Amy-Lee Haynes

Do you ever feel like you have 'finished' Netflix ? I often feel like this and then every now and again I stumble upon a hidden gem. Here are 5 hidden gems you might not have seen yet and they're all documentaries about sustainability. 1. Cowspiracy looks at how factory farming and the meat industry are using up the Earth's natural resources and why this had been ignored by many environmental groups for a really long time. It will make you want to turn vegan overnight. Seriously though, it will make you really think about the food that you eat.  2. A Plastic Ocean. This documentary looks at the fragile state of the oceans that has been created by human activity. It highlights the catastrophic issue of plastic filled seas and provides solutions on what we can do to stop it.  3. Our Planet is David Attenborough's  latest documentary. It takes the same style as his previous documentaries Blue Planet and Planet Earth but focuses more on how human ac

In the last month or so I have realised how my capsule travel wardrobe was not at all prepared for the winter. Armed with complete determination to avoid fast fashion retailers at all costs, I headed to the thrift store or 'op shop' as they are called in New Zealand.   I found this Zara cropped knit hidden away and bagged for $3.00/£1.50. It is a bit bobbly in places which just goes to show that fast fashion items aren't always the best quality. I've always had a bit of thing for brown, oatmeal coloured jumpers so it's the perfect addition to my winter wardrobe.   I was also desperately on the lookout for some secondhand thermals as I am going to working a ski season. Luckily, I found one pair in SaveMart , which is a second hand DREAM. However, I did also break my 'no fast fashion' rule and bought an additional pair from the Warehouse and in true karma, I found another SaveMart which was absolutely jam packed with thermals. My lesson from th

Who better to provide a definition of minimalism than The Minimalists themselves. They define it as, " a tool to rid yourself of life’s excess in favor of focusing on what’s important—so you can find happiness, fulfillment, and freedom."  The Minimalist Vegan defines it, "as the process of identifying what is essential in your life and eliminating the rest. Less is more."  Sounds great, right?  In the modern world we live in, we have so much stuff and we place so much value on this stuff. Think about the things in your life. Do they make you truly  happy? Do they bring meaning to your life? If it doesn't make you happy or bring value to your life then maybe you'd be better off without it. This is true for many aspects of your life from physical items, relationships, careers, goals etc. - get rid of what doesn't make you happy and pursue the things that do. By decluttering yourself of these things, you are allowing yourself more room to

One great thing about being in New Zealand is trying out brands I've never heard of. One that I was raving about on Instagram was the Only Good Hair and Body Bar which not only had great, plastic free packaging but also smelt amazing and left my hair and body feeling silky smooth. Once this ran out I wanted to try something new.  A lot of NZ is small rural towns that don't have much in the way of being able to purchase plastic free bathroom products so it was something that I planned with almost military precision. I had my eyes set on trying out some Dirty Hippy products and planned exactly which store I would buy them from as they are only available in certain areas. Low and behold when I got  round to visiting the store, it was closed. Luckily, they are not the only shampoo bar brand on the market. I instead found the local stockist of the Ethique shampoo bars and chose this one for damaged frizzy hair as I'm feeling like mine needs some real TLC at

Zero waste, plastic free and reduced waste - whatever you want to call it, the aim is to try and save the planet. Today I want to have a little chat about why it's okay if you feel like you're doing a crap job at being an eco warrior. Over the past few months, action to try and combat the Climate Crisis has soared, particularly with the rise of the Extinction Rebellion movement who I believe are doing an amazing job. At the same time we are constantly discovering new ways that we are damaging the planet and new solutions to these problems.  To many people, this can be so daunting. I would be lying if I said that I didn't often feel overwhelmed by the amount of changes to my life that I want to make to help the planet. One day you are living your normal life and all of a sudden you want to have no waste, rid your life of microplastics, never set foot on a plane again and go Vegan overnight. The amount that you can do to help the planet is overwhelming but you do

I have spent a lot of time on the coast since being in New Zealand and haven't seen much of the Central North Island. I recently needed to venture over to the little town of Ohakune for a job interview and was very excited to explore a new part of the country, even if I was only there for a maximum of 24 hours.  It was a 5 hour drive from where we are currently staying so it's safe to say that a few coffee breaks were needed along the way. There's something quite magical about driving along the roads here, there's never many other cars and the scenery is amazing.  Ohakune is in Central North Island and next to the Tonagriro National Park which consists of three active volcano mountains Ruapehu, Tongariro and Ngauruhoe (or Mount Doom to LOTR fans). Upon arrival, you couldn't really see the cloud covered mountains but on the drive home it cleared ever so slightly so we could see their beauty. Mt Ruapehu is a popular skiing venue during the Winter so I ca