Category Archives: Head

observer panorama

Nature is Inspiration: Observation

In this series I would like to reflect on nature as a source of inspiration. There is diversity and abundance in nature – daily creation and transformation – in cycles, in motion, in patterns. Nature provides food for the belly but also food for thoughts.

 Nature is a magical muse

Observing the ocean your mind drifts away staring at the water. 

observingReflecting on the past, planing for the future: Was that the right decision? Where should I go next? The sound of the waves brings your attention back to this very moment – The present. The salty smell of the ocean blows away all thoughts and clears the mind. Focusing on the breath, on the moment.

Taking time and focusing on the moment are key to observation. To hear, see, smell and feel a place from different sides. With no rush or to-do-lists pending.

Observation is like a meditation on nature

A meditation requires patience but is rewarding. Especially with nature as a mediator. Sensing the elements has grounding effects letting go of fears and worries. What does really matter?

In meditation mind and body can be connected by observing the breath. With this aware, clear and focused mind new combinations of the old can arise – Ideas are born.

garden

Free Permaculture Design Course

For anyone interested in sustainable design of gardens and other human-environmental ecosystems I can recommend this free Permaculture design course www.permaculturedesigntraining.com.

Permaculture offers practical techniques to find  sustainable solutions and promotes creation rather than consumption. 

PermaWHAT? The word derives from Permanent Agriculture and was coined by Australian Bill Mollison and Japanese Masanobu Fukuoka. A fundamental aspect of Permaculture is observation and designing with nature.  Some call it “edible landscaping”. Others include urban structures and housing  as well as social aspects of community management (e.g. non violent communication). It is a holistic method – but you can pick and choose also and it is much applied in creating gardens. Well that is how it got me started – It really makes sense and has the tendency to inspire other parts of your life. I started off with a herb spiral in my own garden, took the online course and am now going to participate in a community project for rural food security in Madagascar.

Now back to the course: There are around 40 video lectures with different teachers on designs, patterns, plants, climates, soils and water.  These will give you an idea about gardening the Permaculture way. One method presented is e.g. a plant guild which is a form of polyculture with plants of different function, size and needs (rather than monoculture where there is just one plant prone to diseases and soil degradation). Those plants exchange nutrients, attract pollinators, improve the soil and provide food. This is basically a way of imitating nature patterns – just that the plants are edible and at your doorstep. There is a beautiful free ebook on plant guilds e.g. the walnut guild here www.midwestpermaculture.com. Permaculture makes you look at nature in a different way.

Design to harvest sunlight.

Diversity of plants, local focus, resilient systems, perennial species and use of edges are some of the key principles. The other 40 course videos are on greywater system, housing, social permaculture, urban applications and offer some site visits. There is also a forum to ask questions and for those interested can take a test and get an official PDC certificate.

Permaculture sums up indigenous knowledge and many techniques where practiced by former advanced civilizations like the Mayas or Inkas. Nowadays the internet facilitates a global  knowledge exchange and network. Be inspired.

Start creating abundance!

mooncup

The monthly Re-CYCLE using menstrual sanitary cups

Mooncup

This is one of the least talked about sustainable products that has had a big impact on me. This is well worth supporting. I am talking about a reusable menstrual cup – the moon cup.

I first came across one in a London pharmacy in 2008. I had never heard about it but of curiosity I bought it for around 20 pounds – a bit of an investment for a sanitary experiment.

Using and appreciating all its advantages took a few cycles of getting used to. For me it is not inserted as deeply as a tampon and does not work when swimming. After those lessons learned it has ever since been my best buddy for the monthly catch-up. Talking to friends about it their initial reaction was disgust. I witnessed some deep fears of touching ones own body and blood. Menstrual predictability through the pill and overly hygienic worrying across many parts of life seem to have done their part on conditioning. However reflecting and questioning this routine, the advantages about using a moon cup are outstanding. This one cup can last my whole life. It is always at hand and there is no need to re-stock on sanitary supplies. It is hugely economical – this has saved me a few hundred Euros in the last 5 years. Apart from those cost-savings there is no waste and no toxins. And there are two sizes – size A for women over 30 or who have given birth vaginally and size B which is for everyone else. 

Now there is some extra work involved in cleaning the moon cup. Sterilizing can be done by boiling it in water for 5 minutes before and after each cycle. In between it can be cleaned with water and soap. Once a day you need a private bathroom to empty and clean it.

If you want to order a mooncup online or find out more check these links:

Info on original mooncup from the UK, cost around UK 20 GBP, they also offer free shipping to the US for 30 USD: www.mooncup.co.uk

For a wider range check out mooncups on ebay.com or Menstruationstassen on ebay.de

ReCycle!

tyre bag

Upcycled tyre bags

Old bicycle tyres are great for upcycling. With a sewing machine they quickly are turned into a useful little bag – a perfect present for yourself and others. It can be a simple phone protection case or a bag for jewellery or a torch. Just be careful with your sewing machine. The lower thread needs to be widened much more than for clothes material. You can do that on the little screw of the case that your lower thread is usually living in.

The pictures below give some design inspiration where also the opening and closing mechanism is from recycled material. The blue band is looped through holes created with a paper punch. The white cord with the plug is from a broken headset cable and was a present for my best techie friend. The last picture shows a bum bag where the upper part is open for a belt to fit through.

The main thing that makes upcycled tyres look special is using colourful thread and unique closing mechanisms. Make use of what you have around.

upcycled tyre bag IMG_3620 IMG_3608 IMG_3609IMG_3228IMG_3361IMG_3365bum bag from upcycled tyre

knitting with plarn

The plastic revolution – upcycling plastic bags

Most products are wrapped in plastic. It is hard to avoid in your daily shopping from food items to toilet paper. Plastic bags are easily turned into plastic “wool” for knitting or crocheting. Start reusing plastic bags by making yarn out of them. You can then knit or crochet anything that comes to your mind. I was inspired at Peats Ridge Festival – a New Years festival near Sydney know for it’s sustainability focus. The little workshop tent was full of hand bags and clutches. 

In the picture below I have started knitting a curtain for our bathroom window out of the plastic bag that toilet paper is stored in. Preparing the plastic wool is more time consuming than buying wool but it takes rather time than money and then the knitting is much faster as plastic is thicker than wool. The outcome also makes for different purpose than wool. It is more robust and can also turned into e.g. a mat for shoes. You can go colourful. You can knit hand bags and braid the handles. You might want to experiment with different size needles.

Be creative and share your ideas with me!

IMG_0040upcycling plastic

How to create yarn out of plastic bags:

1. stretch a plastic bag
2. roll it up like dough for cookies with the longer side facing you.
3. cut off the end parts – the bottom rim and the handle
4. cut the long dough piece in 2cm wide pieces
5. unfolded they turn into a large loop.
6. now you connect loop through looping and you will have a string of yarn

This is a great video to explain the process http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdTm2V4ssvY

Upcycled books as pieces of art

upcyled book to art Books can make a great wall decoration or even used like a pin board, photo or card holder. With different repeated folding techniques the pages create a unique pattern. And inbetween the tightly folder pages you can pin important or pretty things.

These photos are from a clothes shop decoration in Berlin Friedrichshain / hub for creativity.
IMG_3061

For even more inspiration check out Pinterest.

Turn your Old Pants into Shorts

recycled shorts

Do you have torn pants that you don’t wear any more? Instead of throwing them away you can turn them into shorts. Just cut them at the desired length and fold the lower part up. With the leftover leg part you can sow a bag or use the material for patching up other clothes.

If you have some other fabric that would match and like more individual looks, sow it on the lower part like in the below picture.

colourful shorts

Creative Green Life

This site is a collection of inspiration for a creative green life. Rather than merely consuming we can create an abundant world. Looking at things from another angle, through a different lens or out of the box is easy when you open your eyes and heart. Not assess and possess but observe and appreciate. There is abundance when you look at Waste as Matter Out of Place (MOOP). Or at weeds as potential medicine. Here you find some photos and thoughts on ways of recycling things and rethinking the use of others. So that you waste less – material and money.

There is beauty in age, a story in everything. 

As life is complex so is this site trying to cover many of its aspects. The Belly with topics all around food as this is what fuels our brain and body,  influenced our sleep and mood. The Hands with art and craft inspiration on upcycling. The Head - thinking, reflecting and progressing. The Heart - a collection of the favorites.

A separate area deals with MOOP - Matter Out Of Place (rather than waste) and what you could do with it. Here the upcycling inspirations are sorted by raw material.

Some ideas are from me, others I’ve found in life. Some are products you can buy where the link leads to an affiliate. This means I am receiving a small percentage of the sale as a reward for recommending a product. I am not getting rich but it motivates me to run this site and putting in much time and thought. These are only truly recommended things like the Mooncup. However most links and ideas are on things you can easily make yourself out of an old, broken good or some unused item. Like this beautiful boot pot you can see in the picture. Making use of your worn out shoes by turning them into an outdoor flowerpot.

Enjoy following and participating in a creative green life!