Happy new year


Long time no blog, but popping in to show that I'm still alive.
This year got off to a languid start. Visitors have come and gone, there have been many trips to the beach, enjoying the company of family and friends. The slowness has been welcomed with open arms. Rewind to this time last year, and I was busy researching venues, catering, and all other necessary areas for our zero waste wedding.

There were a lot of new beginnings last year, starting with our engagement and wedding a short five months later. We fell pregnant with our baby just after the wedding, a welcome surprise on the first day of our honeymoon (and kind of ruined half of our honeymoon with morning sickness). My day job was chaotic for the first half of the year, and as that slowed down, I embarked on many speaking engagements about zero waste living, plus the odd TV, radio and writing for publications that kept me on my toes too. Intermingled in all that was the Plastic Bag Free Victoria petition and submission. Then it all came to a head at the end of the year, as I quit my full time job.

My doctor told me to rest and relax as we entered this new year, and avoid all travel if I can help it. This has meant saying no to two great opportunities to talk about zero waste on a larger scale. Which is OK, there is much going on locally to keep me busy while the baby continues to grow...

  • This blog is going to pack up and move at some point, so if you see it go offline, you now know why. There will also be small changes to help make this website a better resource, especially for the Australian audience. After all, I live in Australia, and wish to inspire change here as much as possible. 
  • Zero Waste Victoria (our growing state based Facebook group) is running an information stall at the Sustainable Living Festival. It's easy to forget that not everyone reads blogs, has Intsagram or Facebook. So I'm teaming up with some of the members of the group to see how we can change that and spread the word. The first step is the info stall and a simple website.
  • Plastic Bag Free Victoria is still going strong, though we are all taking a break while we await news on the petition. I have a big blog post coming up on everything that has happened.
  • I'm booking in talks and workshops post June (aka, three months post birth). I told the Builder that I had booked my first talk for 2017, stating he would have to look after the baby for a couple of hours. There was a quick flash of fear over his face. 
  • We are slowly collecting various necessities for the impending arrival of our baby. Everything that sits in the baby room has been loaned, gifted or passed onto us for free. I'm looking forward to sitting down and writing more baby posts. It's going to be a whole new challenge for us. 
  • The Builder is moving his office home. It will be nice to see him more often. We joke that we barely saw each other last year, even though it was full of milestones. 
  • Our garden, that we want to turn into a vegetable garden, is last on the list. I'm hoping to get it ready for autumn to plant a winter crop. 

I'd say there is enough to keep me busy until the baby arrives. I better get to the shops and do some plastic free shopping for dinner. We have not made it to the farmers market for over a month, and are looking forward to getting back into it this weekend. Hope you all are having a nice start to the year. How many of you have made new years resolution to go zero waste or reduce plastic?

3 comments:

  1. Hi Erin, so glad you are okay, I was a little worried when you hadn't posted in so long. You have inspired us so much to think about every little bit of plastic and rubbish that comes into our home. I am aiming to reduce our use of plastics by replacing one plastic item per month. So far I have replaced toothpaste and toothbrushes, drinking straws, wash up sponges, plastic food wrap, hair gel, skin care and shampoo. It's like learning a new skill, we have to re educate ourselves, it is possible to achieve, you just need to keep doing it until it becomes a habit. Last November we went camping to our favourite beach, as I am more acutely aware of rubbish and plastic now, I was horrified to see so much rubbish and plastic of every shape and colour washed up on the beach. I guess it's always been there, I am just more aware of it how. Instead of beach combing for shells, I collected rubbish! I could go on collecting rubbish every day and still more would wash up. I felt defeated and hopeless. What have we done to our earth!
    I hope the rest of your pregnancy goes more smoothly and look forward to reading your blog in the future, I just love it!
    Fi



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    1. Hi Fiona, I am alive and well :) That's great to hear you are doing one item per month. Taking it slow is perfect, especially for a family. It's funny you say how much rubbish you now notice. We are always picking up rubbish when we visit the beach or our local river. But try not to feel defeated about it all. Just by picking up rubbish you are setting a great example to anyone who walks by, plus it might get them thinking. Never forget that a small people can create a ripple :)

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