Tread Lightly upon this World

Freya Art & design

On a visit to the Yarra Valley a while ago I bought this card, not only because I like the design but the message resonates with me.

You may read something else into it but for me it is all about sustainability, something which we are trying to think about when it comes to our renovation, our garden and our everyday life.

With the house we are putting in high rating insulation, double glazed windows, getting a water tank, looking at solar panels, energy efficient lights and more.

For the garden I am currently learning about permaculture principles and how this can work in with the house as well.

With everyday life we try to remember to turn off things at the power point, dry our clothes on the line, put buckets under taps and more.


This design by Freya Art & Design I also bought for the colour, design and because I love the ideas it communicates. I especially love to travel, though haven't done much recently, but can't wait to with my children and explore with them. I also in accordance with the philosophy above, buy carbon credits every time we do to at least try an counteract the impact.

Heating on these cold days

This Saturday is World Environment day so a perfect time to think about what we can do to make a difference to the environment.

On these cold Winter evenings I sit in our lounge room very warm and toasty thanks to our wonderful gas central heating system. However there are a few energy related issues with it. For one the system is old and can't be zoned so heating one room means heating the whole house when often this is not needed, not very efficient or sustainable. Secondly, though the living areas are warm, especially the North facing family room, the front bedroom is cold, due to obvious drafts and very poor window insulation. Thirdly once the heater is switched off it doesn't take long for the house to loose heat.

So in our renovation and house extension, we are looking at how we can improve our heating efficiency by buying a 5 star central heating system that can be zoned, plus use the heater as little as possible by putting in good insulation - double glazed windows with good window coverings, high ratings on wall and ceiling insulation (this is where you loose the most heat).

Proposed new weatherboard extension - old brick will be removed also

Insulation is key for us too as currently our house has a brick casing which helps but this casing is going and old weatherboard houses are notoriously bad for insulation - something we will need to fix.