Let there be sunlight! And a lower electricity bill!

A little while ago Gavin installed a skylight in his dim hallway. You can see what a difference it made in the impressive before- and after-skylight pictures here.

Skylights are so handy, giving light where it’s needed without adding to your electricity bill. On a very dark and cloudy day you might still have to turn on a light, but that’s so much better than having to do it 365 times a year!

Now Gavin, you did mention looking for a cheaper option. I’m not sure if this amazing light bottle invention will be quite what you’re looking for, but you never know.

I was really touched by this invention. Not only does it re-use wasted plastic, and make the lives of people living in poverty just that little bit easier, it also allows kids more time to do their homework. Education is so important for kids living in difficult situations, and I’m all in favour of anything that makes it more achievable for them.

And it proves how effective a skylight can be. Our homes have more complicated roofs, so I can’t see the light bottle catching on here. But we have access to proper skylights, and no real reason not to use them more often in Australia.

My house has good daylight in the most frequently used rooms. But we were going to buy a solar-powered light setup for our shed, when maybe something simpler will do the trick. I’m off to investigate what the shed roof is made of…

Sharing a special teacup or two

For Mother’s Day, my sisters and I usually take my mum out for a high tea somewhere. Tea in china cups, maybe a glass of white wine, little sandwiches and pastries and of course scones with jam and cream: it’s all very delicate and ladylike. Which isn’t our usual style at all, but that’s why we do it on special occasions

I wasn’t quite happy with our last choice of venue. I won’t name names, but herbal teabags weren’t what I had in mind and I reckon we could have done better ourselves! So after we’re done sampling the options around the city, my family is going to have high tea at my place for a change.

Of course, it’s not high tea without those tiered plates, and pretty teacups, and all the girly trimmings. But I don’t own anything like that, and neither do any of my friends or family. I’ve got a practical set of plain white dinnerware – if anything breaks I can replace the single piece easily.

I was thinking of scouring the vintage stores and secondhand shops to get a set, but that’s pretty time-consuming. So I was thrilled to find out I can hire a genuine vintage tea set just for the day.

A lovely lady called Alison hires out her vintage collection, which she built up over 30 years. To me, this is exactly what collaborative consumption should be like. Her collection gets to be loved and seen and used instead of gathering dust, and people don’t have to buy special items for one-off events like weddings or my Mother’s Day high tea.

Alison’s business is called A Vintage Table, and is part of the Antiques are Green group. She believes in the benefits of re-using all the lovely things that have already been made, and that trying to live as sustainably as possible should not mean a dingy and ‘beige’ existence. She calls it ‘Glamorous Recycling’, which I think is a great way to put it.

Alison sticks to authentically vintage and antique pieces, not just ‘vintage style’ mass-produced ones. The only new items are secondhand plain white tablecloths. This really is a commitment to honesty as well as the environment, in my opinion.

Not that tea sets are the only thing that could be hired this way – there are the usual tool and toy libraries, DVD rentals, and so on. But I think this is a pretty fun way to make a little money from a hobby, while helping other people help the planet – you can’t beat that!

Reader question: what to do with old shoes?

I had a question from reader Lorraine, and I thought you might like to see it. Lorraine asks:

Where can I send my kids shoes, besides landfill? Some are more battered than others, but all are wearable. It seems like such a shame to throw them out…

We all know we shouldn’t be sending stuff to landfill if we can avoid it. But sometimes it’s a bit puzzling to know where things should go instead.

It’s possible to reclaim material from shoes, but it seems to me that if they’re still wearable, “reuse” is better than “recycle”. When it comes to reuse, we’ve got two options: sell them, or give them away.

If you want to sell clothing and accessories in Australia, most people think first of eBay, classifieds and websites like Gumtree. But there are plenty of places online dedicated to pre-loved clothing, so check out Tricia’s comprehensive post at Little Eco Footprints and the suggestions in the comments there.

If you’re happy to give them away, then you can do what I do and see if your local charity shop accepts shoes – some will want to check them first to make sure they’re suitable. Other options include freebie sites like Yoink or Scoodi and local Freecycling groups.

I’d love to hear further suggestions from anyone who’s done this before. Where have you managed to find a second home for old shoes?

More bags replaced with handles

Remember a short while ago I mentioned Betts’ shoeboxes that had handles so they didn’t need to provide plastic bags? Well, Wittner is doing the same thing, in more ways than one.

I bought a pair of shoes from Wittner last week and discovered that the shoebox had a similar setup. There was a strap that could be wrapped around the box as a handle and to keep it closed. But I didn’t find this out until I got home because the salesgirl had just put the box in a bag for me, same as had happened with Betts.

The box lid even had a message about it, saying “This unique Wittner Shoe Box has been designed to minimise the need for shopping bags and thus help the environment! We care about the environment and are implementing new strategies to help preserve it as best we can for future generations.”

So I emailed Wittner using more or less the same words I did for Betts: telling them that I was a happy customer who was pleased to see this effort to reduce waste, but that their staff were either not trained in how to set up the straps, or weren’t aware they were supposed to do it.

I received a generic response thanking me for my feedback, and saying that it’d be used to improve their service in the future. Not very encouraging, because there’s no point in the production side making improvements if the customer service side is letting them down. Still, maybe they’re actually going to do something and just aren’t very good at email replies. Yes, I am an optimist.

On the upside, Wittner did include replacement heel stops in the box. If I damage my shoes, I’ll be able to repair them instead of having to buy a new pair! This really is excellent. The little stops are now in with my collection of spare buttons in my sewing kit, so I’ll know where to find them if they’re needed.

Recycling our vacuum cleaner

Farewell, old friend! You’ve served us well for 11 years, and Dave’s sister for who knows how many years before that. You look like a late-80s model of vacuum cleaner, at least.

But you were starting to struggle, and your retractable power cord was starting to retract while we were still vacuuming. You weren’t the right type of machine for the house we have now. So it was time to let you go.

Where would you go? I couldn’t just throw you out. And hardly anyone does repairs anymore.

Last week I found out that The Good Guys are partnering with Planet Ark to recycle old vacuums during March. So we took you to our local store, and put you with other old faithfuls like yourself. Planet Ark is going to recycle you properly, so you don’t go to waste.

We’ve got a new vacuum now, a Dyson. It’s more expensive than any vacuum I’ve had in my life before, but we did get a discount for trading you in. We compared all the models to find one that best suited our needs, and if it lasts as long as you have, it’ll be good value for the money. It’s also one of the modern types that doesn’t use disposable bags, which is a bonus for the environment.

But I’ll always be grateful for the many years you worked for us, when we didn’t have any money to spend on glitzy appliances. Thanks, old pal!

The vacuum recycling via The Good Guys is only on until March, but if you get in this week, you can get the discount any time in April, which gives you time to decide what to do. They probably won’t mind too much if you don’t use the discount either, and choose to get a non-Dyson vacuum, but I didn’t ask specifically about that.