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Happy New Year 2016

January 1, 2016 @ 00:01 By Gavin Webber 8 Comments

Happy New Year 2016

Goodbye 2015. Hello 2016.

Many look to New Year’s Day for a fresh start, but to me, it’s just another day.  However, I do take the time to look back and reflect upon the year just past.

It was certainly a full year.  My main greening activity were the workshops that Kim and I teach and running our online shop, however I still managed to keep the suburban food farm maintained and fruitful.  Even the chookies are happy and healthy and still laying a couple of eggs each day.  Who says small business needs to take over your life.  We simply make time to fit in everything especially when it is important to us.

We certainly feel blessed to be sharing our journey with you all and we love our lifestyle.

It’s low stress, rewarding, joyful, sustainable, and of course frugal.  Even by working four days a week in my corporate job and taking another pay cut, we are still managing to meet our mortgage payment goals, still putting food on the table, and still are able to pay our low energy bills.  Thank goodness for solar and energy efficiency measures!

I’m still thinking about goals for this year, but one of them will definitely be to keep on top of maintenance around the place.  I will list the goals once we finalise them in the next few days.  Some will be personal, some will be geared towards our small business, but all will be important.

So here is to setting SMART goals.  I think that setting goals are much better that some vague new year’s resolutions which are usually not time bound or attainable.

So to you dear reader, have a Happy New Year 2016 and may all your goals be achieved or at least started during this rotation around the Sun.

Thanks for reading in 2015, and see you in 2016.

Yours in greening,

Gavin x

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Filed Under: Goals, Sustainable Living

The Great Kilowatt Challenge eBook – On Sale!

August 19, 2014 @ 23:04 By Gavin Webber 4 Comments

A year in the writing, The Great Kilowatt Challenge eBook and companion worksheet are now available for purchase at my eBookstore!

Here is the book blurb;

The Great Kilowatt Challenge

The Great Kilowatt Challenge eBook

The Step by Step Guide to $aving Easy Money off Your Power Bills

Want to save some easy money off your power bill, but you don’t know where to start?

Are you sick of paying a small fortune on seemingly ever rising  electricity costs?

Do you want to take back control?

Well you can right now!  The Great Kilowatt Challenge is an eBook and worksheet designed to help you get control of your electricity consumption and lower that bill.

The step by step four week challenge will help you gain a better understanding of how to determine which appliances and behaviours within your home are costing you the most money, and how to turn that around back in your favour.

The companion worksheet is available as downloadable content within the ebook.

This comprehensive eBook is exclusive to The Greening of Gavin readers only.  You will not find this excellent guide anywhere else on the web or at other ebook retailers until a few months time.

Get it before you receive your next electricity bill.  You won’t regret it!

For more information about what the ebook offers, head on over to ebookstore.

 


A big shout out goes to Pam for proof reading it, and to all the beta testers who participated in the very first Great Kilowatt Challenge in 2011.

From that original and successful series of blog posts came the idea for the eBook where it saved many readers a lot of money off their power bills.

The worksheet, which is found as a link within the eBook, has full instructions for entering your meter data, and assists in automatically calculating your daily electricity usage and cost.  It couldn’t be any easier than that.

I have also included a weekly feedback option within the eBook where the challenge participants can share their results and ask further questions if needs be.  I don’t expect that everyone will share, but the option is there if you want it.

Anyway, thanks for being patient with me while I put this eBook together.  It is well worth the wait!

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Filed Under: eBook, energy efficiency, Goals, solar hot water, Solar Power, Sustainable Living Tagged With: The Great Kilowatt Challenge

Green Living Goals for 2014

January 1, 2014 @ 22:20 By Gavin Webber 20 Comments

Lets start 2014 with a bang, shall we?  Our goals for the year……

Personal and family goals are important, and certainly much better than New Years resolutions, which most people inevitably break within the first week or two.  That is of course if everyone agrees to them.

The goals I am about to announce have been discussed as a family group, and we are all on-board.  This initial agreement will go a long way to achieving them.

Now, to get everyone up to speed, I wrote about how to set goals in this post titled The Secret to Emptying the Too Hard Basket and Setting Goals, which will help as I work through our little list.

I proposed two goals, Kim proposed two, and Ben proposed one, so our list looks something like this;

  1. Investigate Native Beehive placement.
  2. Publish at least one podcast a month with Kim as co-host.
  3. Teach my son Ben how to cook dinner at least once a week.
  4. Perfect at least two mould ripened cheeses.
  5. Install a third rainwater tank.

Lets break them down further and why we want to pursue these goals for 2014.

1.  Investigate Native Beehive placement

This was the first of Kim’s suggestions.  It really surprised me, as I have been dropping the hint of a bee hive around the yard for ages.  What prompted her into action was a documentary titled More Than Honey.  In fact, it was just the trailer that she saw (which you can view here; http://youtu.be/Wh_IRrBeu-0), and she did a bit of research about how bees are dying all over the world, and what it would mean to humanity.

However, I did reminder her that I was allergic to bee stings (blow up like a balloon), and that we would probably have to opt for native sting-less bees.  We may be out of luck as native bees like warmer climates, so Victoria may be too far south.  I will have to do some more research.

We want to have a hive up and running by June, and we do not want to manage the hive ourselves.  I did read somewhere that you can call an apiarist and they will place the hive on your property, check in on it once in a while, and perform all the hive maintenance in return for some honey for our family.  We have lots of pollination opportunities for the bees, so pollen will not be an issue.  There are lots of well established native eucalyptus trees as well on offer.

All I have to do now is find someone who will supply and maintain them for us.  If anyone knows details of such a service, I would be grateful of any details via comment.

2.  Publish at least one podcast a month with Kim as co-host

Since our first Greening of Gavin podcast together, which was Our Christmas Special in case you missed it, Kim has expressed a desire to co-host the show on a regular basis.  Now I am certainly not precious about hosting it alone, as I found the entire co-host experience uplifting and a whole lot of fun.  The podcast stats also show that many of you also enjoyed the last podcast.  So to that end, Kim has agreed to appear at least once a month, maybe more if we have something special we want to talk about.  That leaves three other podcasts a month for a solo act (yours truly) or a guest interview.  As it was my suggestion, I look forward to making sure this goal gets completed!  I may even have to change the podcast’s name.

3.  Teach Ben how to cook dinner at least once a week

Ben is now 14 and at that stage of his life that he wants to learn how to cook.  I suggested to him that he helps me out on weekends, when I give Kim a rest, and to my delight he agreed.  In fact, we want to get to the stage, where he can prepare the evening meal with a minimum of supervision.  Sounds like it will be great fun teaching the lad.

Ben making chocolate moouse

4.  Perfect at least two mould ripened cheeses

+Ian Treuer, my guest on the last cheesemaking podcast (Episode 18), has inspired me to take a step outside my cheese making comfort zone and try making some more mould ripened cheeses.  I particularly like the look of his Little Squirrel cheese, and the size of his Camembundy.  They both look delicious and are potential candidates.  Kim as also requested a milder form of Stilton, so I will work on a few blue varieties as well.  As mould ripened cheeses need low temperatures to mature, I will need to make them in the autumn.  Summer will be far too hot, with room temperature around 25° C most of the time, dropping a little at night.  The cheese fridge is not cool enough for the 7° C required to age these types of cheeses.

My Stilton cheese

5.  Install a third rainwater tank.

This one will be pretty easy.  I already have two rainwater tanks installed on the suburban food farm, so the only barrier to this goal is saving up the money.  I am looking at getting a 2000 litre tank, which is about $800.  I should have that saved up in about six months.  Installation will be a cinch, as I will locate it in the carport right next to the existing one.  The base concrete slab is already there, so I will simply interconnect the two tanks to extend the water storage.  Easy peasy.

Anyway, these are our goals that we are going to try our best to complete before years end.  Should be lots of fun, and we will keep you up to date on our progress.

Have any of you set goals for 2014?

-37.6777778144.5686375

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Filed Under: Family, Goals, Sustainable Living

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About Gavin Webber

About Gavin Webber

An Ordinary Australian Man Who Has A Green Epiphany Whilst Watching A Documentary, Gets a Hybrid Car, Plants A Large Organic Vegetable Garden, Goes Totally Solar, Lowers Consumption, Feeds Composts Bins and Worms, Harvests Rainwater, Raises Chickens, Makes Cheese and Soap, and Eats Locally. All In The Effort To Reduce Our Family's Carbon Footprint So We Can Start Making A Difference For Our Children & Future Generations To Come.

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Podcast Reviews

  • Always inspiring and entertaining!
    August 4, 2016 by floriographer from Australia

    I've crowed about Gavin's podcast before but I just have to recommend it once again - I love that he shares his learning as well as his successes - it helps the rest of us try try try again! Thanks Gavin!

  • ms
    July 22, 2016 by Ketaea12 from New Zealand

    I really enjoy listening to Gavin, he has a kind lovely voice. He covers some great relevant topics for the everyday greenie. With lots of tips or how to or what not to do. Thanks Gavin, love it!!

  • Well worth your time to tune in
    October 23, 2015 by A Vision Splendid from Australia

    I can highly recommend Gavin’s podcast ! I have followed Gavin’s blog since the very beginning and have loved to see his journey unfold. Gavin has a lovely speaking voice so this podcast is always very easy to listen to. Gavin has a very authentic approach to his green living lifestyle. He shares the ups and downs but always provides motivation and practical steps that we can all implement.

  • very good
    June 28, 2015 by Scared pax from United Kingdom

    This is a great podcast if you want to improve your life in so many aspects and become a more sustainable person. I love the soothing voice, the good pace, and it contains lots of useful information. Recommended!

  • opened my eyes
    May 25, 2015 by Gorn4lyfe from Australia

    A wonderful show!

  • Inspiring
    April 30, 2015 by Alan Whelan from Ireland

    This is a great podcast if you're looking for practical info on saving money by living more sustainably from someone who's made that journey over the last few years. Told in a nice, easy conversational style

  • Green Living, inspiring and practical
    January 8, 2015 by EliseMac from Australia

    Thanks Gav for sharing what has (and hasn't) worked along your journey for living a greener lifestyle. Inspiring and achievable for anyone, I look forward to this podcast weekly.

  • Local food equals less waste
    December 27, 2014 by allotmentadventureswithjean from Australia

    Another brilliant podcast from Gavin Webber encouraging us, and showing us how, to cut down on food miles, growing our own food, and cutting down on food waste. Gavin is a really interesting speaker, showing us how to eat better, growing our own food and how to live more sustainably.

  • Honestly australian
    December 15, 2014 by HodgepodgeOz from Australia

    Fantastic podcast, with a wide variety of well thought and researched topics. Gavin is a honest, forthright pod aster with a genuine interest in helping others get green. Like a day alongside is a day wasted, so too is a week without listening to Gavin. Highly recommended for people starting out, or those in the midst of their new lifestyle. Keep it up Gavin, wish there were more great reviews! Kimberley

  • Morning motivation
    December 8, 2014 by Bunnyworm from Australia

    Gavin has a great passion for living this greener lifestyle that motivates others to do the same. The podcasts are always interesting and informative. :)

  • Passionate Advocate
    October 18, 2014 by BoomOpGirl from Australia

    Gavin's enthusiasm and passion for creating a more sustainable world is nothing short of contagious. Thanks Gav, you are my weekly source of motivation for living a sustainable life! :)

  • Gavin speaks from the heart
    October 13, 2014 by Green gavin from Australia

    Gavin's podcasts are required listening for anyone planning to live a more sustainable life. He doesn't preach, but tells you his story from the heart. You'll laugh, smile, share in his concerns and along the way you'll pick up some great tips on living a simple life.

  • Green thoughts, so well iterated
    October 9, 2014 by Kwasikwami from Australia

    This is a wonderful podcast. Not only does Gavin talk knowledgeably on a range of sustainability topics from gardening tips all the way to the issues facing humanity as a whole, but he does so in such a wonderful voice, it's like listening to my Dad, love it!!

  • Easy listening inspiration on being green
    September 24, 2014 by Broomedy from Australia

    Gav knows how to share his journey to a more sustainable life in a manner that shows just how easy it really is. Not to mention healthier, economically beneficial and generally rewarding. The podcasts are an easy way to absorb Gav's great lifestyle. I recommend to anyone.

  • Thanks Gavin!
    August 31, 2014 by Honeywoodmilk from Australia

    Great practical advice for a greener lifestyle. This podcast is for anybody interested in growing their own food in suburbia, saving electricity, brewing beer, making cheese, all that wonderful business and most of all, saving money! Thanks Gavin, love the podcast mate!

  • Enjoyed those ideas for staying warm
    August 15, 2014 by enduringdragon from United States

    Like you we are having winter here in Chile—brrr! Every bit we can save on heating we will.

  • Green Podcasts
    July 26, 2014 by Carneu from Australia

    Excellent podcasts, which are full of information to help get started on a sustainable lifestyle.

  • Practical ideas and inspiration
    July 19, 2014 by HeathrowHeath from Australia

    I highly recommend Gavin's podcast and blog. Down to earth, entertaining and inspirational. Thank you.

  • Interesting & easy to listen to
    April 27, 2014 by Velocity3 from New Zealand

    Gavin & his guests make this green journey lots of fun.

  • Great green listen
    April 18, 2014 by Obscurenickname from Australia

    Gavin is a great down to earth, tell it like it is aussie with a passion for sustainability and growing food and making cheese

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