Green Living

Growing herbs is one of the easiest and most rewarding types of gardening, especially for beginners.

Go green(er) Eco-friendly home design has taken a greater priority in recent years, and thankfully, this trend is showing no signs of slowing down. From installing solar panels and glazed windows to planting a thriving kitchen garden, there are many ways we can continue in those (carbon-reduced) footsteps and set the pace for a more […]

A few simple ways to be kinder on the planet this festive season with sustainable Christmas gifting  Rethink your wrapping It’s hard not to fall for wonderful Christmas wrap, but if the mountains of glossy paper left over after the giftgiving extravaganza leaves you wincing, why not wrap your gifts in fabric this year? Either […]

Happy, healthy and natural ways of improving the air quality in your home When it comes to living a healthy, natural lifestyle, one of the best ways we can start our journey is by tackling the air quality in our home. After all, we spend plenty of time indoors, and particularly as the winter season […]

Bring a plant parent can be hard, luckily you can use these five simple signposts to make sure you’re keeping them happy and healthy The average size of a section has shrunk by about a third over the past 30 years, signalling the end of the Kiwi quarter-acre dream. But having only a small patch, […]

Buying and storing food can generate a lot of unnecessary waste. Eleanor Ozich shares how to minimise waste and keep your fridge looking good Not so long ago, creating a waste-free fridge might have seemed a daunting task. But more recently eco-friendly living and beautiful design trends have collided, giving us all kinds of lovely […]

Eco-writer, Fi and her fellow magpies share some of the recycling centres turning trash into treasure at landfills around the country Auckland When I first moved back to Auckland after living in the South Island, I was shocked to find that there weren’t more recycling centres in the region – places I had come to […]

We scour the South Island in search of the country’s best second-hand stores, with a little help from some Your Home & Garden friends 1. Salvation Army Family Store Rangiora My all-time favourite op-shop is our local Salvation Army Family Store here in Rangiora. It is clean and well presented, the staff are really friendly […]

Renovating and living in a mobile home for more than a year left this family questioning whether they’d want to live in a regular house ever again Climbing up through the hills of the Santa Rosa Valley, just south of the coastal city of Ventura, California, it’s easy to miss the turn off for Ashley […]

Fi suggests some pre-loved goods that would make ideal presents – and reveals her favourite places to go hunting for them Let’s face it, not everyone likes vintage shopping, or has the time or ability to source the good stuff, so why not put your op-shopping skills to work on behalf of friends and family, […]

It’s not too late to sow courgettes for summer, plus now’s the time to plant your annual herbs – a kitchen staple. See more garden tasks below Harvest Salad greens: For the freshest salads, pick rocket, lettuce, radicchio and mesclun in the morning when leaves are fully hydrated. Do the same for leafy greens such as […]

It’s time to harvest spinach, sow your beans and plant tomatoes. Here are all your garden tasks to complete this October Harvest Spinach: As the weather warms, spinach, rocket and other leafy greens can bolt (turn to seed and stop producing leaves). To avoid this keep picking as much as possible, even the young flower stems […]

By switching this for that, you can make your household tread more lightly on the earth 1. Soap bars Ditch plastic bottles in favour of solid shampoos, conditioners and dish soaps (Ethique and Ahhh Cosmetics offer good locally made options). To help these products last longer, invest in the Dunedin-made Block Dock to ensure your […]

They call it The Can House – a compact family home built inside a ’can’ or shipping container lined with warm plywood, clever storage and ingenious ideas At first glance this shipping container house across the harbour from Wellington city looks like it could be made of Lego. But up close it is a mix […]

Eleanor shares her recipes for natural cleaning products that are effective and smell heavenly Welcome spring into your home with these lovely homemade cleaners. Making the switch to all-natural cleaning might seem like a lot of fuss, but it’s really simple. The ingredients are cost-effective and easy to find at most organic/health stores (or through […]

This simple guide for what to sow, harvest and plant in the garden this September will have you well on track for a bountiful crop Harvest If you’re lucky enough to have an avocado tree in your garden you’ll most likely be picking its fruit by now. Remember you can leave them on the tree […]

Owners of a very stylish tiny home on Waiheke share their hard-earnt new-build tips and what they’d never do again. Take a tour of this home below Meet + greet Willem van den Bergh, 38 (architectural designer), Kate van den Bergh, 36 (designer and mum), and Leo, 5 months, plus Alba the cat. New-build tips: […]

This month you should be harvesting your carrots, sowing the seeds for your summer veges and planting asparagus. Scroll down for the complete list of August garden tasks Harvest Deciding when to harvest carrots is a matter of how sweet you like them, with young carrots the most tender and sweet. Don’t leave it too […]

Setting up a compost bin takes a little time and practice but will improve the quality of your veges, the vitality of your garden and the health of our planet If you fancy yourself as a vege gardener, or any type of gardener for that matter, composting should be one of your priorities. Some say […]

Having a clear out or looking to make some cash for your next purchase? Here’s what to sell, donate and recycle, and how to go about it Selling What to sell Vintage or collectable items, designer or well-known brands, recent purchases or older pieces still in good condition are sure to sell well. Don’t forget […]

From chemical-free toilet cleaners to natural oven cleaning solutions, these DIY natural cleaning home remedies will get the job done Natural cleaning solutions can save time, money, and reduce chemical exposure, so to help you keep your home cleaner and healthier for longer, here are 15 natural home remedies for cleaning. If you don’t have […]

This creative couple have downsized and decluttered in a bid to simplify their busy lives – and prepare for a new arrival. See more of their stylish tiny home below Kate and Willem van den Bergh were a year into their married life and knew one thing for sure: something had to give. Paying rent […]

It seems the world has discovered the life-changing magic of, well, many a thing – actually First, there was Marie Kondo’s book: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, released in 2012. Then there was The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**k (2015) by Sarah Knight targeting the overachieving […]