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How You Can Make Your Coffee Use More Sustainable

February 25, 2020 0

Coffee is an ancient art. In the 16th century, it was being grown in places like Persia, Egypt, Syria, and Turkey. As far back as the 1600s, iced coffee and cold brew were being made in Japan; by the 1800s, Algeria also produced iced coffee and cold brew. In the 17th century, coffee finally made its way to Europe as well.

These days, coffee is everywhere and comes in many forms. But that is part of the problem. In modern times, we’ve become more aware of the impact of our disposable coffee cups, as well as the impact of certain planting and harvesting techniques for the coffee itself.

For those with an eye for sustainability, here are six tips to help make your morning coffee more environmentally-friendly.

1. Be Picky

Consider shaking up your routine by looking into coffee alternatives. Did you know 35% of people miss discovering a business because they don’t see their sign? It’s sort of the same with coffee. We can miss alternatives or more sustainable options simply because we’re not reading labels carefully.

Next time you are at the grocery store to buy coffee, take an extra minute to read the signs right before you. A lot of producers will include labels that indicate their coffee is produced more sustainably.

Look for indicative phrases like fair trade, rainforest alliance, organic, and bird-friendly. These are all certifications based on different criteria. For example, fair trade coffee tries to ensure growers and producers are treated fairly and helps protect land and waterways near where the coffee is grown. Decide what is important to you and find the labels that match that.

2. Find Local Sources

If you can get your coffee locally, that is always going to be a big step towards sustainability. The more your coffee has to travel to get to you, the more pollution and waste is involved in producing it.

Depending on where you live, you may be able to find local growers, independent farms, and regional roasters who can make you the perfect cup. As a bonus, you’ll be helping out a local small business.

3. Make Your Own At Home

Going out for coffee is always going to produce more waste than brewing at home, even if you’re buying coffee from a small local cafe. Brewing your own coffee at home is one of the best ways to reduce waste and it should save you some money too.

When making your own coffee at home, stay away from disposable, one-time-use cups. Instead, use a fair trade brew that you can scoop out of a bag. Those one-time-use cups are convenient, but incredibly wasteful.

And while you’re making coffee at home, use a mug! Invest in a great coffee mug that you can use every morning. By doing this, you will not only be reducing the waste from the coffee, but also from the disposable cups you tend to get at coffee shops.

4. Compost the Waste

One last tip for brewing at home: Compost. Tea leaves and coffee grounds are excellent compost. Coffee is actually a superb fertilizer because of the nitrogen content.

By composting leaves and grounds, you will keep waste out of landfills. You can even spread used coffee grounds directly on your garden if you don’t have a way to compost.

5. Reuse Your Filter

While you’re making your coffee at home, find ways to minimize your waste. You can not only reuse your mug and avoid single-use cups, but you can also get a reusable filter to cut down on wasteful paper filters.

Those paper filters aren’t just bad because they fill up landfills; they also sometimes contain things like dioxins that can get into watersheds. Reusable filters are much better for the environment.

However, if you do need to use paper filters, search for ones that are “total chlorine-free” or “processed chlorine-free.” This indicates that they won’t be full of dangerous dioxins that can get into water systems.

6. Tell a Friend

You don’t need to do this alone! Get a friend to go with you for your morning coffee run at a local restaurant or cafe. You could even buy mugs, reusable filters, and more sustainable and environmentally-friendly coffee together.

As you continue trying to change your coffee drinking habits, having a friend to commiserate with can be a huge help. Talk about the best brands or cafes you’ve found, what your long-term goals are, and tips you discover along the way. Sharing the experience can make it more like a fun challenge and less like a burden. You could even try some composting tips together.

A Better Routine for Everyone

No matter how you choose to go about having a more sustainable morning routine, even small changes can end up making a big difference. Don’t be afraid to start small before working on larger lifestyle changes to increase your positive impact.

Tips For Going Green With Your Fashion

February 24, 2020 0

Fashion can be bought. Style one must possess.

—Edna Woolman Chase

Fashion trends come and go quicker than ever; by the time you get to the shop after seeing an advert, There will likely be a completely new selection in. Stores like Primarkare perfect for when you need to buy a quick item, and their basics can be great; but they are one of the top contributors to fast fashion. 

Everywhere you look, you are being advertised the current trends and styles from Instagram shop links to cool videos on Twitter. It has never been easier to change your entire wardrobe in minutes if that’s what you want to do. 

But being a hyper consumer causes a range of issues not just to our own wallets but the living conditions of people around the world. Not only that, but fast fashion has a huge impact on the globe.

It is not always easy to be eco-friendly when it comes to your wardrobe. Even more so if you have a family to take care of two. It is estimated that more than half of the products that are used to create your clothes are destroying the environment. This doesn’t mean that every clothing manufacturer is doing the same many are taking huge steps to make sure that they are producing ethical clothing.

But it’s worth bearing in mind that many of the workers are underpaid and overworked, in dangerous factories.

But you can make a conscious choice with your next fashion purchase, without compromising on style and quality.

Here are some suggestions on how you can do it.

Eco-friendly

So the first thing you can do is actually when you go clothes shopping, use a recyclable shopping bag. Or a high-quality tote bag. This is a simple and easy thing to do; all you have to do is remember your reusable bags. A small change that makes a huge difference when it comes to how much plastic is floating around in our oceans.

Most stores now have their own eco-friendly shopping bags; they are commonly known as bags for life.

Washing Your Clothes

So we have all had that moment where our favorite new T-shirt has shrunk in the wash. Bluejeans suddenly don’t fit you anymore. And that is because washing your clothes will make some shrink. Even if you are only washing them at a low temperature. So it’s really recommended that you wear something more than once, and in fact maybe even a lot. 

This won’t reply to your gym gear, and not anything that you want to do walking or exercise or inspired and slightly too much. Think about how often you are there in your close in the wash after you’ve only worn them for just a couple of hours. You can buy an eco-friendly washing detergent and hang your clothes out to dry as an extra added step.

Go Vintage

There are so many huge vintage kilo sales now. As well as hordes of amazing vintage clothing, bags, accessories, and shoes are a bunch of thrift shops. It is better to plan what you want to buy before you go to thrift shop shopping, though. Or are you going to end up with a lot of clothes that you won’t wear? And this can be just as detrimental unless you are donating them. 

Have a goal in mind do you need a new shirt, are you looking for a new tote bag, what about a crossbody bag, when you buy from charity shops you are not only donating to a worthy cause you are giving close a second life. Try not to buy vintage items that will only last one or two washes; these are things with excessive beading or very light silk. Although most of these can be dry cleaned if you have time to do that.

Research

There are so many amazing brands that are now there that are fully dedicated to sourcing and supplying ethical clothing made with a brilliant range of new and cool materials. Your tip is it looking for Tencel, which is being seen more often in High Street stores. Coconut leather is also an option too. 

These can be slightly more expensive, but they tend to last longer, and you know that you have done the right thing for yourself and the environment. You can read a fashion brand ‘about’ page to try and find more information about what steps they are taking in sustainability.

Repair

Because we are so used to the fact, we can buy jeans for under $10, or a T-shirt for $2 and they are brand-new we don’t have to think about the fact that we can just repair clothes when they tear. It used to be more common practice to do things like darn socks and put patches on the knees of jeans. 

But now it seems more common to throw the item out and replace it with a new version. You can find so many instructional videos on YouTube and even tips on Pinterest and other blogs about how you can repair any tears in clothing. 

This can include silk shirts, patching jeans, or turning jeans into shorts. This will make your clothing last longer, save you money because you don’t have to buy anything new, and one of the main goals is great for the environment.

All of these are relatively simple steps that can help you be more aware of what you purchase and where you purchased it. You don’t have to spend a lot of money changing into a more eco-minded wardrobe. It can be small things like buying eco-friendly washing detergent. Washing on and a colder setting and washing and less often. 

There is a balance to be found, of course. We all need basic things, socks, pants, bras, and T-shirts, and when you have a growing family, you don’t need to do what’s best for your budget. 

But where possible, try to make small changes, and all of those small changes will add up to a big impact.

How To Get Your Boss To Let You Work From Home (It’s Greener You Know!)

February 20, 2020 0

We are very fortunate to now be living in a digital world, where we can remotely do anything we want. We can turn up the thermostat at home from our smartphones. We can check in with the kids by tapping into the live cameras in the house. We can even unlock the door from a distance, or video call Australia from the U.S. We have the capability to do so many things remotely these days, so why is it that so many employers don’t go for remote working?

When you’re spending your time clocking in long hours at the office, the last thing that you want to do is to face a commute all the way home again. Commuting adds hours to your day and it can really prevent you from feeling motivated and ready to work. You don’t have to get behind the wheel of a car and get into an accident because you’re exhausted from driving and working. The other massive bonus of working from home? It’s how much fuel you’re going to save! Working remotely saves you the money on gas, and it saves you pumping those fumes out into the atmosphere. One of the best arguments that you could give your boss is that you can save the planet – just a little bit!

 Working from home adds a level of flexibility that you cannot get in an office, and there are plenty of scenarios in which working from home is a great idea. You can make the most out of your personal injury claim from the accident you had while exhausted by working from home and earning without commuting. You can even relax and work from home around your children, which not only saves you money on your commute, but on your childcare, too.

All you need to know is how to get your boss on board. Shall we take a look?

  • Research. You need to approach your employer with all the good things about remote working. You should include the fact that you can cut your emissions with your lack of commute to work – it’s a bonus if your company has a mission to be a greener business! You should also check out the employee handbook to know whether it’s an option already and you just don’t know about it. You have to be able to rebuttal any argument, so look at all the negatives, too and figure out how to argue against them.
  • Plan. Look at what you are currently doing and what your responsibilities are all about, and then figure out how you can translate these to a home office. For example, you may find that a lot of your duties can be done in the home. Always have a list of how you can do them from home and communicate this to your boss.
  • Meet. You want to sit down with your boss properly and discuss this as a matter of concern. Explain how your commute is affecting you and your home life, that you are worried about getting into an accident through sheer exhaustion. Explain how you plan to stay motivated in a home office and ask them to consider your role and the fact you don’t have to be in an office for it to work.
  • Negotiate. Your boss may not be keen on your working from home all the time due to the fact that they need you in the office to meet and plan with your team. So, offer alternatives. Think about offering to be in the office three days a week with the other two days at home to start with. 

Sometimes, employers need to see this work in practice, so offering a trial run is going to be a good way to assure them that you plan to be just as productive.

Helping Your Child Prepare For Exams

February 17, 2020 0

Maths questions from past papers are an essential aspect of revision. For many children, these periods in their life are the first exam condition tests they experience. Given this, it is important that, as well as doing well and achieving their potential, they can come away with a positive view of the experience as a whole. To achieve this, it is important that the idea of undertaking exams is second nature and that preparation, including using maths past papers, starts early and is integrated into the children’s normal routine. 

Of course, when it comes to past papers, we certainly do not recommend wasting lots of paper! You can read this on how to recycle paper the right way for more details. 

Understanding The Role Of Maths Past Papers

Years of research have shown that when it comes to revising for any exam, it is important to start early. Cramming, although it works for a small minority, overloads the brain and can increase anxiety while reducing the actual amount of information retained. When it comes to younger children facing exam conditions for the first time, the experience of the exam itself is just as important as remembering the facts, techniques, and methods that have been studied. This is one of the ways in which past maths questions can help. 

If children are introduced to the form of the paper early, they become familiar with the layout, question styles, and answer spaces they face. Parents can ensure that they are providing the right stimulus at home with recognized and approved past papers. Past papers are also a great way of finding gaps in children’s knowledge and understanding. 

Once these areas are highlighted, teachers, tutors, and parents can work with the child focusing on maths questions and answers that the child lacks confidence in. If you’re not confident in helping your child, tutors can assist. Remote tutors using the likes of https://setapp.com/apps/gifox can show how children should answer questions. 

Having access to a range of past and sample papers also means that children can be prepped for the different types of questions that could be asked. This is important as, if they are only taught one form of a question, they could lose marks simply because they did not recognize what a question was asking them to do. 

Reducing The Stress Of KS2 Maths Reasoning Questions

One area where children definitely need to experience a range of question types is KS2 maths reasoning questions. Reasoning in mathematics can take many forms, and it is crucial that children experience as many of these forms as possible, so they do not experience stress, anxiety, and panic during exams. 

Using a range of past papers with different maths questions KS2 allows children to experience the different ways in which reasoning questions can be worded. They can see that while the wording changes, and different situations are used within the questions, the methods needed to solve the questions remain consistent. The question needs to be decoded, and the specific mathematical parts of the question found and understood. Once the child has understood how to determine the important information, they can work on solving the problems and presenting their workings and answers. 

Using Barn Doors As a Decorative Piece

February 12, 2020 0

Barn doors are an excellent way to introduce eye-catching decorative elements into your home’s decor. They come in different styles from a country look to a more modern feel and can be used for closets, bathrooms, or pantries. If you are limited on space, barn doors are an excellent way to manage the floor plan because there is almost zero clearance for them. They are also excellent substitutions for traditional cabinetry as they can be used to add style to a kitchen island or for cabinetry in a bathroom design. The charm and character they add to a home’s decor can be as unique as you choose. 

Beautiful barn doors can be installed flat to the wall or at a 90-degree angle to add even more interest. What’s more exciting about these beautiful design elements is they can be made with any material from environment-friendly reclaimed wood to metal materials. The hardware used to install barn doors can also create and contribute to the overall feature of the door. They can be applied to almost any space for functionality and add a unique character. The design options with barn doors are almost limitless.

The Design Element

The design element and functionality of barn doors work in a variety of different spaces. They can be constructed of reclaimed wood, metal materials, or even framed glass. You can create barn doors in any size you choose. For a more stately piece, you can design a one that is twice the size of a normal door and still be able to keep your floor plan spacing intact. For a more scaled-down model, you can create a barn door that is smaller in size. Regardless of the size of the doors, these beautiful design features add a unique character to a room that is aesthetically pleasing to the eyes.

Eco-friendly Materials

One of the many neat features of barn doors is that they can be created from eco-friendly materials. These environmentally friendly materials help to save you money and are good for the environment because they are made using renewable materials. Renewable materials can be found at deeply discounted prices from your local hardware stores or secondhand stores that specialize in recyclable materials. 

Just because a barn door is made from reclaimed or recycled materials, doesn’t mean that it would not be as attractive as a more custom made door. In fact, the opposite is true. Recycled materials can add such a unique aspect to your barn door design. More than likely the materials are left over from other projects, therefore, they are probably not readily available to other consumers.

Creating your Own Unique Barn Door Design

If you’re in the market for a barn door and not able to find what you want within your budget, you are able to create a timeless design piece using reclaimed materials. By designing your own barn door, the sky is truly the limit. The only limitation with this option is your imagination. This type of DIY project would take some time, but in the end, it would be worth it to know you have created a truly unique design piece customized just for your personal space. 

From the hardware selection to the choices of door materials, there is no limit to your design for your customized door. Even though this would be a customized piece for your home, this doesn’t mean that you would pay a higher price. The pricing to make your own barn door can be as low as $200 to $300. Depending on the material and the size, prices can increase significantly for a larger or heavier door. The choice, however, is totally up to you.

Adding a barn door design to your home can create a unique feeling by adding a touch of character to any space. Whether you plan to use them for your bedroom, bathroom or for the pantry in your kitchen, these functional design pieces can add a touch of style to any home. They are a cost-effective option for installing a traditional pocket door and are excellent if you are limited on floor space. The main goal for your home is to design a space that works for you.

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