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Monday 6 August 2007

Environmentally friendly

I really am trying to save the planet you know. I cannot do this single handedly so I do hope that you are playing your part too. Freya so adored Happy Feet, she has become pre-occupied with turning out lights and popping my magazines and newspapers in the recycling, I just can't seem to find my credit card statement anywhere!

I have discovered the most perfect shopping bag! It is tasteful and neutral (will not spill dye all over your white jeans in the rain), I don't know why I didn't think of The National Trust before, these bags can even be purchased online! Don't tell anyone else though, or they will become far too common place.

I bought some of those dreadful Dryer Balls a couple of weeks ago, and what a din they make in the tumble dryer! It sounded as though the drum was full of pound coins. Yes they reduce the drying time, and cut out the need for the chemicals used in fabric conditioner, but the house sounded like a breakers yard, and that was with the utility room door closed.

We must all play our part for the environment, we need broad shoulders to bear the hardships ahead and be serious about saving the planet. I have arranged to move the dryer and washing machine out to the garage in order to reduce the disruption and noise. The games room overhead will not require quiet, and neither will Ana. She is probably accustomed to all kinds of agricultural machinery noises from her Ukranian home on the farm, cow bells and the like...

23 comments:

Rosie said...

Dulwich Mum, your plans to save the planet all sound very admirable. I am just concerned that it will be the pregnant Ana carrying your washing machine and dryer single-handedly out to your garage. Do reassure me this will not be the case!

dulwichmum said...

Darling Ingenious, I hate to think of you fretting, butI am afraid I have no comment to make at this time...

Maria said...

We must all do our bit for the environment, very rightly said. My father-in-law should have a degree in recycling. It takes him a full year to use a disposable razor.....

Rosie said...

Darling Dulwich Mum, I am now suspicious and feel the need to fret more.

dulwichmum said...

Hey ho, I shall send the gardener out to help her then. I would so hate to upset my chum Rose.

Rosie said...

Dulwich Mum, thank you, I can now relax in the garden soaking up the sun with a glass of chilled Champagne and a bowl of srawberries without having to worry about your workers.

Frog in the Field said...

Ana will manage just fine, after all versatility is a must these days.
I have also moved my washing machine to prevent noise pollution, it's so much better moved from the ultilty room into the room off that (we simply cannot think what to call it).

dulwichmum said...

Oh Frog, you are terribly posh. It is called the kitchen!

Stay at home dad said...

'Arm sports' do require a degree of quiet, Dulwich Mum, but I will leave it to you to decide whether I am talking about the games room or Ana's boudoir ...

I Beatrice said...

Help and comfort are at hand DM! I read a little piece in the Times the other day which turned all our current ideas about saving the planet on their heads.

Can't remember them all, but these three spring to mind:

1) It is better for the planet that you drive the car than walk. Walking expends too many calories (can't remember why that's bad for the planet, but apparently it is).

Better still, should you simply lie about on the sofa all day,thereby expending no calories whatever (though presumably not watching the telly of course)...

2) It is better to fly than drive your car (again, can't remember the reasoning behind this, but it sounded convincing...)

3) Plastic bags are better for the planet than paper ones (production and transport costs apparently being considerably lower for plastic than for paper).

4) Something about diesel trains and cars - but for the life of me I am unable now to remember which was worse for the planet...

5) Keeping cows is worst for the planet of all! Cows are simply DISASTROUS for the planet (though I don't suppose you will need to give much thought to that one...0

Be of good cheer therefore. Most of the things you like to do are virtually harmless to the planet.

(I can't speak for Ana of course - though it does seem to me that your attitude to her borders sometimes on the downright unfeeling...)

Frog in the Field said...

"Keeping cows is the worst for the planet of all"?? i Beatrice, have you never had a rare Aberdeen Angus steak? or Creme Fraiche?

Ha Ha! Thank you DM but I am not referring to my kitchen. No, no. It's more of a huge cupboard that didn't quite get converted into a shower room.

dulwichmum said...

Oh Ingenious how I wish we had spent the day together, shopping is such hard work!

Perfect Stay at home Dad,

Whatever is an "Arm Sport"? Ana's room is less of a "budoir" and more of a "pit."

Lovely I Beatrice,

What super advice! I shall google the lot of it for details and follow it all. Many thanks.

Super Frog! You should turn it into a wet room!

I Beatrice said...

Not my observation I assure you FITF - the one about the cows, I mean. Me, I have nothing whatever against cows, which are sweet, gentle, doe-eyed creatures on the whole...

It is however apparently a well established scientific fact that cows eat a lot of grass and produce a lot of gas, which is very very bad for the planet...

Planet-wise, the introduction of cows was mankind's single greatest error (again, not my fact, but someone else's, much much cleverer than I am!).

So you see you probably ought to remind yourself of all that, the next time you're tempted to tuck into a steak (with or without creme fraiche).

The Good Woman said...

Ah Dulwich Mum. You really are our Queen of Green (in all its forms!). Where else could I learn about the frontiers of eco friendly technology?

Mutterings and Meanderings said...

Good to see you taking a lead on such a vital issue, DM!

Greedy McMoneyless said...

Darling DM, as always you're ahead of the pack. But do you think I could hire Freya? Recycling is such a chore, and when one goes through as much glass as I do, one grows quickly tired of lugging it to the curb. A keen, green, recycling munchkin is just what I need, and a return to child labour may be just what we need to keep the economy buoyant. Do think it over...

@themill said...

Saving the planet is all very well DM, but I can't see a thing with those bloody lightbulbs.

Catherine said...

I do feel for poor Ana, speaking as a former Au Pair. Hope she escapes to the back of beyond soon, or perhaps conditions are even worse there? Relieved to hear that you are going green in Dulwich though.

Drunk Mummy said...

'Dryer balls' - is that an energy-saving item or a word of advice for the chaps?

dulwichmum said...

Perfect The Good Woman,

I shall try to keep you informed! Watch this space.

Lovely M&M,

Well, apparently it is all the rage...

Darling Mr Antarctichousehusband,

Hurrah! I am so glad to see you on my blog. I pine for you so. I shall send Ana over to do your recycling for you, after she has damp dusted the coal hole...

Lovely @themill,

The hardships ahead appear to be simply unbearable! I could not manage without my fibre optic lighting. Those newfangled energy saving bulbs are simply not minimalist enough.

Lovely Marianne,

I promise to try to behave myself - for a while...

Drunk Mummy!

In the name of God, I am a lady! We shall have none of that talk on this please, it's simply NOCD...

Elsie Button said...

DM, it's admirable the lengths you will go to to save the planet.

Frog in the Field said...

DM..nice cakes, did you bake them yourself?

dulwichmum said...

Darling Elsie,

Do you think so? Oh, thank you so much!

Lovely Frog in the field,

No dear heart, I bought them in Konditor and Cook at lunch time. I shall give them to Ana to eat for tea. She is simply enormous!