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Sunday 29 October 2017

A new project...

Sorry for yet another large lapse in posting!

As you probably figured from earlier blogs, 2016 was a year of huge change for me and I've continued to grow, stretch and change as a result well into 2017. I still see my amazing therapist, and have been working hard to make sense of a whole lot of stuff- some of which may make it's way here and a lot of which won't!

The headlines are that I am divorced, still living in Southsea, still running, cooking, going to church and living a brilliant, full life- it's just very different to how my 2015 life was!

Anyway- as part of my making sense of things, I've been spending quite a lot of time putting my faith under the microscope, exploring my values, my understanding of my faith and how it shapes my day to day life.

One of the key things that I've always believed to be very important about how I personally live my faith has been action: that is to say, not just talking about it but getting off my bottom and doing something about it! Love Buckland, homeless outreach, the fact I work for a charity combatting educational deprivation are all part and parcel of how I have/do express how much I believe God cares for each and every person on this planet.

However, I've been becoming more and more aware over the past few months that I can't continue to separate my love for people from care for the world they inhabit.
The beautiful world we live in has been my solace, my place to get head space and clarity as I walk,run, swim and pray over the past year, and I've realised I need to step up in the care I take of it- or more particularly the little bit of it that comes into my very small sphere of influence.

Just some of the beautiful spaces I've explored this year


The effects of climate change and rampant consumption in our world are so heavily weighted toward the poorest, with much of the damage being done by the wealthier economies. This injustice both saddens and angers me- further driving my desire to do whatever I can to help.

I moved  to eating very little meat (I describe myself as flexitarian- sounds pretentious but is actually a pretty good description) in January of this year. I do eat some meat but it's a)very rarely and b)free range or wild. I have no issue with the concept of eating meat- it's the industrialisation of meat production that saddens me. I started getting a veg box in September, and really increased  the amount of foraged/local foods in my diet (making a LOT of jam and chutney).




Whilst pressing apples for a first attempt at homebrewed cider, I got chatting to the lady who runs Abundance Portsmouth whilst we chopped and prepped 70kg of apples. (Turns out- takes a while! Next year I'm definitely pre-chopping!) We got onto the  topic of food and packaging, and she mentioned she lives as plastic-free as possible. My mind was BOGGLED! Plastic free?! I genuinely couldn't fathom it. The poor woman was then subjected to a random tirade of questions over the next 10 minutes... "What about milk?!" (She uses a milkman) "How do you get dried goods like pasta?" (local food-buying coop). Despite initially thinking she was mad, the thought stuck in my head  over the next few days. I suddenly became hyper aware of just how much single use plastic I was using in my day to day life- take away coffee cups, pre-packaged fruit, pasta, rice and lentil bags- I was like a one woman waste production unit!

The Cathedral (where I worship) have an annual theme and this year we've been looking at 'all things bright and beautiful' (not the cheesy hymn!) exploring our stewardship of the earth. Canon Peter preached a few weeks ago and in his sermon mentioned  that fish caught at sea now more often than not have ingested plastic, there are giant plastic fields in oceans all over  the world (the one off California is bigger than the UK!) and plastic fibres are being found at every point of the maritime food chain. More info on plastic pollution can be found here.



My conscience was stirred, so I decided to act. The idea of 'plastic free November' was born! A month seemed like a manageable amount of time to try and aim for- and October was going to be far too soon to get sorted- so November it was! The reason I've decided to go 'cold turkey' as such is not to maintain that lifestyle indefinitely (although- let's see how it goes! Who knows?!) but for a month to cut all plastic purchases out in order to see where I can really cut down my environmental impact, where there's a simple or easy work-around and where I may struggle more. (The lady I was talking to at Abundance mentioned how difficult for example it can be to get Tofu/vegan products without plastic- so we'll see how that goes).

This is a lifestyle experiment, rather than a unbreakable set of rules, so I'm going to do my utmost to live without buying any new plastic, and creating as little waste (and plastic waste in particular) as possible.

So how's the month going to work?

1:Buy no plastic. This includes: food packaging, clothing, home products- anything made of plastic basically!

2: Use what you already have. If I already own it (tupper ware, mixing bowls, phone charger) I'll use  it- unless  it breaks/runs out during November  in which case I will have to replace it with a plastic-free option. Exceptions to this are clingfilm and freezer bags which are banned  from Nov 1st. (Binary I know but hey- I'm making the rules!) I have purposefully not stocked up in advance of Nov 1st- so my grocery/lifestyle shopping needs will remain the same.

3. Reduce Waste: Whilst I'm not being zero waste (although there's obviously a lot of overlap), I'm going to be following the 3 Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) as much as possible- so for example although McDonalds packaging is all cardboard, it seems somewhat against the spirit of this month to eat it for every meal. I've invested in an indoor compost Bokashi bin for the house, and plan to reuse and recyle as much as I realistically can.


I am aware of how odd and inconvenient this decision must seem: however  it is convenience that seems to have brought us to a society so wholly dependent on plastic (plastic wrapped, pre-peeled oranges, anyone?!) so it seems valid to purposefully inconvenience myself for a month to challenge  that dominant narrative, get more in touch with where my purchases are coming from and what  will happen to them after I've finished  them, and get altogether more intentional about whether  my money is being used  to help or harm this beautiful world I'm lucky enough to live in!

So.... watch this space!  We're 2 days off and I've got to go finish sewing some produce bags from an old duvet cover! #livingthedream




5 comments:

  1. Wow Sarah, go for it! You are certainly self-motivated and determined. I look forward to hearing how you get on. With regard to the oranges, I know people with rheumatism who are happy to buy those pre-peeled oranges. And my son can't eat apples whole cos of his flipping tooth thing, so I'd be happy to buy them pre-cut. Shame they don't do his favourite - pink lady! But I take your point. x

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    1. Hei, I saw your comment and wondered if this type of thing might help:
      https://www.amazon.com/R%C3%B6sle-Stainless-Steel-Cutter-Slicer/dp/B0000YO8HM
      Then you can slice whichever apples you like :)

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    2. Hey Carron!
      Yeah I saw a lot of that feeling when those photos went viral last year. I think my issue is with the producers of a pre-wrapped orange rather than the consumers- whilst I'd never want to stop anyone enjoying an orange (I have a lovely friend with juvenile arthritis and it limits many spheres of her life)- I don't understand why they need to be packaged in single-use, non recyclable plastic. Corn-starch packaging would work just as well and is biodegradable, but the producers have no interest in using it sadly!

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  2. Great decisions Sarah! I have been gradually heading towards zero waste, but am still a long way off. I think your veg box will have helped you reduce single use plastic a great deal already. I have friends using the bokashi system and they are really happy with it, but I started warm composting in the garden this summer and it's going really well. Here in Arendal we can get a reduction in our council tax fees if we don't send food waste to their facility.

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    1. I don't have a garden which is the thorn in my side- or I'd have probably gone down the worm side of things too! Currently looking to adopt a compost heap locally for my bokashi remains!

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