Month: December 2017

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Frightening Christmas Consumer Waste Figures Revealed

This is always a topic worth visiting over the festive season.  I know that in our house, we tend to find ourselves with lots of clutter, and quite frankly, far too much waste for the size of bins we have to put it out with.

A new study has found that we Brits, will  throw out 108 million rolls of wrapping paper, 54 million platefuls of food – and use 189 million batteries over Christmas.  That’s absolutely collossal.

To add insult to that, eight in 10 people admitted they don’t bother to try and justify the huge amount of waste they produce, with six in 10 saying they don’t feel at all guilty about what they throw away over the festive period.

I don’t know about you, but I do feel guilty about the amount of waste.  I see images on TV and news items of our seas full of plastic, and I know that as a smallish island, what we do, is going to have very little effect on the levels of pollution and waste world wide, but every little helps.

GP Batteries commissioned the research, and a spokesman said:

  • Christmas is a time of great celebration, but this can result in a huge amount of waste – many of which we don’t always do the right things with.
  • And it seems many don’t worry about the amount of their Christmas produce that ends up in the bin, despite the nation as a whole trying to do all we can to cut down on waste at other times of the year.
  • Reusing things, such as Christmas Cards or wrapping paper, or using rechargeable batteries are small things to most people but will drastically reduce the amount you end up throwing away.

Findings from OnePoll.com:

  • A poll of 2,000 adults found the nation will also get through more than 40 million rolls of sticky tape and bin almost 100 million black bags full of packaging from toys and gifts.
  • Seven in 10 admit to buying far more food than they need, with two thirds saying at least some of the turkey usually ends up in the bin.
  • The average household will get through four rolls of wrapping paper and throw away seven batteries over the Christmas period
  • A roll-and-a-half of sticky tape will be used per household, while three-and-a-half black bags full of packaging will be thrown out.
  • The equivalent of a whole plateful of food will end up going to waste on Christmas Day, along with another plateful in the following days.
  • An average of 24 Christmas cards will also be discarded once the festive period is over, while 14 per cent will even be binning their fake Christmas tree this year.

And rather than recycling where possible, many simply throw their wrapping paper, packaging and old Christmas cards out with the rubbish.  As a family, we do recycle our paper, plastic and tins, as we’ve no choice.  Our bins are tiny for a six person household with one doubly incontinent elder adult.  The amount of waste she generates is pretty large.

Disturbingly, the poll also indicated:

  • Many aren’t recycling or reusing their waste with one in five admitting to throwing their used wrapping paper into the bin.
  • More than one in four throw batteries into the bin, despite knowing they shouldn’t, while three in 10 still use disposables instead of rechargeables.
  • Others admit to throwing out leftover food rather than trying to use it in other meals and binning cards and packaging instead of recycling or reusing.
  • But one in six often try to justify the amount of waste they produce, with 34 per cent of those believing it’s just part of Christmas.
  • One in five think it’s OK as everyone else does it while 43 per cent believe it is impossible to avoid waste over the festive period.

On a more positive side:

  • It emerged one in ten have had rows with their family because of the amount of waste they produce.
  • As a result, many are trying to cut down on the waste they produce, with 48 per cent turning their Christmas dinner leftovers into other meals in the following days.
  • Forty-two per cent buy a fake tree instead of having to dispose of a real tree every year while a third simply buy less food than usual.
  • Others reuse Christmas cards as gift tags the following year, buy rechargeable batteries and even avoid wrapping presents at all.

A spokesman for GP Batteries added:

These days a battery is for life, not just for Christmas.  A modern rechargeable battery can be used up to 1,500 times and over its lifetime – saving a fortune in cash and waste. Once you go rechargeable you never go back.

Top ten things people have done to try and reduce their waste at Christmas:

  1. Turn leftovers into other meals

  2. Buy a fake tree to reuse every year

  3. Buy less food

  4. Reuse Christmas cards as gift tags the following year

  5. Use rechargeable batteries

  6. Order online but in one order to reduce the amount of packaging

  7. Send e-cards

  8. Buy fewer toys

  9. Order less online to cut down on packaging

  10. Don’t wrap presents at all

Be careful this Christmas, it could do us all the world of good.

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How to Make a Playroom

This is a collaborative post.

When your kids start to grow up and become a little more independent, it can be a relief. As they begin to play imaginatively by themselves, you get a little of your life back, and are at least able to work around the house without needing to care for them every moment of the day.

This time of their lives comes with new responsibilities for their parents though: you need to make sure you they’re safe and stimulated even as they develop the capacity to keep themselves amused and pursue their own games and imaginative life. Today let’s look at some top tips for constructing a play room that will keep your young children safe and entertained.

Creating Space

The first you need to do is clear a space. Whether your play room is actually just a corner of your lounge, a basement, or a whole spare room you can devote the purpose, you need to make sure it’s not also being used for storage. You don’t want to run the risk of your newly strong and mobile child pulling an old box of clutter over on their head and hurting themselves. The whole idea of making a safe play space for your kids is that you’re able to leave them there for short periods and not worry about them!

So start by looking into storage options that let you clear out a room. If you look into byStored self storage you’ll find a well priced solution that also includes free pick up of your items to store so you don’t have to worry about driving them over – an extra advantage when you have a highly mobile and curious toddler to take care of.

Controlling Chaos

One issue of a creating a room for your children to play in is that’s prone to become a disaster area! While you can start teaching them to tidy up after themselves when they’ve finished playing, it doesn’t always go well with boisterous toddlers.

You can try and control the chaos by focusing it on specific areas. Turning one wall into a chalk board your toddlers can scribble on to their heart’s content is a good way to avoid finding original crayon artworks on other walls, or total chaos on the floor.

Similarly, if you cover the crates and boxes you keep your children’s toys and supplies in with thick brown paper, that gives them another safe place to draw, and really make the room feel their own!

One you’ve added their toys, and softened sharp corners with cushions, and other simple safety measures, you’ll have a playroom your children can enjoy to their heart’s content while you enjoy a few little periods of independence each day.

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Olive Oil Buyers Guide by Jamie’s Italian

This is a Collaborative Post.

Deciding which olive oil to buy isn’t always an easy thing to do.  I know I’ve spent time looking at labels and trying to decide which is the best option for me.  In the past, I’ve always tended to go with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, just because it sounded better, but even I know that’s a naive way to make a decision on food ingredients.  I found this infographic intriguing, mostly because it is giving us the information we need, to check on the quality of an oil for ourselves.

I now know that for baking and frying, I’ve been using the wrong oil….which I knew for myself, as I wasn’t happy with it and had switched to Rapeseed for frying, but Extra Virgin for salad dressings, but now I’m keen to try Light Olive Oil for myself for bread making and Pure Olive Oil for frying.  If I’m honest, I had no idea, at all, that Oils had such a large range of flavour options.  I’d be keen to know which brands sit at which taste level.

I’d always presumed that Italy was the largest producer of Olive Oil for us, here in the UK, so it was a bit of a surprise to find out that it’s actually Spain.

Enjoy, and I hope this helps you as much as it has me.

The full infographic which was created by Jamie’s Italian, is a beautifully crafted visual guide to Olive Oil, that not only gives the different types of oil, but also suggestions on cooking and doing the tasting for ourselves.

 

Jamie

From Visually.

 

 

 

 

 

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What about knives?

Collaborative Post

If you’re a food fan, admit it, an addiction to knives begins to stalk us.  It’s even worse if we’ve had a great knife, lost it, and have never managed to replace it.

I have to admit, that I’d love to be a bit of a knife snob, and I’ve written about different knife sets in the past, however, the loss of my favourite large chopping knife, that cost me £70, way back when I was a student, hit me hard.  I’d cared for, nurtured, and sharpened that knife lovingly for years.  Not only that, but the rest of the knives in my knife roll also went missing during a kitchen refit.  I  have no idea if I threw them out by mistake, or if my hubby did, or if they got lifted.  Whatever the reason for them leaving my home, I’ve sadly missed having them in my life and I can’t even remember the brand.  For the whole set, I know I’d be talking many many hundreds of pounds these days, and it’s just not an option for our budget.

For me, right this moment, it’s all about the vegetable knife.  Mine is incredibly bad.  I did love one that I bought from Tesco years ago, and liked it so much, I bought another.  My middle child used one to open a tin of paint, and snapped the whole top off.  The the other one was the victim of a teenage frying pan accident, where it was left in the pan while it was on, and melted the rubber grip.  When I tried to find a replacement, I couldn’t find one I liked.  I’ve never got on with tattie peelers and much prefer a knife with a small blade, but the ones these days seem to have quite long blades, and are a bit uncomfortable to hold.

Anyway, I think we all get the message, that great quality knives make cooking far easier than heavy blunt lumps of metal, but finding a full quality set for under 200 £ is a mission for all of us.

I’ve had the Edge of Belgravia Precision set in the past, which retails at around £70 at the moment, and while mine still gets a lot of use, although I am now missing the paring knife, as it got removed to go to a fishing trip, and never got returned.  Remind me why I let my hub and teens into the kitchen again !
As much as I love the remaining knives left in this set, I’m again, on the hunt for a vegetable knife…
What I look for:
  • Good quality at a great price.
  • Sharp.  Actually, can I add this about four or five times.  I really dislike buying blunt knives.
  • Comfortable handle.  Not slippery, shiny or metal.  Nobody wants a sharp implement slipping out of their hands like a freshly caught fish.
  • Non rusting.  Perhaps this isn’t an issue these days with modern technology.  Over the years, I’ve thrown out knives due to the start of red rot.
  • Has a knife block that fits on my counter.  I do like the Edge of Belgravia one much more than regular knife blocks where crumbs can gather in the slots.
  • 3″ blade for paring/vegetable knife, with comfortable rubber handle.

You know what, as I wrote this post, I hunted out the vegetable knife I am using, and I’m so ashamed of it, I can’t bring myself to post an image of the battered, half melted piece of metal.

I managed to figure out it’s a Kitchen Devils knife, so I started a hunt for it.

When I checked Lakeland, I found out it has been discontinued, I headed over to Amazon.    Yes, I round my knife, although it’s £8.95, but to be honest, for what it’s worth to me, as a great wee vegetable and fruit knife, I instantly popped 3 into my shopping bag to buy.  1 for now, and 2 to hide for the future, just in case kids and the man decide to use one of them as a fishing wire tool too…..

I don’t know about you, but guarantees on a knife don’t tend to be something I tend to look for, as I never have any idea whatsoever where the receipt is after a few years.  I doubt the Kitchen Devil people would take back my current sad excuse for a veggie knife.

What do you think about when you’re looking for a new knife set?  Happy knife hunting all.