TV free for a month

I don't want to say I won but more accurately, I have negotiated with my family to put the telly away for a month to see how we go without it. We are in to this a month with/without thing. July was our month with out purchasing any plastic packaging (trying at least) with the Earth Carers. It was a challenge, and we put our purchased plastic in the dilemma bag for show and tell...so here is ours:

The plastic bag itself was the funniest story. We ordered take away on the first night and made sure to explain the challenge over the phone. We got a positive response and took our containers in to be filled, which they did, no problem, but before I could say 'and here is my calico bag' the full containers were whipped up in a plastic bag quicker than a flash! Oh well. 

Anyway about the TV free month, how did I negotiate such a thing? Well, with my partner I employed the tried and true method of nagging, off and on for the last six months. He could not argue around my sound logic. For my four year old son, I used my new plastic purchasing freedom to bribe him with a packet of Chuppa Chupps. Easy. 

Here he is helping Ads unplug.

And Ads putting it up. He didn't seem as worried as he looks in the photo.

So what have we done in our first few TV free days. Well, Quin did cry on the second day when I said we would not get the telly down for Ocotonauts but he got over it. Quincey has drawn about 80 pictures and been read to a lot. Yesterday he said he was off to daydream on the couch. How wonderful. But here is the big news, he helps me with the washing up. 'Mum wets, Quin dries'. Perfect (but I cannot hope this will last). Ads is currently installing a pelmet in the living room and I have done a newsletter for our community garden. All this for giving up images of Colin Barnett scrapping the feed in tariff, famine in East Africa and America edging towards economic collapse. Fantastic!