Sew for a change - April results

This month I managed the challenge! Yes!!! The paper month sounded fairly straight forward and I didn't really think I had a big change ahead of me, but in some ways it did open my eyes even further. Ain't that funny? You set the rules of the challenge yourself and are still surprised of the results at the end of it? :-D

So here goes...

1. If you have to print something, print on both sides and/or print several pages/slides per paper page.

This is the area where I experienced a change in behaviour in myself. Usually I print something nearly every day at work. This month I have printed about once a week! And then I have printed BOTH several pages per paper side AND front and back! 

I have another example; I had to print some handouts for a workshop the other day and just before the workshop I realised I had to update some of the pages in the middle. Usually I would have just printed a new set, but now I took all the stapled piles apart and replaced only the affected pages.

For taking notes I have switched to iPad instead of paper and I love it. I also save all little scraps of paper, such as old envelopes, and use for shopping lists or todo-lists.

2. Look into the possibility of changing your kitchen paper towels to cloth and see if it would work for your family.

This is one I had already covered. We use homemade cloth towels and love it. I have blogged about them previously here.

3. Cancel all catalogues (such as mail order catalogues), paper bills etc, where possible, and turn to the digital versions.

This is one I hope I am now done with. If something new shows up I'll handle that then too. I have even taken it to cancel all digital newsletters, not to save paper obviously, but because it feels liberating to not be fed all this crap.

4. Don't accept any ads in your mailbox - put up a sign!

Done a long time ago.

5. Give away magazines you won't read again to someone who will.

Done.

6. If you have a paper/magazine subscription, check what your online options are instead.

I currently don't have any subscriptions, and I also think twice before buying new magazines.

* Results *

A star for me and 10 sweeeeeet points!! I need those points, especially since this month has been a spending month...

I have bought a lot of fabric in order to sew on my summer plan (SWAP) and I have also bought one vintage dress (that is free from points). At least half of the fabric splurge was organic...

I have purchased 2,6 m of full width cotton lawn and 2 m of organic jersey.

The naked truth all summed up, pretty much status quo:

/Alexandra

Sewing a "circus bed"...

Today I made the effort of fixing up the bed area for my 6y old. She got a room makeover about a year ago, where she got to select the wallpapers and colours and stuff, but ever since we made over her room she hasen't slept there one whole night. Clearly she doesn't feel safe in her new room.

Maybe there is something feng shui:y that doesn't add up properly? Like, before she had a footboard on her small junior bed and now there is only a headboard, which makes her more exposed in a way.

However, today we decided to make her bed into a cozy circus tent (her request). We went to IKEA and she got to pick out the fabric she wanted and then we went home to sew.

 It was the easiest thing to do and it made such a huge difference! I think we may have spent 2h all in all to make it! Should have done it a long time ago.

This is the result!

I'm excited to see if she likes it, since she hasn't seen it ready yet - her mom is a fan of surprises :-D

/Alexandra

Completed: baby anorak from vintage fabric

Yesterday I whipped up a spring jacket for my 1y old baby. Yes, I couldn't believe how fast it was. It only took me a few hours - including making my own pattern!

For many years I have been really annoyed at how badly engineered jackets for small children are. They are essentially just a small version of a big child's jacket, which sucks since they have completely different needs and moving patterns. But, then my friend had come across a brilliant jacket for her son, where someone clearly knew something about small children, from Miniature.
Now that my girl needed a jacket for spring, and now that I actually can sew, there was the obvious project at hand - creating my version of that clever jacket!

The basics are:
- short front, since babies sit a lot and get annoyed when the jacket gets pushed up in the face.
- long back, since babies sit a lot and need the jacket to cover their bums.
- no zipper in the front, since a zipper inevitably will be harsh when touching the skin (which it will if you don't have a short jacket).
- Zipper in the back, makes putting the jacket on a breeze.

That was it. About 30 minutes on the sketch board and the pattern was born. Then I sewed it in some cool vintage fabric I had laying around.

Isn't this just super cool???? I can't even begin to describe how pleased I am with this jacket!! This is T-H-E jacket, friends!!

Jacket front

Jacket back, showing the zipper

Jacket from the side, demonstrating the dropped hem

Jacket covering bum on sitting child

Jacket without annoying sitting child by getting in the face

Cutest thing!

Saving paper...

Just a quick tip on saving paper. If you have a tablet - use one of the note taking apps!!! I use TopNotes (and I have tried about 10 different ones) and a Jot Pro Pen. It's great and I'm never going back to note pads again.

I guess buying a tablet only to take notes wont be the greenest decision out of a lifecycle perspective, but if you already have one...

Sew for a Change - my March results

So, let's just be honest straight away. I didn't pass the challenge, boohoo. It is totally lame, but I am blaming time. I have hade NO time whatsoever this month - I haven't even blogged, for crying out loud!! Starting a new job has been tremendous fun, but also exhausting. As soon as the kids are in bed, I have crashed out too.

The challenge was to complete the following, and this is how I did:

1. Contact your energy supplier and check what sources YOUR energy comes from. Also investigate what green/renewable options you have.

Below is (in Swedish) a specification of my energy sources (the middle pie chart) and it reads: 

• 69% water energy from guaranteed sources
• 21% wind power from guaranteed sources
• 10% bio energy from guaranteed sources
• Carbon footprint 0g/kWh
• Nuclear power 0 mg/kWh

2.Vacuum behind your fridge and freezer (and on their backs) and then defrost them - it will increase their efficiency and save energy.

This I have not done. I have planned to do it a thousand times, but time has not been my friend. This is not a super quick job either since they are screwed together at the top and the bottom and fetching that screwdriver just was the last piece of work that made it look like a mountain to climb...

Fair to say, though, is that it was done less than a year ago, so it isn't too bad, and they are defrosting automatically so no job to be done there.

3. Check that your fridge and freezer temperature is not colder that what is really needed: +5C and -18C respectively (41F / 0F)

This is done. They were already on these temperatures and we are happy with it. In our Sew for a change Facebook group there was discussions about these temperatures since keeping cooler temperatures will indeed make the food last longer. But that, I think, need to be a lifestyle assessment. For us, we don't need the food to keep longer than one season, since we prefer to get rotation on (i.e. eat) all the food within a reasonable time. We don't have any reason to keep food VERY long, since we can buy new food easily. But I guess if you live a bit more rural or if you're hunting and want a huge batch of meat to last until next hunting season, then you may have your reasons.

Another thing discussed, was that many freezers aren't very exact in their thermostats, i.e. if you put it to keep -18C, that is only an average the freezer is trying to keep and in reality the fluctuations may be big. The recommendations, if you notice this, is to try to keep the highest temperature to -18C (which may mean that your thermostat need to be set on e.g. -20C).

4. Leave nothing on standby overnight this month.

This is done. We did already have a switch installed on our entertainment system so this was a matter of actually stepping on the switch once a day. We have also been good at pulling out all chargers out of the sockets when not in use. We have timers on lamps that the kids want lit when they go to sleep.

5. No washing dishes under running water.

Hmm, this is yes and no. Sometimes it just doesn't seem worth it, since it is easier to quickly wash that knife after use, rather than saving plenty to do in one batch later. Most things go in the dish washer, so to save up for a bigger batch of hand washing may take more than one day, and I hate when it is clutter in the kitchen. But what I have done is, when I cook I fill one of the sinks a little so that instead of rinsing a lot of things (such as the knife between the onion and lettuce) I quickly dunk it in water and hopefully save water in the end.

* Results *

So, I will not get the 10 points this month, but on the other hand I haven't spent any points this month either!! I have been sewing a little with fabric from stash. My birthday was in March, and luckily some of the presents I got was items of clothing - from sustainable material! A beautiful linen blouse and a woollen skirt, both responsibly made. Score, or what!

Also, I have been a trooper to mend things this month! THAT, I am proud of! I have worked through the big pile of mendable items and actually made them wearable again. So boring, but such a rewarding feeling afterwards.

And da scorecard - is status quo since last month. I feel content!

Stay tuned - tomorrow, we're revealing the April challenge on "paper"!! Still with us?? :)

/Alexandra