I have witnessed the debate in the school playground about what type of backpack my six year old has for school, and the pit of my stomach runs cold that already our children are associating their value with their possessions - that the ability to ‘fit in’ comes from the badge they sport on their shoulder rather than their thoughts and actions. I do not want that for my children. I do not want that for the planet.

It is no accident that many of these stories who chose to keep at home are the ones that align with our family values: purposeful, intentional living, minimalism and consideration for people and planet. Here are six books we have enjoyed for many years, their spines cracked, some pages now torn and corners bent as proof of just how beneficial they are to slow down, pause and listen.

There is a box under my stairs that contains a secret: I have a thing for jars. Beautiful jars. Useful jars. Purposeful jars. They help us stay organised, shop sustainably and be considerate with the things we buy. Managing my daughter’s childhood eczema with Balmonds Skin Salvation has given us a lot of jars to reuse, repurpose or recycle. Here I share how…

It felt a little like I'd hopped in my time machine and gone back to Lockdown 1.0, where I'd made the crazy decision to put myself forward as a guest speaker on the topic of cloth nappies for author Jen Gale's virtual Sustainable(ish) Online Festival. Fast forward to almost one year later, and to celebrate and mark the launch of Jen Gale’s new book, I was delighted to join her podcast to record an episode all about reusable nappies.

A poem for those who have lived a long goodbye.

Alzheimer's took my Grandmother from my family almost a decade ago; coronavirus set her free in December 2020. When it came time to finding the right words for her funeral, despite hours of searching, nothing in books or suggested readings fit our story. That was until I decided to write something of my own.

In my guest talk for the Sustainable(ish) Online Festival, my Beginner's Guide to Reusable Nappies talked through the following key points parents new to cloth nappies have: What is a cloth nappy? How many types of reusable nappies are there? How do they work? How do you store dirty nappies? How do you wash them? Where does the poo go? And how eco are reusable nappies compared to disposable nappies. I am delighted to say you can now watch the playback right here on my blog.

If our world felt loud and demanding before the pandemic began, now it is a defeaning roar that threatens to envelop us all. Here are habits that may help you to stay grounded, patient and above all calm. Come quieten that roar.

Making the decision to raise our children as humanists was easy - we want them to make sense of the world using reason and experience, and base their ethics on the goals of human welfare, happiness and fulfillment. Hosting a humanist naming ceremony was their start on this amazing journey, but keeping it low waste was a challenge.