Sew for a change - July results

This month I passed the challenge with ease, but considering the splurge of points it still seems a bit like a failure. I did not buy any crappy things that I didn't need though (trying to redeem myself). And to my defence (again) I have lost a fair bit of weight now that I finally stopped nursing my baby, and most of my clothes that I have made are too big or ill-fitting right now. I have way too little time to sew it all, so I found this spree a necessity actually.

Well, this was the challenge for the month:

1. Use less or no chemicals by using micro fiber cloths for dusting and polishing. Dry cloth or with tepid water will go a long way.

Easy peasy and something we usually do as a routine in our household. 

2. Choose a dish cloth made from durable material that can be used many times and can handle to be washed/boiled when it becomes smelly. Linnen and cotton are ideal. Sew or knit your own if you want!

We have done this for some time at home. We love the linnen ones from Växbo Lin - they are expensive, definitely, but they last for a looooooong time. We also use cotton ones that I have knitted from scrap yarn. They work fine too, but whereas linnen wears in, cotton wears out. Both of them can be thrown on the compost at the end of life. This month we stocked up on some for the new summer house too.

3. Exchange any cleaning "products" for natural sources for the month. Lemon, vinegar, baking soda and natural linseed soft soap will take care of any job, even windows. Wipe the window with newspaper for a streak free finish.

This has been particularly interesting this month since we had a whole house to clean. I mean really CLEAN. Dirt from god know when in all kinds of areas. I am happy to report that it worked out fine.

4. Again; use water with care and don't do dishes under running water. Do laundry carefully with only full loads and a earth friendly detergent.

No probs!

* Results *

A fresh star for me and some sweet 10 points, yes!! 

Now, let's enter the dark side of the moon... you better sit down, by the way.

My purchases:

• 6m cotton lawn (12p)
• 1,5m organic cotton jersey (1,5p)
• 1 pair of cotton shorts (4p)
• 1 pair of cotton leggings (5p)
• 2 long sleeved linnen shirts (8p)
• 2 cotton tank tops (8p - I count it as 4p each with is slightly less than a a short sleeved top)

Yikes! A whopping 38,5p - I cannot believe this! Well, at least we are over the hill for the year. I am dreading the winter with coats and heavy boots and things. I pray that last year's things will last one more round.

/Alexandra

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

Sew for a change - revealing my February Scorecard

The theme for me this month, at least the end of it, has been s h o p p i n g! You didn't see that one coming, huh?! In a week I'm going back to work and I need formal (or at least well fitting) clothes and, despite all the sewing, this is/was a gaping hole in my closet.

I have lots of good clothes waiting for me in a box, I just need to shed the baby fat first. Just to be clear; I am actually not sitting around on my ass waiting for it to happen, no no no,  I have been working out pretty intensely for over 1,5 months. In fact, I've done it nearly every day, even during the holiday! Soooo, I got back from the holiday and happily jumped on the scale.... only to find out that I had GAINED 2 pounds!!!!!!! Darn. (And how is that even possible?!?! I eat well, mind you!) So there was nothing else to do than to get out there and try to fish out a new work wardrobe.

Now, since the points are precious (hear the Gollum voice), I needed to find as much as possible secondhand. I went off on a big thrift shop crawl and scored quite a good bunch of wearable, totally new-looking, items (see the list below). I bet most of these things haven't even been worn!

This is what I found secondhand:

1 crisp white cotton shirt, Boomerang
1 black rayon top with built in silk tank top, Esprit
1 black short sleeved wool cardigan, Sitcoknit (whatever that is...)
1 grey suit vest, Monki
1 flowery tunic, Rosebud
1 pair of black jeans, Replay
1 pair of blue/almost black jeans, Denimbirds

 This is what I didn't find and had to buy new - costing me 21 points (*gulp*):

1 nude rayon tank top, Å
1 black long sleeved wool cardigan, Å
2 pairs of organic stockings, Swedish Stockings
5 pairs of black bamboo socks, Greentex

This is what I've been sewing (I've had NO time this month!):

1 Colette Sorbetto tank top in cotton (haven't shown you yet but will do soon), cost me 0p since it used fabric I already had in stash.

***

Phew!!! Thank goodness that I managed this month's de-clutter challenge!!

Apart from the stuff already mentioned here and here I have sold a bunch more clothes and given away even more baby things and clothes. I stopped counting after passing the finishing line, but I suspect I have passed this challenge almost twice. Proud!!! Especially since I've been away from home more that half of the month. I really wasn't sure I'd make it until the last few days.

Lessons learned:

• anything you don't need - give if forward straight away, it takes effort to handle big piles
• even if you don't think you have anything you don't use - you have plenty, trust me
• it is a tremendous joy to see that stuff you don't need is valued by someone else, totally worth the effort
• you can find really good things secondhand. Give it a go if you aren't already convinced!

Now, tell us how you guys did! And if you aren't on board yet, it's not too late. Tomorrow the March challenge is presented and also adjustments in points for any newcomers. Be sure to check it out!!

/Alexandra