casandra

Stay warm in the freeze

Unless you reacted instantly to our piece last week on cheap fleeces, you’ll be looking around for ideas on coping with the cold air mass from the north which will chill two-thirds of the U.S. Sunday through Tuesday.

Staying warm when you are off the grid can be doubly important if you cannot even leave home and are far from supplies of food or fuel. Even if you your home is like a chiller, you may be able to create a warm room.

Ensure that there is adequate insulation, and check and clean the fireplace and furnace. Furnace filters should be replaced monthly.…

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Mobile

Bus around the world

The Ozbus will take you from London to Australia with only one short flight at East Timor. But it takes three months and costs around $7,500 US.…

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Cheap laundry – eco-balls

Eco-balls reduce laundry cost by 75% Eco-balls are a way of doing the washing without using detergent or soap. If you live off-grid that means you can reuse water more easily, and if you live on the grid, it means you are adding less to the world’s pollution especially water pollution, while saving a bit of money. And yes, they do really work. We were sent a free sample by Insight EcoStore in Brighton, and so far have used them in 30 washes with no ill effects on the clothes or the machine. The clothes come out softer than with fabric softeners and there’s none of that yucky sludge to clear out of our washing machine. They are less sparklingly white, but we are not worried about that. No more hassle and expense of carting bulky powders and liquids home from the market!…

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Events

Free fitness and a cleaner UK

green gym
Volunteers wanted

Hundreds of ‘green volunteering’ activities are being organized in May to combat the stress and strains of modern living. In an attempt to improve the nation’s health and happiness you can volunteer outdoors at ‘taster sessions’ of the Green Gym. The sessions are listed at the end of this story.

May is Environment Month in the Year of the Volunteer. Events taking place this month include a day of mass volunteering across the Midlands and the South West, the crowning of the 500th volunteer pond warden and a big push (and pull) to save the bluebell, Britain’s favourite wildflower, from invasive weeds in Kew Gardens.…

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