The Touchwood Project

Be lazy, recycle Why work hard to make something from scratch when you can be lazy and reuse someone else’s stuff? Today we’re going to be recycling an old sweater into a fabulous felted bag, all ready to wrap and present with a flourish to your Aunt Rebecca or best friend Steph…. Read the rest of this article >>

In this world of ours, times they are a-changing, so we need to be adaptable to make the most of our future, if not just survive. If the power went off wouldn’t it be nice to know you could not only cope, but even have a great time? Imagine, instead of panic in the dark and cold, you just smile and get on. In fact you are so prepared, you don’t even miss the electricity because you are too busy talking… Read the rest of this article >>

My problem: How to stay warm this winter without spending money. The house is cold and heating it is expensive. My frugal-living philosophy tells me you don’t need to spend money to be green, despite what all the retailers say. But can I?… Read the rest of this article >>

Thanksgiving’s over and today’s “Black Friday”, the day in America hordes descend on the shops in an extravaganza of Christmas spending. Crowds line up before dawn, eager for bargains, their credit cards at the ready. It’s the biggest shopping day of the year. I’ll give that a miss this year because as much as I’ve enjoyed shopping in the past, I enjoy making stuff more. So today I’m going to remake… Read the rest of this article >>

Lately I’m getting some concerned emails from my family in the US who worry I’m sacrificing myself for the planet, huddling miserably around a single light bulb, icicles forming on my nose. Ha. I assure you, I’m far too lazy to make all these changes for some distant noble cause. Nope, I’m doing it first and foremost because I’m enjoying myself, a point which a little adventure reminded me of recently. I’ll… Read the rest of this article >>

Last night I realised that our campaign to promote hitchhiking on Orkney is nothing new — it simply revives a time-honoured tradition. Yep, a kind of hitchhiking used to happen all the time on our island in the form of people stopping to give lifts to each other. Why’s the bus service so bad? Over a cup of tea, Malcolm heard the story from James Stockan, our councillor for Stromness and Hoy areas, while… Read the rest of this article >>

Malcolm and I have devised a shorthand phrase to keep us on track with what we’re trying to do with Touchwood and our lives: “Less is more.” Less stuff is more fun, more happiness, more time and more money. It’s getting rid of the crap that’s cluttering up our brains and house and racking up debt and environmental damage so we have the time and money to do what we like doing. Today I came across a wonderful… Read the rest of this article >>

We’re taking the plunge. Malcolm and I are selling the car and going car-free. Bring on the circus bikes! Going car-free in a rural location Unlike when I lived in Washington DC you didn’t really need a car, not having one on Orkney is highly unusual. Pretty much everyone drives…. Read the rest of this article >>