On the Seventh Day of Christmas...

Put on a Christmas jumper, invite all your friends over for a knees-up and turn the heating down a notch or two to save some energy and money!

Check out our tips page for other simple energy saving suggestions.

Pop back each day to find out what our next tips will be or subscribe to this blog so you don't forget!

REVIEW - Bentley Organic Conditioner for All Hair Types

With normal to dry hair, I use conditioner every few days, usually just on the ends of my hair. Trying this conditioner in the same way left my hair soft and easy to comb. I did also try conditioning all over as I do on occasion, but I think this would be a better option for very dry hair as it was too much for my hair. Because of this I didn’t try the ‘leave in’ option, but again this might be fine for drier hair which needs a deep condition. The conditioner had a pleasant scent and washed out easily.

Read the full review here.

REVIEW - Bentley Organic Shampoo for Frequent Use

I wash my hair daily and have normal to dry hair. This shampoo was therefore a good one to try as it is designed for frequent use. I perhaps needed a touch more shampoo than with my regular product but it did then produce a good lather which gave off a lovely scent. The shampoo then rinsed away easily, leaving my hair feeling very clean with no residue. Washing my hair regularly as I do, it is reassuring to use a product containing such a high level of organic and natural ingredients.

Read the full review here.

REVIEW - Bentley Organic Salad, Fruit & Veg Wash

The Bentley Organic Salad, Fruit & Veg Wash is virtually scent free which I was pleased about, as I wouldn’t want my food to smell of any kind of cleaning agent! Visually there was no difference in the food once washed using the solution, but it does claim to kill bacteria as well as remove chemicals and water resistant contaminants. We are unable to test this scientifically, but, in respect of the mainly organic food-grade ingredients, I have no problem using the solution on our food. I do question, however, how necessary this is compared with washing well in tap water as people have always done, and would want to know that it is considerably safer practice than using water before buying.

Read the full review here.

On the Sixth Day of Christmas...

Think about offering organic and/or Fairtrade food and drink on New Year’s Eve.  There's a wide choice available from local stores and supermarkets.

We have reviewed many organic and Fairtrade food and drink items - visit our review section to see what we thought.


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On the Fifth Day of Christmas...

Don’t buy throwaway crockery and cutlery for a New Year’s Eve party – if you don’t have enough can you borrow or hire more?  Or perhaps you don't need plates.  Could you use paper napkins which can then be recycled?

Check out local department stores and large retailers and do a web search to see what's available to hire in your area.

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On the Fourth Day of Christmas...

If you don’t have gift receipts, keep unwanted/duplicate gifts to re-gift in the future.  Just make sure you remember who gave it to you in the first place!  If you don't think you'll be able to pass it on to someone else, why not donate it to charity.

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On the Third Day of Christmas...

Another bank holiday today so wrap up warm, forget the car and go for a brisk walk in the countryside or through your local park, burning off some of those extra calories at the same time!

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On the Second Day of Christmas...

After all the fun and festivities of Christmas Day, don't waste all those fantastic leftovers!  Visit Love Food Hate Waste for some recipe suggestions and freeze what you can to avoid wastage.

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On the First Day of Christmas....

Happy Christmas and welcome to our first '12 Days of Christmas' tip!

Keep your head as the excitement of unwrapping presents begins, and keep all that wrapping paper for recycling!  You'll probably be able to have it collected as part of your usual kerbside paper recycling scheme but check with your local authority if you're not sure.

For more information on paper recycling follow the link.

Pop back each day to find out what our next tips will be or subscribe to this blog so you don't forget!

Diary of a Wood Burning Stove!

Unusually, we haven't actually lit the wood burning stove today as we were out later than normal, but it has now become a daily ritual to light the stove at about tea time or sometimes earlier in the afternoon depending who's in and how chilly it feels!  We are definitely getting used to the cosy feel of having a fire roaring into the evening!

On Christmas Eve we hope to manage to keep enough of a fire going to be able to simply stoke it up on Christmas morning so that we're lovely and warm while we open all the pressies from Father Christmas!  (Best leave the magic key outside for him so he doesn't get burnt on the way down the chimney)!  This will be the first time we've kept the stove lit overnight so any tips are welcome.  We'll let you know how we get on!

We're certainly getting very used to lighting the stove and keeping it clean now.  If there are any areas you'd like to hear more about, or if you have any questions on topics we haven't covered yet, do let us know.

Well, this will probably be our last installment before Christmas so we'll take this opportunity to wish all our readers a very happy Christmas.

PREVIOUS DIARY ENTRIES

13th December - Cleaning blackened glass

5th December - Laundry drying!

21st November - More fuel types and a feathery visitor!

14th November - Trying out some different fuel

7th November - Warming the house

31st October - Cosy living room

12th October - Where to keep all that wood...

19th September 2011 - The first lighting of the season!

REVIEW - Tropical Wholefoods Sun Dried Banana Bogoya Slices

These banana slices are rather different to the usual dried banana chips. Rather than being cut in rounds, they are in longer chunks and are chewy rather than crunchy. They are dark brown in colour so not the most visually appealing, but that didn’t stop my young daughter from trying and loving them! They are not my favourite dried fruit to be honest, but that is really down to personal taste, as these do have a good chewy texture and distinct banana flavour. As suggested on the packet, I think they would be great in fruit cakes or perhaps even chopped and thrown in a curry.

Read the full review here. 

REVIEW - Faith in Nature Powerful Anti-Bacterial Bathroom Spray

This product has a subtle citrusy scent, which is a pleasant change from the harsher chemical smells of some cleaning products. The nozzle has two spray settings and I particularly liked the fine spray which was easy to direct and didn’t use too much product. Of course, without a scientific test, we have to take for granted the anti-bacterial properties of the spray, but in terms of visible cleanliness I was happy with the finish after using this on my bathroom surfaces. I prefer to use as few chemicals as possible for household cleaning, but I do like a product with anti-bacterial properties for my toilets, and I would be happy to continue to use this Faith in Nature spray.

Read the full review here.

Diary of a Wood Burning Stove!

Well it's been another good week for our wood burning stove!  We're really used to getting it going now (I've been getting some practice in too!) and it's become such a lovely feature of our home.  As I've mentioned previously, we have definitely used the central heating much less so far this autumn, most days just by having the stove on from late afternoon.  We did have it lit for longer on the weekend, though, and the whole of the downstairs was toasty by early evening, with more warmth also drifting upstairs.

As well as being great for warming the house, the flickering flames are a very pleasant sight and we've also had a number of positive comments from visitors about the style of the stove, which is traditional but simple enough to fit in well with our modern house.  (In case you missed it in earlier posts we have a Morso Squirrel 1430 - see image of the side of stove above).

We are still having a little blackening of the glass but have found that cleaning it daily is a quick and easy job.  Left any longer and more elbow grease is required!  My husband found a very useful tip for cleaning the glass which involves screwed up newspaper.  Simply wet the newspaper a little, dip it into the ash at the bottom of the fire and use a small circular motion to clean the glass.  Works a treat!  (Of course, make sure the stove is completely cool before doing this).

Otherwise the only cleaning that is required is emptying the ash tray which we normally do every other day if we've just had the fire on in the evening.  Make sure you either cover this in some way to carry it to the bin or that there are no draughts on route, otherwise you will find out how the ash can get everywhere!

More installments coming soon...

PREVIOUS DIARY ENTRIES

5th December - Laundry drying!

21st November - More fuel types and a feathery visitor!

14th November - Trying out some different fuel

7th November - Warming the house

31st October - Cosy living room

12th October - Where to keep all that wood...

19th September 2011 - The first lighting of the season!

REVIEW - Bentley Organic Moisturising Hand Sanitizer

With small children, I do tend to carry a hand sanitizer in my bag for all those times that they could do with washing their hands but there are no facilities nearby! The trouble with many of them, however, is that they are a gel, which can be tricky for little ones to rub in, have a strong smell and are rather drying. The Bentley Organic Moisturising Hand Sanitizer had none of these issues. A simple pump action spout releases a small amount of foam which is very easy to rub into hands. It dries quickly but leaves hands soft and has a barely discernible scent.....

Read the full review here.

REVIEW - Tropical Wholefoods Organic Sun Dried Pineapple

Quite simply this sun dried pineapple is delicious – even my young daughter agrees! It is sweet, chewy and moreish, making a lovely healthy snack for adults and children alike. The pack also contains suggestions for other ways to use the pineapple such as in a fruit shake. This product is not Fairtrade certified but Tropical Wholefoods are a Fairtrade licensee.

Read the full review here.

REVIEW - Bentley Organic Calming Body Lotion

I use a body moisturiser daily so was pleased to find that this product from Bentley Organic goes a long way as well as containing such a high percentage of organic ingredients. I didn’t need to apply much to get good coverage and the lotion soaked in easily. It left my skin soft and has a pleasant but not too overpowering lavender scent. I would definitely be happy to use this on an on-going basis.

Read the full review here.

REVIEW - Bentley Organic Calming & Moisturising Bodywash

We first reviewed this product back in 2008, but here’s our updated review....

My skin can be quite dry so I am often wary of trying new products. As before, this product from Bentley Organic, however, didn’t dry out my skin at all. It makes a lovely lather and has a really pleasant scent; noticeable but not too overpowering. It’s reassuring to know that the product contains so many natural and organic ingredients, particularly with something such as body wash which is used every day....

Read the full review here. 

Diary of a Wood Burning Stove!

Welcome to the latest entry in our Diary of a Wood Burning Stove!

This week has seen us trying out yet another type of fuel, this time Easy-Logs from The Briquette Company (see image).  You can see a fuller review of these briquettes on our website, but we were pleased with this product, which is made from 100% wood chippings and burns well.

We have unfortunately had another feathered friend appear in the fire, but thankfully this one was also helped to escape.  We'll definitely be taking the advice of one of our readers last week, who suggested fitting something to the top of the chimney to stop birds getting in.  I'm not sure why this wasn't done when the stove was fitted, so perhaps this would be something to check with your installer.

On a positive note, I have had another, much more successful, attempt at lighting the fire all by myself this week!!  This time I soon had a good blaze going and I think the key was keeping a close eye on it in the early stages.

My other tip of the week is regarding drying washing!  Once it becomes too cold and wet to successfully dry washing outside, I usually use our spare room, and try to avoid the tumble dryer as much as possible.  Early autumn is often the hardest time to get things dry, however, as the heating isn't on much and this year we've used the heating less than normal (thanks to our lovely stove) even as it's got colder.  I don't like having washing hanging around the lounge all day, but have been putting the clothes horse in front of the stove when we go to bed.  Even without stoking it up the stove is still warm so the clothes are much further towards being dry by morning.

I'm sure there'll be more to report soon, so watch this space for the next diary installment!

PREVIOUS DIARY ENTRIES

21st November - More fuel types and a feathery visitor!

14th November - Trying out some different fuel

7th November - Warming the house

31st October 2011 - Cosy living room

12th October 2011 - Where to keep all that wood...

19th September 2011 - The first lighting of the season!

REVIEW - Easy-Logs from The Briquette Company

The Easy-Log briquettes come in a 10kg bag and we also received a bag of kindling. The advice for using this product is basically to use the same method for getting the fire going as for logs, although a little less kindling may be needed. The kindling provided was dry and a good size, and we found the Easy-Logs very easy to use. We popped them on the stove (filling it about a quarter full as recommended) once the kindling got going and they lit easily. You could see them expanding and we refrained from poking them as per the advice!

Read the full review here.

Make a Change

Our Make a Change 2011 has once again been updated with an energy saving and ethical living tip.  This month we suggest draught proofing your home (a great money saver) and doing something for your local community (great for the feel-good factor)!  

This is the last month of Make a Change but we'll be publishing a list of the suggestions from the whole year so watch this space in January. 

Green Product of the Month & Energy Watch

It's the start of the month again so here's an update on our Green Product of the Month for December as well as our Energy Watch page for the month.

Our Green Product of the Month is Beaming Baby Biodegradable Nappies which we reviewed earlier this year.

Energy Watch this month offers some suggestions for green new year's resolutions.