July 9, 2024 • 39 mins
In this episode, we are joined by Holly, a sustainable homemaker joining us from her garden and diving into her journey from moving to Australia 16 years ago, to starting her own sustainable candle business and with other passions in-the-works!
Holly reveals how her interest in sustainability was sparked at the age of 14 - with this inspiration leading her to integrate sustainable practices into her life, influencing her studies, and eventually her career.
Holly shares practical tips for incorporating sustainability into everyday life, and she also introduces her non-profit initiative, 'Permaculture Out of Poverty', aimed at creating urban gardens and teaching sustainable skills.
Don't miss Holly's insights on upcycling, community gardening, and the importance of taking small steps towards a more sustainable lifestyle! You can find Holly and her sustainable tips at 'Dirt & Dunes' on the following platforms: Instagram: @dirt_and_dunes_ TikTok: @dirt_and_dunes
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Music.
(00:10):
Okay here we go let's go
i'm so excited all right so
welcome to the wonder of home with myself
mel and we are joined by the beautiful holly
that is our sustainable homemaker this week who i'm so keen to pick her brain
because she has the coolest stories or story in general about what she's doing
(00:34):
how she got there And she's currently joining us from outside,
which is very appropriate.
Welcome, Holly. Hello. Thank you for having me.
Why are you outside, Holly? Why am I outside?
Yeah. My son had swimming lessons this morning at 8am and unfortunately we forgot
(00:54):
the keys to our business.
So I'm just chilling in the garden for a while.
I love it. It looks like you would hang out anyway, isn't it?
Love that for me. Oh, so cute. you so beautiful Holly I introduced myself to
Holly actually I just was she was one of the,
one of my victims where I just
(01:15):
like slid into her DMs but it actually came about because one of my friends
had bought a candle and when I was at their house I noticed how amazing this
candle smelled which I love a good candle and when they told me that they'd
bought it like locally I was
like I have to track down these candles anyway every time I've gone to buy one
(01:38):
I haven't they've been sold out and so I had to stalk them on Instagram waiting for the next drop,
and so I just messaged Holly out of the blue because I was like you when I read
her story and when you guys hear about her story I was like please tell me more
about how this came about that. Look, I actually did get a candle.
(02:00):
Most amazing candle.
It smells so good.
Smells like a hug, I reckon. It does. It does smell like a hug. Yeah.
So Holly, where did you grow up? Give me all the background. Let's go.
All the gory details. Let's go. All right. So I moved to Australia about 16 years ago.
(02:20):
So before I was living in Australia, I lived in America and I I lived over in
the UK. I'm originally from Winchester in England, New Stonehenge.
So yeah, my parents are both European. What else can I say? Oh no,
my computer has decided to die.
So basically, yeah, I didn't grow up in a sustainable household.
(02:41):
So my parents are both like, I guess they're more like modern people.
But when I moved to Australia, I met my best friend and her mother is like this
mad OG hippie and her name's Ruth and she's amazing.
And I kind of started on my sustainability journey when I was about 14.
When I met Ruth because I was so amazed by her
(03:02):
home and like you know her composting practices and
like reusing bottles and things like that and that was and like bushwalking
and like growing her own food and having chickens and like she was just so different
from my own parents that I was so inspired by her that I basically adopted a
lot of her sustainability practices from her home and I I kind of kept them going in my own life.
(03:25):
Wow. That's cool. At 14.
At 14, yeah. So that's where I pretty much started. Like I was very interested
and I guess because like obviously we are like talking about home and everything like that.
If you grow up with something that's a little bit different,
when you see something that's a little bit new, you're like,
wow, this is really cool and interesting.
And I want to like, you know, it's like an entry point. It's like,
(03:47):
oh, how can I do more with this?
Yeah. So that was my introduction point into sustainability. Oh, so cool.
So what did you, so age 14, obviously you started integrating all these things
that you thought were really interesting that you'd seen from your friend's house.
Yeah. So then did that inspire you then to go on and study what you studied?
(04:10):
And can you share what you studied? Yeah.
So I should have probably mentioned this to you actually before.
So I'm in my mid-30s and so, like, I actually left school at 15 and actually became a hairdresser.
Wow. And then I went back to school. I got my high school certificate and then
(04:31):
I actually went into uni when I was about 21.
Wow. So that's where I actually started. But all through that time,
I always wanted to be, like, vegetarian and, like, you know,
have a compost bin and, like, do all these, like, you know.
You know, with like the sustainability factor and like your interest and passion
for it, working in hairdressing.
Oh, well, actually, one thing from hairdressing that really inspired me,
(04:54):
which is actually something that we've implemented in our workshop where we
do all the candles, is there's a thing called sustainable salons for salons.
And basically, it's like it encourages hairdressers. So they get like four bins
and you're encouraged to sort through all your waste. So you put hair in one
bin, you put tubes in another bin, foil in another bin, something else in another
(05:18):
bin. I can't remember what's in that bin.
And then you send it all back to the company and then they sort through it all.
They turn the hair into oil catching nets.
They recycle all the tubes. They recycle the foil and make refoil.
Then you can buy back and then foil people's hair with.
So I was really inspired by that. I was thinking as soon as you said hairdressing,
I was like, oh man, there would be so much waste in that industry.
(05:38):
I imagine, like plastics and all that sort of thing. That's so cool. I didn't know that.
Yeah, so we have a, like, a waste bin thing.
Structure in our candle studio yeah it's
like a lab but like and it's it mimics it
to the best of our abilities because obviously you're going
to have obviously different waste with candles and hairdressing but like yeah
(06:01):
so yeah yeah sorry I
probably should have mentioned that but um no no no that's good
no I'm like wow I didn't
so if you're a sustainable hairdresser yeah is
that like something you have to apply for like what would be the
process of that so if there are yeah well
if there's any hairdressers listening you pretty much just
(06:24):
go onto the sustainable salons website you just
apply and they I think you pay about 200
to join up and then they give you all these bins and
then you basically bring them up and they organize collections and everything
like that and it's yeah it's really really easy
but like I love it because the thing is you can take it as
a business owner and then just apply it to any industry so you
(06:44):
could take it to like cafe bakery woodworkers like
you know well you'll have to see the details of that
because I might even add that like details in the
like the blurb for this week's I will I will sorry yeah I probably should have
mentioned that to you before but that's really cool I always forget to tell
people we go through so much paper yeah and like we recycle it but even we were
(07:08):
saying you would I would be interested in my bid system because, like,
I had it for, like, you know, like I wanted to talk about it later.
But so it's actually so funny when we were talking the other day because I was
literally just about to post a reel about our waste.
Yeah. And I was like, oh, I'll wait to post it till after we,
like, we hang out and everything like that. Yeah. And to be like, yeah.
(07:31):
Yeah. Totally. Well, even I think it was last night. Yeah. And I thought it
was so cool about like the bunting.
Oh, yeah. Packets and then like you can create bunting.
You'll have to go and check it out. Anyone that's listening,
go and follow Dirt underscore and Junes and Holly's always posting really cool
(07:54):
like reels or things like that.
She makes them or she just reshares them, like cool ideas.
Basically, it was bunting made out of like packets of chips and things like
that. Oh, yeah. Yeah, it was really. But it looked so cool.
Like it actually did look good. Like people listening are probably thinking,
Mel, that's really interesting and creative.
(08:15):
But it actually did look good. Like for a kid's party, it would be pretty funky.
You would be so surprised the things that you can, sorry, I'm inside now.
You would be so surprised the things you can make out of plastic waste.
Like I could honestly, I could give you, I could talk to you for hours about that.
I know. I know you could. I'm sure we'll get you back for other episodes.
(08:39):
Sorry I'm inside now you ended up studying what
is it that you studied Holly back to uni
what was it then that you studied so I started off as a health scientist and
then basically after doing my health science I transitioned into public health
so I've got a degree in health science I have a degree in public health yeah
and I also studied sustainability and permaculture through through the University of Stamford in America.
(09:04):
Wow. Yeah. So that was pretty much. What made you want to do that?
Like what was your, I'm going to be a health scientist.
Well, I tried a few different degrees and the thing that, so like,
look, I started out in law as I feel like a lot of people do when they go to uni.
Yeah. And that wasn't really for me. So then I actually went to psychology,
(09:27):
then to philosophy, philosophy and then none
of that was really working for me and so then I
basically just ended up on health
science because it kind of it I
could help people yeah sorry
don't mind me I'm just like walking around in the entire shop basically
it meant that I could help people but
(09:50):
I could also you know what's the word for it
like I love law but like it can be a little bit bit
heartless and psychology can be a little
bit preachy and philosophy can be a
little bit wishy-washy but when I was doing health science I
was like wow I'm learning like real techniques that I can like help people with
that are like really practical and tangible and like they'll have like an effect
(10:12):
right away yeah yeah change yeah definitely and like yeah like that's probably
something you see in like a lot of the work it's like you know we just want to make a decent change,
because like you know how do you get from point a to point b someone's got to
change it yeah yeah and so what made you then start candles so where did the candle part,
(10:33):
Okay. So this is the exciting bit. Sorry. As I said, I'm just moving around
everywhere. I've got to find a quiet space now. No, that's fine.
I love it. Sorry. Now I'm in the very back lab part.
I'm like anyone listening, you have to jump on YouTube. We're literally having
a walk through. Yeah, I'm sorry. There you go. You can see all our equipment.
It's actually really cool.
(10:54):
So basically, hold on. I'll just, I'll go into the storeroom.
It's like, that's my life right now.
In the cupboard. I'm in the cupboard now you know
lock the door because I saw my niece she was like hang out
with me and I'm like oh no you're right now love you
bye basically so basically how the candles came up like about was that just
(11:16):
before the pandemic Andy and I both lost our jobs so he was working as a marine
biologist and I was working in like cosmetic medicine kind of thing yeah and then Basically,
we both got a job at a chemical formulation plant during COVID.
So we obviously could both have a job that was slightly still aligned to our backgrounds.
(11:37):
And so we were like, so all through COVID, we were making like chlorhexidine and sanitizer.
And honestly, most people on the South Coast listening to this,
I've probably formulated sanitizer that you've used.
Um if you've had those in the last five years
i've probably made the chlorhexidine that you
refuse like yeah we made like knit
(11:59):
treatment we made the products for swiss and then we were also making like products
for personal beauty brands so people were coming out with their own like body
butters and like you know hand sanitizers during like covid and so So that's
where Andy and I both really started working on, like,
not so much mass formulations but more intricate formulations.
(12:22):
Yeah. And one thing we really noticed was that the fragrances were really limited.
So in Australia, there's about 10 popular fragrances.
And if you go to, like, the $2 shop or Woolies or anywhere, you'll actually
find that it's, like, coconut and lime or, like, French pear.
Like, it's all really similar. formula and we got really bored of
(12:44):
that and so we just decided that we were going to start making our own
fragrances just to make things a little bit more interesting because we
were like Andy loves maple syrup and we can't find a maple
syrup fragrance no yeah yeah and so we just kind of started making these fragrances
and we did integrate a few of our formulas into like things that we did make
for people at the time we were working at this factory but we bought a candle
(13:09):
kit during COVID because we had, like, nothing to do.
And we were just like, let's just test out our formulations on these candles.
And then we did, and we were like, oh, these are really good.
And then we started kind of looking into it.
Candles and like like the wastage of
candles and the health impacts of candles basically doing our
due diligence and like what health scientists would
(13:30):
do and and then we were just like wow there's all this stuff
we really need to make a a candle that's healthy
for you healthy for the environment and so that's
we just kind of started and this was back in 2020 so we started like
three years ago so we put three years of research into
it before it came out this year January oh yeah
so cool and so like what's your inspiration so
(13:52):
with each of their candles obviously for those watching on
YouTube I'm gonna hold it but you can still like check
it out this is like the kayama it's gonna be like back front but this is
the kayama smell which I was saying oh it
smells so good like look this baby's been burning for
a bitch I was like smells
like a hug that's it does no it really
(14:13):
does like honestly lovely it's such
a like inspire like the different smells like when
when you go somewhere because you've got like the berry you've got
a bombo yeah jeringong yeah
wary wary beach one yeah yeah
so we've got a jamboree we've got kiyama we've got
jeringong jiroa berry seven mile at the
(14:35):
moment so it inspires you for
the smell like of each place so we
think about faith so like it's a
little bit so we've this is funny we've.
Made 50 plus fragrances it's just that we're
waiting to find what's right before we
release a new scent yeah that's so right yeah yeah
(14:57):
we'll go to a place and like i want to do like a saddleback mountain
i'm going to do a shell harbor like yeah so
like our ambition would would be that every suburb
would have one that's so cool
so like we just thought this is
unlimited potential because it's just like well this is
my area and then what smell like it's
(15:18):
like seven mile it's like coconutty it's a little bit like lemony and it's like
it reminds you of like when you like go to the beach with your friends and you're
like you know putting that like weird monkey sunscreen on and everything smells
like coconutty and like oil which is very good would be but yeah do it.
And like, yeah, so it's just, it's just about what inspires us.
(15:40):
Like, so for example, I'm in the middle of creating the Campbell Warwick handle
at the moment, just because we've got a rush on that one. Cause someone in Campbell wants to stock it.
And so for me personally, Campbell war smells like mango because like I lived
in Campbell where I'm when I first moved here and a really big part of my childhood
was this mango body butter.
(16:02):
And I've been trying to recreate the scent of this mango body butter.
And so for me, I'm like kibwara is mango and cacao and lemon.
So cool. I love that it's like your interpretation.
I think that's so cool. Like, I find it so fascinating.
So can you please give me some background on your nicknames?
(16:25):
Because like I remember when I messaged you originally, I'm like, hi, Dirt slash June.
June and you're like you can call me holly i was like thank you thank you.
No um so so andy's stories
are just like always been you've always just been dirt
(16:47):
and junes or like yeah those are
our those are our changed names no so um oh it's
like a little joke that we made once because like so andy's
a marine biologist and a diver and surfer and
everything thing and so like he's like the dunes of the beach and whereas I'm
like you know an avid hiker of hikes like across New Zealand have hiked across
(17:09):
Japan like I used to be like you know like I would go off and hike in Japan
for like a month like that used to be my thing and so I'm very like,
you know dirt girl and also like the permaculture like so
that's just it's just our silly names like i
love it so much i just thought it was so hilarious
when i first was like stalking you and trying to like
(17:30):
read your story and stuff i know
i was like that is so hilarious all right well we're nearly actually at the
end of this episode we've just flown through what tell me where were you on
the weekend because i saw that you were somewhere where was i on the weekend
so So I was at Huskisson Festival at our other business,
(17:51):
helping Andrew with something because we also own a brewery, which I'm in right now.
I'm a brewery person in the story. We're so getting you on for like multiple
episodes. I have so many questions.
And then I was in Berry dropping off
a candle to a good friend of mine that just bought a house and
then I slipped in a giant mud puddle and it
(18:13):
was actually pretty hilarious because I saw my life flash before my eyes i was
like and everyone had a really good laugh especially me because i was like you're
just gonna roll with it but you literally covered in mud i was literally covered
in mud from head to toe and it was like everyone was like okay and i was like i'm fine.
(18:34):
But i was like i guess i didn't see what just happened i only experienced it
so like i don't everyone else would have loved it like they would have loved
watching that seriously it was pretty I'm such a sucker for watching stuff and just cracking up.
Like the best person ever is someone like my mom is really like, oh, clumsy.
That sounds awful. But like she's one of those people if she falls, it's like,
(18:59):
an episode like just yeah like like she'll like it's like she's like the cartoons
and then she'll she all my entire life she's been like that and so even I would
laugh with my kids because they're like oh nanny fell over and I was like when
I was a kid literally when I was a teenager,
and I remember once I was going somewhere she
(19:22):
fell over and I just put my head down and kept walking king
i just left i don't know i was
so embarrassed you know what honestly i think my friends were like that yesterday
because like they were like are you okay but they were capping themselves at
the same time and i was just like should i just go like and i'm actually hurt
(19:43):
but that's okay i feel like i brought the vibe down i have to leave.
Because if I'm honest I look at sustainability
sometimes and then I think of all the
things we do in our house that are in no way
sustainable or like so wasteful and I
think I'm sure for lots of other people it can
(20:04):
be a very overwhelming topic like where
do I even begin to make a difference in the
world of sustainability so one of
the things I definitely wanted to ask if you're
up to anything in your own home that you could share with us or what are some
like hacks tips things that you think none of us realize or we don't know about
(20:26):
ways that we can be more sustainable like where do you start holly yeah so like
i think the first thing is like taking inspiration.
So I think it can be super overwhelming when you go on social media and you
see all these people that have these beautiful, sustainable homes and you feel
like you have to go out, buy all these things and do all these things.
(20:48):
Yeah. And you, like, you so don't because you can actually just use things around
the house to start doing little baby steps to become more sustainable.
Yeah. Okay, cool. So I've actually written you, like, five things that you can
do, like, literally today.
Day so like literally today start right now you
don't have to really buy anything love it so like the
(21:09):
first one is like reusable bags containers and bottles
and so like I know that a lot of us really struggle when we go to like Woolies
and Kohl's with the reusable bags we end up buying them and then we have like
a whole boot of like bags oh that's me I forget every time yeah 100% and so
honestly what I do is I actually keep them all on my front seat with me so I don't put them
(21:31):
in my boot I do them right on the front seat when I'm about to get out
of the car I literally grab them yeah and then
when I finished unpacking all my groceries I literally leave it
right at my front door and then as I go out back to my car I have to pick it
up otherwise I will trip over it yeah okay got it so like something like that
(21:51):
bum it down like honestly just like so easy and then And things like natural
eco-friendly cleaning.
So like we stopped buying cleaning products quite a while ago.
We literally just use vinegar and baking soda and like just make a paste and just.
Yeah. Like just super easy things like that.
(22:14):
Because I think a lot of people don't realize it. Like those are two really
powerful cleaners, which will actually provide disinfecting properties.
It is so if you just like hit the kettle pour the kettle on something you've
sanitized it hit it with the vinegar you've also disinfected it so super easy
what about like clothes washing,
(22:34):
oh my gosh i'm glad you asked so like i wash everything on a cold wash yeah
because obviously it's going to stay electricity's damn expensive hopefully
it'll save you money on like electricity from heating.
It'll save on your water bill. But I guess the hard thing is,
especially if you do have children, you're always going to have these little crusty clothes.
(22:55):
And so what I like to do is if I find something that I'm just like,
oh my goodness, this is really crusty.
I have a little bucket next to my washing machine and same vinegar and baking soda.
I will fill it with vinegar and baking soda. I just throw the crusty clothes
in there and give them a little soak.
And then I'll I'll just take everything out and shove it all in there.
(23:15):
So it's like – Do you add anything when you wash your clothes?
Or do you have your own little, like, potion type? I do, actually.
And if you want, I can share it with you. Yeah, that would be awesome.
So it's how to make – this is just off the top of my head, the recipe,
because I have it written down.
But you can actually make your own, like, washing machine powder.
(23:38):
So it's like salt, Epton salts, and washing soda and a little bit of baking soda.
So if you mix all that together in a big container –
I'll um it doesn't do like a volcano experiment does
it because when you said or is that um
liquid no like the
volcano you know you used to do that at school and the vinegar
(23:59):
no no no yeah yeah that's what I was thinking no so
like I've uh I've trawled like I've trawled
the entire internet to find like a good washing powder because
like I like I want something that's like not gonna like disrupt your endocrine
system and it's like healthy for you good for your kids you know no synthetics
or toxins or anything like that and most things are like oh yeah grate some
(24:20):
castile soap and do all these like crazy things that and i was like grading or nothing.
It's too hard great i like that it's so true but i like this recipe because
like no joke you could literally just get all this stuff from willie's throw
it all in a container mix it together,
and then done i'll send you the recipe and then
(24:41):
you can put it in your that'd be cool i'll add it into a little link
in the bottom of this episode for those of you listening and you
can follow along but make sure that you if you
didn't in the previous episode make sure that
you're following dirt and dunes on instagram
or are you on facebook i'm hardly on facebook
these days we're not on facebook i'll be honest with you we're on tiktok we're
(25:02):
on youtube and we're on the program yeah okay yeah we'll make sure everyone
that you follow because holly's always sharing like cool and sustainable reels
and tips and tricks and things like that. So, yeah.
So what – sorry, I interrupt. I got you off track. No, no, no, no.
So you're on – I think you're on two. You're on point two. I'm on point two. Yeah. So like –.
(25:27):
In regards to, like, I think as well, like, you noticed this the other day.
So, like, when we, like, from segwaying from candles into, like,
sustainability, when we talk a lot about our products, we like to kind of put
the environmental and economic benefits.
Just because, like, especially these days, it's such a huge thing,
especially if you've got, like, a house full of kids.
Like, you know, you want to do your part to be green, but at the same time,
(25:49):
like, kids are expensive.
And so, like, you've got to try and save money because we've got to pay for
swimming lessons and soccer and all these other things.
And so like these are a few things that my partner and I do in our house and
we do this to save money so basically we buy in bulk so we go to like bombo
bulk we'll buy like our food in bulk so buy like our flour and our lentils our
(26:11):
canned tomatoes we'll buy like everything in bulk.
Which really actually does save us a lot of money another
thing we do is we do like cloth alternatives because like
I remember when we were talking about like what's something that you
would really like recommend to like moms out there like a
sustainable thing that you can do tomorrow oh my gosh
ditch the paper towels just cloths like i
(26:32):
like just get an old pair of pants that like you're never
gonna wear again cut them up make a bag of rags and then
just clean your oven and kitchen and your fridge and
then you just wash them yeah love it
i love that and then just like as well air
drying clothes like you save so much money
i think it was like you can save up to 25 on your electricity
(26:52):
bill if you just air dry clothes totally i would
be the victim of that i'm not
doing that no especially with all this horrible weather
outside it's honestly like nearly impossible to like
air dry your clothes so awful hasn't it oh yeah
but yeah that's that would be so valid yeah
and then as well like fixing and mending
(27:14):
so like like just like repairing things so like repairing
clothes and appliances and furniture instead of replacing them
so like our sink broke the other day and we
were like oh do we buy a new sink like no let's just fix it
let's just take the time and fix it and we did
now we have a working sink but are.
You guys like really good and like handy I'm assuming
(27:35):
they're doing things like that because myself and my
husband are not good people at doing things like I'll
be totally honest with you we have our
our own strengths and weaknesses so like I'm better at like budgeting
and like you know like buying in bulk and I'm
better at like you know like I guess here's the
thing I'm so stubborn that if I'm like I'm using these reusable cloths I will
(27:57):
use them to my detriment even if it's really inconvenient like I'm just like
no I've made a commitment I'm doing this like and so I think it's my stubbornness
which really helps me so like Andy's not he's as stubborn as I am but like Like,
you know, he's just like, oh,
this is too hard. I'm not doing this. But I'm like, no, we're doing it.
Yeah. And so, like, I think Andy likes to give you. You know,
(28:19):
I like, I give up. So it's the worst combo ever.
Do you know what? Look, I'll be honest with you. If you can't do it yourself,
phone a friend because, like, honestly.
We have really handy friends. Some of our friends are amazing.
Yeah. Because I feel like you can always do that. You can do the skill interchange.
So, for example, like, I've got a friend who's really, like,
(28:40):
hopeful and she'll help me with things.
But then, like, she'll have, like, admin that she has to do that she's,
like, so I'll do her admin for her and she'll do all these jobs for me. Oh, that's so cute.
Oh, that's a cool village. Yeah. Yeah. So it's like fostering within your community
and reusing each other's skills.
Because look, two people, we can't do everything.
And we're not super, we are amazing.
(29:01):
But we're not superheroes. We're not.
We're not superheroes. So what about the simple everyday routines?
So like what about in every, so for example, I'll use myself as an example.
Yeah I get hello fresh three days
(29:21):
a week yeah like three meals a
week because it just number one means I don't have to think about it because
pet peeve and number two is we have so many trainings left right and center
it actually if I got any more than that it actually is wasteful like so I've
just like limited it down I get to the end of the week and I have all this meat that that I'm, like,
(29:43):
I can't use because it's actually off or whatever.
Like, three works for us.
But like I was saying with you, there's aspects even of just that alone in our house.
If I just look at the little thing of, like, when that gets dropped off,
they have changed the bags from being plastic to paper, I've noticed,
like, the portions and things like that.
(30:06):
But you get, it comes with, like, a plastic ice brick or, like, a three or something.
And even just looking at that one little thing
like sometimes when we used to have a rabbit
who we will not talk about because he's no longer with us it's
no longer with us it's quite dramatic and mel had to bury him because nath was
(30:26):
at cricket anyway it was awful it was so awful we used to keep the ice bricks
yeah oakley because in summer we'd put it in his cage and it was like like,
a cool little pool for him to hang out on.
Yeah. Now I'm just throwing them out.
Like, I've kept, I think, two as, like, ice packs for some injuries.
(30:47):
But I'm like, every other week I'm just literally throwing them out.
Or I might bust it open and water a plant.
Hopefully that detoxicant will kill my plants. Yeah, come back.
This plant might not be here next week.
Yeah, I'd actually be very keen to see if that plant's still there.
Is there any other like uses or things like that, like a way that you can figure
(31:11):
out what do I do with something like this instead of chucking it out?
Yeah, honestly. So, so segwaying from the candles again into something that can help you.
So 100% of our profits, so Andy and I don't take a cut of any of the profits
that we make from the candles, 100% of the profits go into our non-for-profit,
which is called Permaculture Out of Poverty.
(31:31):
And basically what it is, it is a urban garden system.
And so basically we're trying to set up little gardens around the Shoal Haven
where people can basically learn skills and grab food if they need it.
And so we have a TikTok and we are only present on TikTok and YouTube.
And so if you want to learn tips of where to put and what to do with these ice
(31:55):
bricks, I would say come follow us at Permaculture Out of Poverty.
But personally, what I would do
is I would see if I could upcycle it into some sort of toy for the kids.
If I wasn't upcycling it into some sort toy, I would honestly probably collect
them and I would probably sell them on marketplace because somebody out there
is going to want an ice brick at a fraction of the cost.
(32:17):
And if you're getting them for free, you might as well be like,
ice bricks for $2, come pick them up.
Wow. That's such a good idea. Or like take them to a school.
Cause like, you know, kids bump their heads.
That's such a good idea. What about that? Yeah.
So like, I don't post as much on there as I used to, but like we have everything
(32:38):
from like energy to food to sustainability tips on there because we were making
compost bins and planting flowers and not really anyone was really into that.
So we started putting the sustainability tips on top of that. So yeah.
And like we were talking about before, we've written a sustainability course
for children and parents.
So it's like something you can do on the holidays with your kids.
(32:59):
So if you're strapped for like, oh my God, what do I do?
You can watch it and find a bunch bunch of like fun activities
and like just upcycle trash to make like great things
for a garden while teaching your kid a really practical
skill that's a bit weird and segue well I actually just recently like going
into the gardening with kids I think that is such a big thing yeah um like I
(33:22):
know that even like my kids primary school they are really big on like the garden
club and it's It's so cute because,
like, yeah, they grow stuff and then, like,
my kids will be like, Mom, can you give me money because they're coming around
today with all the veggies from the garden club.
Oh, it's so cute. I love that. I think I've paid, like, a lot of money for a
lettuce, let's be honest, like more than you probably would usually.
(33:45):
But I'm like, you know what, it's so great because it goes back into,
like, the next round of seeds and things like that.
Yeah. It's just teaching the kids things like that.
So even with Willow, we actually started –.
A fairy garden I love that and
I was like well it was awful weather
(34:05):
like and so I just actually went
and bought like a little round pot and we
just yeah we just put like the grass seeds and yeah
grass is growing she's got a little house and things like that so that was a
really cool thing and she loves it so I've had to actually put it on our oh
hello I've had to put it on our balcony so that we can um play with it in all weather situations.
(34:35):
Sorry you just stopped oh shit little interruption
oh so cute but um
oh that's so cool and what was one i want you to share about
the little project that you're doing for your little man that you're telling
me about that you're oh yes so we so
we got rid of our shoe rack because we needed a new new one and we
(34:56):
basically so obviously because we like to kind of be as
sustainable as possible we bought storage boxes that we
could sit on in the garden and basically use as a
bench but then also keep all our stuff underneath it just because
like the rain and the horrible weather and our shoes were constantly
getting wet so now we have this shoe rack and it's just like well we want
to make our son a mud kitchen but I don't
(35:17):
want to pay like 700 to like a thousand dollars is
just going to get covered in mud so we
yeah yeah so just like started
collecting our recyclable trash and you
know like making like knobs on it and like a little bucket and everything like
that and it's just something like cheap and easy that him and his cousin can
play with and everything because he's got his own little garden is all his own
(35:40):
little herbs and everything but like he's getting to the stage where he's getting
more like tactile and stuff so like yeah so i've made I made one for the house,
but I also want to make one for our community garden project.
So when people bring their kids, their kids like, yeah, we just put a fish in today.
So that's what my son was doing. So yeah, we've got a little pond now.
(36:01):
And so there's like little koi fish in there. And so like when kids come to
the garden with their parents, because you can sit in the garden because it's
like a nice place to just be.
And then if you want to take some herbs and some plants, you can do that.
But now there's like a nice little safe space for like a kid to kind of like
be outside, which is nice because like kids need outside time and everything.
But still have something to do if they need it.
(36:21):
Yeah. But with like your community garden, do you have to like pay to like be
a member or like how do you kind of navigate that?
So basically, because we're a non-for-profit, we're still waiting for our non-for-profit
certification to come in, just because obviously there's a lot of things you
need to do to study profit.
So we are lucky that we already have a brick and mortar business,
(36:45):
which I'm sitting in right now.
And so our garden is located in South Narrow.
And so basically we just have it outside of our business and then people can drive up and just,
they can come sit in it for lunch if they want to, because we've
got chairs and tables outside or like they
can come and engage with it like honestly like i have like
(37:05):
herbs and everything and every so often i'll just like make up
a bunch of like little herb pots and i'll just be like free like
i don't need it like someone else and you need to like kill
the plant if you don't trim it yeah yeah and
i guess the thing is as well like other ways to like
save money is like composting like growing your own fruits and
veggies but it's really time consuming for people so like even having
(37:27):
like a simple basil plant would save you like buying basil
like six dollars at the shop and so you're not
going to keep basil alive no yeah I'll give
you some basil you can keep my basil alive one of
my friends when we moved into this house was like I'm buying you
a basil plant and I was like no no don't give it to me
I'll kill it and she's like you can't kill it I'm like oh I'm
(37:48):
pretty sure I will I'm pretty confident you know what I will I will give you
i will give you a system to like oh i think i over love it i think i like love
on it too much like i think i yeah i over nurture you can't over love something
theoretically but maybe the basil.
(38:08):
Put in the sun it shrivels i don't
put it in the sun and it shrivels like i just can't
i can't you know what i'm fine with everything else rosemary loves me like seriously
rosemary's amazingly hardy when we meet up i'm gonna give you some plants yes
definitely um one of the previous guests that we had on when i interviewed her her whole background,
(38:34):
yeah like in her office was just plants i'm just sitting here just envious of all those plants,
i love that and i'm just in an industrial unit right now yeah i know i know
it's just Just, oh, now you've got to get a little bit of greenery.
Rugby jersey, giant fridge, lab out the back.
(38:54):
Oh, Holly, you're amazing as usual. Thank you for all the practical tips.
There are so many things.
I reckon I'm going to have to go back and listen to this episode because I'm
going to have to write down a couple of those tips that actually do.
Yes. Oh, thanks, Holly. That's all right. Thank you. You're the cutest. Bye. Bye.
(39:14):
Music.
Music.
(00:10):
Okay here we go let's go
i'm so excited all right so
welcome to the wonder of home with myself
mel and we are joined by the beautiful holly
that is our sustainable homemaker this week who i'm so keen to pick her brain
because she has the coolest stories or story in general about what she's doing
(00:34):
how she got there And she's currently joining us from outside,
which is very appropriate.
Welcome, Holly. Hello. Thank you for having me.
Why are you outside, Holly? Why am I outside?
Yeah. My son had swimming lessons this morning at 8am and unfortunately we forgot
(00:54):
the keys to our business.
So I'm just chilling in the garden for a while.
I love it. It looks like you would hang out anyway, isn't it?
Love that for me. Oh, so cute. you so beautiful Holly I introduced myself to
Holly actually I just was she was one of the,
one of my victims where I just
(01:15):
like slid into her DMs but it actually came about because one of my friends
had bought a candle and when I was at their house I noticed how amazing this
candle smelled which I love a good candle and when they told me that they'd
bought it like locally I was
like I have to track down these candles anyway every time I've gone to buy one
(01:38):
I haven't they've been sold out and so I had to stalk them on Instagram waiting for the next drop,
and so I just messaged Holly out of the blue because I was like you when I read
her story and when you guys hear about her story I was like please tell me more
about how this came about that. Look, I actually did get a candle.
(02:00):
Most amazing candle.
It smells so good.
Smells like a hug, I reckon. It does. It does smell like a hug. Yeah.
So Holly, where did you grow up? Give me all the background. Let's go.
All the gory details. Let's go. All right. So I moved to Australia about 16 years ago.
(02:20):
So before I was living in Australia, I lived in America and I I lived over in
the UK. I'm originally from Winchester in England, New Stonehenge.
So yeah, my parents are both European. What else can I say? Oh no,
my computer has decided to die.
So basically, yeah, I didn't grow up in a sustainable household.
(02:41):
So my parents are both like, I guess they're more like modern people.
But when I moved to Australia, I met my best friend and her mother is like this
mad OG hippie and her name's Ruth and she's amazing.
And I kind of started on my sustainability journey when I was about 14.
When I met Ruth because I was so amazed by her
(03:02):
home and like you know her composting practices and
like reusing bottles and things like that and that was and like bushwalking
and like growing her own food and having chickens and like she was just so different
from my own parents that I was so inspired by her that I basically adopted a
lot of her sustainability practices from her home and I I kind of kept them going in my own life.
(03:25):
Wow. That's cool. At 14.
At 14, yeah. So that's where I pretty much started. Like I was very interested
and I guess because like obviously we are like talking about home and everything like that.
If you grow up with something that's a little bit different,
when you see something that's a little bit new, you're like,
wow, this is really cool and interesting.
And I want to like, you know, it's like an entry point. It's like,
(03:47):
oh, how can I do more with this?
Yeah. So that was my introduction point into sustainability. Oh, so cool.
So what did you, so age 14, obviously you started integrating all these things
that you thought were really interesting that you'd seen from your friend's house.
Yeah. So then did that inspire you then to go on and study what you studied?
(04:10):
And can you share what you studied? Yeah.
So I should have probably mentioned this to you actually before.
So I'm in my mid-30s and so, like, I actually left school at 15 and actually became a hairdresser.
Wow. And then I went back to school. I got my high school certificate and then
(04:31):
I actually went into uni when I was about 21.
Wow. So that's where I actually started. But all through that time,
I always wanted to be, like, vegetarian and, like, you know,
have a compost bin and, like, do all these, like, you know.
You know, with like the sustainability factor and like your interest and passion
for it, working in hairdressing.
Oh, well, actually, one thing from hairdressing that really inspired me,
(04:54):
which is actually something that we've implemented in our workshop where we
do all the candles, is there's a thing called sustainable salons for salons.
And basically, it's like it encourages hairdressers. So they get like four bins
and you're encouraged to sort through all your waste. So you put hair in one
bin, you put tubes in another bin, foil in another bin, something else in another
(05:18):
bin. I can't remember what's in that bin.
And then you send it all back to the company and then they sort through it all.
They turn the hair into oil catching nets.
They recycle all the tubes. They recycle the foil and make refoil.
Then you can buy back and then foil people's hair with.
So I was really inspired by that. I was thinking as soon as you said hairdressing,
I was like, oh man, there would be so much waste in that industry.
(05:38):
I imagine, like plastics and all that sort of thing. That's so cool. I didn't know that.
Yeah, so we have a, like, a waste bin thing.
Structure in our candle studio yeah it's
like a lab but like and it's it mimics it
to the best of our abilities because obviously you're going
to have obviously different waste with candles and hairdressing but like yeah
(06:01):
so yeah yeah sorry I
probably should have mentioned that but um no no no that's good
no I'm like wow I didn't
so if you're a sustainable hairdresser yeah is
that like something you have to apply for like what would be the
process of that so if there are yeah well
if there's any hairdressers listening you pretty much just
(06:24):
go onto the sustainable salons website you just
apply and they I think you pay about 200
to join up and then they give you all these bins and
then you basically bring them up and they organize collections and everything
like that and it's yeah it's really really easy
but like I love it because the thing is you can take it as
a business owner and then just apply it to any industry so you
(06:44):
could take it to like cafe bakery woodworkers like
you know well you'll have to see the details of that
because I might even add that like details in the
like the blurb for this week's I will I will sorry yeah I probably should have
mentioned that to you before but that's really cool I always forget to tell
people we go through so much paper yeah and like we recycle it but even we were
(07:08):
saying you would I would be interested in my bid system because, like,
I had it for, like, you know, like I wanted to talk about it later.
But so it's actually so funny when we were talking the other day because I was
literally just about to post a reel about our waste.
Yeah. And I was like, oh, I'll wait to post it till after we,
like, we hang out and everything like that. Yeah. And to be like, yeah.
(07:31):
Yeah. Totally. Well, even I think it was last night. Yeah. And I thought it
was so cool about like the bunting.
Oh, yeah. Packets and then like you can create bunting.
You'll have to go and check it out. Anyone that's listening,
go and follow Dirt underscore and Junes and Holly's always posting really cool
(07:54):
like reels or things like that.
She makes them or she just reshares them, like cool ideas.
Basically, it was bunting made out of like packets of chips and things like
that. Oh, yeah. Yeah, it was really. But it looked so cool.
Like it actually did look good. Like people listening are probably thinking,
Mel, that's really interesting and creative.
(08:15):
But it actually did look good. Like for a kid's party, it would be pretty funky.
You would be so surprised the things that you can, sorry, I'm inside now.
You would be so surprised the things you can make out of plastic waste.
Like I could honestly, I could give you, I could talk to you for hours about that.
I know. I know you could. I'm sure we'll get you back for other episodes.
(08:39):
Sorry I'm inside now you ended up studying what
is it that you studied Holly back to uni
what was it then that you studied so I started off as a health scientist and
then basically after doing my health science I transitioned into public health
so I've got a degree in health science I have a degree in public health yeah
and I also studied sustainability and permaculture through through the University of Stamford in America.
(09:04):
Wow. Yeah. So that was pretty much. What made you want to do that?
Like what was your, I'm going to be a health scientist.
Well, I tried a few different degrees and the thing that, so like,
look, I started out in law as I feel like a lot of people do when they go to uni.
Yeah. And that wasn't really for me. So then I actually went to psychology,
(09:27):
then to philosophy, philosophy and then none
of that was really working for me and so then I
basically just ended up on health
science because it kind of it I
could help people yeah sorry
don't mind me I'm just like walking around in the entire shop basically
it meant that I could help people but
(09:50):
I could also you know what's the word for it
like I love law but like it can be a little bit bit
heartless and psychology can be a little
bit preachy and philosophy can be a
little bit wishy-washy but when I was doing health science I
was like wow I'm learning like real techniques that I can like help people with
that are like really practical and tangible and like they'll have like an effect
(10:12):
right away yeah yeah change yeah definitely and like yeah like that's probably
something you see in like a lot of the work it's like you know we just want to make a decent change,
because like you know how do you get from point a to point b someone's got to
change it yeah yeah and so what made you then start candles so where did the candle part,
(10:33):
Okay. So this is the exciting bit. Sorry. As I said, I'm just moving around
everywhere. I've got to find a quiet space now. No, that's fine.
I love it. Sorry. Now I'm in the very back lab part.
I'm like anyone listening, you have to jump on YouTube. We're literally having
a walk through. Yeah, I'm sorry. There you go. You can see all our equipment.
It's actually really cool.
(10:54):
So basically, hold on. I'll just, I'll go into the storeroom.
It's like, that's my life right now.
In the cupboard. I'm in the cupboard now you know
lock the door because I saw my niece she was like hang out
with me and I'm like oh no you're right now love you
bye basically so basically how the candles came up like about was that just
(11:16):
before the pandemic Andy and I both lost our jobs so he was working as a marine
biologist and I was working in like cosmetic medicine kind of thing yeah and then Basically,
we both got a job at a chemical formulation plant during COVID.
So we obviously could both have a job that was slightly still aligned to our backgrounds.
(11:37):
And so we were like, so all through COVID, we were making like chlorhexidine and sanitizer.
And honestly, most people on the South Coast listening to this,
I've probably formulated sanitizer that you've used.
Um if you've had those in the last five years
i've probably made the chlorhexidine that you
refuse like yeah we made like knit
(11:59):
treatment we made the products for swiss and then we were also making like products
for personal beauty brands so people were coming out with their own like body
butters and like you know hand sanitizers during like covid and so So that's
where Andy and I both really started working on, like,
not so much mass formulations but more intricate formulations.
(12:22):
Yeah. And one thing we really noticed was that the fragrances were really limited.
So in Australia, there's about 10 popular fragrances.
And if you go to, like, the $2 shop or Woolies or anywhere, you'll actually
find that it's, like, coconut and lime or, like, French pear.
Like, it's all really similar. formula and we got really bored of
(12:44):
that and so we just decided that we were going to start making our own
fragrances just to make things a little bit more interesting because we
were like Andy loves maple syrup and we can't find a maple
syrup fragrance no yeah yeah and so we just kind of started making these fragrances
and we did integrate a few of our formulas into like things that we did make
for people at the time we were working at this factory but we bought a candle
(13:09):
kit during COVID because we had, like, nothing to do.
And we were just like, let's just test out our formulations on these candles.
And then we did, and we were like, oh, these are really good.
And then we started kind of looking into it.
Candles and like like the wastage of
candles and the health impacts of candles basically doing our
due diligence and like what health scientists would
(13:30):
do and and then we were just like wow there's all this stuff
we really need to make a a candle that's healthy
for you healthy for the environment and so that's
we just kind of started and this was back in 2020 so we started like
three years ago so we put three years of research into
it before it came out this year January oh yeah
so cool and so like what's your inspiration so
(13:52):
with each of their candles obviously for those watching on
YouTube I'm gonna hold it but you can still like check
it out this is like the kayama it's gonna be like back front but this is
the kayama smell which I was saying oh it
smells so good like look this baby's been burning for
a bitch I was like smells
like a hug that's it does no it really
(14:13):
does like honestly lovely it's such
a like inspire like the different smells like when
when you go somewhere because you've got like the berry you've got
a bombo yeah jeringong yeah
wary wary beach one yeah yeah
so we've got a jamboree we've got kiyama we've got
jeringong jiroa berry seven mile at the
(14:35):
moment so it inspires you for
the smell like of each place so we
think about faith so like it's a
little bit so we've this is funny we've.
Made 50 plus fragrances it's just that we're
waiting to find what's right before we
release a new scent yeah that's so right yeah yeah
(14:57):
we'll go to a place and like i want to do like a saddleback mountain
i'm going to do a shell harbor like yeah so
like our ambition would would be that every suburb
would have one that's so cool
so like we just thought this is
unlimited potential because it's just like well this is
my area and then what smell like it's
(15:18):
like seven mile it's like coconutty it's a little bit like lemony and it's like
it reminds you of like when you like go to the beach with your friends and you're
like you know putting that like weird monkey sunscreen on and everything smells
like coconutty and like oil which is very good would be but yeah do it.
And like, yeah, so it's just, it's just about what inspires us.
(15:40):
Like, so for example, I'm in the middle of creating the Campbell Warwick handle
at the moment, just because we've got a rush on that one. Cause someone in Campbell wants to stock it.
And so for me personally, Campbell war smells like mango because like I lived
in Campbell where I'm when I first moved here and a really big part of my childhood
was this mango body butter.
(16:02):
And I've been trying to recreate the scent of this mango body butter.
And so for me, I'm like kibwara is mango and cacao and lemon.
So cool. I love that it's like your interpretation.
I think that's so cool. Like, I find it so fascinating.
So can you please give me some background on your nicknames?
(16:25):
Because like I remember when I messaged you originally, I'm like, hi, Dirt slash June.
June and you're like you can call me holly i was like thank you thank you.
No um so so andy's stories
are just like always been you've always just been dirt
(16:47):
and junes or like yeah those are
our those are our changed names no so um oh it's
like a little joke that we made once because like so andy's
a marine biologist and a diver and surfer and
everything thing and so like he's like the dunes of the beach and whereas I'm
like you know an avid hiker of hikes like across New Zealand have hiked across
(17:09):
Japan like I used to be like you know like I would go off and hike in Japan
for like a month like that used to be my thing and so I'm very like,
you know dirt girl and also like the permaculture like so
that's just it's just our silly names like i
love it so much i just thought it was so hilarious
when i first was like stalking you and trying to like
(17:30):
read your story and stuff i know
i was like that is so hilarious all right well we're nearly actually at the
end of this episode we've just flown through what tell me where were you on
the weekend because i saw that you were somewhere where was i on the weekend
so So I was at Huskisson Festival at our other business,
(17:51):
helping Andrew with something because we also own a brewery, which I'm in right now.
I'm a brewery person in the story. We're so getting you on for like multiple
episodes. I have so many questions.
And then I was in Berry dropping off
a candle to a good friend of mine that just bought a house and
then I slipped in a giant mud puddle and it
(18:13):
was actually pretty hilarious because I saw my life flash before my eyes i was
like and everyone had a really good laugh especially me because i was like you're
just gonna roll with it but you literally covered in mud i was literally covered
in mud from head to toe and it was like everyone was like okay and i was like i'm fine.
(18:34):
But i was like i guess i didn't see what just happened i only experienced it
so like i don't everyone else would have loved it like they would have loved
watching that seriously it was pretty I'm such a sucker for watching stuff and just cracking up.
Like the best person ever is someone like my mom is really like, oh, clumsy.
That sounds awful. But like she's one of those people if she falls, it's like,
(18:59):
an episode like just yeah like like she'll like it's like she's like the cartoons
and then she'll she all my entire life she's been like that and so even I would
laugh with my kids because they're like oh nanny fell over and I was like when
I was a kid literally when I was a teenager,
and I remember once I was going somewhere she
(19:22):
fell over and I just put my head down and kept walking king
i just left i don't know i was
so embarrassed you know what honestly i think my friends were like that yesterday
because like they were like are you okay but they were capping themselves at
the same time and i was just like should i just go like and i'm actually hurt
(19:43):
but that's okay i feel like i brought the vibe down i have to leave.
Because if I'm honest I look at sustainability
sometimes and then I think of all the
things we do in our house that are in no way
sustainable or like so wasteful and I
think I'm sure for lots of other people it can
(20:04):
be a very overwhelming topic like where
do I even begin to make a difference in the
world of sustainability so one of
the things I definitely wanted to ask if you're
up to anything in your own home that you could share with us or what are some
like hacks tips things that you think none of us realize or we don't know about
(20:26):
ways that we can be more sustainable like where do you start holly yeah so like
i think the first thing is like taking inspiration.
So I think it can be super overwhelming when you go on social media and you
see all these people that have these beautiful, sustainable homes and you feel
like you have to go out, buy all these things and do all these things.
(20:48):
Yeah. And you, like, you so don't because you can actually just use things around
the house to start doing little baby steps to become more sustainable.
Yeah. Okay, cool. So I've actually written you, like, five things that you can
do, like, literally today.
Day so like literally today start right now you
don't have to really buy anything love it so like the
(21:09):
first one is like reusable bags containers and bottles
and so like I know that a lot of us really struggle when we go to like Woolies
and Kohl's with the reusable bags we end up buying them and then we have like
a whole boot of like bags oh that's me I forget every time yeah 100% and so
honestly what I do is I actually keep them all on my front seat with me so I don't put them
(21:31):
in my boot I do them right on the front seat when I'm about to get out
of the car I literally grab them yeah and then
when I finished unpacking all my groceries I literally leave it
right at my front door and then as I go out back to my car I have to pick it
up otherwise I will trip over it yeah okay got it so like something like that
(21:51):
bum it down like honestly just like so easy and then And things like natural
eco-friendly cleaning.
So like we stopped buying cleaning products quite a while ago.
We literally just use vinegar and baking soda and like just make a paste and just.
Yeah. Like just super easy things like that.
(22:14):
Because I think a lot of people don't realize it. Like those are two really
powerful cleaners, which will actually provide disinfecting properties.
It is so if you just like hit the kettle pour the kettle on something you've
sanitized it hit it with the vinegar you've also disinfected it so super easy
what about like clothes washing,
(22:34):
oh my gosh i'm glad you asked so like i wash everything on a cold wash yeah
because obviously it's going to stay electricity's damn expensive hopefully
it'll save you money on like electricity from heating.
It'll save on your water bill. But I guess the hard thing is,
especially if you do have children, you're always going to have these little crusty clothes.
(22:55):
And so what I like to do is if I find something that I'm just like,
oh my goodness, this is really crusty.
I have a little bucket next to my washing machine and same vinegar and baking soda.
I will fill it with vinegar and baking soda. I just throw the crusty clothes
in there and give them a little soak.
And then I'll I'll just take everything out and shove it all in there.
(23:15):
So it's like – Do you add anything when you wash your clothes?
Or do you have your own little, like, potion type? I do, actually.
And if you want, I can share it with you. Yeah, that would be awesome.
So it's how to make – this is just off the top of my head, the recipe,
because I have it written down.
But you can actually make your own, like, washing machine powder.
(23:38):
So it's like salt, Epton salts, and washing soda and a little bit of baking soda.
So if you mix all that together in a big container –
I'll um it doesn't do like a volcano experiment does
it because when you said or is that um
liquid no like the
volcano you know you used to do that at school and the vinegar
(23:59):
no no no yeah yeah that's what I was thinking no so
like I've uh I've trawled like I've trawled
the entire internet to find like a good washing powder because
like I like I want something that's like not gonna like disrupt your endocrine
system and it's like healthy for you good for your kids you know no synthetics
or toxins or anything like that and most things are like oh yeah grate some
(24:20):
castile soap and do all these like crazy things that and i was like grading or nothing.
It's too hard great i like that it's so true but i like this recipe because
like no joke you could literally just get all this stuff from willie's throw
it all in a container mix it together,
and then done i'll send you the recipe and then
(24:41):
you can put it in your that'd be cool i'll add it into a little link
in the bottom of this episode for those of you listening and you
can follow along but make sure that you if you
didn't in the previous episode make sure that
you're following dirt and dunes on instagram
or are you on facebook i'm hardly on facebook
these days we're not on facebook i'll be honest with you we're on tiktok we're
(25:02):
on youtube and we're on the program yeah okay yeah we'll make sure everyone
that you follow because holly's always sharing like cool and sustainable reels
and tips and tricks and things like that. So, yeah.
So what – sorry, I interrupt. I got you off track. No, no, no, no.
So you're on – I think you're on two. You're on point two. I'm on point two. Yeah. So like –.
(25:27):
In regards to, like, I think as well, like, you noticed this the other day.
So, like, when we, like, from segwaying from candles into, like,
sustainability, when we talk a lot about our products, we like to kind of put
the environmental and economic benefits.
Just because, like, especially these days, it's such a huge thing,
especially if you've got, like, a house full of kids.
Like, you know, you want to do your part to be green, but at the same time,
(25:49):
like, kids are expensive.
And so, like, you've got to try and save money because we've got to pay for
swimming lessons and soccer and all these other things.
And so like these are a few things that my partner and I do in our house and
we do this to save money so basically we buy in bulk so we go to like bombo
bulk we'll buy like our food in bulk so buy like our flour and our lentils our
(26:11):
canned tomatoes we'll buy like everything in bulk.
Which really actually does save us a lot of money another
thing we do is we do like cloth alternatives because like
I remember when we were talking about like what's something that you
would really like recommend to like moms out there like a
sustainable thing that you can do tomorrow oh my gosh
ditch the paper towels just cloths like i
(26:32):
like just get an old pair of pants that like you're never
gonna wear again cut them up make a bag of rags and then
just clean your oven and kitchen and your fridge and
then you just wash them yeah love it
i love that and then just like as well air
drying clothes like you save so much money
i think it was like you can save up to 25 on your electricity
(26:52):
bill if you just air dry clothes totally i would
be the victim of that i'm not
doing that no especially with all this horrible weather
outside it's honestly like nearly impossible to like
air dry your clothes so awful hasn't it oh yeah
but yeah that's that would be so valid yeah
and then as well like fixing and mending
(27:14):
so like like just like repairing things so like repairing
clothes and appliances and furniture instead of replacing them
so like our sink broke the other day and we
were like oh do we buy a new sink like no let's just fix it
let's just take the time and fix it and we did
now we have a working sink but are.
You guys like really good and like handy I'm assuming
(27:35):
they're doing things like that because myself and my
husband are not good people at doing things like I'll
be totally honest with you we have our
our own strengths and weaknesses so like I'm better at like budgeting
and like you know like buying in bulk and I'm
better at like you know like I guess here's the
thing I'm so stubborn that if I'm like I'm using these reusable cloths I will
(27:57):
use them to my detriment even if it's really inconvenient like I'm just like
no I've made a commitment I'm doing this like and so I think it's my stubbornness
which really helps me so like Andy's not he's as stubborn as I am but like Like,
you know, he's just like, oh,
this is too hard. I'm not doing this. But I'm like, no, we're doing it.
Yeah. And so, like, I think Andy likes to give you. You know,
(28:19):
I like, I give up. So it's the worst combo ever.
Do you know what? Look, I'll be honest with you. If you can't do it yourself,
phone a friend because, like, honestly.
We have really handy friends. Some of our friends are amazing.
Yeah. Because I feel like you can always do that. You can do the skill interchange.
So, for example, like, I've got a friend who's really, like,
(28:40):
hopeful and she'll help me with things.
But then, like, she'll have, like, admin that she has to do that she's,
like, so I'll do her admin for her and she'll do all these jobs for me. Oh, that's so cute.
Oh, that's a cool village. Yeah. Yeah. So it's like fostering within your community
and reusing each other's skills.
Because look, two people, we can't do everything.
And we're not super, we are amazing.
(29:01):
But we're not superheroes. We're not.
We're not superheroes. So what about the simple everyday routines?
So like what about in every, so for example, I'll use myself as an example.
Yeah I get hello fresh three days
(29:21):
a week yeah like three meals a
week because it just number one means I don't have to think about it because
pet peeve and number two is we have so many trainings left right and center
it actually if I got any more than that it actually is wasteful like so I've
just like limited it down I get to the end of the week and I have all this meat that that I'm, like,
(29:43):
I can't use because it's actually off or whatever.
Like, three works for us.
But like I was saying with you, there's aspects even of just that alone in our house.
If I just look at the little thing of, like, when that gets dropped off,
they have changed the bags from being plastic to paper, I've noticed,
like, the portions and things like that.
(30:06):
But you get, it comes with, like, a plastic ice brick or, like, a three or something.
And even just looking at that one little thing
like sometimes when we used to have a rabbit
who we will not talk about because he's no longer with us it's
no longer with us it's quite dramatic and mel had to bury him because nath was
(30:26):
at cricket anyway it was awful it was so awful we used to keep the ice bricks
yeah oakley because in summer we'd put it in his cage and it was like like,
a cool little pool for him to hang out on.
Yeah. Now I'm just throwing them out.
Like, I've kept, I think, two as, like, ice packs for some injuries.
(30:47):
But I'm like, every other week I'm just literally throwing them out.
Or I might bust it open and water a plant.
Hopefully that detoxicant will kill my plants. Yeah, come back.
This plant might not be here next week.
Yeah, I'd actually be very keen to see if that plant's still there.
Is there any other like uses or things like that, like a way that you can figure
(31:11):
out what do I do with something like this instead of chucking it out?
Yeah, honestly. So, so segwaying from the candles again into something that can help you.
So 100% of our profits, so Andy and I don't take a cut of any of the profits
that we make from the candles, 100% of the profits go into our non-for-profit,
which is called Permaculture Out of Poverty.
(31:31):
And basically what it is, it is a urban garden system.
And so basically we're trying to set up little gardens around the Shoal Haven
where people can basically learn skills and grab food if they need it.
And so we have a TikTok and we are only present on TikTok and YouTube.
And so if you want to learn tips of where to put and what to do with these ice
(31:55):
bricks, I would say come follow us at Permaculture Out of Poverty.
But personally, what I would do
is I would see if I could upcycle it into some sort of toy for the kids.
If I wasn't upcycling it into some sort toy, I would honestly probably collect
them and I would probably sell them on marketplace because somebody out there
is going to want an ice brick at a fraction of the cost.
(32:17):
And if you're getting them for free, you might as well be like,
ice bricks for $2, come pick them up.
Wow. That's such a good idea. Or like take them to a school.
Cause like, you know, kids bump their heads.
That's such a good idea. What about that? Yeah.
So like, I don't post as much on there as I used to, but like we have everything
(32:38):
from like energy to food to sustainability tips on there because we were making
compost bins and planting flowers and not really anyone was really into that.
So we started putting the sustainability tips on top of that. So yeah.
And like we were talking about before, we've written a sustainability course
for children and parents.
So it's like something you can do on the holidays with your kids.
(32:59):
So if you're strapped for like, oh my God, what do I do?
You can watch it and find a bunch bunch of like fun activities
and like just upcycle trash to make like great things
for a garden while teaching your kid a really practical
skill that's a bit weird and segue well I actually just recently like going
into the gardening with kids I think that is such a big thing yeah um like I
(33:22):
know that even like my kids primary school they are really big on like the garden
club and it's It's so cute because,
like, yeah, they grow stuff and then, like,
my kids will be like, Mom, can you give me money because they're coming around
today with all the veggies from the garden club.
Oh, it's so cute. I love that. I think I've paid, like, a lot of money for a
lettuce, let's be honest, like more than you probably would usually.
(33:45):
But I'm like, you know what, it's so great because it goes back into,
like, the next round of seeds and things like that.
Yeah. It's just teaching the kids things like that.
So even with Willow, we actually started –.
A fairy garden I love that and
I was like well it was awful weather
(34:05):
like and so I just actually went
and bought like a little round pot and we
just yeah we just put like the grass seeds and yeah
grass is growing she's got a little house and things like that so that was a
really cool thing and she loves it so I've had to actually put it on our oh
hello I've had to put it on our balcony so that we can um play with it in all weather situations.
(34:35):
Sorry you just stopped oh shit little interruption
oh so cute but um
oh that's so cool and what was one i want you to share about
the little project that you're doing for your little man that you're telling
me about that you're oh yes so we so
we got rid of our shoe rack because we needed a new new one and we
(34:56):
basically so obviously because we like to kind of be as
sustainable as possible we bought storage boxes that we
could sit on in the garden and basically use as a
bench but then also keep all our stuff underneath it just because
like the rain and the horrible weather and our shoes were constantly
getting wet so now we have this shoe rack and it's just like well we want
to make our son a mud kitchen but I don't
(35:17):
want to pay like 700 to like a thousand dollars is
just going to get covered in mud so we
yeah yeah so just like started
collecting our recyclable trash and you
know like making like knobs on it and like a little bucket and everything like
that and it's just something like cheap and easy that him and his cousin can
play with and everything because he's got his own little garden is all his own
(35:40):
little herbs and everything but like he's getting to the stage where he's getting
more like tactile and stuff so like yeah so i've made I made one for the house,
but I also want to make one for our community garden project.
So when people bring their kids, their kids like, yeah, we just put a fish in today.
So that's what my son was doing. So yeah, we've got a little pond now.
(36:01):
And so there's like little koi fish in there. And so like when kids come to
the garden with their parents, because you can sit in the garden because it's
like a nice place to just be.
And then if you want to take some herbs and some plants, you can do that.
But now there's like a nice little safe space for like a kid to kind of like
be outside, which is nice because like kids need outside time and everything.
But still have something to do if they need it.
(36:21):
Yeah. But with like your community garden, do you have to like pay to like be
a member or like how do you kind of navigate that?
So basically, because we're a non-for-profit, we're still waiting for our non-for-profit
certification to come in, just because obviously there's a lot of things you
need to do to study profit.
So we are lucky that we already have a brick and mortar business,
(36:45):
which I'm sitting in right now.
And so our garden is located in South Narrow.
And so basically we just have it outside of our business and then people can drive up and just,
they can come sit in it for lunch if they want to, because we've
got chairs and tables outside or like they
can come and engage with it like honestly like i have like
(37:05):
herbs and everything and every so often i'll just like make up
a bunch of like little herb pots and i'll just be like free like
i don't need it like someone else and you need to like kill
the plant if you don't trim it yeah yeah and
i guess the thing is as well like other ways to like
save money is like composting like growing your own fruits and
veggies but it's really time consuming for people so like even having
(37:27):
like a simple basil plant would save you like buying basil
like six dollars at the shop and so you're not
going to keep basil alive no yeah I'll give
you some basil you can keep my basil alive one of
my friends when we moved into this house was like I'm buying you
a basil plant and I was like no no don't give it to me
I'll kill it and she's like you can't kill it I'm like oh I'm
(37:48):
pretty sure I will I'm pretty confident you know what I will I will give you
i will give you a system to like oh i think i over love it i think i like love
on it too much like i think i yeah i over nurture you can't over love something
theoretically but maybe the basil.
(38:08):
Put in the sun it shrivels i don't
put it in the sun and it shrivels like i just can't
i can't you know what i'm fine with everything else rosemary loves me like seriously
rosemary's amazingly hardy when we meet up i'm gonna give you some plants yes
definitely um one of the previous guests that we had on when i interviewed her her whole background,
(38:34):
yeah like in her office was just plants i'm just sitting here just envious of all those plants,
i love that and i'm just in an industrial unit right now yeah i know i know
it's just Just, oh, now you've got to get a little bit of greenery.
Rugby jersey, giant fridge, lab out the back.
(38:54):
Oh, Holly, you're amazing as usual. Thank you for all the practical tips.
There are so many things.
I reckon I'm going to have to go back and listen to this episode because I'm
going to have to write down a couple of those tips that actually do.
Yes. Oh, thanks, Holly. That's all right. Thank you. You're the cutest. Bye. Bye.
(39:14):
Music.
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