Mother = Eco liability

My Eco Self has a mother who is an Eco liability.
"I just got a new desk from your brother," she tells me when I phone.
“What happened to the old one?”
“It’s gone up into the sky.”
I’m aghast. “What do you mean - did you burn MDF?”
She can’t be reasoned with.
“I’m not sentimental,” she states, as justification for her regular bonfires.
“You could have advertised it in Freecycle.”
“I don’t want strangers coming to my house,” she insists, “they could be sizing up the joint, thinking there’s a wealthy woman with lots to steal from.”
My Eco Self tries to point out to a slightly delusioned mother that an MDF computer desk from MFI does not exactly spell out the promise of untold riches.

Plastic bag overkill

My Eco Self aspires to actually use my mounting collection of reusable shopping bags, instead of feeling eco guilt at the supermarket checkout when I realise I’ve left them all at home and am forced to take another plastic bag. Recent reusable bag purchases include one which rolls up small in my handbag. Then there is another which rolls up even smaller, covered in pretty birds, a hemp bag made by ex-prostitutes in India, and a bag for life bought from the supermarket. On top of the plastic bag count, My Eco Self’s bank account is polluted with reusable bag overspend. I can not resist buying a newly-released limited edition designer trolley bag on wheels. The trolley will support visits to multiple independent retailers on the local high street. Homeward bound from a Saturday morning shop, I phone Food Neurotic Friend, one hand free due to the ergonomic gleeful ease of wheeling a trolley.
“Do you ever wonder why it took someone so long to invent a trolley on wheels?” “They invented it a long time ago” he says, “for someone twice your age but with half your attitude.”

Short-lived composting career

This is my new composter - delivered today and it's faulty. It doesn't have a door, or a base (should it have a base?) I bought it from Marks and Spencers online - but the dimensions were wrong - it said 65cm high on the description, this is more like 95cm. I could barely get it up the stairs! It certainly can't fit in my tiny garden - the reason I chose it was because I thought it was a small one. So composting is on hold. I e-mailed an online gardening company and asked them which was their smallest composter - their response was "all the heights and dimensions are included on our website." Ie not very helpful. If anyone knows somewhere to get a genuinely small one, let me know...

Mid Century Modern

My Eco Self just went to this furniture fair which sells mid-century furniture - there were so many things I wanted to buy!

http://www.ourshowhome.com/docs/mid/midmoddulwich_mar08.html

Next one is at Bexhill on Sea

http://www.ourshowhome.com/docs/mid/midmodbexhill.html

Decorating

My Eco Self has implemented eco-friendly home policies in my recently acquired flat. There are piles of unwashed dishes, to minimise the amount of water used in washing them. Low-energy light bulbs aren’t replaced until they’ve all blown and MES is fumbling around in the dark.
“I’m quite environmentally friendly at home,” I tell Food Neurotic Friend. “You’re just lazy” he retorts. MES is having a new kitchen installed, and is carefully considering all environmental issues. Energy ratings on all new kitchen appliances are rigorously checked, especially on the newly planned dishwasher. “Are you sure a dishwasher is environmentally friendly?” asks FNF.
MES considers a response. “Do moulding unwashed dishes emit carbon emissions?” FNF is not sure. My Eco Self also aspires to an ecologically sound interior design scheme – decorated with recycled furniture – such as a 1950s retro metal desk and an old shirt cabinet salvaged from a department store and recycled into the front window of an extortionately expensive interiors shop featured in Elle Decoration.

After having some preliminary work done to move the electrics, and estimates from various tradesmen, My Eco Self takes a bath to relax after the stress of DIY, directing it yourself. MES answers a call from FNF as I rub in a new rose-scented moisturiser made without preservatives and kept in the fridge. “Having a bath isn’t very environmentally friendly” says FNF, “unless you’re jumping out of a relaxing bath to clean the house with the leftover bathwater?”
“Are you kidding?” I reply, “I’m saving all that water on dishwashing. I’m water offsetting.”
“I’m not sure that’s a technical term” says Food Neurotic Friend.

More food for the ethical dilemma...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/mar/23/food.ethicalliving

An interesting article - suggests locally grown apples bought out of season might have a higher carbon footprint than those grown overseas and air-freighted...I do get apples in my organic box every week - need to write to them and ask about this issue.