sunshineandsmilesevents

09/09/2026

This weeks work in progess (and every week for the forseeable) is knitting. Now I can only knit straight lines sl its going to be a lot of scarfs or a glorious patchwork knitted blanket by the time I get through my wool stash!

I have to say I find the repetition of knitting very calming for my often overwhelmed nervous system.

What's your current work in progress?

08/09/2026

It's true🧚✨

I'm 45 years old and my life goals haven't changed much since I was 7!

I want to live somewhere magical. I want to make things with my hands. I want to surround myself with colour and sparkle and people who believe in a bit of fairy dust. I want to fix things and create things and generally be useful in a chaotic, glittery, joyful sort of way.

Tinkerbell, basically.

The world keeps telling me to be sensible. To have a five year plan. To think about pensions and practicalities and all that other boring stuff.

And I keep thinking — but what if the point IS the sparkle?

What did you want to be when you grew up? And how close are you to that now??

 

14/08/2026

Individual actions matter. And they are not enough on there on.

The decisions that will determine whether we meet climate targets are made by governments, corporations and international bodies. Individual reusable bags are not going to fix systemic fossil fuel subsidies.

Which is why who you vote fore, what you campaign for, who you write to and what you demand of those in power is one of the most powerful eco acts available to you.

I vote Green Party of England & Wales because I believe in evidence-based climate policy, in protecting natural spaces and in an economy that doesn't treat the planet as an afterthought.

You get to make your own choice on who you vote for, but please make a choice.

14/08/2026

Free books. Free audiobooks. Free access to magazines, newspapers, courses, events, printers, tablets and pcs. Quiet area to ready or studio.

The library is one of the most radical sharing economy institutions we have and most of us completely ignore it.

For ADHD brains that devour books, sometimes reading multiple books because it all depends on what type of book we want to read in that moment, the library is genuinely lif changing. Borrow it, read it, return it (with the help of at least 2 reminders) and borrow something else. The dopamine hit of a new book without the guilt of money spent on another pile of unread books.

When did you last visit your local library?

14/08/2026

Doing the weekly shop online is often the more eco choice.

One delivery van serving multiple customers uses much less fuel than each individual household using their car. You buy exactly what you planned which means less food waste (in theory) and no more impulse buys because the biscuits weren't at eye level!

My ADHD brain also cannot make it around the supermarket without seventeen things I didn't need (today that was 3 magazines, a book, 2 lego sets and a giant chocolate yogurt) and forgetting the one thing I went in for.

Online shop = eco act and executive function support. I'm calling it a win 😁

21/07/2026

11/06/2026

Every time you wash synthetic clothing — polyester, nylon, acrylic — tiny plastic fibres are released into the water. They're too small for most water treatment systems to catch. They end up in rivers, oceans, soil and eventually the food chain.

Microplastics have now been found in human blood, lungs and placentas. We don't yet fully understand what that means for our health. That's not a scary thought.

I'm obviously not suggesting we all start buying 100% cotton clothing and only where natural fibres as the powers that be have made that impossible for the majority of the global population.

But here are some swaps that help:

• Wash synthetics less often and on cooler, shorter cycles

• Use a washing bag to catch fibres. I've got a GuppyFriend ordered, they say its the best so I'll let you know

• Buy natural fibres second hand when you can

• Air dry instead of tumble drying

Imperfect action beats perfect inaction every time. 💚

11/06/2026

Upcycling ✨

I know I keep going on about this bloody tray but it is my current fave project.

It came from a sandwich company years ago. I rescued it, it sat in the conservatory for years, then I decoupaged it with napkins from the home spa day we did for mum after she got her MND diagnosis and gold leafed the life our of it so her wildflowers peek through the crackle.

It's now my Evening Launchpad and lives in the corner of my living room.

That is upcycling. Taking something unwanted and making it into something irreplaceable. And for ADHD brains who get bored easily and love novelty and creativity — it is genuinely one of the most dopamine-rich eco acts there is.

Your "junk" is someone's treasure. Often that someone is future you. 🌸💚

11/06/2026

❄️❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️

Batch cooking is an eco act.

When you cook once and freeze in portions you reduce food waste, use less energy than cooking daily, buy in bulk which means less packaging, and avoid the takeaway when you're too tired to cook.

My ADHD brain cannot meal plan in the moment. But it CAN spend a Sunday afternoon making eight slow cooker dump bags and stacking them in the freezer like a smug eco squirrel.

The planet wins. Future tired Rachel wins. Everyone wins. 💚

I'm going to put my fav freezer batch cooking recipes and a cooking timeline in to a pretty printable and stick it on my Etsy shop if you want to try it, although ADHD brain can't promise this will happen by the end of the weekend.

Another option is to batch cook fresh weekly, and some weeks I totally have the capacity for this so I just need to work on the organisation. Luckily my amazing friend Helen Helen Hopkins / Batch Cooking as written a book to help with that, so I'm going to try some Mix & Match Batch recipes next week.

Freezer slow cooker dump meals for the Mondays and Tuesdays I'm in the office and Mix & Match Batch made on my Wednesday lunch break for the rest of the week - I'll let you know how I get on!

08/06/2026

Fast fashion is clothing produced cheaply and quickly to follow trends — designed to be worn a few times and thrown away.

The problem? It's one of the most polluting industries on the planet. Synthetic fabrics shed microplastics into waterways every wash. Garment workers are often paid poverty wages. Mountains of unwanted clothing end up in landfill every single day.

The ADHD friendly alternative? Vinted, charity shops, preloved sellers on Instagram. The thrill of the hunt is genuinely dopamine-hitting, the prices are brilliant, and every purchase is a tiny act of rebellion against a system designed to make you buy more than you need.

I found this gorgeous Fat Face top on Vinted for £5Beat that, high street. 😄

I'll also tag some of my fav Insta preloved sellers in my stories x