Firstly I must apologise for the abandonment of this section of the website over the last few months. When the site was launched we quickly realised we did not have enough time to devote to every section and ultimately something had to be neglected until we found our feet. Unfortunately it was the eco-living section.
Things haven’t slowed down here, we still have thousands of sites and events waiting to be listed in our search facilities, articles still need writing every month along with all other admin duties. However it seems that we have now got used to the frantic pace and the realisation that ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’ Eco-living is the section I wanted including in the site from the beginning so I am now glad to say it is back and a new topic will be introduced every month.
The one thing we are changing this month may seem like a strange choice considering we are now entering autumn and with winter right around the corner and I did consider changing the topic for one that would be easier to stick to. However given that it has rained all summer, and there are no guarantees it won’t do the same next year, and that we could (hopefully) find autumn and winter full of bright sunny days it seems that now is as good a time as any. So the one thing we will be changing from this month onwards is that we won’t be using the tumble drier. Now as a get-out-clause I would like to state that there may well be occasions that we feel we need to use the tumble drier.
As I stated when we first launched this section I want to make changes that fit into our busy family lifestyle. If I was to say that we will never use the tumble drier again I know that I couldn’t stick to it. Having a child at nursery means that many a germ is brought back home and sickness bugs are frequent. Within only a couple of hours I can be faced with the necessity to wash all of Jack’s bedding, his spare bedding including pillows and duvets, 3 or 4 changes of nightclothes, teddies, our bedding and spare bedding (after he has gone through all of his and has been moved into our room), towels etc etc. Not only does this all need to be washed as quickly as possible it also needs to be dried and ready for use again by the evening. There is no way this can be done without the use of a drier. It is perhaps possible in sunnier climes but certainly not in the UK. That’s not to say that no one can manage without a tumble drier as I’m sure many people manage perfectly well. However the upheaval it would cause if I were to say we will never use it again would be too great at the moment.
My aim is to get to a point where we need the drier so infrequently that I am confident enough to dispose of it and in times of crisis use the laundrette.
In preparation we have bought clothes drying racks so that we can dry clothes indoors when it is raining.
© iStock
I know that I have a great advantage over many people in that I work from home. If I hang my washing out in the morning but half an hour later it starts to rain I can nip out and bring it back in. Unfortunately for many people if they hang it our in a morning it is there until they return from work in an evening regardless of the weather in between. We are also lucky because we have a garden to hang the washing out in and it is away from traffic pollution that can leave newly washed clothes smelly and grimy.
The one disadvantage we have is that whereas most people like a toasty warm house in winter when it is cold and damp outside we try and restrict the amount of time we have the heating on for. In my office the heat from the computers/ printer keeps it warm and I have little need to venture into the rest of the house and when I do it’s so blooming cold I hurry back! We are definitely the type of people who prefer to put on another jumper rather than have the house too warm. I even keep a fleece blanket next to the sofa. Even in winter we sleep with the window wide open so there is little point in having heating on. I do wonder how on earth I’ll manage to dry clothes during this time but I hope to have a couple of months to figure something out. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for sunny winter days.
If anyone has any tips or would like to join me in ‘changing one thing’ please sign up to the forum and we can have a chat and share ideas. We always welcome feedback and suggestions so please do get in touch.