what composting solution did I choose?

Before I moved to Melbourne, but when I knew I was moving to Melbourne, every time I threw food scraps in the bin, a little part of me broke. I hate throwing out food (even if it's the skin or an unused part) in the bin! [Read about my hate of food waste here]. I told my husband that the thing I was most excited about doing in Melbourne was composting. It's not THE most exciting thing, but it is pretty up there.

{Disclaimer: it's not Melbourne that's allowing me to compost, because I'm yet to believe that it's better than Sydney, it's just that I've moved from an apartment with no garden to a house with a backyard and veggie patch}.

So within a week, at the top of our priorities, was researching and purchasing a compost bin.

There are many different ways to compost. Here is what I have discovered:

Compost bin (to tumble or not to tumble)

I'm sure some people will say there is no need to spend any money on compost bins and they don't require much effort – make a pile and mix it round. But I'm not into rats or cockroaches or anything along those lines visiting my backyard. So compost bins are good. They're reasonably expensive but are good for what they do. There are two options: one that's pretty much a bin, or one that spins. So I wanted a spinning one so I didn't have to do the heavy mixing (muscles aren't really my strong point), but these are for serious composters (and I am a serious composter) but how much can two people eat!? They take about 6 weeks to turn your scraps into compost, and what do I do while waiting? And where do my stinky scraps go while waiting?

So...

Worm farm

These sound like an awesome option because they're quick, produce a liquid fertiliser and a solid compost, and are fairly easy... BUT they require quite a lot of work to look after the wormies, and I'm not going to become a gardener! or worm farmer! And I'm scared my backyard will be a little too hot for them (I will change my mind come Melbourne winter time but HOPEFULLY it'll still be sunny!)

So...

Benchtop composting

My research into this showed these were great. They're for smaller composting adventures. And you can get two buckets to have side-by-side so you could add to the second one while the first one was composting. And it produces a liquid fertiliser as well. But they're pretty big (for the benchtop... and I'm not giving up that much bench space) and pretty ugly (and we're not really into ugly on the bench top). And to be honest, I was a bit scared of smelly rotting food on my benchtop (even though I have been told not to be!).

So...

I've invested in...

Wait for it...

Here's a picture of a cat.

And flowers.

And a sunset (in case you're missing #killarasunsetclub).

...

A worm tube

To be exact, a COMPOSTING CANNON. Now that sounds exciting!!
You get a (I mean, three) cardboard (decomposing) tube with holes in it and you plant it in your garden. You put your compost in it, push it down with a plunger, then the wormies from your garden come and eat your food and do their business and away it goes. Keep adding your compost, and the worms keep making more compost. And it has a lid so no unwelcome guests come into my backyard and eat my compost – for wormies only!


Here they are in our garden:

The composting cannon is only a little work for us and it goes straight into our veggie garden – everyone's a happy little vegemite (except I promise not to feed them any vegemite).

After a few months, the cannon decomposes so if I want to give something else a go, I can, or I can easily order more cannons and continue, making my garden even happier.

Can't wait to see it work its magic! And I'm so glad to get the big box of scraps off my bench!

why I'm no longer a Virgin.

The other week I stopped being a Virgin. I never realised the impact that changing my mobile phone could have. As my husband and I have started caring more about people, and seeing the impact of social enterprises, we have both decided to stop being Virgins. Not being Virgins has allowed us to still have products with excellent service and great value for money but also make a difference in the world.

Oh, I'm talking about being a Virgin Mobile customer...

After a bit of research (and my husband doing a trial run of not being a Virgin for me), we have both decided on Jeenee Mobile.



Now, I could just tell you to join so I get free calls to you, but I already get unlimited phone calls, so that's not a good selling point.

So I'll tell you about my plan. For $4 extra per month, I have gone from $200 worth of calls and texts (not much) to unlimited calls and texts (unlimited). That's an infinite increase for $4 a month... if only everything was that good a deal! And I have increased from 1.2GB data to 2.5GB – more than double for much less than double (I know it doesn't work like that but I'm trying to sell it, alright!?)


As funny (and sometimes a bit personal) as it is being with "Virgin", a "Virgin customer", calling "Virgin to Virgin", Richard Branson really doesn't need any more of my money.

So here's why I've chosen to give it to Genie.

I mean, Jeenee.

Because all profits they make go back into the community, to serve those living with a disability. Jeenee Mobile donates free phone services, runs training programs and provides support to those living with a disability, and it's through my profits that they do it.

It helps people stay connected and feel safe, allowing them to be independent and giving them confidence. Who wouldn't want to provide this for others!?

There are more stories online of how this is making a difference to real people's lives, but here is Thomas':

Thomas is in his mid 20’s, lives in the inner suburbs of Sydney and has a learning difficulty and no expressive speech. Having no expressive speech has meant that Thomas was reliant upon support staff to accompany him wherever he went.
Thomas received one of the first Make a Difference donations in 2013. He has had his phone set up with ‘Tap to Talk’ – a picture based communication application which he uses as a communication tool. Thomas uses his phone in a variety of ways. He now has a ‘voice’ in the selection and management of the staff that provide support to him. He is also now involved in the decision making around his own increased independence relating to travel and leisure activities. For example he is now able to purchase a train ticket from station staff by using his phone to tell them his destination (which has been loaded onto the device for him).

If you own your phone outright (either you're a bit "outdated" like me, or you bought your phone outright like my husband – it works out cheaper) then join Jeenee Mobile. Sign up here.

Want to more about the Make a Difference Program? Read stories here. Or nominate someone you know who would benefit from this program.

Go on, use your well-earned money to help those in need (and you get an awesome phone plan out of it too!)

stop wasting food.

I hate waste. I really can't stand throwing stuff out... especially going into landfill. I rescue furniture from the side of the road, donate things to Vinnies, reuse wrapping paper and cardboard, and try not to use disposable things.

But one thing I am really passionate about is food waste.

DID YOU KNOW that the average Australian household will throw out 1 out of every 5 bags of food that they purchase!?

DID YOU KNOW that up to 40% of the average household bin is made up of food?

DID YOU KNOW that over $1000 of food is thrown away in each household annually?

[For more facts and to see the full infographic, visit Food Wise]

Because these facts are ridiculous, expensive, and wasteful, here are 3 tips and tricks I do to ensure as little food is wasted as possible in our household.

1. use the freezer.
- when we buy meat that we're not going to use that day or the next, I freeze it. I always freeze it in amounts that I am going to use e.g. if I buy 1kg of mince I will split it in half or quarters and label it with what it is and how much.
- with leftover meals, I eat them for lunch the next day, but if there's any more, I chuck them in the freezer (labelled) and use it for a dinner when I'm in a rush or can't be bothered cooking.
- I store nuts which I won't use immediately to retain their freshness
- I make my own stock/bone broth and store it in the freezer
- If I make too much rice, I will freeze it and use it to make fried rice another day
- freeze baked goods. I often bake and between me and my husband we don't eat enough in the 2-3 days before they go mouldy, so I bake and freeze straight away (or gift them to a friend)

2. save your scraps.
- we sort our veggies in the fridge by how old they are. We use the oldest ones first so they don't have a chance to go off and be wasted. If they do, we save them to compost.
- I keep most of my veggies scraps (tops and skin of carrots, leaves and base of celery, stalks from herbs, etc) and save them up to make stock/bone broth.
- I collect bones from chicken (or any other meat) and when I have enough I make broth. This creates free broth and reduces waste significantly! And the range of flavours makes it delicious!
- compost. I haven't got a compost yet, but I have done a lot of research into them. I really need to get one because I have been collecting many scraps. You can add so many things to your compost such as tea bags, egg shells and obviously veggie scraps. You can also add shredded paper!

3. shop smart.
- before you shop, look at what you actually need - write a list and stick to it!
- don't shop when you're hungry. you're much more likely to buy more stuff and stuff that you won't use or don't need.
- look for food that's going off in the shops or mightn't be perfect. You will generally get it cheaper and it will save the shop from disposing of it. Old tomatoes are perfect for making your own tomato sauce, ripe bananas are great to freeze and make into smoothies, ice cream or cakes, meat close to it's due by can be frozen and defrosted.

What tips and tricks can you share? I'd love to hear how you reduce food waste or what you're to put into practice. Comment below...


I'm so excited about composting and being able to reduce our household waste significantly. With my dislike of plastic and very little food waste, I'm hoping we will rarely need to take the rubbish out! Stay tuned for a com-post post very soon!

hello, walk all over me.

We have just moved to Melbourne.

We have just moved from a two bedroom apartment on the Pacific Highway in Sydney, to a four bedroom house on the outskirts of Melbourne. There are horses and cattle one minute from my house. We are living in a new development, which is still being developed; hence the horses.

I am in the middle of suburbia, and I'm loving it. I think it's going to make me even more of a housewife than I already am!

When upsizing, there are lots of things to buy. And we don't like to just buy anything. My husband likes to look in all shops selling a certain thing to compare quality, price and aesthetics, then go back and (generally) buy the first one he's seen.

Today, after looking in Freedom, Kmart and Bunnings for a doormat, and not finding the perfect one, I thought I'd look online and write you a blog post to share some ace doormats. This is what I found:

Bloomingville Doormat from Proforma Store $89 (dog not included)

Black Stripes Doormat from Doormats by French Knot $69.95

Hello Bubble Vinyl Backed Doormat from Doormats by French Knot $49.95

Bloomingville Doormat from Amara $93

Bloomingville Doormat from Amara $60

Who knew doormats were so expensive...

Now to convince my husband that one of these is the one...

what is kombucha?

I'm moving to Melbourne in six days. So I thought, why not run a kombucha making workshop two days before I go, while also packing pretty much everything, hosting farewell parties (and organising them), and saying my farewells at a funeral of a loved one. Some say I'm crazy, I know I am!!

But 'cause I want people to come (and make it worth my while), I thought I'd write an article on what kombucha is and why you should drink it (and why you should be making it yourself).
It'll be a quick one... cause I have things to do...

Looking back, I found an article I wrote about fermented foods when I first started making them. It's pretty good, if I don't say so myself. Check it out here: you drink what!?

But here are some answers to a few questions:

What is kombucha?

Kombucha is a fermented tea drink.

Is it hard to make?

Kombucha is quite simple to make once you know what you're doing. It only has a few ingredients, including a beloved SCOBY, which is used to ferment the tea.

Why is it good for me?

Kombucha is full of probiotics, which are the good guys in your gut. They're necessary for good health (much more than you're probably aware). Probiotics can be taken in supplement form, but I prefer including them in my diet! It has so many health benefits, why wouldn't you want to drink it?!

What does it taste like?

Kombucha is a slightly tangy, slightly sweet and slightly fizzy drink. When you make it yourself, you can make it just how you like it (depending on how long you leave it to ferment for). You can drink it plain or I like to flavour it, usually with fruit. Using apple makes it taste a bit like apple cider, and ginger makes it taste like ginger beer, but the flavour possibilities are endless.

Does kombucha contain alcohol?

Yes, it contains a very small amount of alcohol. I haven't measured mine, but from what I've read, it generally contains less than 1%. Again, this can be controlled by how long you leave it to ferment. Despite this, most people deem it safe for children and pregnant women.

What other questions do you have? Comment below or come along on Monday night to my kombucha workshop, it's going to be great!