Clearing The Way...

this is a fairly accurate representation
of the state my room was in!

I woke up this morning and decided that today would be a good day to clear out my wardrobe; partly because I have so little room left in there that clothes were literally falling out of it, but mostly because I was feeling guilty about having just bought three new bikinis that I really didn't need. So I pulled everything out, and realised that there are a lot of clothes in there that I just never wear, and there's really no point in keeping them when I could get rid of them and find pretty new clothes to replace them that I might actually wear.

So I went on an ebay rampage - putting even the most useless things up for sale (lets be honest - no one's actually going to want to buy my second hand fake rose petals, even if they are only a penny) in the hope that I could earn some money this weekend.
This then put me in a bit of a dilemma; I had made this big pledge to try to help the environment and waste less, and here I was potentially packaging my clothes into evil non-biodegradable plastic bags to take to the post office where they would be sent across the country in a gas-guzzling pollution machine (a post truck)! How was that in any way helping the environment?

serious lack of bikinis last time
I was travelling

The truth is, it wasn't. But it's a lot better than just throwing them in the bin, or leaving them to get moth balls in the back of my wardrobe. This way, someone else is getting the chance to enjoy them as I once did.. and I'm sending them in bags I saved from the last time I bought clothes online, so reusing something that I would have originally sent to the landfill.

I know I'm just making excuses here, as I could have taken them to a charity shop or a clothing bank and given them to a good cause but the truth is, I'm being selfish here. I'm going travelling in exactly two months and two days, and I really need to save any money I can (ignoring the spontaneous bikini buying!)


This whole thing is a journey, and so far I've just been enjoying learning about these things I've never even thought of before. I find myself leaving rooms and making a conscious effort to turn off the lights, I don't leave my laptop running over night anymore, and when I can I'll use the aga (which is on anyway) to heat things, rather than using something electrical. I've started carrying a canvas bag around with me to carry my shopping and save on plastic bags, and I even carry my own water around which is great - not only do I save money and plastic from buying drinks on the go, it's also much healthier to drink water over sugar heavy fizzy drinks.

this is just the beginning

But this is just the beginning. I'm already getting excited about a healthier, eco-friendly future, where I only buy food from butchers and farmers markets so I can get my food somewhere sustainable with planet friendly packaging, where I can use organic, natural make up and health products.
I want to show that you can live a normal life like anyone else, just without damaging the environment or yourself. Organic and eco-friendly doesn't have to mean living like a hippy with tie-die t-shirts and hairy armpits. At least, that's what I'm hoping...