything so the first step is to reduce spending. If you buy less new stuff and repair what you have or search out second hand items, then less plastic will be thrown out and some of the plastic that is out there will remain out of land fill for longer.


• If you do buy something new, choose products that have minimal plastic packaging. The most obvious items would have to be fruit and vegetables that are in a plastic tray and then wrapped in plastic. What's with that? Other things to consider are individual serves of snacks and biscuits. Try to avoid other purchases such as clothing that is wrapped in plastic sleeves.


• When you buy a plastic product that will be thrown out, choose a product that is made from a recyclable plastic. All councils have different plastics they will take for recycling but you can usually check what they are from your local council website (most plastics have a little number on them - that's how you can tell what's what).

Are you getting a theme from the above points? Yep it's Reduce, Reuse, Recylce. A simple but very effective way to solve a lot of our waste issues, not just for plastic.

So why not start reducing the amount of plastic you use today. Say no to a plastic bag. Better yet, keep a plastic bag from home in your handbag or car. That way you will always have a bag with you and you will be keeping one more plastic bag from being tossed away.

If you missed Addicted to Plastic you can check it out on ABC's iView.

Posted in: eco living, sustainability on Friday, June 19, 2009 at at 8:11 AM 1 comments Links to this post    

The contracts were signed last night and it is now official. In six weeks we will have the keys to our house.

Searching for the right house has taken us a while and it was disappointing when we missed out on the last house. But, as we all know, the right house will come along and this one ticks a lot more boxes than any of the others.

It is beautifully old and still has a lot of the original features. It has had a renovation at the back so it has an internal laundry (yeah!) and the toilets are inside (even more yeah!). It is very livable so we won't be living in squalor and we will be able to cope with it as it is for a few years without any problems. But it has been a rental for a while so there is a lot of cosmetic work needed - which is great. We can put our own personal eco-stamp on the house and garden. The garden is basically non existent except for a super large old frangipani (how nice is the backyard going to smell?) and last night I dreamt of garden designs and the things we will need to do to improve the soil as well as all the fruit trees I will plant.

I am also a little bit shocked that it has actually happened and I don't think I will really believe it until we get the keys. After all, anything can happen in six weeks for this to fall through (the main one being the bank failing to get it's but into gear - they are still taking a huge amount of time to get anything done).

So, now I have to start thinking about packing. Actually no, I am going to ignore that for a week and just enjoy dreaming of what my new garden is going to look like.

And, if it ever stops raining I am sure we will have many, many walks. This house is just around the corner from where we live now.

I have just noticed that this is post number 95. Perhaps I should work on a giveaway for my 100th post? I will think about what I can put together. Giveaways are so much fun.

Posted in: home on Thursday, June 18, 2009 at at 9:04 AM 7 comments Links to this post    

After months of searching, I finally found the details for a local permaculture group (turns out I had the wrong name, duh).

So tonight I went to my first meeting. I had a great time and went home with lots of food for though as well as an aloe vera cutting and some cos lettuce seeds. They meet each month and membership seems to also include some other bonuses such as LETS membership.

Here is the web site if you are interested and live in the southern Sydney area:

http://permaculturestgeorge.ning.com/


On the weather front - it is freezing. Who would have thought the beginning of winter could be so cold. Was it like this last winter? Each summer I believe it will never again be cold and each winter I believe it will never again be hot.

On the way home tonight the car registered the outside temperature as 9oC and this morning Miss Berry's room was 13oC. I think I might make more of a note of the temperature in this blog so I can look back next year and compare the temps. It has also been pretty windy. We haven't had any rain for a week or so and the wind has really dried everything out - I must water this weekend.

Thankfully we don't get frosts in this area. Although the veggies have slowed down I can still plant throughout the winter without worrying about frost damage.

Posted in: community, eco living, gardening, permaculture, sustainability, weather on Friday, June 12, 2009 at at 10:41 PM 2 comments Links to this post    

- Linda Cockburn, Living the Good Life

I am reading Linda's book Living the Good Life at the moment and am finding it very motivating. I would recommend it to anyone interested in living sustainably. You can also check out her blog here.

There are a some ideas from Linda's book I wanted to mention today about living simply. I must admit the term 'simple living' is not something I usually say out loud. I find it has a certain cringe factor about it. A lot of people seem to have no idea what it means and end up giving me a sympathetic poor you attitude that assumes we are living simply because we can not do otherwise. I find people fail to realise the environmental impact of living a high consumerism lifestyle, as well as the health impact of fast, convenience foods. Even as I try to explain to them why we have made these decisions, they have already turned off - I can tell they do not understand.

I no longer try to explain our lifestyle choices to people. Friends can read about it here (and some do - hi Diana) and other friends are happy to remain oblivious and label us as hippies. That's ok, our choice to live simply was not made so we can broadcast to the world how great we are. There is no need for us to tell everyone about it, but for those that are interested I have always struggled to describe our way of life in a few sentences.

To me, simple living encompasses so many aspects - the environment, our health, saving money, reducing consumerism (and waste), the family and the list goes on. It is empowering because we are not being caught up in the flow of today's society that demands that happiness must come with excess packaging and a huge credit card debt.

But going against society's norm is challenging. It is hard to stick to your guns when advertising is screaming at you wherever you turn. When socialising with friends generally comes with a price tag. There are days when I really do feel like I am swimming against the tide - perhaps one of those really strong rips you avoid when you go to the beach. That no matter how hard we try, advertising will suck us under and back into the evil underworld of shiny plastic things. So why do we keep struggling?

Linda says "living simply or sustainably, whatever term you use, may mean that from the outside looking in, you may be labelled poor. This is a construct of our society, which builds its successful-person model on income, what products they choose to spend it on, how they 'wear' it, what house they live in and what they drive."

And yet, those of us that embrace simple living know that whilst it is the opposite of what society deems successful, it is far from poor. And that is what I sometimes have a hard time conveying to others. There is absolutely no need to feel sorry for people living simply. In fact I sometimes feel sorry for those who don't. But after reading Linda's book, I think I have found how to describe what we do and why we do it to people.

Linda describes simple living as "not about giving things up, forsaking them, frugality, denial, stinginess, deprivation or lack. It's about taking things up: self-determination, freedom, autonomy and abundant living."

What do you think best describes simple living? I'd love to hear your ideas on how or if you describe living simply to others and what responses you get.

Posted in: rambling thoughts, simple living on Friday, June 5, 2009 at at 1:56 PM 3 comments Links to this post    

The three traps at the top are the new ones. The plastic grey one on the bottom was the original one we used - it didn't work.

Posted in: family, home on Tuesday, June 2, 2009 at at 1:14 PM 3 comments Links to this post    

I wrote about making scones the other day and here is the recipe I use.


Makes approx 12 scones.

2 cups self raising flour

pinch salt (for a flavour enhancer, not for taste)

30g cold butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 cup cold milk

1/3 cup water

extra milk for glazing

Preheat oven to 210 oC. Prepare your baking tray (I use baking paper but you could grease if you want to).

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Scones need lots of air so this step is important. Add the chopped butter and rub in lightly using your fingertips -it will end up looking like fine breadcrumbs. Only use the tips of your fingers. You shouldn't have any flour on the palms of your hands and you should be using a light touch.

Make a well in the centre and add most of the combined milk and water. Mix with a flat bladed knife to a soft dough, add more of the milk/water if you need to.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead the dough very briefly and lightly. Your aim is to just make the dough smooth and not sticky. It shouldn't take any longer than about 30 seconds.

Roll out dough to 2cm thick (or so). Cut the dough into rounds about 5cm in diameter. You can buy scone cutters but I just use a small drinking glass. Flour the edge of the cutter first. Don't re-knead the left over dough but press it together and lightly re-roll to cut more rounds. You don't want to over work the dough or you'll end up with tough scones. Place the cut rounds onto the baking tray so that they just touch and glaze them with the extra milk.

Bake for about 10 mins or until they are golden. To check they are cooked, break one open - it shouldn't be doughy in the middle. If you want soft scones wrap them in a clean tea towel (my preference) otherwise, put them on a wire rack to cool slightly.

Serve warm with jam and whipped or dollop cream.

Posted in: food, recipes on Thursday, May 28, 2009 at at 10:11 PM 0 comments Links to this post    

Yesterday I was sitting down having a nice quiet lunch when out of the corner of my eye I spot a little brown mouse run into the dining room then run back out into the hallway (and I assume back into the kitchen). I did what any respectable eco warrior would do. I jumped up on my chair and did what I like to call the two step chicken dance - I jumped from one foot to the other whilst waving my arms like a chicken.

I then called my Dad.

Luckily, Dad was only ten minutes away and had time to drop in. Now I am all for wildlife - providing said wildlife doesn't enter my domain. Once they enter the house that's it. Miss Berry was miraculously still asleep so Dad went to the local hardware for some mouse traps. Apparently soft paste-like foods is better than cheese so we set the traps with peanut butter and waited.

This morning my eco warrior surfaced again and I sent Mr Berry into the kitchen to check the traps. No mouse, and no peanut butter.

I mean no peanut butter. I think the mouse had licked the traps clean. At least we have a smart mouse.

We reset the traps (still with peanut butter) and I am going out for the day. If he manages to take the peanut butter again I might try cream cheese. I think the cold is solidifying the peanut butter allowing it to come off the trap in one go.

So, the moral of this story is that it doesn't matter how old you are, Dad's can fix anything (well, almost anything).


Edited to Add: I just checked the traps and one of them has been licked clean. Little Bugger. This means war!

Posted in: home on at at 8:47 AM 2 comments Links to this post    

Today I was on morning tea duty at Playgroup and as always I was my usual organised self and did not get around to baking a cake yesterday. I really didn't want to buy a cake, not only are they really expensive but they also aren't very nice.

So, this morning I cooked 2 batches of scones and served them still warm with strawberry jam and cream for morning tea.

I was amazed (and a little shocked) at the response from the other Mums. Everyone seemed really impressed that I had scones for morning tea. In particular, they were surprised that I actually made the scones instead of buying them at Baker's Delight. (at $4ish each?) They were surprised in a good way - I received a lot of thank yous.

The thing is, I see scones as a last minute thing - the sort of things you cook when unexpected guests drop in or when you don't have time to bake a cake. I also think they are super yummy - as did the other Mums.

I guess it just goes to show that most people are not living simply. People do not take the time to bake, even though scones take about 10 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to cook. For less than the cost of 2 packets of biscuits, we had a lovely homemade morning tea that was super yummy and not full of sugar and preservatives. And even though it was a morning tea that is one of the quickest, cheapest things you can make, it was a special treat at Playgroup.

I think that is a little sad.

Posted in: community, food, simple living on Tuesday, May 26, 2009 at at 10:42 PM 3 comments Links to this post    

I have been searching for the perfect rice recipe and I think I have found it. It is from Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food Cookbook.

Serves 4 (I think it is more like 6 serves)

• 350g basmati rice
• sea salt

Put a large saucepan of salted water on a high heat and bring to the boil.
Rinse rice in a colander under running water til water runs clear (this takes about 1 min).
Add rice to saucepan and wait til the grains start dancing around.
From that point boil for 5 minutes.
Drain rice in colander
Pour 2.5cm of water into the saucepan and bring it to the boil then turn down to a simmer.
Cover the rice in the colander with foil or a lid
Place colander on top of the saucepan of simmering water and let the rice steam for 8-10 minutes.
Remove from the heat and serve.
The rice will stay warm for about 20 minutes with the foil left on the colander.

Posted in: cooking, recipes on Friday, May 15, 2009 at at 9:57 AM 3 comments Links to this post    

We didn't get the house.


We decided that it would be too risky for us at the moment to buy at auction. One bank (one of the big 4) has still yet to look at our application for a pre-approval - it has taken them 4 weeks so far. With the banks taking so long at the moment to give pre-approvals we had absolutely no confidence in them getting the loan organised in time for settlement. The house sold for $20,000.00 more than our upper limit anyway, so even if we had our finance sorted out we wouldn't have won the auction.


I do feel empowered in the decisions we made during this exercise. Even though I loved the house (it was perfect) we (or should I say I) was able to make rational decisions about the price we were willing to pay, the loan options we wanted as well as the ultimate decision about risk concerning the auction. I understand some people will pay anything and take any loan they can get in order to buy a particular house. That then leaves them with a lovely house, but with huge debt that they really can't afford to repay. I have heard stories of people living off their credit cards because their mortgage repayments are so high. They then roll the credit card debt into their mortgage as the house increases in value so they can start the cycle again.


This was exactly the situation we do not want to get into. Last year we made the decision to live off one income so we could give Miss Berry what we believe is the most important thing - time and attention that comes from having one parent stay at home. This means that we not only have to rent for longer whilst we save for a deposit, but also that we need a bigger deposit so that our mortgage repayments are low enough to maintain our current lifestyle on one income.


Although it will take longer to get our own house, I am happy with our decision. It has made it a lot easier to stay on budget and i think it's because the decision was ours. If we had been forced into this it would be a lot harder.

So we will keep on saving and I will keep on looking. I am sure the right house will come at the right time. There are after all, a lot of houses in our area. Surely some of them will be perfect?

Posted in: family, personal finance on Monday, May 11, 2009 at at 6:40 PM 2 comments Links to this post    

Posted in: home, sewing on Saturday, May 2, 2009 at at 9:02 AM 1 comments Links to this post    

I have mentioned previously (I think) that we are renting whilst saving a deposit for a house in the suburbs of Sydney. Our aim is to have a very manageable mortgage on a single wage so that I can remain a full-time Mum. Not an easy task considering Sydney prices.

Well, we have reached the very tip of our goal and I have found a house. It is up for auction soon and I am trying to get everything organised with the bank in time for the auction.

Let me say that I am unbelievably stressed and am beginning to think we should just rent forever.

It seems with the financial crisis, the banks are not only tightening up their lending criteria (as they should) but they are also taking an insane amount of time to even look at applications. It has been almost three weeks since we put in the application for pre-approval and they still haven't looked at it. Why? Because they give precedence to people that have actually got a house to buy.

But we are going to auction I tell James (no last name of course) from the bank. There will be no backing out if we win the auction so we need pre-approval before auction day. His solution was to sign the contract subject to finance approval. But it's an auction I tell him. There is no backing out or conditions when buying at an auction. His reply - oh, well don't buy at an auction.

Aaagh. Does this man even live in Sydney. 95% of properties in our area go to auction (not sure why that is either). The sellers for the house we are looking at won't even consider selling before auction unless we waive the cooling off period which puts us in the same situation.

On top of all that any pre-approval will be subject to a bank valuation of the property which I was told is usually about 20% less than market value. And the banks will only lend up to that amount.

Now this bit stumps me. Firstly, market value seems to be very subjective so I assume bank value will be the same. We have our limit on this particular house and we think it is a fair value, but what if the bank disagrees? Secondly, if they value the property so much lower than the market value, why will they consider lending us 90% of the purchase price, which is of course more than the so called bank value of 80% of the market price?

So, we have 3 options:

1. Not even consider signing a contract until our pre-approval is water tight.
2. Go ahead on a very shaking and somewhat vague conditional pre-approval.
3. Decide we are invincible and sign a contract without any pre-approval (possibly also using our own blood for the signatures).

So, you can see where the stress comes from.

On top of all of this, it is possible that everything will fall into place the day before the auction anyway and this worry is all for nothing and what I should be worrying about is whether someone will out bid us. In this case I will also have the added worry that I have been worrying about the wrong thing.

As I said, I think we should rent forever.

Posted in: home, personal finance, rambling thoughts on Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at at 8:44 AM 1 comments Links to this post    

Here's the thing - I always seem to be talking about food and cooking.

Posted in: eco living, food, healthy living, simple living on Tuesday, April 28, 2009 at at 8:26 AM 1 comments Links to this post    

This morning we went to our first Wiggles concert.

If someone had told me ten years ago that the highlight of my week (or more like my month) would be to attend a Wiggles concert I would have thought them seriously deranged.

But there I was, lining up with the rest of the groupies children waiting excitingly with my ticket in hand. Not only me of course, Miss Berry was there and Mr Berry also took a personal day. We had a wonderful morning although I think Miss Berry was in shock for half the concert. She just stared at the stage and didn't move for ages and then would point and say 'Dorothy', 'Jeff' or 'Murray' like she couldn't believe they were actually there.



I also got completely sucked in to the Wiggles merchandise (and also wanted to silence a rapidly building public tantrum - Miss Berry's not mine). On the way out they were selling Wiggles balloons. Dorothy is Miss Berry's favourite so I went over to get her one and was shocked that the lady took my $20 and then turned to the next person in line. Yes that's right - $20 for a balloon. Do you think I can save it for the next Birthday party? Can we say 'Dorothy theme'?

Posted in: family on Friday, April 24, 2009 at at 2:29 PM 2 comments Links to this post    

Sew Mama Sew has posted a Ruffle Skirt pattern by Emu. Her flickr photos are here and they are fantastic. Check out the clothes I made group.

I love the fabrics she has used - recycled vintage fabrics too.

What great inspiration for thrifty-ness and eco-ness. If only we could all sew like this. My efforts at clothes making tend to end up looking like a Year 7 project. Perhaps I should sign up to a class and learn how to sew clothes properly.

Posted in: links, reusing, sewing on Tuesday, April 21, 2009 at at 8:34 AM 1 comments Links to this post