Lights Out.

It’s 10:15 pm, midweek. 

My two flatmates are watching television while I slave away on my brief that is due the next morning. Suddenly it all became dark. AGAIN! This is the second time this month that we ran out of electricity, and this time it’s not funny. The very convenient cell phone-banking service did come in handy, until we realised that our prepaid meter has also died in the process. It is pandemonium in 601! My laptop is going to die, Anna has to straighten her hair and Marianne has to have her coffee in the morning (your typical first world problems). After endless calls to the City of Cape Town and hours of holding on for someone to assist, we finally got a knock on our door that night at 12:30 am. Two middle aged, friendly electricians, came to our rescue!

Yes, we should have checked our electricity usage more often, but the main reason behind us running out of electricity was because electricity prices had gone up without us noticing. Usually we would just buy our standard R300/month voucher, punch it in and we’re good for the month. As discovered lately, we now use approximately R450/month, which buys us only 389 units to be precise.

This made us think twice about our electricity usage and how we in truth waste electricity. We started doing the following to save some electricity in our apartment, note that this is scientifically proven to improve on electrical consumption, but surely did help us crop our electricity down to R350/month.

• ·         Only open the fridge once you know what you want, and close it immediately.
• ·         Don’t leave your devise chargers in the plugs.
• ·         Take shorter showers and shallower baths.
• ·         Don’t brush your teeth with hot water.
• ·         Go to bed with wet hair, seeing as you are going to straighten it in the morning anyway.
• ·         If possible use the gym’s bathroom facilities.
• ·         Only wash dirty cloths, thus check that your laundry is actually dirty items.
• ·         Don’t use the big light that has five bulbs, put on the side lamp, it is more romantic anyway.
• ·         When making dinner, only use the oven or the stove top, i.e. make everything in one pan or oven tray. It also saves on the amount of dishes.
• ·         Don’t fill up the kettle, only put in enough water for three cups, or the occasional fourth cup.

 

http://www.agencypost.com/the-myth-of-the-light-bulb-idea/ 

P.S we love to think that it will save the world, but what we have learnt from our experience is that we take the luxury of electricity for granted. We should use it sparingly and consider the pollution created by the supply of electricity.

Every bit helps, even if it seems silly or mindless. I challenge you to take steps in your household to bring down your electrical consumption. Who knows, maybe we can save the world after all.  

Black vs Organic

Posted by Edwin 

Luxury packaging is often associated with black colour blocking on the packaging you buy.  But is it really as exclusive as you perceive it to be?  Stores such as Woolworths, Checkers and Pick and Pay sell products on a separate shelf to convince customers that it would be a treat or spoil when buying products that are mainly one colour in packaging.  Also these products are significantly more expensive!

This is not as much as a warning so much as an eye opener for you to realize what you are actually buying.  Black is associated with professionalism so it would seem obvious when cooking for the in-laws, you would want to buy only the most sophisticated products to cover up for your cooking.  Am I right?

Organic products on the other hand, fresh from the farm, require a little more thought.  Understanding ingredients and not flashy labels are the answer to good chefs.  Don’t distract yourself with the words such as: ‘NEW’ or ‘LOW CAL’ for it is the physical product you must examine to determine if you like it or not.

Be smart when buying to get the wholesome goodness for your buck! 

How much could you recycle?

Posted by Edwin 

Take the challenge and for one week don’t discard your rubbish.  Depending on how much you consume, you will be surprised on how much you consume on a regular basis.  The volume your waste takes up is astonishing.  Most of us are inconsiderate consumers when it comes to a finished product or wrapping.  By simply throwing your litter into a rubbish bin and forgetting about it.  This notion of throwing and not caring is a lifestyle we must change. 

Recycling is such a simple task!  Yes I know recycle bins are not situated at all convenient points of assembly.  However the exercise and knowledge you will obtain by searching for recycling points can only be beneficial to you.  After all we are living for a better future and at the moment this entails looking after the present to secure a clean, resourceful future.

When buying your next product look at the back where you would typically find the nutritional information and recycling symbols will accompany this information.  Each part of the packaging will be separately stipulated to which category it falls under for recycling.  This is an easy sorting method for you to follow.

So next time when you are opening your favourite beverage take the time to learn more about the product other than just quenching your thirst.

The moving box

Posted By Edwin 

Ever felt bad to throw away the beautiful packaging that your food comes in? 

Fear not the packaging served its purpose and you may now recycle it.  The journey your product goes through has standard factors it must comply with such as sanitary restrictions, sizes for shelf-packaging and aesthetic properties.  Logistically it makes sense for multiple products to fit into a pre designed crate for better handling.  This is why the packaging or the ‘box’ your product arrives in is of such importance. 

Think about how many hands have touched your purchased product?  Also the bumps and environment your packaging undergoes to serve you as nutritional food supplement.  When you see a product on a shelf that has a dent in it or scratches on it you immediately take another one at the back right? So looking at your garbage bag and the volume it has formed, maybe take a step back and appreciate the good design that has brought you a safe sturdy product for you to use.     

Where is my Full Cream? 

I have always been fond of an ice cold glass of milk, full cream milk in particular. There is just something about that first sip of creaminess that takes me back to my childhood on the farm. Never before has it been an issue sourcing fresh, full cream milk. But in the past two months it has come to my attention that my local Woolies and Checkers are either just selling one brand of full cream milk or they are out of stock. I did not make much of it until my flatmate got onto the ‘banting’ bandwagon. Et voila, I got my answer.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zvoPrk6vPjA/UIc7e5K6n8I/AAAAAAAAAkg/zScAvR-XlrI/s1600/glass-of-milk.jpg

It has become such a ‘craze’ that some stores sell out of full cream milk, bizarre don’t you think? Or are they playing with us as consumers? Not only do these stores run out of milk but the price of common vegetables such as broccoli has gone up, almost seeming like it may be an delicacy. Yes there is such a thing as supply and demand, but never before have realized that it can influence my shopping habits as much as it has been lately. The real question should probably be, who was the marketing mastermind behind the Tim Noaks diet? Because banting is surely making waves in the grocery shopping industry.

Posted by Zarine 

Consuming has become an 'trend' in it self.

We as humans seem to be so dependent on being part of a specific group that we will go to the ends of the earth to be able to participate. The question one can pose to oneself is whether or not one is investing in the particular chosen lifestyle due to personal reasons or simply just because it is the new trend? A prime example of this would have to be the Hipster trend.What exactly is it that makes 'wealth' individuals dress as if they can afford new clothing items? 

I found this interesting illustration while browsing through Bored Panda and it captures my thoughts exactly when it comes to being a hipster. http://i.imgur.com/YaOKf.png
 

As a matter of fact these clothing items are priced at an extravagant rate and for what reason? 

Has humankind become so obsessed with consuming these trends that we don't realise that the process of consumption might actually be consuming us. 

Trends influence more than just clothing styles but also what is trendy to eat, what technology one buys into and what music genre is advocated as being quality. The list goes on. 

Posted by Zarine