‘The compulsion to identify with consumer products reaches deep into our lives – from our choice of homes to what we put in them.’ (The Joy of Less, Francine Jay, 2010) I’ve been reading (the kindle edition of) The Joy of Less: a Minimalist Living Guide, by Francine Jay, and also her short ebook...
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I love waking up in the morning to find that my neighbour has left a basket of eggs on the back porch. I take great solace in knowing where my food comes from and how it is raised. We have a reciprocal exchange of food with our neighbours; they give us eggs and we...
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‘I’ve realised wanting to do too much is almost as toxic as wanting too much stuff.’ (Tricia Hogbin @ Little Eco Footprints) I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of ‘slow’ lately, as embodied by the slow movement, and I’ve been wondering: is our fast paced lifestyle inherently unsustainable? I don’t mean unsustainable...
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Editors Note: I asked David to look into organic cloth diapers/nappies, to see if they were worth the money. His take on all the options there are when looking at cloth nappies these days certainly had me laughing, and when it comes to the savings over disposables, I’m laughing all the way to the...
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My post on How to Make Yogurt is so popular (about 1/4 of all visitors to Sustainable Suburbia visit that page), and has generated so many comments and questions, that I figured it was time to formalise some of the answers into a kind of FAQ of yogurt making. So I’ve spent the last...
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If you use a GPS or satellite navigation device in your car, then ou may be doing your bit for the environment without even knowing it. Recent independent research shows that car drivers who use a GPS product have a more positive effect on the environment when compared to a driver who does not. ...
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In the second in our series on decluttering your home, Kirsten McCulloch visits her grandfather’s house and is challenged to examine the motivations behind her cluttering ways. In the break between Christmas and New Year I visited my Grandfather’s somewhat empty house on the New South Wales central coast. Empty, in the sense that...
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Eco-friendly cars have been growing in popularity, as the effects of global warming continue to make headlines all over the world. Manufacturers of green cars are constantly trying to improve the functionality of electric and hybrid cars with the aim of eventually replacing the conventional automobile with zero carbon emission models. There are a...
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‘Decluttering’ has become such a popular trend in recent years that the phrase ‘how to organize’ is searched 1,500,000 times in Google each month, ‘what is clutter’ 246,000 times, and even something as specific as ‘how to declutter your home’ receives 8100 monthly searches. So why is decluttering – or at least talking about...
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For many people around the world, we are approaching a time of giving, of family and of renewal. Whether you celebrate Diwali in October or November, Saint Nicholas Day on December 6, Hanukkah, Winter or Summer Solstice, Christmas, or even just New Year, it’s likely there’ll be some kind of gathering of family or...
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The Riot for Austerity was first started in 2007 by Peak Oil writer Sharon Astyk, with the goal of reducing her family’s resource use by 90% of the American average. This was the amount Peak Oil expert George Monbiot predicted those in affluent countries would need to reduce their impact in order to avoid...
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The disposable coffee cups that fire today’s convenient coffee culture will soon find a spot in museums together with cave man paintings and dinosaur fossils if Karin de Weille has her way. De Weille started a drive in Seattle that urges people to kick their paper cup usage habit, and rely more on reusing...
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We are always on about trying to save energy here at Sustainable Suburbia, for the sake of both the climate and reducing our dependence on non-renewable resources. But saving energy for many people is firstly about saving money, and there’s nothing wrong with that either. Living a sustainable life means living within our means...
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It seems these days that you can’t go anywhere outside your home without seeing someone walking down the street or driving their car without talking on their cell phone. Ever since cell phone technology improved to make cell phones much smaller than when they were first invented, you can literally see them every you...
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Many sensationalist news reports have been published over the years claiming some new fangled gadget – be it a vaccine, a microwave, a mobile phone or now, an energy saving light – is really evil incarnate or at least a little questionable. But often these reports are so extreme that they seem ridiculous and...
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The world’s first mass market, zero emmission car will arrive in Australia in 2012, while the world’s largest electric car charge network will give the car the same range as petrol cars. Beginning with the ACT in the second quarter of 2012, Better Place will be rolling out its network which will include both...
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We recently had to take a pot of Vegetarian Soup to my daughter’s kindergarten class for their Winter weekly soup day. Some people – including some children – think they don’t like vegetarian dishes. There must be some meat! Well let me tell you, the kids loved this soup. In fact, one mother emailed...
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Our world today is filled with various gadgets and shortcuts all aimed at making life easier. We want to get through our busy schedules as quickly and efficiently as possible, fitting in what seems to be a vast number of tasks in a ‘short’ 24 hour period. With all the pressures of our fast...
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Guinness have ratified the evidence and the official Guiness World Record for most cloth nappies changed simultaneously is 5,026 people. The Great Cloth Diaper Change was held around the world on April 23 (US time) with the aim of raising the public awareness of the benefits and ease of cloth diaper use. The unofficial...
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Cloth diapers are as much an option for parents today as they were hundreds of years ago. They remain popular for their economical, comfortable, and eco-friendly features. Commonly found in local stores and online, there are various quality options and sizes available for the growing baby. Options on the market include flat diapers, prefold...
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