Eco Friendly House And Garden

Has your spring clean left you with quite a lot of things you don’t want?

Well, someone else might find a good use for them - so why not take yourself out to a car boot sale and see what you can make for things you don’t even want!

There are many car boots held every week across the UK although they may not be as widespread elsewhere, and they are great fun to do.

However, there are a few tricks of the trade that will make your car boot experience a lot better than just plunging feet first into it on that early Sunday morning!

1) Check Out Some Sites As A Buyer.
Make sure that you have visited a few local sites before you pitch your spot.  Some car boots aren’t as organised as others and can have stalls spread out over a large area of land but with stalls quite some distance apart - not good for sales!

Other sites can be a field of mud, others too small, and yet more with terrible access (or exit afterwards).  Some have a set start and finish time, but others just let people come and go throughout the day - which can leave you alone in the field if all your neighbours go home early!

And find out the price of a pitch - if the car boot costs more than £10 for your car - then make sure you have enough stuff to make the difference.  You will have to get up early, drive to the site, sit there all day hopefully selling at least that amount in goods and then probably queue up for ages to get out afterwards - so is it worth it?

2) Contact The Person In Charge First.
Make sure you have spoken to the person who is in charge before you get up early one day - as there are protocols to follow!

One car boot I went to where the entrance of which was on a main road had an unknown secret: you had to join a queue about 1/2 a mile away in a main back street half an hour before it opened to get a spot.  If you queued up outside the site when it was due to open - you were told to drive around the block and join the others - at the very back!

3) Find Out What You Can Sell.
This might sound strange, but some car boots will only allow old things to be sold - so if they see you there with plants, bulk goods and maybe even certain electrical items, you may get told off or outed!

Other places might be really strict on the amount of space you get, so having a clothes rail would be virtually impossible if you have a long table too!

Other sites have so much space that you can park your car sideways, therefore getting metres of space to display your things, and allowing you to have everything within touching distance of the customers, rahte than them having to rummage around in boxes under the table or having to ask you to pass stuff across to them!

4) Bring The Right Equipment.
Make sure that you can display most of your goods around hand-height so that everyone can see what you are selling and can have a good look - so this means a table of sorts like a decorating fold-up table (as you need to fit it in your car with all your stuff as well) and if you are selling clothes a rail would really make a huge difference.

Boxes on the floor for books is perfect - but preferably pack them together in prices if you have enough, so a box for 10p and box for 50p books etc. Same goes for tiny toys or other little things, so, ‘Anything in the Box = 50p’ type of thing.

You will need a fair amount of small change if you are going to be serious about this, so at least £10 worth of 50p’s and less and £10 of £1’s should be a minimum - depending on the price of your goods. There is nothing worse than giving a price for something and then have to refuse the sale as you have no change left! Most customers bring small change - but it’s best to be prepared!

And along those lines - bring plenty of carrier bags from your re-using stash to give to customers - they are more likely to buy more stuff if you offer them a decent bag!

And a plastic sheet to cover everything if it rains wouldn’t be a bad idea!

5) Set Your Prices For The Good Stuff.
If you are selling some large or really nice items, then make sure you set a minimum price before you set out as otherwise you could come away with less than you deserve.

There are also the ‘early scavengers’ as I like to call them, who go to car boots for a living. They know what stuff is worth money and what things they can sell on their own stall round the back of yours for twice what you were charging!

How they do this is to start rumaging through your things while you are still getting them out of your car. They pester you with seemingly reasonable prices, or offer for bulk goods - which you think is great!

You are making money before you are even finished unloading - but remember, they are only buying it from you as you are a ‘newbie’ and they want to buy yours cheap and sell it on for more! So it’s something to think about - make less money straight away, or hold on to your higher prices and sell them for yourself through the day.

In fact, why don’t you do a spring clean with the car boot in mind - as it could help you be a bit more ruthless - especially if you are not sure if you want to sell a certain item. By setting a high price you definately won’t go below you can come away with a result either way - making a decent amount for it - or keeping it yourself anyway!

6) Enjoy Yourself!
Make sure you plan to make a day of it. Take decent clothes incase it is cold, and convince someone to come with you if you can (or at least pop in to see you half way through) otherwise you won’t be able to go to the loo or to buy yourself a hot drink if it’s cold!

Take a packed lunch if you can as some can start as early as 6am in the summer and finish after 3pm. Do you want to have to go hungry - or end up spending your takings on a car boot burger?

I’ve done them before and I would do them again - but I have made all my mistakes, so hopefully your won’t have to…..

Seriously, just taking your kids to a toy store could make presents more expensive next year!

I don’t mean the normal cost of demand or an increase in the cost of material - I mean that prices have to go up to account for the behaviour or your kids - or more importantly - You.

How A Toy Store Works:
Like all businesses it runs on a balance or 3 main things: the cost of buying in the toys in the first place, the cost of staff and the cost of the rent and bills on the shop.  These 3 must be less than the total money that goes into the till - leaving a profit (hopefully).

If any of these 3 things costs too much - the store isn’t worth opening every day so something has to give - and it’s normally the price you pay.

So, based on the short time I worked in a toy store, here are the 2 ways you can help to keep these costs down - and therefore, the cost of your toys!

The Products Themselves:
When you buy a toy, the store make a profit on the difference between what they paid for it in the first place and what you paid for it to take it home.  So, if they buy a wooden toy for £1 and you buy it for £3, they make £2, right?

Well, not always.  You see, they may well buy 100 wooden toys (costing them £100) to sell for a total of £300 - but if 10 of those are accidently broken by children playing with them roughly - the store has lost £20 profit plus the £10 to buy them, so each remaining toy will only be worth £2.70 each.

Imagine this multiplied up by all their products on display (my store had over 1000 different products) and on the more expensive items.  That’s a lot of money being lost by the store because your child accidentally tore the packaging of something, or burst something else when you weren’t looking.

So, the answer is only let your children play with the display models (those that the store has singled out for everyone to play with) - therefore limiting the number of manhandled products to one of each.

Don’t let your children eat food while visiting a toy store as a chocolaty finger on a furry puppet is not what the store were hoping for - as you aren’t going to buy it and neither will anyone else!

And also - don’t leave your kids in a toy store while you stay outside talking to friends or are on your cell - as they can do a lot of damage in just a few short minutes alone!!!!

Too Many Staff:
As a result of the number of people who do leave their kids alone in toy stores - the store manager needs to employ a larger number of staff to keep an eye on them all to limit the damage they cause!

Most toys in our store were for 3+ but of course children under 3 can’t read that so they pick them up and snap bits off - off more commonly lick or bite them.  And quite a lot of ours were filled with liquid!

If the store is having to employ more staff than say a shoe store would need, then their overheads become higher, and higher overheads means less profit.

And stores want more profit, but they can’t have less staff - so they raise their prices!

Less Rent:
The only real way to lower your rent is going to be bad for business.  It is either going to be moving to a smaller store (so they will have less products), moving to a less busy street or smaller mall (so less customers will visit) or going totally online (so you have to advertise your site).

None of these are good for you as a customer either.  If they have a smaller store - you have less choice for your children’s toys and gifts; if they move to a less popular street or mall - you have further to walk to find them, if at all; and if they move online - your kids won’t be able to play with the toys at all until you buy them!

Less Waste:
Don’t forget that all the toys that can’t be sold - whether they are broken or not - will be thrown away.  What a total waste! 

Even if it is just the packaging that’s torn - the product can’t be sold on the shelf.  Some stores would use it as display model, but not all of them.

And, the more that get broken before making it to a home - the more that need to be made in the first place!

So, next time you visit a toy store - hold on to your kids and save money - and you will also be saving those resources!

Posting something isn’t just about getting it totally wrapped up in paper - it’s about sending with love!

What I mean is, that the actual packaging and size of the packaging you use can have a huge environmental impact when sent through the post - and also the item you are posting could be better selected if you really want to save resources!

The Packaging:
Starting with the materials you choose for wrapping, it would make sense to avoid non-recyclable materials in the first place as they can only be thrown in the trash upon receipt.  And wrapping something up and then putting it inside an envelope or another layer or wrapping for posting seems to be just a waste of resources.

Bubble-wrap should be used inside the packaging rather than as part of the wrapping so that it can be re-used at the other end in both parts.  I mean, if you send a gift wrapped in a sheet of bubble wrap and then put inside a normal envelope or sheet or parcel wrap - then both parts can be put to use again by the recipient or the envelope recycled!  However, using an envelope with it’s own bubble-wrap concealed within cannot be recycled - only reused as a whole.

And, you don’t really want to use heavy packaging - like loads of sticky tape - as this will make your entire package heavier to post and therefore it will use more fuel and energy to move from your post box to the recipients!

The Size Of It:
Many, many, many people use the wrong sized packaging when posting an item.  It makes sense to find out the categories for your countries postal charges so that you can find out which is the most cost effective way to post it - and - the most energy-efficient way to post it.

Buying or using a larger-than-necessary envelope will take up more room in the postal system than a smaller one - creating more journeys for the postman and their fleet of trains and vans when added to all the other post going the same way. 

And in the UK, the rates charged for packages depends purely on the dimensions - so folding a pliable gift a certain way could save you a lot of money!

Anyone who sells things over the internet will know all about the best way to package something!  For example sending a ‘packet’ weighing up to 750g (1st class) is £2.65 - but sending a ‘large letter’ weighing the same (1st class) is only £1.77 - with just a few millimetres between them!

It’s worth knowing the small print if you have a lot of gifts to send! 

And why post items that the recipient can get for themselves - for example; toiletries and cosmetics.  Why send weighty bathroom goods through the post when they can buy them in their own stores?  Just use a paper voucher for that store - or make a personalized voucher telling them what you want them to buy with your money.

It’s still going to be the same gift - just from the store 10 minutes from their home rather than your store 500 kilometers away!  The items have already been driven across the country from the factory to the warehouse and then to your store - why get the postman to drive it somewhere else as well!!!!

The Gift Itself:
If you know you are posting something - then make sure you choose wisely.  Why send an item that is going to be costly to post in the first place?  And - are you going to pay the postal service to guarantee it arrives in one piece or more importantly credit you if the item is lost or damaged before it even arrives!

And, would it not be more eco friendly to have the item delivered directly to the person in the first place.  I find it quite funny that the wrapping of a gift is so important.  Some people have a gift delivered all the way to their home (at a cost) then wrap it themselves (at a further cost) then post it back out to the recipient (at even more cost!).

Why not just get it sent directly to the recipient in the first place - and have already told them to expect it and not to open it until you desire.

It’s still ‘wrapped up’ by the company - and it is still a gift from you?  This is even worth doing for overseas deliveries in some instances as the company your order from may well have overseas distribution sites that make posting items direct more cost and energy efficient!

Or better still - buy them an item that is virtual, so you don’t have to post anything!  Why not buy a ‘gift’ that helps others rather than clutters up our homes further, like charity gifts, memberships, or other good causes!

Make a difference with your money rather than making more things for landfill!

The RGS are hosting a fantastic EcoFair on the 5th and 6th of December in London.

They are bringing together some fantastic international eco friendly companies and charities to fill your day with excitement and fill your bags with great goodies!

Stalls include some of the old favourites like the RSPB selling wildlife gifts, memberships and information for your gardens and great days out and the CO-OP will be promoting their eco friendly and fair trade clothing ranges.

There are also products available from around the world, with alpaca clothing from Peru, ethical accessories from Nepal, hand-made silks from Cambodia and Luxury fabrics from India.

There are also creations from the UK, including recycled household goods, hand-made bespoke jewelry, fair trade organic babywear and luxurious oils and soaps.

There is also a free puppet show being performed at the show just after lunch time - called the Forest of Fables, and is performed using Japanese style puppets (made from recycled materials) to African music depicting well known Greek fables!

In addition, there is even a puppet making session beforehand - so your children can make their own recycled puppet like those from the show and learn how the show is put together - including a sneak preview at some of the songs - and they get to keep their puppet!

The whole show is free entry to all - with free fairtrade wine for all RGS members and guests - see the RGS website for more details……..

Here is your chance to take part in something amazing!

BBC Breathing Spaces in the UK, is attempting to break some Guinness World Records in the tree world.  As a part of National Tree Week in the UK, they have decided to try to break 2 World Records on the same day.  1 of the records is for individuals, and the other record is more of a massive effort of over 100 people!

Needless to say I will be focussing this article on the record that we can all take part in - for individuals and families around the world.  And, although this record attempt stems from the UK, you can live anywhere in the world to take part!

You can live in any country in the world to join in the effort, and so far - according to the website today - there have been people from 67 countries pledging to plant a tree!

How Do You Join In?
To get yourself and your friends involved you need to add your pledge to the growing number of ‘planters’ out there - but first of all, you need to decide on where you could plant a young tree - and of course, getting your hands on a suitable tree to plant!  Their FAQ should help.

There are strict rules regarding the planting - well, it is a world record so needs to be taken seriously - and there are natural ‘rules’ to make sure your tree actually makes a difference to the environment you plant it in!

So, here’s a summary of the guidelines in the order you need to worry about them:

1) You will need (digital) photographic evidence of you planting your trees - which shows the date and time of the planting, as these need to be emailed to the adjudicators after the event.

2) You must be free between 11am and 12 noon on the 5th of December 2009.  If you live outside of the UK, you need to be free at the exact same time - but obviously this won’t be 11am where you live, so you need to work out the time you need to plant your trees. For example, New York planters would need to be digging at 6am on the 5th, and people in Victoria, Australia would need to be planting at 10pm on the 5th.

3) You need to get decide on a suitable tree species to plant in a suitable habitat.  Ideally it would be a native tree species sourced locally and with other similar trees already doing well in that area.  So, don’t plant a small hazel tree in a densely packed conifer woodland, and only choose birch and the such for wetter areas. The whole point of the record attempt is to make a difference to the environment - so a badly chosen tree or location is a waste of time!

4) So, use their tree guide to decide on planting and caring for your baby trees to make sure that they benefit the wildlife they are surrounded by and so that they make a long-term difference to your community.  The UK are offering participants ‘free trees’ for the record attempt - so go to their stockist listings to see where you can get yours from!

5) Now, get online and make your pledge!  There is a Tree-O-Meter on their site to keep track of the numbers of tree pledges - 263,669 right now - but the current record is 653,143, so loads to go!

Make sure you are one of them! 

Funding conservation of an animal can help protect the very place you love to visit!

If you sponsor an animal for someones birthday or wedding present or even a corperate gift, you could actually be saving the area of the world that that person (or you yourself) loves the most!

If wildlife societies and international conservation societies need to save the vampire bats that live in South and Central America, then they will also be protecting the places that they live in. 

This will also, in turn, help preserve all the other species that help form and maintain that particular ecosystem - leaving the rainforest for you to visit on your next vacation - or at least to watch on TV knowing that you have helped to keep it intact!

Why Just 1 Species?
It’s not really just the one species that you will be saving, but it gives you a particular focal point from which to begin your adventure. 

Nobody wants to receive a toy tree for their gift - but if you can put a face on something that lives there, it can make a difference.  I know I’d rather receive a cuddly animal than just an information sheet!

Also, there is no single environment that is made up of just one species - they belong to a whole network of animals and interations.  I remember one study on how to save one species that opened a whole can of worms!

There was the main species (animal A) that was becoming ‘at risk’ of extinction, so they needed to find out about it; what it ate and where it lived.  The tree it lived in was very numerous which was good news - until they found out that it was only fertilised by a certain bird (animal B) that had to eat the seeds first before they would germinate - and that bird was becoming rarer and rarer…….

So, to save Animal A, they needed to save animal B first!  So they had to find out what animal B ate and where animal B lived and so on.

So by investing in an animal adoption of just 1 species, you are automatically contributing to saving a whole network of other animals and plants that make up the environment it lives in!

If you like a particular animal - then by all means invest in conservation for that in every way - but if you want to help save a certain area of the world - like the Arctic circle (polar bear or walrus), the African Savannah (meerkat or cheetah), the oceans (sea turtles and dolphins) or the rainforest (jaguar, toucan, vampire bat, three-toed sloth or spectacled bear,etc) then get sponsoring!

PS: It’s also and eco-friendly gift in the sense that you don’t need to wrap it up with shiny paper and sticky tape - AND - it creates no waste! Perfect all round!

Start your search with WWF and enjoy yourself…..