Category: Counting On …

Reflections and actions during COP26 and going on

Counting on 2026 …. Day 50

29th May

Caring for our water system is about caring for the environment and helping ensure that the system is resilient. Increasingly our weather is going to comprise wet winters with period heavy rainfall, and hot dry summers. 

Collecting rainwater in water butts helps in two ways. The obvious way is by providing a supply of water for the times when there is little rain – this can be used for watering the garden, or in times of real drought, can be used to flush toilet etc. 

The second way is to relieve pressure on the water drainage system by delaying the sudden rush of water into the system. This does presume your butts re empty before the storm comes – so there maybe some necessary preparation work before hand. You can install a water butt which releases one half of its content slowly over time leaving spare capacity for more water – https://uk.getwatersmart.com/product/buttinabox-butt-in-a-box-200l-waterbutt-kit-354

Or you can get  smart water butt! https://aquaiot.co.uk/smart-water-butts-rainwater-defence-against-flooding/)

Further reading – https://climateconnectionsplymouth.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Slow-the-Flow-booklet-FINAL4.pdf

Counting on 2026 …. Day 49

28th May

Caring for water is to be mindful of what goes down the drain. Waste water systems – drains, sewers etc – are not intended as general rubbish bins! 

They are not places for alien chemicals. Using only eco friendly laundry and washing up liquids makes sense. Nor are they places for wet wipes, paper towels or paper serviettes – these are design to be strong and absorbent and doing that means they  likely block the drain!

They are not places for oil and grease – wipe excess oil from pans etc using a paper and put that in your compost heap or food bin. Nor are they the place for paints, white spirit, varnish etc. Your local authority should have disposal facilities for these.

Drains are also not the place for waste food – this should go in your compost heap or food bin (the latter only should be used for items like meat, fish etc).

Counting on 2026 …. Day 48

27th May

As part of being resilient, we aim to keep at least three days’ supply of food and water in the house. 

Green Tau Issue 121

As part of these emergency supplies, I am loath to buy bottles of water which I would then have to replace when they reached their expired date – it would be expensive and would produce unnecessary waste. So instead we keep next to the sink a mixture of 1 litre kilner bottles and 4.5 litre Demi johns. These we use and refill on rotation (the bottles are numbered) to fill the kettle, make drinks, cook with and  wash up etc. The water in the bottles is thus seldom more than 24 hours old – and in this hot weather, we keep a couple of bottles in the fridge too.

Counting on 2026 …. Day 47

26th May

Water is a scarce and valuable resource that we need to protect and use respectfully and frugally.

That is why I shower and wash my hair once a week. The rest of the week I wash in a bowl of water – and then reuse that water for flushing the toilet. I’m sure I’m still clean and fresh smelling!

We only use the toilet flush for ‘number twos’ and use hand wash water (having used a bowl) to flush the toilet. 

For toilet cleaning I use hot water and citric acid followed by a dose of bicarbonate – the following burst of bubbles is very dramatic.  In this way I hope to reduce the adverse chemicals entering the drains as well as using cleaning materials that come in paper packaging.

Counting on 2026 …. Day 46

20th May

Having both a number of sheets and pillowcases that are wearing thin (even after turning the outsides into the middle) I have combined the two to make/ mend some new pillowcases, and used the left overs to make handkerchiefs. Possibly a bit excessive but it does give the cotton an extended life. 

For more on making repairs and mending – https://greentau.org/tag/repairs/

and https://greentau.org/tag/up-cycling/

Counting on 2026 …. Day 44

18th May

Living simply for me is, in part, about being self reliant such as being able to cook from scratch, growing food in fruit and vegetables, sew clothes etc. It is not that I don’t want to be part of the local economy – in fact being part of a community is highly important – and whilst I grow some vegetables I don’t grow enough to be self sufficient. Nor would I even contemplate growing all the cereal and other crops on which my diet depends. Nor would I contemplate rearing sheep for wool or growing flax for linens. Nor would I contemplate living without the valuable services provided by water and electricity suppliers, by the medical world, by the writers and publishers of books, by the manufactures of bikes and those who maintain the roads etc etc.

Yet I still value and make good use of my (sometimes limited) ability to make and mend clothes, knit jumpers, darn socks, grow spinach, make a greetings card, and do simple repairs around the house. 

Again I have been encouraged by words from the Hazelnut Community, that endorse and make theological sense of what I do.

“Creation, in the biblical imagination, is not a finished project. It is an unfolding reality in which human beings are invited to participate through acts of care, cultivation and creativity.

“When we bake bread, repair a broken tool, ferment vegetables, plant seeds or cook a meal for others, we are responding to the gifts of the earth and extending their life into the world.” (1) 

  1. https://substack.com/home/post/p-190602804

Counting on 2026 …. Day 43

15th May

Living simply can sometimes be demanding! 

For me living simply is about making my own bread, cakes and biscuits, growing food in the garden, preserving the harvest for use during the rest of the year – making jam, chutney and pickles, bottling and drying fruit, making vinegar and maintaining a sour dough starter. In this way I hope to be closer related to the Earth, to reduce my ecological footprint, to eat more healthily, and be more resilient in the face of disruption.

I have been encouraged by further words from the Hazelnut Community:- 

“When a group of people gathers to make something from what the earth provides, they are participating in the ongoing life of creation. They are receiving from the earth, working with its processes, and redistributing what is made within the community.

“Making food, preparing remedies, and preserving what has been grown are not simply functional acts. They are ways of participating in the life of a world that is held within God.” (1)

  1. https://substack.com/home/post/p-190602804

Counting on 2026 …. Day 42

14th May

Simplicity ‘is to begin the slow work of learning how to live within limits that are not only necessary, but life-giving.’ (1)

Living simply I choose to buy less things. It is not because I seek a life of poverty but that I want to,love a life that doesn’t unnecessarily take from the Earth’s resources. For when that is done without regard and excess, the life is diminished, even destroyed – that would be poverty.

(1) https://hazelnutcommunity.substack.com/p/the-life-we-miss-while-wanting-more?r=1r0y9l

Counting on 2026 …. Day 41

12th May

‘To simplify life in a time of disruption is not to withdraw from the world. It is to re-engage it more truthfully. It is to recognise that accumulation and control, while promising security, can leave us disoriented and disconnected. It is to begin the slow work of learning how to live within limits that are not only necessary, but life-giving.’ (1)

As children we have to learn that whilst chocolate is nice, eating a pound at a time is not: it makes us feel sick. And the effect is pretty immediate. It is the same with material consumption. Buying/ owning/ stock-piling things we want – or even things the world tells us we want – in ever increasing quantities does not make us feel better. In fact in can make us sick – although the effect may not be immediate and we can loose touch with the feeling of happiness that things first gave us. We also loose touch with non consumerist pleasures – having time to talk with the people we meet; not having to rush to be first in the queue; having time to stand and stare; spending time with family; needing to spend less time cleaning and caring for our large home/ car/ portfolio; enjoying the anticipation of the first strawberry of the season; taking a siesta in the hot months; going to bed early in winter with a good book…. It is to reconnect with the seasons, with our local community, with a gentle pace of life.

(1) https://hazelnutcommunity.substack.com/p/the-life-we-miss-while-wanting-more?r=1r0y9l