I’ll be honest, before I launched fabulousplaces.co.uk in July 2008, I wasn’t the most environmentally conscious person, I bought free range eggs and recycled when I remembered to….shamefully, that was about it!  Well, over the past year I’ve discovered a whole new passion for making small positive changes to my lifestyle.  I’ve met some great people through the website who have shown me how easy it is and after a little effort on my part, I can honestly say I’m feeling pretty good about what I’ve done.

Here are some of the things I’ve been upto:

Electric cost gadget – my partner, David, won an online competition and we’re now the owners of a gadget that tells you how much you’re spending at any time.  This has been quite an education!  Little did I know how much it costs to boil the kettle and hoover the living room…it’s a gift and a curse, but life changing!  lol 

Bee boxes  & bee friendly plant seeds- I’ve put two bee boxes in the garden and also planted some bee friendly seeds (see photo above). 


Vegetables – I’m now the proud owner of a veggie patch (photo above).  It was super easy to set up….apart from the two occasions when I found my dog, Toby, having a great time digging in it!  I found some great eco chic gardening accessories at the bottlekiln and the alphabet gift shop.


Buying local – I love to visit farmers markets, they’re great for meats, cakes, bread and veggies.  Also, you’ll find other local producers like chocolate, crafts and art.  Click here for a list of Derbyshire’s farmers markets.
  Also, I now check what I buy in the supermarket and buy items produced in the UK wherever possible.

Recycling – this is a no brainer…all councils provide recycling bins now, so we recycle everything we possibly can.

Bags – I have so many eco shopper bags and never use supermarket’s plastic till bags.  I’m really pleased to see places like M&S charging for them…now if that’s not an incentive to take your own bag I don’t know what is!

I’ve made all sorts of other changes, but I thought I would share these with you as they were easy peasy changes and if you’re looking to make some…here are some to give you a good kick start!  If you have any good tips, do leave them below!  )