Bring your own Cotton Bread bag

05/02/2016.Reading time 3 minutes.

Start using a cotton or linen bag for your bread Bread is sacred in Turkey: whereas English speakers “bring home the bacon” turkish people “bring home the bread money”. And once you’ve tried freshly baked simit, or tasted a Ramazan pide, or ripped off a chunk of crusty Papatya bread you’ll understand exactly why bread is so exalted here. […]

Bring Your Own Bottle

28/01/2016.Reading time 5 minutes.

Bring Your Own Water Bottle. Stop Wasting Your Money You’re walking down a busy city street one day in May, traffic everywhere, buildings discoloured from the pollution in the air, and you see a delivery man, delivering empty tupperware boxes to your local market. Later on that day you go to the park for lunch and […]

Use Produce Bags

20/01/2016.Reading time 3 minutes.

Buy, wash and store your fruit & veg in drawstring net bags. If your already bringing a shopping bag, the produce bag follows the same logic. Even in an average shop you’re probably buying at least 3 different types of produce, either loose and collected in a plastic bag, or readily packaged in one of […]

Compostable brushes

12/12/2015.Reading time 3 minutes.

Replace your plastic brushes with natural, compostable brushes. I found it when I wasn’t even looking for it, in a place I never imagined it would be. A compostable/recyclable dish brush! “From Germany” the Spice shop owner proudly beamed. Well, it was smiles all round as he was selling them for only 7.50 Lira! If you […]

Teatowels

29/10/2015.Reading time 3 minutes.

Use cloth tea towels in the kitchen instead of paper towels. Next time you need to buy paper towels, buy a big bunch of cloth tea towels instead. I have 10 and even if I use 1 a day, I still have 3 spare to tide me over til after wash-day. Easier: the cloth towels […]

Bright Ideas

24/10/2015.Reading time 1 minute.

You’re still using old fashioned bulbs? There are so many energy-efficient lightbulbs available now. Get the bright white ones for your kitchen and the warm light ones for your cosier rooms. Then forget about having to change them ever again! (I’m still using the same bulbs I installed 4 years ago) Here’s a very useful […]

Toothpaste

10/10/2015.Reading time 3 minutes.

Make your own natural toothpaste for a fraction of the cost. I’m a tea and coffee drinking, red wine lover with sensitive teeth. And confession time… I HATE brushing my teeth. Yep. I do…or rather I did….until I started brushing with homemade. I’ve tried out two different recipes over the past month and I’m a […]

The Last Straw

04/10/2015.Reading time 3 minutes.

Repeat after me “and no straw, please” I ordered a small iced latte today, and nearly dropped to the floor when the Barista asked me for 8 Lira. 8? They’re taking the biscuit… not that you get a free one of those either, no, those are 5 Lira now… grumble grumble. Anyway, I cancelled my […]

All Natural Eye Make-up Remover

28/09/2015.Reading time 3 minutes.

Olive oil is seriously the best eye make-up remover, ever! If you’re picturing a greasy mess all over your face and clogging your pores…you’d be wrong. It’s actually miles better than any brand I’ve ever used. You drop a tiny bit (1ml) on your fingertip, and rub your it over your eyelid and lashes. You will […]

Refills not landfills

26/09/2015.Reading time 3 minutes.

If you plan your shopping, you can easily bring your own containers for collecting loose items. I love Koz, a dried fruit and nuts shop in Kadikoy, their goods are always fresh, the staff are always obliging, and they have the best fruit & nut mix that has replaced my old processed snacks. BUT…all their stuff […]