I really like this idea. I'm trying to be as environmentally friendly as possible and am keen to help others do the same! I work in the environment area and am happy to share as many tips as you need. Maybe a monthly theme?? what do you think? Maybe others could sign up and tell everyone else what they are doing to live more sustainably?

At the moment I'm trying to increase the amount of veggies that we grow at home and have just started making yogurt too.

It would be great if some of the other mum's on here would like to join in some kind of enviro challenge... if not, then I'm happy to chat about it anyway!!

oh wow I only just found this part of the forum! This is where I belong!
I'm a sleep deprived mum of one little girl and I try to go as green as possible (always trying to buy natural fibres for my girl where possible too - although organic cotton stuff is exxy!).

Does anyone have a bokashi bin? I have had one for a while but it keeps going mouldy and I don't know what I'm doing wrong!

Hi GreenMummy!!

Great to see another greenie mum out there! Hope you're coping with the sleep deprivation - my 2 kids are older now but I've just suffered a sleep deprived night and am totally exhausted today!

I don't use a bokashi as we have chooks so most of our compostable stuff goes to them or into the compost bin. I asked a friend who knows all about composting and she sent me this link:

Q: The contents of my Bokashi composter are mouldy; what should I do?
A: If the mould is white then the material is fermenting correctly and you should continue to use the bin in the normal way. If the mould is green then the material has failed to ferment and you should empty the bin into a black sack and put it out for rubbish collection. If your bin is taking some time to fill and green mould is starting to grow, don’t wait until it is full but put the lid on straight away and set it aside to digest for two weeks before emptying it.

Hope this helps!! Look forward to chatting about all things green

There is a site where you can track your carbon foot print. It is aimed at women. www.1millionwomen.com.au so thanks for reminding me to go log on
You set goals relating to different areas like travel, home etc.

GreenMummy how do you find the bokashi bucket? I've been looking at getting one. We have worms and a small composter (mostly garden stuff though) and was wanting something for the rest of the organic kitchen waste.

I guess we could always set our own challenges up similar to the photography girls?

Yep i am up for it, i am trying to build up my vege garden. Have planted a few more fruit trees, last weekend picked up a few chooks and worm farm.

I like to use eucalyptus to clean my kitchen, did try a natural flea remedy on my pets but i must remember to keep it up.

Hello

I'd definitely be up for something like this. I'm always trying to be green around the home. A couple of years ago we switched to cleaning with either microfibre (result of going to an Enjo party!) or vinegar and bicarb. All has been very successful.

Would love some ideas on what we can do with our fruit/veggie and other food scraps though. We are in an apartment block, ground floor with direct access to shared garden but no private outdoor space to keep a worm farm, so it all goes in the bin. Such a waste.

Other things we do is use cloth nappies for DD, cloth pads for me (except I haven't needed them in ages to as I'm still beastfeeding so no AF), eat vegetarian, recycle as much as possible, etc.

Would love to go organic with fruit and veg but so far only buying organic dairy & eggs.

What else could we be doing?

(PS, so jealous of those of you with space for chooks - my dream!)

wilderness What flea treatment is it? We've got a cat and about to get a dog and I'm not sure what to use.

If anyone was still interested in a challenge, how long would we do it for? A week? Or would it be better to list our goals and work through them?

Flea treatment


Getting rid of fleas is a two step process: vacuuming and spraying. Use a fresh vacuum bag so that air flow will not be restricted by debris collected by earlier vacuuming. Fill a small home & garden sprayer with 1 gallon vinegar, ½ gallon water, 16 oz lemon juice and 8 oz of witch hazel. After vacuuming, spray vinegar mixture using a heavy spray (not a stream however). Spray carpets, sofas, chairs, human and pet bedding, window sills, and bare floors. If you have a bad infestation, repeat every 12 hours for two days. When fleas are barely noticeably, repeat every 3 days. After fleas are gone, repeat once every week until flea season is over.

Would be great to have maybe 2 goals per week/fortnight/month what ever. Just my idea *shrug* lol

strawberryWelli: what about communal vege plots? i know some places in Melbourne offer spaces for you to rent to have your own vege garden etc

Thanks wilderness I've used diachotomous earth before (rubbed it on my cat) but as it affects other bugs I don't really want to use it again or long term.

I think a month would be good. Only issue I see is people remembering to come back. So maybe smaller challenges for the week and a big one once a month? IDK

Oh yay this will be great! Maybe smaller weekly ones which results in a bigger monthly one?
For example each month a theme like cleaning
week one cleaning clothes
Week two bathrooms
Week three kitchen
Week four floors

Or something like that kinda mini challenges inside one big challenge!

Definately like that idea Mumma Franklin!

Me too!! When do we start? July??

July sounds good, shall we go with cleaning too?

Why not go with cleaning... as Mumma Franklin has done the hard work for us and thought of a theme for each week!! Then we can think of a new theme for August.

Looking forward to sharing ideas and tips!

Does any one use soap nuts or anything similar?
If so are they expensive to use?
How do they work? Is it ok to use in front loader?