How To: Turn a Jumper Into a Cat Bed

We have 3 cats, 2 of which are outdoor cats who sleep in the shed. We've had one of those climbing towers since the 2 younger cats were kittens and it's in a precarious state of disrepair these days. It's still their bed in the shed, although they've grown so much that only one can fit on at a time now. Through the summer this wasn't a problem but as the days are getting colder it means one cat is sleeping on the cold shed floor.

Rather than buy a new cat bed that'd cost anywhere from £15-30 for something cosy, I thought I'd turn my hand to upcycling and see what I could create. I'd seen a post on Facebook months ago showing how someone else had turned an old jumper into a bed and since Tom had a pile of jumpers waiting to go to charity I nabbed one!

Here is how I did it in picture form...

Sew up the neck hole

Sew from armpit to armpit then stuff the arms & neck to create the sides of the bed

Tuck the end of one arm into the other then stitch them together

Pad the body of the jumper and trim the excess from the bottom, turn it over and stitch the body to the arms

And you're done! Donate to a furry friend 

Fascinating Facts

We all want to be more Green but without knowing the effect we're having it's hard to keep up motivation. So as promised I've put together a few interesting facts about recycling and the actual impact it has on the environment so we can keep the momentum going. :)

Laptops use 80% less energy than a desktop.
They're portable, last hours without being plugged in and can connect us to the internet on the go so we already love our laptops. Now you can also be smug that you're helping the environment at the same time!

If everyone re-used 2ft of wrapping ribbon just once it would save 38,000 miles worth.
That's enough to tie a bow around the earth!

A tumble drier uses 3x more energy than the washing machine.
So if you wash and dry your clothes with machines it's the equivalent of washing them 4 times over. An airer is more environmentally friendly and can be hidden out of sight if necessary. :)

85,000 litres of rain fall on your roof every year.
A water butt will allow you to use this water for your plants and washing your car instead of fresh water from the tap.

It takes 80% less energy to recycle an aluminium or steel can than make a new one.
To make it even more impressive; cans can be recycled endlessly so if everyone started recycling we'd never need to make another can again! (Unrealistic I know, but I'm a dreamer...)

A car club takes approx. 20 privately owned cars off the road.
If you're very car-reliant it may not be for you, but if you can rely on public transport a lot of the time and only need a car now and then car clubs can be extremely useful.

Glass milk bottles are reused approx. 13 times before they're recycled.
That's 13 times more than a plastic bottle! Plus the milkman delivers using an electric car so you can be smug when you don't have to go buy fresh milk instead of feeling lazy!

80% of the energy a washing machine uses is to heat the water.
Turn down the temperature and you turn down your electricity bill!

An urban cycler reaches speeds of approx. 15-22km/hour.
An urban driver reaches speeds of approx. 22-35km/hour in traffic. Add in time for searching for spaces and parking, then walking the 2 miles to work because you couldn't get closer... it could be quicker to just cycle!

You can save approx. 5000 litres of water a year if you have an old toilet.
Fill a 1L bottle with water (or 2 500ml bottles) and put them in your cistern. This will save 1L of water every time you flush, which accumulates to approx. 5000 litres of water over the year! (This only works if you have a normal flush - push buttons use a different mechanism.)

Insulating your roof will save approx. 25% more energy each year.
For the full details on insulating your loft check out this post.

Filling in draughts around the house - especially doors and windows - can save up to 10% on your energy bill.
More information is also in the link above - it's well worth getting draught excluders, lining thin curtains and keeping doors shut wherever possible!

Cotton production takes up 2.6% of our water usage.
Fixing up old clothes, donating those you don't want and buying from charity shops will all reduce the amount of new clothing that needs to be made and will cut down our water usage.

In the UK appliances left on stand-by use 2 power stations worth of electricity a year.
Some of the appliances can use up to 90% of their normal power use even on stand-by, so it really is worth turning them off at the plug. Some of the worst culprits are TVs, stereos and games consoles!

In 2010 hydropower accounted for approx. 16% of global electricity production!
Add to that solar energy, wind energy etc. and we can see that our efforts are making a global impact. :)

Cut your bills to pay for your luxuries!

At the moment we're cutting back on the luxuries so we can afford our bills. Now it's time to cut back on our bills to afford our luxuries!

My easter present from mum was a little unusual this year, but I love it. She got me Ideal Home magazine, which is full of really expensive design ideas that I will be copying for half the price, and interesting articles that led me to todays blog.

They have a wonderful article on Oliver Heath - a TV presenter who completely remodeled his house to be as eco friendly as possible. I'm not suggesting you go to quite the effort he has, spending £440,00 to buy the house and a further £130,000 in refubishment (!) but there are steps you can take that don't empty your bank account. Oliver estimates that it will take just 10 years to make back the refurbishment money with the savings he will make, which is incredible. If he can make back £130,000 in 10 years then we're all capable of making some pretty hefty savings ourselves with the right steps.


You need to start with the most obvious thing: changing your habits. Being green is a lifetime goal, not an instant save. Think of each habit you change as saving you 5p every time you remember. Add in just 1 habit a day and you'll only save £18.25 a year, but add 3 habits a day and you've saved £54.75!

Do you leave the door open when you take the bin out? Or leave lights on in various rooms even when no one is in them? How about leaving the shower running for 5 minutes to 'warm up' while you're getting ready? I'm not suggesting you lock yourself out of the house, sit in the dark and take a cold shower in the morning. That would be my worst nightmare! But pull the door almost closed, flick the light off when you'll be out for more than a few minutes and only leave your shower running the 30 seconds it needs to warm up before getting in.

Other ideas include keeping the doors in your house closed, only boil the water you need, switch things off instead of standby, don't leave things plugged in if you're not using them. All of these suggestions don't sound like they add up to much, but over the course of a year you'd be surprised.

Next you move on to simple solutions; conserve your heat and save water. A quick run down shows what you can do and how much you will save per year:

Seal drafts around doors, windows and loft hatches: £55
Insulate your hot water cylinder with a 75mm jacket: £40
Switch an old boiler to an A-rated condensing boiler: £100-£300
Fit a low-flow shower head: £90 (based on water-meter bills for a household of 4)

Swap incandescent lightbulbs to fluorescents: £55+ over the bulbs' life.
Swap a 70W halogen bulb with a 6W LED light: £70 over its' life.
It doesn't sound like much, less than £5/year saved on a lightbulb. But think of the bigger picture; most people will have 10-20 bulbs in their house as a conservative figure. That's £50-£100/year!

Insulate your loft to 270mm thick insulation and you can save £175/year. Add cavity wall insulation into the equation and you'll add a further £135/year. (based on a 3-bed semi detached house)

The final and biggest step is to start generating your own energy. This is where it gets a little complicated, so I'll be devoting another blog to that one!

So there you have it, some quick and painless steps to make your house more energy efficient. What habits will you be changing? Write them in comments below and we'll all try them together!

Bee Busy This Summer

Don't worry, it's not real!

I'm probably the last person anyone would expect to want to help bees, but even I have to admit they do us good. About 1/3 of the food we eat has made it to our plates thanks to pollination from bees, across the EU they're responsible for pollinating almost 84% of our crops. So as long as they do their thing far away from me I'm happy for them to do it!

Sadly, the worlds' population of bees are dying out and Britain is losing them the fastest. We could be a bee-free country by 2018 and as much as I'd enjoy my summers more without them, we do really need them. It's estimated that the British Agriculture Industry could lose as much as £440 million a year without them, not to mention the devastation to our eco-systems.

Neonicotinoids (Neonics for short) are largely to blame for the disappearing bees - they're 7,000 times stronger than DDT (banned in Britain in 1984) and studies have shown that they damage human health as well as killing off all insects that ingest them. For more information on bees and why they're disappearing, check the links at the bottom of this blog.

But this post would be useless if I just told you the sad story that bees are facing. Now it's time to tell you what you can do to help them out! And if you're anything like me, you'll be relieved to know you can help the little pests out without getting up close and personal. I can even feel your sigh of relief from here! So here's the run down of things you can do:

Buy local honey.
By creating a demand for it, you're ensuring that the investment goes in to keeping local bees. You're also getting honey that isn't full of preservatives and hasn't been flown hundreds of miles to get to you. So you can give anyone buying foreign honey a smug look as you pat yourself on the back for being kind to your body AND the environment!

Wash out empty jars of foreign honey.
If you've gone for the cheaper option of buying foreign honey (which in the economic climate is understandable) do your local bees a favour and wash out every last remenant before putting the jars out for recycling. Local bees will be attracted to the remaining honey in the pot, which contains foreign bacteria that is harmful to our native bees.

Plant Bee Friendly Flowers.
Even if you only have a small plot of land, you can use it to encourage bees to visit and pollinate. There are plenty of bee friendly plants to choose from, for a list of them click here.

Adopt a bee hive.
You can help out bee hives without going anywhere near them by adopting a beehive. The British Beekeepers Association will use the money to fund research into best ways to keep bees and for training new bee keepers.

Buy Bee-Friendly products.
Neal's Yard do a fabulous Bee Lovely Hand Cream and donate £1 from each sale to help save the bees. It's a win-win situation - the bees get saved and you get soft hands! If you want to buy this product and live in the Bristol area get in touch and I can order it for you. :)


If you want to help the bees and you don't mind getting a little more hands on, The British Beekeepers Association run all kinds of courses in bee keeping. You can even lend your garden out to a bee keeper if you have the space. I for one, will be sticking to the distance methods of helping them out!

That's all I have to say on the subject, but you can find plenty more information about bees by clicking these links:

The British Beekeepers Association
Neal's Yard Bee Lovely Hand Cream - Scroll to the bottom of the page and they have lots of handy information links for you to follow.

So what are you going to do to save the bees?

Post Twenty-One: Icing Flowers and Egg Shells

Good Afternoon lovely readers!

I apologise for my absence over the weekend, but as my wonderful partner Tom pointed out I have to have some down time, and I spent that time pretty well! The strawberry & vanilla muffins turned out brilliantly - getting compliments from everyone who has tried one (or two, or three..) so I'm pretty pleased with that result. Plus I learned a new skill, courtesy of my friend Rachel who is pretty amazing at cake making! I give you...

...an icing flower! The method is pretty simple and one day I'll get around to doing a How-To Guide but for now you'll just have to admire our efforts and be jealous. ;)

As for the egg shells, I've found a lovely picture of an old egg carton and egg shells turned into a mini garden, with an article on how to make your own. The article can be found here.

I'm loving the idea of a mini garden right now and I'm wishing I hadn't thrown the eggs in the bin after making muffins at the weekend! Luckily I still have the carton left, so I'm sure I'll find another use for that somewhere along the line.

How was your weekend? Did you get out in the garden with the lovely weather, or cook up some delicious treats?

Post Twenty: Green Gardening

I know what you're thinking, gardening is about as green as it gets already! And you're right for the most part, but there are still a few ways to get extra green when you're growing things - whether it's just some pretty flowers or some veg. Recycled household items are brilliant to use as pots - some can even be broken down into compost once the plant outgrows them! You can use your imagination for things to recycle, anything from the plastic trays you get meat in to egg shells! For some obvious ideas and even a couple of weird ones check out this article.

Now I warn you, I'm not a keen gardener. Even my best efforts end up dead eventually (sorry Aji!) and that's when I try really hard. But I'm told that growing herbs is ridiculously easy and that even I could do it... so in the spirit of being green in every aspect I'm trying to grow Basil. I use it a lot when making bolognese and I'm told it's the easiest of the lot. Here's my simple guide on how I've done it:

Take two meat trays (clean of course!) and make small holes in the bottom of one.

Pop the one with holes in into the one without and press them together so there's only a small gap at the bottom. Then fill the top one with compost - leaving about 1cm at the top. Next get a coke bottle (or fanta, tango sprite..) and chop the end off to create your own mini greenhouse. You might need more than one depending on the size of your pot, I used two for mine. Use the end to indent the soil so you can see how much space you have for the seeds.

Put the seeds in the little circles making sure you don't overcrowd them. I probably put too many in mine, but whatever! Add a thin layer of compost over the top of the seeds, approximately 0.5cm, then sprinkle them with water. Finally you just need to put the greenhouses in place and wait for them to grow! Don't forget to water them now and then though or nothing will happen. ;)

Have you ever tried growing something edible? How did it turn out? Or are you now going to try basil seeds with me? Let me know in the comments below. :)

Post Sixteen: The Importance of a Green Business

The modern customer is looking for more than just great service these days, they're looking to see if your company has a conscience and isn't just profiteering. Fairtrade has taken huge steps in recent years to ensure better conditions for third world farmers and without consumer motivation it wouldn't have been possible. This is proof that today you need to think of more than just how your shop looks and whether your front of house is smiling.

One of the ways to show you care is to make sure you are up to date on your Green policies. Recycle, Reduce, Re-use is one of the best philosophies you can stick to when trying to improve your business. It can be practiced in any type of industry but I'll be focusing on the Hospitality Industry since that's the one I currently work in.

The Hospitality Industry sends a huge amount of food to landfill each year by overestimating their needs, using inefficient equipment and not doing all they can to minimise waste. I work in a coffee shop so I know we're limited by health & safety standards left right and centre, but that doesn't mean we can't take some big steps towards making the industry more environmentally friendly.

Our industry relies on the planet more so than others; our products come directly from the earth and without it we're out of business. If we don't keep the rainforests alive, we lose packaging. If plants soak up chemicals we are endangering our customers. The animals in turn eat these toxic plants and then our meat because contaminated. It's a vicious cycle that ultimately ends with us being closed.

Looking at it from a reverse view there's a much more positive image we can create. Support the Rainforest Association and there will always be trees for your packaging. Use organic products and organically raised animals and no one will be exposed to chemicals. Reducing your carbon footprint actually cuts your costs and raises your profile to customers. That's why more companies are turning to these policies to give their businesses a makeover.

From recycleable packaging to vegetable based inks, reusable containers, energy saving appliances, the resources are all there to make things as easy as possible for you. In this day and age there is no excuse to sit back ignoring the issues that people are crying out to be acknowledged. If your company can take even the smallest step you'll be changing the planet for the better. To give you an idea of what you can do here are some small examples I've already implemented here at The Witches Brew.

Fairtrade products and locally produced foods wherever possible.
Cut down your carbon footprint by reducing the distance your products have to travel. All of our coffee and hot chocolate is Fairtrade and our cakes and crisps are from local suppliers.

Only order what you need.
Buying in bulk only saves you money if you're going to use all of it, so companies who buy in by the hundreds and end up with a lot of wastage are actually just throwing money into landfills. We have fresh cakes ordered each week and usually stick to minimum orders of everything else we stock.

Use compostable cutlery.
Or napkins, takeaway cups, there are a whole host of compostable products out there you can use. Check out Vegware products for loads of ideas. We're introducing new compostable products as we run out of their throwaway counterparts.

Re-purpose everything you can.
Keep waste out of landfills by seeing if there's another use for it first. Our used coffee grounds are used to keep bugs off plants, down the drains as a de-odoriser, a tint for fixing wood furniture.. Check out some more ideas here. Old tins/pots become plant pots or pen pots. Empty handwash bottles become vases - Neal's Yard bottles are especially pretty for this idea.

Have your own compost heap.
There are loads of products these days that stop pests being an issue with a compost heap, so why not create your own? Throw all your food wastage onto the heap then find a local company or gardening group that will be happy to use it for you. We don't do this particular idea, but it's something I've looked into and would be viable in a business bigger than ours.


Is your business or the company you work for taking these steps? Are there any other steps you can think of that I haven't mentioned here? Get in touch, I'd love to hear from you. :)

Post Fifteen: Light Bulbs!

Happy Monday Everyone!

This weekend was so fabulously sunny Tom and I decided to get out and do something despite the fact we were both ill. Saturday was spent mooching around the shops and treating ourselves to a few new clothes (which went onto my printed wardrobe diary!). I got some amazingly comfy trousers and a pretty pink top from New Look - I'm really feeling spring colours at the moment so I love the delicate flowers on the trousers and the pale pink of the top. :) I also got myself some No 7 nail varnish in Me! Me! Me! which is a bright pink colour. Then it was off to Asda for the weekly shop.

We managed to last nearly a week on just my Saturday shop last week - so happy! Only had to pop in for bread for Tom's lunches. :) Might not have the same success this week as I was nowhere near as organised and we didn't really buy anything except picnic food this week, but thanks to bulk buying last week I don't think I'll need to go in until later in the week at least. I also remembered to take in one of my bags for life, so that cut out 2 or 3 bags that would've been wasted. Next goal: remember both!

Sunday I picked up a casette to iPod converter for my car, because it's so old I could only listen to the radio up to now. Then Tom and I got some new trainers each, since his are falling apart and I haven't bought any for 5 years! Shopping finished, we headed to Victoria Park for a picnic. I was really excited to use the hamper I got for my birthday. :) We had some yummy sandwiches, pork & pickle sausage rolls, pringles, smarties cookies and amazing Ice Cream Soda to drink. Not the healthiest, but considering all the walking we did over the two days I'm giving myself a break!

Now I'm back at work glaring enviously at the people out in the sunshine, but it's made a little better by the fun Upcycling Ideas I've found for used light bulbs on pinterest. My favourites on the page are the mini hanging-basket style vases and the glittery christmas tree decorations. Can't wait to try out some of these ideas. Now I just have to wait for some bulbs to blow.. (at which point I'll pop in energy saving ones of course!).

How did your weekend go? Did you get crafty or go out in the sunshine?

Post Fourteen: The Colour of Your Money

I'm poorly today so I'm sitting out in the garden to enjoy one of those rare days that the sun is out and I have nothing to do. Admittedly I would rather be in good health doing this, but I'll take what I can get.

Recently I've been seeing a number of different articles, newsletters and websites that talk about how your money can be green ethically as well as in colour. Since I'm constantly thinking about our finances and how we can put them to best use, this has intrigued me and I thought I'd share my findings with you. Please remember, nothing in this blog is meant as financial advice. Where you put your money is completely up to you.

A handy website that gives you the run down of banks and their ethical pros and cons can be found here. It's called Your Ethical Money and it has sub-categories for all kinds of investments, savings and everyday bank accounts. In each category it lists each bank that offers the product and lets you know how they score against other banks. The criteria they have to meet is pretty extensive - covering not only their green policies, but their equal rights, how fair they are to people in financial difficulty, all sorts of things you just don't tend to think about when choosing a bank. They even let you know if the company invests in good causes or if they actively support bad ones. I don't know about you, but I quite like the idea that my money can help others and still stay in my pocket!

I also found an article that goes through some of the other ways you can put your money to good use, for example lending your savings to help others. There are a lot of complicated rules and you can't just jump straight in without doing a little research, but in its simplest concept someone will tell you why you should lend them the money and you decide if you want to or not!
The article itself can be found here.


Tom and I haven't started saving just yet, which has nothing to do with my recent trip to New Look I swear! But when we do, I'll definitely be looking for the best ethical bank as well as the best savings rates. :)

Post Ten: Green Living

Good morning!

I sit writing this gazing out onto a world of fog, so I thought what better way to cheer up than to share some new day-to-day green tips and some exciting news from me!

We'll start with the green tips. I follow RecycleBank UK on facebook and they're always posting interesting articles, tips and other things that I find fascinating. Today they posted an article 30 Days To A Greener Life which is basically 30 tips for you to try out - either 1 a day for a month, or just to encorporate a few into your day to day habits. These tips are pain-free ways to become more environmentally friendly, so I wanted to put it on paper (metaphorically that is!) that I'm comitting to the following tips. (NB: I'm only going to put the things I don't already do below. I already follow some of their tips.)

1. Start some good water habits.

I already turn the tap off while brushing my teeth, time to add in the hand washing! As for the shower, I've cut down from 30 minutes to 15 and that's the best I can do. Sorry planet. :(

5. Banish stand-by.

Our house is full of electrical equipment. Not all of it's mine but anything within my control will get unplugged when I'm done with it. I can also comit to doing this at work - only bare essentials like the fridge will be left on overnight.

11. Make a meal plan to avoid waste.

I've made an inventory of what we have in the cupboard and I'm only making meals that can be done with what's there. The only things I'm buying in at the moment are meat and vegetables. Plus I'm planning meals a few days in advance so that my goal of only shopping twice a week can be met.

16. Carry a reusable bag.

I already carry one in the boot of the car, I'm actually comitting to remember to take it in the shop!

27. Head for the local library.

Once I finish my boxset of The Sookie Stackhouse Series (True Blood to you tv fanatics) I will be searching out my local library and stocking up on some good books!


So those are my promises to the environment. Once they become habits rather than something I do consciously, I'll take another look at the list and pick some more!

As for my exciting news... *drum roll*

Tom and I have decided to go travelling! This is instead of saving for a flat, so the direction of this blog is going to shift ever so slightly but in a much more exciting way! In my first post one of my Facts About Me was that I want to go travelling, but circumstances have made that difficult lately. Things have changed about a bit recently which has allowed us to think about taking some time out to travel. :) To be honest, my tips about making pillow covers instead of buying and cool things to make for your house aren't going to stop anyway. I love that sort of stuff as a hobby so you'll get just as much of it! However now they'll be interspersed with tips on how to travel lightly, cheaply and safely!

The plan is to spend quite a long time saving, but it's never too early to start a little project book with hints and tips. So to get the ball rolling, have any of you been travelling and have tips you can share with me?

Mission accomplished, fog forgotten. ;)