As Extinction Rebellion is reminding us, it is time to rebel, to stand up and to take the job of protecting ourselves, our planet and our future upon ourselves, and where better to start than at home?! There are so many ways to make better, healthier, happier choices for our skin, our lungs, our hair... our entire bodies along with the body of our amazing planet. Together we are an ecosystem and by looking after all the parts we find that we are in fact taking care of the who

It makes sense to start with doable actions on an individual scale. I had the pleasure of hosting workshops/talks with a wonderful group of university students. The following is inspired by and is a follow up with links as promised for the students of Sustainability Development at MEF University Istanbul. I'm really appreciative that firstly the course exists (though it should be standard curriculum for all schools everywhere starting at primary ages!) and I'm happy to see th

The cost of 25 kuruş per plastic bag ruling that came into effect as of January the 1st 2019 here in Turkey is a start towards sustainability. One that is just the tip of the iceberg but none the less a step towards transformation in the habits of consumers, stores and producers alike. Asides from the plastic bag ruling the government has joined many countries in implementing a “Container Deposit Legislation” Producers will be charged a contribution towards recycling infrastr

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

UPDATED April 2019 New Recipes: Toothpaste, Deodorant, Soap, Shampoo & Conditioner, Laundry Powder & more... Note: I have added links to a few trusted local (to Turkey) makers and suppliers of good quality ecological products. I am not affiliated with them and I'm not getting a commission or such from them. To combat the horrendous problem of plastic waste we have to approach it from three points. The 1st point is at the production and design stage, but sadly the corporations

A movement of multiple acts of cleaning to prompt NOT LITTERING in the first place and to instigate that as consumers we avoid single use plastic. On May the 5th we had a Clean up on the local beaches of Şile, for those who missed my post about the event this is a brief synopsis of why we bother, what we gained from trying and how we plan to take it from here. So far Turkey has been slow to pick up on the international improvement regarding littering and recycling. Some munic

The CCCC: Community Crockery and Cutlery Collection. Many of us dread having to use plastic plates and cutlery, I have made a real effort to create 'zero waste' at recent home gatherings (see my post about this) and have accumulated a fair amount of crockery and cutlery, but I am able to borrow too (and audacious enough to ask). With this in mind and in aid of facilitating the birth of a Sharing Community within Istanbul I am attempting to create a CCCC. The CCCC is a large c

Your Invitation to our Clean Up Event - Şile. 5 May 2018 So far Turkey has been slow to pick up on the international improvement regarding single use plastic and how litter is recycled or disposed. Some municipalities have local success and some, like Şile are struggling. The efforts of the municipality itself need some scrutiny to see where improvement can be made in areas such as the location and visibility of bins, availability of recycling bins and the design and use of p

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

Some of our most fundamental daily habits need changing is we want the world to be able to sustain us.. Those who know me can testify that there's not much that can get between me and my tea. It's a 5 mugs a day addiction, I won't leave the house before having one and NO! I won't give up on having milk in it! Having lived almost 30 years here in Turkey (1) and still managing to maintain this quintessential British idiosyncrasy I feel I have proven my stance on this one. Howev

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

Kas Local market. What abundance and what fun! Local produce and the bustle of people both shopping and enjoying the chance meetings that the pazar provides. I bumped into some very dear, old friends, memories sweet and bitter mingled with the smells of olives, cheese and honey. Spices displayed open air and the tang of fruits and vegetables freshly picked or uprooted and put out on display half shaded from the sun. If you haven't been to a local market in Turkey

There is real initiative here so I'm hoping we can all jump on board: If I can stand with my 4 year old in the supermarket and tell her clearly why we can't buy the stuff with lots of packaging (and palm oil), and if she understands that buying those little milks with straws is not OK anymore even if the milk is organic!, if we can try our best to refuse straws in restaurants (tricky when they are purple) and if we can refuse plastic bags whenever possible, then surely so can