The Greening of Gavin | Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

Recently, I was interviewed by Emma Sutcliffe about my small solar power system that I built myself.  You can read about it in this post titled To Grid or Go Off Grid. Why Not Do Both?  We conducted the interview just before a delicious lunch that Kim prepared, so you will hear her in the background of the recording Emma took.  It was an energetic solar talk!

During this episode we focus more on grid-connect solar PV and talk about my system, what I think about the future of residential solar PV is, and how batteries and hybrid systems will change everything due to a rapidly falling price and a very low feed-in tariff.

At about the 17 minute mark, when I am talking about our visit to the Waubra wind farm, Kim drops her clanger about a few of the people she would like to strap to the blades of a turbine.  A truly laugh-out-loud moment.

So if you would like to learn a little more about residential solar photovoltaic systems then this is the episode for you!

If you want to check out more of Emma’s work, visit her personal blog, theoffgridsolarhouse.com.  She is also a contributing author to the One Step Off The Grid blog.

Don’t forget that this podcast is supported financially by you, the listener.  This not only keeps the show (and blog) advertisement free, but keeps us on the air each week.

If you would like to support the show and pledge as little as US$1 to keep us up and running, please pop over to www.patreon.com/greeningofgavin/ and pledge away!

Also if you like the show, use the iTunes button and leave a rating and a review.  We love to hear what our listeners think about our show.

Until next episode, keep it green!

There are many ways to describe how many of us live, but one that resonates strongly with me is old-fashioned living.  Living in a simple and hard-working manner like our grandparents did to maintain a peaceful and joyous life.  Its the simple things that often bring the most joy in our lives.

It kind of reflects the this weeks guest lifestyle.  Michelle Snape lives a simpler old-fashioned life in the Manning Valley in NSW, which is about 3 hours drive north of Sydney.  On a three acre block with hubby, and two teenage boys, she practices the old, simpler ways of living.

She writes about her old-fashioned lifestyle at her blog A Vision Splendid.

It’s also a first for the podcast as it’s a bit of a three-way interview between me, Kim, and Michelle.  It makes for a very interesting chat and we really like the way Michelle thinks.

 

Don’t forget that this podcast is supported financially by you, the listener.  This not only keeps the show (and blog) advertisement free, but keeps us on the air each week.

If you would like to support the show and pledge as little as US$1 to keep us up and running, please pop over to www.patreon.com/greeningofgavin/ and pledge away!

Also if you like the show, use the iTunes button and leave a rating and a review.  We love to hear what our listeners think about our show.

Until next episode, keep it green!

What can you do if your partner is resistant to your green lifestyle?  How do you convince them that it is in their best interest financially and good for the environment.

Well today we explore the topic of influencing your partner with my special guest Amy Webber.

We dive into various ways we have both managed to influence others who share our homes, to help them lead a more sustainable lifestyle.

 

Don’t forget that this podcast is supported financially by you, the listener.  This not only keeps the show (and blog) advertisement free, but keeps us on the air each week.

If you would like to support the show and pledge as little as US$1 to keep us up and running, please pop over to www.patreon.com/greeningofgavin/ and pledge away!

Also if you like the show, use the iTunes button and leave a rating and a review.  We love to hear what our listeners think about our show.

Until next episode, keep it green!

Growing food in a small space is often challenging, but Sue St. Jean has taken on that challenge head on.  She ripped up her lawn in back and front of her 5000 ft² (464 m²) Rhode Island home, and began planting edibles to feed her family.

She then became a URI Master Gardener and began to teach others and spreads the word via her local AM radio station WADK.

Sue writes an amazing blog at Less Noise, More Green that documents her journey about her transition from lawn to food and provides lots of tips and tricks for cooler climate gardeners in her region.

Articles mention during this episode;

* Organic Pest Control:Cabbage Moth Decoys

* Foraging at Home: Eating Daylillies

* Sue’s front yard

Don’t forget that this podcast is supported financially by you, the listener.  This not only keeps the show (and blog) advertisement free, but keeps us on the air each week.

If you would like to support the show and pledge as little as US$1 to keep us up and running, please pop over to www.patreon.com/greeningofgavin/ and pledge away!

Also if you like the show, use the iTunes button and leave a rating and a review.  We love to hear what our listeners think about our show.

Until next episode, keep it green!

Have you ever wanted to measure how sustainable your home is?  I have often wondered if there was a means to do this beyond the basic environmental footprint.

Well, it just so happens that Jennifer Richards has developed a method of measurement that she has called the Household Sustainability Index.  During this episode we discuss the index, why she developed it, and her thinking behind each of the questions.

It covers three main categories; Household Economy, Environmental Sustainability, and Well Being.  A good score in all three indicates a fairly balanced household.

However, before you jump into the show, you need to do a little bit of homework first.  Click through to the Household Sustainability Index using http://www.greeningofgavin.com/hsi.

This will redirect you through to Jennifer’s blog, Beyond The Trolley, where you can read the index questions as we step through them during the chat.

I must say the questions really piqued my interest, and I believe it is a well-developed index that could be used for most households with ease.

Don’t forget that this podcast is supported financially by you, the listener.  This not only keeps the show (and blog) advertisement free, but keeps us on the air each week.

If you would like to support the show and pledge as little as US$1 to keep us up and running, please pop over to www.patreon.com/greeningofgavin and pledge away!

Also if you like the show, use the iTunes button and leave a rating and a review.  We love to hear what our listeners think about our show.

Until next episode, keep it green!

All that plastic getting you down? Want to live a plastic free lifestyle?  Well I have a treat for you!

On the show today I’m joined by Lindsay Miles who is the author of the popular blog Treading My Own Path.

After watching the documentary Bag It, she made a fundamental change in her life and chose to live a plastic free lifestyle, which as she describes in the episode was not a simple as it first seems.  Lindsay and her husband persevered and now manage to live a plastic free lifestyle.

We also chat about why recycling is the 3rd R and why its not all it’s made out to be, sustainable living, consumerism gone wild, and her love of food gardening.

Join us by listening to this very interesting show.

P.S. After listening to Lindsay and Erin talk about this documentary, I just ordered my own DVD copy to watch and review.

Don’t forget that this podcast is supported financially by you, the listener.  This not only keeps the show (and blog) advertisement free, but keeps us on the air each week.

If you would like to support the show and pledge as little as US$1 to keep us up and running, please pop over to www.patreon.com/greeningofgavin and pledge away!

Also if you like the show, use the iTunes button and leave a rating and a review.  We love to hear what our listeners think about our show.

Until next episode, keep it green!

I’ve often said that Debt equals Slavery in another form.  Given the current economic climate, I think that this episode is well-timed.   The stock market is trembling, Greece is on the ropes, and we have been warned of a housing bubble here in Australia.  It is now a good time to act.

Getting out of debt is not as hard as it may seem.  All it takes is a plan (aka budget) and the determination and mindset to carry it out.

Now getting out of debt won’t happen overnight or in a few months.  It may take a few years or even a decade depending on how deep down the rabbit hole of consumerism you’ve travelled.

But from my own personal experience, it is definitely worth pursuing.

The freedom at the end of the last payment of each debt is amazing.

Caveat: I still have just under two years to pay off a 30 year mortgage, but have no other debt.  The mortgage was taken out in 2000, and I drew down on it many times until it ballooned in size until we woke up and got serious about getting out of debt.

We have paid off over $23,000 in credit card debt, as well as a personal loan of $22,000 since October 2006.  We just have the mortgage to go and Kim and I are very proud of what we have achieved so far.  It just took a budget that we referred back to and updated regularly, and determination to pump any spare funds we had into paying down our debt.  It reduces the interest owed due to compounding.  Trust me, it works well.

Also, I am not a financial adviser.  Please take my experience and tips as food for thought whilst you travel on your own debt reduction journey.  A journey that does have a happy ending if you work at it!

If you have any other debt reduction tips, please feel free to leave a comment.  The more the merrier!

Kim joins me on the show this week and during this episode we delve into what is working in our sustainable lifestyle and what is not.

We cover such topics as non laying chickens and short showers on a cold morning, to going on holidays using Google Maps, loving homebrew beer, homemade cheese, and real food.

As always, we have a great time on the show and hope you will join us for a few laughs at the lighter side of sustainable living!

 

Don’t forget that our many patron support the show financially with their pledges via Patreon.  This not only keeps the show advertisement free, but keeps us on the air each week.

If you would like to support the show and pledge as little as US$1 to keep us up and running, please pop over to www.patreon.com/greeningofgavin and pledge away!

Also if you like the show, use the iTunes button and leave a rating and a review.  We love to hear what our listeners think about our show.

Until next episode, keep it green!

Bek Stiegler went pretty much went from the average consumer (supermarket shopping, buying stuff she didn’t need, buying the cheapest and not caring where it came from etc) to growing pretty much all her own food (except meat and dairy), reusing and recycling, and being an extremely conscious consumer.  She lives in Melbourne on a 750m² suburban block.

She writes about her own sustainable living journey over at Bek’s Backyard, a popular gardening and lifestyle blog.

During the show we talk about how she went from a barren backyard to building a fruitful and abundant suburban food farm!  She loves fruit trees and eating fruit that is in season.  If there is a glut she preserves via dehydration or water bath.

Her passion and enthusiasm about growing her own food is clearly evident as you listen to the episode.  Please thank Bek for sharing her story and journey with us all.

Don’t forget that this show is financially supported by you, the listener, via our Patreon page.  If you believe the show adds value to the sustainable living community and you would like to support the show, please pledge your support at http://www.patreon.com/greeningofgavin.  Any pledge small or large is most welcome, as it keeps the show going and growing week by week.

And finally, do you think this podcast episode will help someone you know?  If so, help them out by sharing it using the social media buttons below.  And if you are super excited about what you have heard during this episode, pop on over to iTunes using the button under the player and leave a rating and review.

It helps the podcast get noticed in the charts and makes it more visible for others who may be interested in living a more sustainable lifestyle in the ‘burbs.  Thanks!

 

This week we catch up with Gürkan Yeniçeri, a fellow sustainable living practitioner who lives in Canberra, ACT.  For those of you who listen to the Little Green Cheese podcast, you would have heard his cheese making story during episode LGC 04.

Gürkan and I talk about so many different sustainable living subjects during the show that I am going to timestamp them incase you want to skip ahead to a particular section;

* Introduction

* Bee Keeping

* Mead and Cider

* Making Chutney

* Why Gürkan lives sustainably

* Classes at Canberra Environment Centre

* No-knead Bread Making

* Backyard Aquaponics

* Cheesemaking at home

* Outro

He has done so much with the space he has at hand.

Please thank Gürkan for joining me on the show and sharing all his amazing achievements.

You can find him at;

* https://homecheesemaker.wordpress.com/ or

* https://www.facebook.com/artisancheesemaker

Don’t forget that this show is financially supported by you, the listener, via our Patreon page.  If you believe the show adds value to the sustainable living community and you would like to support the show, please pledge your support at http://www.patreon.com/greeningofgavin.  Any pledge small or large is most welcome, as it keeps the show going and growing week by week.

And finally, do you think this podcast episode will help someone you know?  If so, help them out by sharing it using the social media buttons below.  And if you are super excited about what you have heard during this episode, pop on over to iTunes using the button under the player and leave a rating and review.

It helps the podcast get noticed in the charts and makes it more visible for others who may be interested in living a more sustainable lifestyle in the ‘burbs.  Thanks!