How can young kids have fun without all the plastic? Here's a simple starting point for a Conscious Living Halloween. We don't do Halloween. Well, at least not until this year after the pressure of certain expectations from our 5 year old. She has been brainwashed by the American style and though we face this kind of thing head on and don't allow traditions, customs or cultural norms to prompt us into anything that sets us up for the consumerism trap or goes against our consc

Hatchimals are some seriously f*cked up stuff! Now I'm not going to dwell on this except to ask: Why do we need to create fake nature and fake nurturing opportunities for kids to feel connected and loving? OK so we've been doing it for some time... there has been all kinds of weird stuff designed to entertain kids and sure, I'd rather kids used their brief attention spans on nurturing a toy than a puppy that would end up on the street, but still, are there really no opportuni

Art is often perceived as an activity that a few partake in, a very few make money from and merely a sprinkling are famous for. So let’s dig a bit deeper: What is art? Art is a culmination of imagination and skill, expressed and implemented, often the result of years of practice, but sometimes spontaneous and naive, sometimes representing the thoughts and desires of the creator and sometimes the patience and expertise. Where can we find it? Art, in its forms can be found eve

Make Valentine's day special without the trash and the crass! OMG, it's Valentine's day tomorrow, I almost missed it! In our house we do 'romantic' everyday so Valentine's is redundant ... well... ok.. so maybe it's not exactly romance that we do, but it works for us, having said that there are never too many days of the year that we can show off our hearts to our beloved. So here are a few odd ideas that might mean you are less of a pollutant and hazard to the future of huma

A Zero Waste progress report. So if you read my post* about my planned party held last month you may have wondered just how possible it is to hold a party for 65 and how close to Zero Waste I could get. So hear is a break down of what I used and how successful I was... or was not. I personally have learnt a lot from this and am now even more intent to do better during the year, my next party will be a few steps closer to setting a good example, but for now I'd like you to tak

A year has passed since I wrote this and though my party plans for the season are less ambitious in terms of number of guests, my enthusiasm and dedication for living in a zero waste world are unremitting. So for those of you who missed this the first time around, here is my take on a festive season and party preparation that is in alignment to Conscious Living and that doesn't leave a flood of trash in its wake. Transitioning towards a zero waste home is an up hill, but sati