A work in progress towards living a sustainable life, healthy life, making a living and creating a life, leaving smaller footprints on the earth. It is my hope that the smaller footsteps will gain momentum and leave large imprints of conscious living to enable our children to enjoy the beauty and abundance that surrounds us.
The weather has frankly been a bit dark lately and many are asking when winter will end. To fill the house with some cheer there is nothing better than the fuggy smell of a banana cake. Besides using up the needless black bananas that hang around in this house, it warms my heart and brings back wonderful childhood memories of Grandmother's kitchen. I love having cake in the house to dish out with that relaxing cup of tea or coffee. We are 15 miles from an urban coffeeshop so we create our own coffeeshop atmosphere.
Ingredients :
200g Self raising flour
1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt
2 eggs beaten
75g butter
175g caster sugar
3 large amshed bananas
2 crunchie bars
Grease and line a deep 1/2 kg loaf tin
Place flour,bicarbonate of soda,salt, eggs,butter and sugar in a bowl and mix together.
Add mashed bananas and put the mixture in the loaf tin. Then break the crunchie bars up, put on the top of the mixture and swirl inside the mixture.
Bake at 180 degree Celcius for about 45 mins to 60 mins until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
Cool for 5 mins and then transfer to a cooling rack.
Hide away in a tin until you can no longer resist.
I don't know about you but when comparing the quality of an item I bought 5 years ago and a similar item from the same firm this year, I have noticed that clothes are getting thinner. From the manufacturers point of view this
reduces the amount of resources
increases profit per item
the cloth wears out quicker
the customer will purchase a new one quicker
The washing powders currently used and conditioners and our habit of washing, showering etc wear clothes out , creating holes, tears and generally wearing them out as quickly as possible.
If you look at the make up of the resources used for your clothing you will find that 100% cotton garments have a reduced amount of cotton now and jumpers for sale are in fact no longer made of 100% wool in general but contain either cotton or acrylic. That explains why when the temperature dips and we reach for a sweater we can still be cold.
Looking at the resources for clothes and material we can source their origins either from :
plants
animals
handmade materials
We have grown from a perspective of choosing our clothes for durability, warmth and quality to other criteria such as fashion, ease of washing, colour etc. To effect a change the first change we can make is one of attitude and being more choosy in the way we look at garments.
Most people had the skills to either make, mend or amend their clothes thus fewer clothes were necessary in their working wardrobe and every inch of painstakingly produced fabric was used, repaired and reused. What however are the real costs associated with these items.
As an example I will take socks. You can buy 5 pairs of socks for lets say £10. You will lose a few in the wash so they no longer match and as soon as a hole appears you throw them out. In comparison making woollen socks by knitting them yourself ;
requires you to have a skill
costs about £15 per pair
takes many many hours knitting time
requires special washing so as not to shrink them
can be darned and repaired
wool keeps your feet warm and absorbs liquid
wool is a breathable material
wool is a renewable material
The result is that you will only go through a certain number of handknitted socks per year compared to cotton/acrylic ones, will have fewer going through the wash, resulting in a greater appreciation of material and skill.
For years we have avoided clothes with a 'dry cleaning only' label. Not only because of the costs associated with this item of clothing and the savings that could be made but the idea of having them washed in silicone and the impact of residual chemicals that would interact with our skins and own body chemistry was unknown. You buy a suit that you have drycleaned every month at a cost of £20 each time and the suit ends up costing an additional £240 per year to maintain.
The sustainable wardrobe therefore contains no items that require dry cleaning only.
Came across a valuable tool on Colletterie's blog offering a free spreadsheet to enable you to make an inventory of your wardrobe and what it is you need and may need to replace I visit Colletterie blog regularly as the patterns she offers for items of clothing are classic vintage but it also has some useful tutorials should you wish to make your own clothes.
Looking at my public wardrobe requirements I intend to have the following additions of new clothes :
1 pair of hemp trousers ( could be dyed in any of the above colours)
1 cotton summer cardigan
1 short sleeve/long sleeve colourful warmer top ( in case we have a chilly summer and for the transition to autumn)
The items in my wardrobe go along three phases in rotation :
new clothes for outings ( in that seasons colours)
last year's clothes for wearing casually and around the home
gardening and work clothes( after which they get recycled, upcycled into something else, or given away)
I could see what is available in secondhand shops instead of buying new and then dye it but in pursuit of the make and mend movement and to enhance my skill levels I am considering making them myself. Over the years I have found that making your own garments creates an attachment and appreciation for the resources used in producing the item and an appreciation of the quality of materials used. Apart from that I enjoy making things that are individual and am steering away from the mass produced look.
Colours are personal and I have a black base of mix and match items to which colourful items are added as and when.
When the items are completed they will take their place in my capsule wardrobe and I will then do the same for the autumn/winter wardrobe. I can always scour the charity shops and car boot sales for accessories in other colours or support individual makers on etsy.com. A search for emerald green items threw up quite and array of possibilities:http://www.etsy.com/search?q=emerald%20green&view_type=gallery&ship_to=GB
In time I have come to appreciate that there are four seasons and that each season has its own focused activity. Winter is to hibernate and prepare for spring, spring is all about starting the garden, summer about enjoying sunshine, the garden and the long available daylight hours and autumn is about harvesting, preserving and slowing down to winter.
I have 3 months of winter left after which the gardening season will kick in so there is no time to lose.
3 months and 3 projects.
January - cotton top
February- trousers
March- transition cardigan
Let's see if I can pull this off and how I get on.
