get blogging - and save the planet

How do you make the world a better place? Meet one person who has spread her eco-principles through the thoroughly modern medium of home computing.

Name: Tracey Smith
Age: 43
Lives: West Dorset with her husband Ray and three children

I used to do a training job that involved travelling 1,000 miles a week - my carbon footprint was horrific. But when Ray and I had children I became aware of the financial pressure on him as the breadwinner, and realised I could help by reducing our outgoings.

I began to shop differently, cutting back and trying to be thrifty, and even started growing our own vegetables, which was bizarre because the only thing I'd ever grown before was mould on old cheese.

the only thing I'd ever grown before was mould on old cheese

In 2002 we did a major downshift; we moved to a smaller house, got rid of a car and tried to live a simpler, greener lifestyle. It was a slow process, but over time it became an exciting challenge.

In 2005 I organised National Downshifting Week, and people started writing to me for advice on changing their lifestyles. I was already getting coverage in the local press and on the radio, then in 2007 a publisher asked me to put together The Book Of Rubbish Ideas. I wrote about how you could de-clutter each room in your house by reusing, recycling and reducing. I'm not a crazy, sandal-wearing hippy who lives in a yurt in a field, I’m just a normal mother of three who’s trying to take the freaky element out of ‘eco’.

my blog is like an arm or a leg; if I'm not writing it I feel as if a piece of me has been cut off

The publisher set up the blog for me last summer. It was a great way of spreading the word and I quickly became passionate about it. There are now about 150 articles on there, about everything from making bread to picking up bargains in charity shops and changing your shopping habits.

For the first few months I was putting up a new post every day, which was hard work, even though there was plenty to write about. But I found it really hard to cut back because my blog is like an arm or a leg; if I'm not writing it, I feel as if a piece of me has been cut off. I now do two or three posts a week. It does take up time and I have to try to step back, otherwise I'd still be tapping away at midnight every day!

The Book Of Rubbish Ideas costs £6.99. For more information, visit Tracey's blog.