Digital Detox

I spend way too much time at my computer screen.  I'm probably not alone in that thought.

When I go away for a week I am almost scared to not look at my email account for fear of being overwhelmed when I come back.  And... what's worse is that I often don't want to read the emails and just hit delete...hit delete...hit delete through maybe 20 or 30 emails in a session.  Each one of those emails has a carbon footprint - and it is a carbon footprint that most of us probably don't even think about, like the carbon footprint of a Google search.

In so many aspects of my life, I'm making efforts to lower my carbon footprint.  I create almost no physical waste.  I put my dustbin out once a year, with rarely more than what would fit in an "old style" single use plastic carrier bag.  But my digital waste is horrendous.

So this year, I've decided to do something about it.  I'm having a digital detox and a good old tidy up of online life.

I have had a half hearted attempt at this before and unsubscribed from a few emails, but this time, I'm going to be far more thorough.

Instead of clicking on delete without reading an email, I'm catching myself with that thought process and making sure I do open the email and find the unsubscribe button.  With apologies to these retailers as it is nothing that they have done to wrong me, but I know that no amount of email from Next or Monsoon or Laura Ashley or any other lovely retail outfits is going to make me impulse buy clothes/homewares etc.

I have completely changed my shopping habits over recent years and I do impulse buy on occasion - but that is largely when I have five or ten minutes to spare between appointments and seek shelter in charity shops.  I have also been making attempts to make regular donations to charity shops and I am very free and easy with the impulse buys while I'm there.  But I'm not going to impulse buy because I see something on an email, so what is the point in allowing that email to arrive in my inbox.  I think that will probably cut down the number of emails I receive by around 25 percent if I keep up the thorough unsubscribing.

Yesterday I realised that lots of the email I have to delete my way through is from Twitter.  I use Twitter a fair bit.  I do like to catch up on the news that's really important to me - the environmental stuff - via Twitter.  I learn a lot from reading articles I click through to from like minded people that I follow.  But I don't need to know every time someone new follows me.  I do regularly find new information sources from new followers that I then choose to follow back as we clearly have common ground on Twitter, but I can do that on Twitter or Tweetdeck itself.  I am sometimes getting three separate notifications about things, one from the app on my phone, one by email and one on my computer.  So I took a look at the settings and had a think about what I really do find useful and I unchecked all the rest of the boxes.

Today, I have noticed that the only emails I received were things I really did need to know about.

For January, I'm going to content myself with monitoring my online life in order to continue the clean up of future incoming stuff.

Next month I'm hoping I'll find I have more time to do some pro-active cleaning up of emails that are still in my Inbox - all 3800 - of them.  It is not as if I don't have a comprehensive filing system for emails I need to keep.  I have that already - I just don't keep on top of it.  But with fewer emails coming in, maybe I'll manage that aspect of digital life better.

If anyone has any top tips and great digital clean up habits, please do let me know.

#BikeIt

According to Sustrans, one third of UK households own two or more cars.  Despite all my efforts at low carbon living, my household is part of that third.  At the start of the year we had three cars between 4 drivers.  When Junior Daughter became driver number 5 in February, I can quite understand that she wanted to have her own car.  Senior Daughter, away at uni at the time, was already planning to get her own car this summer to see her through her work placement year.  I couldn't contemplate the thought of adding yet another car to the household.  So I decided to give my car to Junior Daughter and try to manage without one (in rural Oxfordshire).

There are 28.5 million cars in the UK and the average car owner produces over two tonnes of CO2 each year.  We have long been careful to minimise our journeys.  We lift share, we combine missions like shopping with getting to school/work.  We use public transport when we can.  Even so,  I'm pretty sure we are contributing that average 2 tonnes of CO2 output.

So since February, Junior Daughter, has been driving herself to school and I have been trying to get around by bus/train and on foot.

This has been mostly possible, but I haven't yet developed the bus time table awareness for the infrequent buses that get me to within a twenty-minute walk from home.

To get to my nearest town which has excellent (if a little pricey) onward bus connections to Oxford I have a twenty minute walk in the wrong direction to get to an hourly 25 minute bus ride.

I knew I needed to get on my bike!

And now I have.  Inspired by National Bike Week, last week I rummaged around at the back of the garage and got out my bike.  I haven't been on my bike for a few years, I think!  The tyres were flat, it was a little rusty in places and it was home to a few spiders, but it seemed otherwise in reasonable working order - meaning the brakes and gears seemed to function.

I found these handy maintenance tips on the Bike Week website:
http://bikeweek.org.uk/top-10-bike-maintenance-tips/

Here's my first couple of #BikeIt weeks.

Wednesday - letters to post, poorly grandma to visit (combined with helping uncle to eat up a joint of pork as grandma is off her food).  Total miles 4.

Thursday - a little further this time.  A trip to a local school to talk about what they'd like me to do as guest speaker at their certificate evening.  Total miles 10.

Dilemma of what to wear!  My main aim was not to arrive hot and sticky, so I cycled in a cotton dress and pumps and had a little crumple proof jacket and posh shoes in my rucksack.  I gave myself plenty of time so I could cycle slowly - still way less time than it would take by bus - and it all worked perfectly smoothly.

Friday - Senior daughter needed to get to work and was inspired to go by bike - my bike, because hers is tucked away at the back of the garage and probably needs attention.  My mission was therefore to be on foot, but as it involved buying 2 dozen eggs for cricket tea, maybe that was for the best. Total miles me 4, Senior Daughter 4. We both got a bit wet!

Sunday - An afternoon party 60 miles away in the wrong direction for public transport - Not going to happen by bike!  But I did manage to make the most of my car journey as I gave someone else a lift and arranged to fill the boot of the car with stuff from Senior Daughter's house that she is shortly moving out of.

Tuesday - I got a lift to Oxford to judge an up cycling competition.  I then had a twenty minute yomp to my next meeting which I managed to change the venue of so it was achievable without a car.  Mr Pitt and Junior Daughter then picked me up on their way to JD's summer school (at Eton College!!).  We took a slight detour on the way back, with the added advantage of it being a less traffic laden route, so we could check out the cycle path to/from our nearest station.

Wednesday - I get on to Google to check out train tickets as I had a meeting in Birmingham the next day. The first bus out from my village doesn't get me to Oxford in time to get to my meeting by 9.30am.
It is 10 miles to the Station.  I think about trying out the route and timing it instead of going for a run.  I think I can do it and I'm encouraged that there's a bike path for some of the way. But then I realise how much the train ticket from Long Hanborough to Birmingham is going to cost me.  It is £77 for a return ticket and then on top of that, I'd have to pay for a taxi the other end.  Way too expensive!

Thursday - Yes sadly I was back in a borrowed car, and I picked up a colleague on the way (so that's 2 train fares worth of car journey).  But I feel disappointed.

Monday - I decide to stay at my desk rather than cycle to a meeting about local transport issues.  I follow the meeting on Twitter thanks to timely Tweets by Kate from Sustainability Witney group.

Tuesday - I get on my bike to cycle to the Certificate Evening, in the hope of inspiring my audience to think in a more circular economy way.  I feel I'm in a room full of future achievers and doers and so I talk to them about the idea of putting the environment at the centre of all their wonderful ideas and creations in order to be achievers and doers in a sustainable future. I cycle home in the rain with a warm heart and a lovely bunch of flowers poking out of the back of my rucksack, much to the amusement of the various faster cyclists who overtake me.  By the time I arrive home, the rain has dried and the exercise has done nothing but create an appetite for more exercise so I go for a short run in the fading sunshine.

Wednesday - Back on my bike to meet up with the local community action groups (CAGs) and Sustainable Witney.  We clearly have too many great things to talk about and the light is going as I leave so I say my goodbyes in a hurry and peddle home.  I didn't know I could peddle that fast.  I must find some lights for my bike as it is only going to get easier to get caught out at dusk.


Today I was back in my car to do an Eco-Schools Assessment in another corner of the county.  Crossing Oxfordshire is not an easy task by public transport and I wasn't quite ready for the 60 mile round trip by bile.  I can dream though!

So far I've made 5 short journeys by bike and 4 long journeys by car, but only one of the long journeys was on my own.  I'm glad I've managed bit of peddle power and it certainly feels like the way forward.

Charlotte's Tip from The Marlborough School version of
 101 Ways to Live Cleaner and Greener for Free

Could you run a Zero Waste Week in your company?

I'm always on the lookout for Zero Waste action. I like to hear about new ideas that might help me and help others in the mission to live more and waste less.

A few weeks ago I heard that Ferrier Pearce Creative Group, an independent group of creative and marketing consultancies,were planning to hold a company Zero Waste Week.   I sent them a copy of my book, for them to leave strategically placed by the kettle, and eagerly followed their progress on their blog and Twitter.

At the end of the week I was keen to know how it all went, so I spoke to Rachel and Debbie to find out just that.  Here's what they had to say...

What inspired you to run your Zero Waste Week?

We’ve always prided ourselves on being environmentally friendly, and we were one of the first CarbonNeutral companies. We also have an ISO140001 accreditation under our belt.

We were inspired by a few key individuals in the company who thought this would be a good idea to really get everyone involved in our efforts.

How did it go down within the company?

It was a great success. We held ‘Waste Hacks’ in the weeks running up to our Zero Waste Week so that we could educate and discuss issues regarding waste at work. The ‘Waste Hacks’ were made up of groups of eight, and run by one of our ‘Zero Waste Ambassadors’ who were already very keen and very green! The hacks helped us to work out where we wasted items, and what we could do as a company to improve them. Lots of ideas from the ‘Waste Hacks’ were incorporated into the week. 

Throughout the week itself we had great involvement from the teams. With offices based around the UK we communicated with everyone daily by sharing photos and tips.

What were the highlights of the week?

There were lots. It was great to see how creative the team were at trying to reduce waste in the first place. It was great to see the interaction we got from other companies and individuals, which spurred us on even more.

Were there any low points? We wouldn’t call them low points, but there were times when we had to remind people that this wasn’t just about recycling. It was about reducing the waste in the first place! What was the wackiest Zero Waste idea? The wackiest idea was probably turning the heating off and coming into work in lots of layers, woolly hats and gloves! It was freezing but we made it through the day without any frostbite in sight.



What ideas had the best take up?

Definitely the ‘Souper Group.’ It was a great opportunity for us to all come together at lunch time and share food that we had all contributed to making. Everyone was given different jobs – such as the soup maker, the bread baker, the vegetable collector. We’ll definitely be repeating that through the year, and coming up with some summer time alternatives.

Did you have a significant reduction in physical waste?

We definitely saw a huge reduction in packaging and paper waste, as well as food waste. This was helped by sharing lunches and by our ‘Souper Groups,’ where individuals brought in left over vegetables. These were turned into a tasty soup for all to enjoy. Our bins were practically empty! We also educated ourselves on using the compost bins in the office, and gave any vegetable scraps to Debbie’s chickens!

Was anyone inspired to make a long-term change? There are certainly a few people who will continue making changes in their everyday lives to reduce waste, and for the rest of them, we hope we have educated them to make conscious decisions regarding waste. We haven’t allowed any plastic bags through the door of our Cambridgeshire office and have still kept the fine tin, just in case anyone breaks the rules! Do you plan to run another Zero Waste Week in the future? Yes! We’ll be running our second Zero Waste Week of the year from 01 – 08 September, and will continue to run two Zero Waste Weeks each year. We will be inviting our suppliers and clients to take part in the challenge.

So…do you think your company could give Zero Waste Week a whirl?  You can read more about Ferrier Pearce Creative Group's Zero Waste experience on their blog. Please do let me know if you're going to join the Zero Heroes by tweeting me @AnnaPitt or dropping me an email anna@dustbindiet.com for a free copy of my book and a few tips to get you started if you feel you need a little help.

Coping with the Dry Spell

How is your garden faring in the hot weather?

I've just got back from holiday.   When I left we'd had a couple of days of warm weather already, but everywhere was looking green and healthy. I came back this weekend to find my grass looking very brown - not something I've seen for a few years I think.

My Dad came to tell me this morning that he's got all his water saving methods going.  He was heading for the garden carrying his washing up bowl to water the pots on his patio.

"And I've got my shower water to empty for later," he said.


The great thing about grass is that it will always come back green again as soon as the rain returns, so there's no need to water your lawn.  Containers will need watering, but that doesn't always mean you need to use water from the tap.  In dry weather, plants in the ground will fare much better, than in containers.  For the last few years since Frank told us his tomato plant tip, we've planted our tomatoes in the ground so their roots can roam to find their own water.  This is cheaper, greener and way less labour intensive than 'grow bags' which dry out so quickly.

From 101 Ways to Live Cleaner and Greener for Free

In May and June this year, I ran the first pilot of my Dustbin Diet workshops in a local secondary school.  These workshops aim  to raise awareness of how much we waste and to encourage students to think about simple ways in which we can all reduce waste. The students then put together their own version of my book, 101 Ways to Live Cleaner and Greener for Free, which the school can then sell to students, families and friends in order to encourage the waste reduction message.

Several of the students suggested ways of putting waste water to good use and here's a selection of their tips from the first school edition of 101 Ways to Live Cleaner and Greener for Free.