Editors' picks
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Hops are the herbs of beer: bring in the local harvest
Palace Pint collectively grows hops to brew their own beer. Erica Buist gets a handle on the sticky harvest
This month's challenge: get involved
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Neighbourhood scheme ends nightmare on Ethel Street
A Halloween party was the unlikely catalyst to the revival in fortunes of a street in Neath Port Talbot, south Wales, reviving community spirit
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Bicycle repair: taking it apart is the first step to putting it back together
A complete repair novice with a dilapidated bicycle, Carlene Thomas-Bailey got her hands dirty with Broken Spoke Coop. Did it work?
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The Pig Society? Life in South Pork
Taking turns to feed and water, a small group are collectively raising nine pigs to make sausages, and saving money at the same time -
Operation Owl: save these beautiful bellwethers of biodiversity
A Woking group strives to create owl habitats and inspire children to help in conservation, discovers Patrick Barkham
How to mend
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How to mend ... bleached clothes
Accidentally splashed your clothes with bleach when cleaning the house? Don't panic – colour can be restored with simple steps
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How to mend ... a cracked iPhone screen
A broken screen doesn't have to mean splashing out for an expensive repair, as fixing it yourself is easier than you think
Highlights
Why the modern bathroom is a wasteful, unhealthy design
Piped water may be the greatest convenience ever known, but Lloyd Alter argues that our sewage systems and bathrooms are a disaster
Stressed by the daily commute? Try 'canuting' - and travel by canoe
Inspired by a new waterways campaign, Peter Kimpton tries paddling door to door to work in London past pollution, beautiful boats and wonderful wildlife
Kate Humble: we don't value food because it's not expensive enough
The Springwatch presenter on food waste, keeping sheep, not having children and her mission with aquaponics
Also on Live Better
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Pay as you throw away? Five ways to cut off waste at the source
21 May 2014: Financial incentives, water fountains, food redistribution and reused furniture can reduce rubbish and recycling woes
Grassroots: our best blogs
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Sustainable blog of the week: Kitchen Counter Culture
Annie Levy shares her love of food writing and reflects on living within an 'evolving emergency' -
Sustainable blog of the week: Wonderthrift
Lucy AitkenRead talks about a simpler life, and what motivated her to write about and live sustainably
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Sustainable blog of the week: Veggie Desserts
Kate Hackworthy explains why her love of baking cakes with vegetables not only about health, but also great tastes and avoiding waste
Food inspiration
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19 recipe ideas for leftover onions
Unused onions sprouting or going off? Don't cry - our Dinner Doctor's many solutions include bakes and a delicious gravy
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17 recipe ideas for leftover lemons
Lemons left drying in the fruit bowl or lolling in the fridge? Our Dinner Doctor squeezes out some zesty recipe tips
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18 recipes for leftover mint
Don't let those sprigs go soggy or dry up. Mint can freshen up many ingredients from broad beans to a courgette and feta salad
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17 recipes for leftover summer berries
Got too many berries going soggy? Mango salsa, meringues or using halloumi, the Dinner Doctor does a delicious rescue act
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14 ideas for leftover milk
We throw away 290,000 tonnes of milk a year - from soups to puddings, why not use it in a delicious recipe before it goes off?
Latest video
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Let them eat hake! A classic Basque recipe
Michelin-starred chef Dani López, of Restaurante Kokotxa in the gastronomical capital of Spain, San Sebastián, shows food writer Danny Tapper a delicious Basque hake recipe
About this site
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Welcome to Live Better
For seven months we're challenging ourselves and you to live better, by swapping ideas and tips about saving water, wasting less food, recycling, getting out and about, and more.
This month's challenge: get involved with your community. Want to take the challenge? Just click on the big pink button below to sign up, and you'll automatically be entered into our competition to win three pairs of tickets to the Observer Ideas festival at The Barbican in London on October 12th 2014.
Live Better is funded by Unilever but all content is editorially independent, except pieces labelled "advertisement feature". Find out more here.
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Top tips for saving water in the shower
Showering can use up as much water as taking a bath – so how can you make your shower energy efficient?
Get outdoors!
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Why I love ... ultimate Frisbee
Discovering this disc-throwing combination of netball and American football changed every aspect Mara Alperin's life
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Why I love ... wild camping
Heading out into the wilderness helps wild camping fan Adrian Kowal leave his everyday stresses behind and ponder the bigger questions
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Why I love ... parkour
Reducing risk and avoiding fear makes society less capable; with parkour we can reclaim our natural agility and instincts, explains Dan Edwardes -
Why I love ... skateboarding
Exciting first set of wheels to seeing bland urban spaces from a whole new perspective, Kevin Eason extols the virtues of the board
Interactive
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Are you fit for the future? – interactive
How advanced are you in your understanding of green issues? Are you an eco-geek or the village idiot? Find out if you're fit for the future
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