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A week on WW2 rations – meal ideas

These are ideas for me and my 8 year old who does not eat meat so I’m substituting smoked salmon for bacon. He hardly eats any veg so this will be an interesting week. Breakfast for both of us: porridge with honey, apple sauce, sugar, milk, raisins (?) toast and butter/jam/marmite/honey dippy egg and toast and butter (can only do …

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A week on WW2 rations – day 1

Breakfast Porridge with treacle and left over strawberries cooked down, soya milk. I made tea in a teapot to stretch the bag out to 2 cups. T’s packed lunch is Cheese and mushroom sandwich, honey sandwich, raisins, juice (should be squash but we don’t have any) and a carrot with propeganda “carrots keep you healthy and help you see in …

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A week on WW2 rations

In a nutshell – When my son was 8 we spent a week on World War 2 rations. This short series of posts is about how we coped. In primary school my son did a project about World War 2. I thought it would be fun, or at least interesting if we tried living on World War 2 rations for …

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Growing Salad indoors with Ikea Live LAGOM

In a nutshell – as part of the Ikea Live LAGOM project I get to spend their money on an indoor growing kit. I’m aiming to grow my own salad indoors all year round with the help of the VAXAR grow house. My house is a two up two down with a ground floor extension the width of the house. …

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Will changing to LED light bulbs save you money?

In a nutshell – changing old style bulbs for LED light bulbs will save you money now but if you need to change dimmer switches it will take time to show a difference in your bills Two months ago I was quite happily unaware that I was spending so much more on lighting my house than I needed to. It …

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A better alternative to New Years resolutions

In a nutshell – New Years resolutions don’t work for me, they set me up to fail. There is a free printout with 32 different ideas for a daily healthy habit. Choose a different one each day or one a week. Or, buy them as a little paperback notebook. I’ve tried to be ‘good’ from the 1st January year after …

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Ikea Hydroponics Indoor Gardening – First Thoughts

In a nutshell – as part of the Ikea Live LAGOM project I am aiming to grow all my salad indoors, all year round. Ikea gave me £300 to spend on Ikea products to make my life more sustainable. I’ve been coveting an indoor growing kit for some time but I didn’t have the money to spend on one, nor …

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Ikea Live LAGOM post 4 – a sustainable shopping trip

In a nutshell – I’ve been given £300 by Ikea to spend on things to make living more sustainable. It has to be spent in Ikea and it’s for the Live LAGOM project. I had strange mixed feelings before the shopping trip, which was booked for 4pm on a warm December afternoon.  The first was terrible excitement – it’s a …

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Meal planning when you hate plans

In a nutshell: Meal planning saves money and wasted food but can feel restrictive. Planning loosely around the main element of the meal is an easy solution. I’ve avoided meal planning for years because I don’t like the idea of being tied to a menu. I may have planned pizza for Wednesday but when Wednesday comes round what happens if …

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How to choose a LED lightbulb

In a nutshell – LED lightbulbs are as versatile as incandescent bulbs, halogen or energy saving bulbs, they last a lot longer than all of those and use less energy. Changing to LED’s means less stuff sent to landfill, less resources used to light and less money spent lighting. The story so far: This all started when I was lucky …

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Ikea Live Lagom post 3 – planning a sustainable shopping list

In a Nutshell – I’m part of the Ikea Live Lagom programme for 2016 and I have been given £300 to spend on things from Ikea that make my home more sustainable. The Live Lagom project is being run by Ikea and the aim is to help people become more sustainable in their homes. Lagom is a Swedish word that …

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Ikea Live Lagom Project Post 2 – Home Visit

In a nutshell – Ikea have given me £300 to help me become more sustainable with their products. This is part of their Live Lagom project and fits in with the ethos of less-stuff because it’s about being just right – not having too much or too little. Long post warning…… I have a lot to digest and I’ve done …