On Board with Green Renters

What is or Who are Green Renters?

Green Renters is an online source for people who strive to lead a sustainable and ecological existence within the confines of rental property. They run workshops, stalls, presentations and panels with a host of tips, advice and home made goodies.

With housing affordability sky rocketing, more and more people are forced to rent or even moved back to their childhood homes. Along with this movement is also an increased demand for "greener" living as we experience unforeseen climate chaos. So, what may have started out as a side project has lead to exciting developments, with Green Renters only just recently becoming incorporated. What does this mean for this little green chick? Well one of the main requirements for an incorporated organization is there must be a board. Do you see where this is heading? Yes, green chick is now a board member of an incorporated organization. I've never sat on any boards and it does seem quite a mature thing to do, so I am quite excited about it. With their purpose, their mission, encapsulating elements of what Green Chic is about, I continue to see great things for 2011.

Green Food Generation

They say money is the root of all evil, yet it is money that makes the world go round. Go figure.

One of many of the problems I think exist in this world is that we value things not according to what we truly like but rather we base it on the expected value influenced the false belief of celebrity status.

Recently, I was given a book as a result of a tweet (power of twitter, hey?). I was slightly shocked that a person I have never met was so willing to give me their copy. Being someone who can't simply accept a person's act of kindest, I offered an exchange. It would seem for them, they valued baked goodies higher than holding onto this book. No mula was exchanged and we both were left pleased with our new items.

I absolutely adore this type of act and I think twitter maybe just be the way we can exchange goods/services to reduce our carbon footprint. Rather than our collection of useless items taking up space or going into landfill, it is found a home. It is more than just an exchange, the added value comes from learning the history of how the item came into possession. But I guess that's sibjective as while I value knowing, others may not.

What is this book? Green Food Generation - a culinary adventure by Haydon Wood. It's a book that has selected restaurants around Australia who are conscious on how their operations affect the environment. Quite a wordy book but the images will keep you going. Receipes you will find but whether they are nice and simple, one has yet to test. For I, great to know whereever I travel in Australia I'll be able to find quality wholesome food, but will I really travel with this book, probably not. I'll just note down the restaurants and pass it on!

Thanks GreenRenters for getting in touch. The whole experience has been more than just a book.

The good news, the bad news...

So I have some bad news but it's mostly good news. Shall we start with the bad, lets. The bad news is, I'm way busy. The good news is, I'm way busy doing something I luv. Finally, green chick has got her groove back, metaphorically speaking. It's been two years of sacrifices but totally worth it cause I now feel like I'm finally cruising. I'm on a road that has my name all over it!

The news? Well as I write this blog entry, I write it wearing the media/comms coordinator hat for the Sustainable Living Festival. How crazy is that. The role kinda fell into my hands and here I am working with an awesome brunch of people, passionate, intelligent and so chilled. When it's right, it's right as when it's hot, it's hot. Not only do I get to take the reigns of the role, I also get to work on all areas of the festival while expanding my sustainability knowledge. Double win! The program for this 16 day festival is freaking amazing. Three words: David Suzuki Awesomeness.

As I just mentioned, it's taken me two years to get to this place. Finding oneself is a hard thing to do when you have all these outside influences and social norms to fight against in order to think truly for oneself. Amazingly I feel I have grown to be a better person. For every challenge and experience I have faced, I have been able to take something away from it. Sometimes it's been about learning the truth about oneself and other times it's been about coming across people with qualities you don't ever want to have. Surrounding yourself with people you respect as oppose to people you think you should know will guide you into the person you want to be. And everyone is different.

So first week into 2011, all is RAD.

While I don't want to get too ahead of myself, I must say exciting times they are at Green Chic. Thank you sincerely for taking this journey with me and I hope you are inspired to live the dream. No matter what the dream is, it can work but you need to take that risk and be true in what you do. Let instinct and karma guide you.

"If you think you're too small to have an impact,
try going to bed with a mosquito"
- Anita Roddick (The Body Shop)

So long 2010, Hello 2011

It's been nine months since I started this blog and while the blog was a way to document my "green" journey, much rewards have also been reaped. I truly recommend one to start a blog, with not the purpose of selling oneself but as an outlet where you can note your thoughts and share your discoveries. Whoever then comes across your blog, well that's just a bonus!

I was watching an interview with the The Script on Video Hits one Sunday morning, and was touched by the thought behind their new track 'For the first time'.

"Staying in is the new going out, when you don't have money you tend to connect to the things that are important to you, your friends, your family, you realize god we haven't done this in ages, you want to get out you know like twister or an old cheap bottle of wine and have fun in your own home, and we thought it's a great message for people to realize that although times are hard, there is a beautiful upside, you may have nothing, but in losing everything you realize that you're finding each other..." - The Script

...drinking old cheap bottles of wine
Sit and talking up all night
Doing things we haven't for a while
We're smiling but we're close to tears
Even after all these years
We just now got the feeling that we're meeting
For the first time...

While what one achieves is subjective, for myself I feel the changes I have made have been an achievement but I also know there is much more to be achieved. I look forward to 2011 and leave you with this gift from author of "The Art of Being Minimalist" Everett Bogue (click on the below image for the gift!)

This is my new year's resolution/2011 challenge. To be a testament to Mr Bogue's theory.

Ho eco Ho - Christmas 2010

While most of us hit the shops for the Boxing Day sales, I sit here and blog. I no longer have the urge to hit the sales and how better do I feel? Much better, as I am now in control of what I want and no longer am I tempted by the must buy now illusion. I buy when I want to and because I like it, and not because it's cheap or I want to be liked.

Moving forward, it's been refreshing to hear people making their own crafty goods to give as presents this Christmas but sadly I'm no craft whiz, I even have trouble cutting a straight line!

So for me this Christmas I did spend but I spent cautiously. For my 2 besties, one is London and the other thank heavenly in Melbourne, this is what I got them.

Being based in London, I purchased Em's gift from Eco Age, a UK eco online store. Previously I had pruchased from Love Eco, another UK eco online store but after coming across Eco Age I was bewitched. Eco Age has a glamour edge, with Colin Firth's other half being the creative director of this full-service one-stop-shop where people can find beauty, design, inspiration, ideas, advice, and apply concrete solutions for green living. For the team at Eco Age, the ECO answer is compelling: improvement without compromise.

What did I get Em? Well with London experiencing one of the coldest Winter since the 60s, a blanket made from recycled wool seemed quite appropriate.

For Ness in Melbourne, having known her for 20 years, we've given each other all sorts of gifts! Ness, a senior associate and has been working crazy hours these days. The poor thing, she can no longer can tell the difference between a weekday to a weekend, much less have time to do the grocery shopping. So I thought this year I would give her a hamper of wonderful local produce and organic delights! Should she need a quick feed or a sugar hit, she can be sure it's all good in all aspects. It had to be specially made, as Ness is allergic to nuts and seeds. One discovery I made during product selection was that Green & Black organic chocolate also comes in a gift pack/box. I like it, I like it a lot.

Happy Holidays y'all! Here's to great food, great friends and time with the family.

More Less More Music download 18 #mlmmusic

what is #mlmmusic?

Crazy times are these when we fight our way through the crowds to uphold tradition and wrap up the year. In constrast, I give you the soothing sounds of The Beautiful Girls that will weather any storm and let you take that much needed breather.

Download Triple J Live Music Podcast

"My mind is an echo chamber"

plus their 'like a version' track

here

Design a Space VS Major retailers

Why hello Summer, so glad you could join us? Do you hear the sarcasm? Should you be surprised? While the planet's heating up, we're also seeing abnormal weather patterns. Summer should have started 3 weeks ago but all we've experienced are flash floods and the occasional balmy nights. Nonetheless, my annual ritual to find the perfect Summer sandal was still on. I do luv Melissa shoes but being made from plastic it ain't so great in Summer. So I went on the search.

While wondering down Melbourne's famous laneways, I came cross Design a Space , a retail space whose aim is to provide high profile space for emerging Australian designers. I luv how it gives a platform for creative talent to showcase their passion the way they choose to, without succumbing to the pressures of major players. This is where I found my Summer sandals.

Admittedly, there's nothing really sustainable about these Jaci Bailey sandals, except that they're made from a natural fibre and that they will be my forever Summer shoes until they die (fingers crossed they last, well they ought to given the price I paid for them!). But I have this belief, that by supporting local designers who assumingly are small businesses, they are in a position to create and function sustainably. The catch 22 is that they might not have the funds to do so. But that's the challenge. To say it cost more to operate sustainably is a cop-out. As I see it, while large corporations have the money to implement a sustainable policy, the sad facts are that (1) it's rarely communicated to be truly effective, (2) it's a marketing grimick so as to keep up with the Jones and (3) employees don't care as at the end of the day they're just a name on the payroll. A small business on the hand, are in a stronger position to make a change and to see it through. Changing culture is difficult especially in a large context but changing it in a small controlled environment is promising. If you start your business "right" in the inital stages, you create a culture where there is an understanding on how it should be run. In larger organizations, what I've seen and this is not primarily on sustainability but with daily operations is the culture of "if it ain't broken, don't fix it". If it's already difficult to change this attitude for greater efficiency, imagine the challenge it must be to change attitude for sustainability.

Hence, I have faith in small businesses than in large corporations.