DAY 119 - Apr 28

I am continuing to look for more ways to make a difference with the things we use and the rubbish we produce.

I have sorted through some old paperwork today and shredded any personal documents, these will be recycled.

I will also in the next few weeks be sorting through the boys wardrobes and drawers , checking to see if the summer clothes from last year still fit and if not either putting Thomas' away in readiness for David or passing David's on to some friends who have 2 boys younger than David, any they don't want will be given to a charity collection we have at school.

I am still trying to come up with a better way to grocery shop, I have gone back to weekly which is not ideal as I use twice the amount of petrol doing this and the expenditure seems to be creeping up, more than just the price rises; most things I think could buy a months worth, and then maybe do a topup shop halfway.

I already make my own bread and cakes and freeze milk, I have a veg box delivered weekly so don't need to go to the shops weekly for any of these. Most of the supermarkets seem to have their deals on for at leaset 2 if not 3 weeks so if I worked it right, I would still be able to take advantage of the deals but maximise my petrol usage.

I will monitor this and see what offers the best solution.

DAY 115 - Apr 24

Today my eldest DS is off school because of the NUT strikes.

He is however making himself useful by washing the car at the moment.

Petrol in our area has now reached £1.10/ltr and diesel is £1.22/ltr, this is getting to be very expensive now to be able to go anywhere, especially when as we do we live 15 miles from the closest main shops in town.

I am even moreso now combining journeys as we also every weekend have football matches to travel to as both boys play for teams. Which obviously uses petrol; not that we would stop the boys playing just because of the petrol costs, would just have to find the money elswhere.

Car is now finished and he has decided to make Banana cake using up the over ripe bananas from the fruit bowl.

DAY 112 - Apr 21

I have noticed the big drop in mailshot that we get now so I think the mail preference that I signed up to is finally working.

Whilst in Tesco on Satuurday I checked a few prices on things which had been rumoured to be going up, rice seems to have gone up by approx 20p per packet and this is value range, bread flour and value range flour were still at their normal prices, but I know other stores have already increased these so I stocked up as with alot of scratch cooking/baking I use alot of flour.

Now whilst this isn't going to have much relevance on our being greener in certain aspects it will in others as without the correct ingredients I won't be able to produce the home made things which I choose to do instead of buying the processed pap. Also bread for a decent loaf has now risen to over £1 per loaf which is ridiculous for something which is a staple food; especially when I can make a loaf for under 50p (present prices) and in my opinion it is much better quality.

DAY 107 - Apr 16

Today my eldest son became a teenager.

He didn't want the fuss etc of everyone knowing but all his Aunties have sent cards with badges and nice comments written in them.

Ever the dutiful recycler all stamps were taken off envelopes and put into the charity collection bag and all envelopes were placed into the recycling bin, this was before he put his cards on display.

Today on the news I heard mention that there is an initiative to bring back the deposit scheme on bottles etc so that although you pay more initially you get money back when you take the items to be recycled. We used to do this years ago and it was a money making scheme for kids in the holidays to get some extra pocket money by tidying up the streets and parks etc.
Thomas school do this as well in the lunch canteen, they pay extra for the can or bottle of juice but get money back if they take it back for recycling. This is good as it encourages the kids to take the items back.

Also on the news today there was an article saying that petrol prices are fast approaching the £5($10)/gallon mark diesel has already passed this.

DAY 100 - Apr 9

I have noticed recently whilst doing my grocery shopping that the prices on basic groceries have been gradually creeping up, and heard talk the other day that there was going to be a shortage of both rice and tomatoes, to add to the onions and potatoes already said to be in short supply.

Whilst I still wish to continue with the purchasing of organic fruit, vegetables and milk the costs on other items is making me have to re-look at which section of the grocery shelf I buy items from. I have never been brand loyal, buying store brand or generic but have also started looking at extra items from the value/basic/everyday section which I would not usually have looked at.

I use a comparison site to compare offers/prices at the major supermarkets and have signed up to the email flyers for the other and the European supermarkets we have here in UK so that I can really be a "price queen" and only buy items on offer(providing it is best price), just have to get the rotation of these offers right so I buy enough to last until the next offer. I have noticed though that alot of basic items never seem to go on offer, or if they do the own brand items are often still cheaper.

I bought a big 5ltr jug of white vinegar and a big tub of baking soda and will be looking at making some of my own cleaners for now.