Share the Love…(I’d Love Your Help!)
For Valentine’s Day this year, I’ve decided to do something different. I’ve no intention of buying the obligatory card, box of overpackaged chocolates, fluffy teddy holding a red heart or whatever other tat the gift companies want to try to entice me to buy. I’m not going to spend my evening holed up in an expensive restaurant gazing into the eyes of my husband, surrounded by other couples seated on intimate tables of two doing exactly the same thing.
If Valentine’s Day (in the most modern sense) is about love, friendship and affection, then I’m going to celebrate it…right here. On the blog. I’ve met so many interesting people, read so many eye-opening articles and made so many great connections online, and I’m thankful that all of our paths have crossed in this way. I thought today was a good day to say thanks, and an even better day to share the love with you too! Happy Valentines’ Day everyone!
Sharing the Love – a Shortlist of My Favourite Blogs
I haven’t written an exhaustive list, and there are many more blogs that I love and would recommend. These blogs listed below cover topics and talk about ideas that I think will interest you, with writers that all share one huge thing in common – passion for what they write about.
Here we go… the Blogroll:
Lois started blogging at Living Simply Free, and now writes at Living in Denim. She writes about living simply, reducing waste and how she is encouraging her grandchildren to care for their environment. The conversations in the comments are just as inspiring as the blog posts themselves!
Gavin (from Melbourne, Australia) started blogging after having a “green epiphany” and his site The Greening of Gavin is all about sustainable living in the suburbs. His enthusiasm is infectious and his energy is (almost) exhausting.
What started out for Jen Gale as a buy-nothing-new challenge for a year ended up becoming a way of life! My Make Do and Mend Year has a focus on sewing and mending, but Jen is always up for a challenge and has tackled wardrobe minimalism, giving up supermarkets for lent and Plastic Free July amongst (many!) others.
Annemieke set up Plastic-Free Tuesday to encourage people to reduce their plastic one day a week. They have a great social media presence and a really useful site for people wanting to find inspiration for quitting plastic. They have a really collaborative approach and encourage guest writers (I wrote about making the plastic-free habit stick back in January).
Anne-Marie has a similar story to mine, going plastic-free in 2011 and now working towards zero-waste. In her food blog Zero-Waste Chef she writes about cooking from scratch, and has great posts with instructions for making loads of basics as well as tips for reducing waste in the kitchen.
Now It’s Your Turn!
Share the love! I’d love to hear about any blogs that you find inspiring! Are there any other blogs you’d like to recommend to the world at large? Do you write your own blog and think we should know about it? Please leave a comment below with a quick intro to the site you’re recommending and the link. All welcome, whether it’s yours or someone else’s, so long as it fits (even loosely) with the general themes or ideals of this blog!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
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Hi Lindsay,
I’d recommend Tracy at Nest Full of New. Tracy wrote a guest post for me Sustaining the Earth by Managing Waste at http://www.ahhthesimplelife.com/sustaining-earth-managing-waste/
I can’t resist sharing this prelude to aforementioned post:
Earth Day Embrace
Photograph by Steve Jurvetson (
Walking into the sun
Will you always keep me warm
Give me shelter from the wildest storm
When I’m glowing
Will you tend evergreen love without end
— Weekend Players – Into The Sun
Lindsay, I love this idea of “sharing the love.” It’s funny, but I was just thinking today, and not for the first time, how much my “blogging buddies” (yourself included) have come to mean to me. I’m tremendously grateful to all of them!
Cheers,
Carol
Hi Carol, thanks for your comment, and your recommendation : ) I just read the guest post (I’m a bit behind in my reading this weekend) and I thought it was great! Very thorough!
I love this blogging space, and being able to connect with like-minded people from across the oceans. Makes me feel that the world isn’t so small, as well as reassuring me I’m not the only one that worries about these things!
It’s a real honor to be mentioned here in your Valentine’s Day celebration post! Thank you! I feel very blessed to have met you on the internet. Your blog posts are thought provoking and push me to change habits and stick to them.
There are many great blogs out there, but I am trying to reduce the time I spend online, so I am following only a handful. One of them is Bernadette’s Don’t Mess With Dahab (http://dontmesswithdahab.wordpress.com/).
Don’t Mess With Dahab writes about the problem of overconsumption of plastic. Bernadette provides hands-on solutions and even includes local tips for her town Dahab. Like your blog, I find her writings inspiring and it helps me to try new things such as DIY cosmetics.
Looking forward to your next blog post!
Hi Annemieke, I would say likewise! I’m very glad I met you too! I find your enthusiasm very encouraging : )
I’m totally with you on the “spending less time online” thing. It’s a hard balance because there are so many great writers, and so much interesting content out there, but I don’t want to spend all my time online – and it is easy to do! So your recommendations are important – there’s someone I already know and like vouching for someone else!
I’ve read Don’t Mess with Dahab’s posts via your blog, and seen on Facebook but somehow I hadn’t come across the actual blog before Thanks for the tip!
Hi Lindsay,
I have followed your blog for a little while, as I am only beginning the plastic free, zero waste, minimalism, sustainability lifestyle. I have found the above very helpful for a newbie like me, I also follow these blogs. I hope the offer you an insight into their journeys.
1. no trash project (working towards a package-free, waste-free life) http://notrashproject.com/
2. Eight Acres – the blog (self sufficiency and permaculture principles in rural Australia) http://eight-acres.blogspot.co.nz/
3. Paris To Go http://www.paris-to-go.com/
Thank you for the inspiration, keeping going =)
Thanks so much for your recommendations! I have come across Eight Acres before, but not the other two, so thank you very much for sharing! It’s so great to find other kindred spirits on the internet : )
Good luck with your journey; for me it’s been one of the best, most inspiring, motivating and educational I’ve ever been on – I hope you find it to be as rewarding as I have!
Thanks for the mention, Lindsay. I’m honored to be included in such company. I would highly recommend Mrs M at http://www.mrsmscuriositycabinet.com/ and Annie at https://kitchencounterculture121.wordpress.com/. Both of these women are so inspiring! I know you know Mrs M but you might not have stumbled onto Annie’s blog. Annie writes about food, food politics, fermentation and so much more, and like Mrs M, has a wonderful way with words.
Thanks for your comment! I feel like this is some kind of virtual dinner party and I’ve asked you to bring a friend, and now we’re getting introduced : )
I love Meg’s blog and agree, she has a wonderful way with words! I hadn’t come across Kitchen Counter Culture so thanks for making us acquaintances!
I love http://www.digthischick.net/ and http://renaissancegardenblog.blogspot.com/?wref=bif !
Two interesting-looking blogs that I hadn’t come across! Thanks for bringing them to the party Aimee : )
Lindsay, thank you so much for mentioning me and the blog what a surprise it was to see my name here.
As you may have guessed your blog is one of my favorites, how I missed you while you were away. There are so many wonderful blogs out there. I’d recommend http://bealtainecottage.com/ which is one woman’s journey to reclaim a barren property and turn it into a full forest/garden with none of the amenities in her home. She also didn’t use any expensive tools to do this. Another is Kind Cotton. This family refuses to purchase new products and even gets creative when it comes to gift giving for others.
Thank you for a lovely way to celebrate Valentine’s Day, even if I’m a bit late joining in.
Oh Lois, how could it be a surprise when you know you’re my favourite?! ; p
I also knew you’d be able to recommend some great blogs…I rely on you to do the research for me! I’ve come across the Bealtaine Cottage blog before, and if love her before and now pics…amazing! I haven’t heard of the other one so that’s for the heads up – I’ll pop over and introduce myself! : )