Zero Zen Greener Lifestyle eco store

[Paid partnership with Zero Zen - all opinions my own]

Recently, Zero Zen put together an eco care package for me from their greener lifestyle store, so for the past couple of weeks I've been diligently testing out the products. Whilst I'm a big believer in plastic free, eco-friendly swaps, I'm also conscious that when it comes to eco living it's ALWAYS better for the environment to use what you already have than to buy new items (even when they're eco!) So I am quite thorough when testing products to see whether they are truly worth purchasing. I'm happy to say I'm very impressed with the items I've trialled from Zero Zen, so here's what I've been checking out to share here..

2020: The Year I Became A #PlantParent

Happy New Year! I hope everybody is keeping well and coping with the new UK lockdown announcement. To say 2020 was a ride of a year would be an understatement, and sadly 2021 still continues to carry many of the same burdens, albeit with more progress (and therefore hope) behind us.

2020 was the year that more of us spent more time indoors, in our homes, than ever before. Aside from baking sourdough and banana bread, lots of us looked to self or home improvements to keep us busy, whether that's learning a new skill or redecorating a room. Of course, my lockdown was spent with a toddler, the kind who likes to be with her mama at all times, so whilst it wasn't the MOST productive way to spend a year we probably did a lot more than I give myself credit for! One thing I did repeatedly was to try and tidy and improve the appearance of our house and garden (this is always very much a two-steps-forward, one-step-back situation if you live with a toddler) and I noticed I really missed being able to pop to the shops and garden centres easily to pick things up to brighten up our home. Even when we weren't locked down, it still felt like more of a mission and more of a risk to venture out to the shops - and almost everywhere else. (Have you remembered your mask? Hand sanitiser? What are the rules on meeting people in any given moment? Are you standing 2 metres away? How on earth do you keep a toddler 2 metres away and stop them touching everything?!)

Who Gives A Crap Toilet paper

 

It's an awkward time to chat about bulk buying toilet paper considering the baffling reaction to lockdown earlier in the year... BUT, we've been meaning to switch to Who Gives A Crap toilet paper for a long time to reduce our plastic consumption.

Eden Wax Melts

I love a hygge home so I tend to use candles and wax melts year round, but it always feels particularly special to use them in autumn as the evenings draw in and we naturally spend more time cosied up indoors. I was sent four fragrances to try from Eden Wax Melts including elderflower which is sweet and gentle, lemongrass and lime which is very zesty, aloe and cucumber which is a lovely clean fragrance, and rhubarb and rose - my personal favourite. These soy wax melts are handmade and made to order using vegan soya wax and are sent in plastic free packaging - what a lovely small UK business to support. Naturally I adore that they're called Eden, too.

Upcycling: a new hobby?

When I was pregnant I bought this plain wooden mirror from a charity shop with the intention of painting it. Last week I finally got around to it. I wanted to create a magical woodland scene on it, and for it to go in Eden's room.

Witch Cake X Lace and Whimsy "Divine Feminine" Vegan Candles

In a feat of perfect timing, today some candles arrived in the post from Witch Cake's "Divine Feminine" collection. I have shopped Holly's beautiful creations before and love them: everything is vegan and cruelty free and handmade in small batches.

The Organised Mum Method

So is anyone else here part of #TeamTOMM? I guess a year ago I'd have considered owning a book about housework a peak low, but then Hinching became trendy and now here we are. ..

Early Autumn Appreciation & Favourites

Those who tend to get puritanical about the seasons might be yelling at me that it's not autumn for another week yet, but I've officially started wearing scarves (and on one particularly cold morning thick tights!) so as far as I'm concerned autumn has started early for me this year. I started a new job last week which has resulted in my having to leave the house earlier in the mornings and truth be told it's worn me out more than I expected. While I'm in the process of getting used to the earlier start to my day, I've found myself even more excited about coming home to my happy place and getting cosy, as a result of this I wanted to share a few of the things that have been making me happy during this transition.