I Want It All And I Want It Now

These days we expect to have everything we want and we want it all now. Strawberries and salad vegetables are available all year round – shipped hundreds or even thousands of miles from half way around the world from New Zealand or hot-housed in Holland or Spain.

If you see a new outfit, suit or pair of shoes that you can’t really afford – out comes the credit card and somehow it doesn’t feel like real money when it’s a piece of plastic you’re handing over. What does it matter, you can have it now and pay for it later, but how much will you actually end up paying? No wonder more and more people are getting into debt these days as they try to keep up with changing trends, bombardment from ads and wanting what everyone else has. How many unworn clothes are hanging in wardrobes or unused gadgets are tucked away in cupboards and drawers – supposedly labour saving devices but really just another way to part people from their hard earned cash for something they'll probably never use or throw away in a year or two.

If something breaks, we don’t even think about fixing it, we just throw it away and go out and buy a new one – whatever it might be. It seems to be our right to have the very latest of everything and to have everything new. We don’t want to buy second-hand or make do with hand me downs (understandable if you were the youngest of several children!). But there’s a whole industry out there, built around passing on second hand goods and recycling to those less fortunate - not just on Ebay and Freecycle.

Things aren’t built to last either. Another way to make sure you have the latest and greatest. My parents are still using things they were given at their wedding – over 40 years ago – not much that you can buy that will still be around in 40 years time and still working. My toaster blew up last year, just after the guarantee ran out – needless to say. How many times have you bought something that breaks down after only a couple of years use?

We tend to think on a very short-term scale these days. I was out coppicing last week (yes, I do these strange things every now and then!). There’s an example of patience and long-term planning. Areas were coppiced regularly and harvested every few years or sometimes decades later. No instant results when you’re planting for planks of wood. Nature won't be hurried - at least not when it comes to growing trees. Knowing that the tree you plant one year wouldn't be harvested until twenty-five or thirty years later.

What happened to make do and mend – or saving up to buy things? OK, I’m not expecting you to deprive yourself, start darning your socks or go back to the dark ages but some restraint and patience can’t be a bad thing.

Reduce Your Energy Bills

It's been all over the news today – the UK is officially the biggest energy waster in Europe. Our worst habits are leaving mobile phone chargers, appliances (like the TV, DVD, HiFi) on standby and leaving lights on when not in a room. I heard quotes this morning of "savings of £300 in a year" which is significant but is probably the sum total of my own electricity bill.

I carried out an energy saving exercise earlier this year to see what difference I could make to my own usage and saved an average of 15% from one week to another on gas, electricity and water usage just through making a few simple changes and being more aware of switching things off and using less. That was in the summer and would save me over £70 a year.

I'm a careful user anyway - have low voltage bulbs, switch off lights and carry out all the usual energy saving tips. How much more could a family of four save in a year? All those mobile phone chargers, TVs, DVD players, iPods, computers, laptops ....

What would 15-25% of your annual utility bills be and would that be a worthwhile saving to you or is money really no object?

Here are a few tips:

· Don’t leave appliances on standby – switch them off! TVs, DVDs, video recorders. Save about £40 a year.
· Unplug mobile phone and MP3 chargers – this could save enough electricity to power 115,000 homes.
· Switch off the computer at the end of the day, switch off monitors, printers, scanners when not in use.
· Change to energy efficient light bulbs and switch off lights when leaving a room.
· Wash clothes at lower temperatures and save 40% less energy. Avoid using a tumble dryer.
· Turn your thermostat down by 1C and save 10% on your heating bill.

What could you do this week to reduce your energy bills, save yourself money and reduce your impact on the environment?

Detox Day

Yesterday, I decided it was time for a detox day. Just one day every few months when I give my body and digestive system a break.

No meat, dairy, wheat, tea, coffee, alcohol or sugar. Sounds tough but it’s only for one day, so it’s not going to do you any harm, in fact you’ll probably feel a lot better for it. I always do. Why not give it a try?

It’s best to plan this for a weekend when you can have some quiet time (ha, you have kids – maybe not) and don’t have to concentrate on work.

If you’ve got a juicer, now’s the time to get it out from the back of the cupboard and dust it off. Get in a stock of fresh, preferably organic, vegetables that you can juice through the day.

Only plan to do light exercise during the day – put your feet up, take the time to read a book, sit in the garden, do some yoga, tai-chi or go out for a gentle walk.

When you wake up, start with a glass of warm water with either a few drops of cider vinegar or a slice of lemon to start cleansing out your system.

Have a shower and a body brush or a scrub just to get the circulation going and finish with a burst of cold water.

If you’re making your own juice, have a glass of juice for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Otherwise make up a salad of mixed raw vegetables - no dressing - for lunch and dinner and have a glass of freshly squeezed fruit juice – mid morning and afternoon.

Throughout the day drink as much herbal tea and water as you like. Drink at last two litres of water throughout the day. Your body will be getting rid of toxins, especially if your food habits haven’t been too good.

If you normally drink a lot of tea and coffee, you might find you get a headache, just keep drinking plenty of water and get an early night.

The following day – don’t leap straight back in to heavy foods but stick with salad, home-made soup, fresh fruit and veg and see if you can replace your tea and coffee with herbal teas for a few more days.

You must be joking I can hear you say. Especially if you like your carbs, pastry, biscuits, fried foods etc. Too much at once? Try the easier(!) option.

Have one whole day when you don’t have any caffeine or alcohol. Eat only fresh raw vegetables or lightly steam or stir-fry them, no dressing, no sauces but you can add a few spices for flavour.

Switch to a diet that consists mainly of fresh fruit and vegetables and cut out all those snacks and biscuits at least for a week. At least try to cut down on the caffeine, alcohol, wheat and dairy.

Go on, give your body a break.

Dotting The ‘I’s ...

One great way to expand your existing business or creating a new business, is to collaborate with one or more other people.

However, there some pitfalls you should try to avoid. One of which is to make sure that you're clear about your individual responsibilities and what your expectations are for the collaboration.

You may have come up with an idea and have your own objectives but has the other person got the same objectives? If you're not clear about what you want it may lead to disappointment and conflict later on.

Do you share the same values with your potential business partner? Make sure you sit down at some point and discuss what you want and how you're going to work together and who is responsible for what.

How will you handle communication between you? All very well when it’s going right but can make things extremely stressful when it goes wrong.

If you’re going to be working together for a while, take the time to create a partnership agreement so you know what's expected and what happens if it all goes wrong.

Even if you're just working on a short-term project, be clear about what you both want and put it down in writing so you both agree.

It will make any collaboration run that much more smoothly.