Switches + shifts
THREE NEAT THINGS
My fortnightly newsletter - a dose of goodness, productivity hacks, and small business tips. Sign up here!
ISSUE 085 | April 2025
Autumn has definitely arrived – cool mornings, softer light, and the last of the summer veg coming out of the garden. After transitioning our old (and very leaky) cottage to electric last year, I've been appreciating the shift. No more splitting wood or watching the smoke drift out the chimney – just a steady warmth, powered by renewables.
This issue of Three Neat Things shares a few more small shifts that are making a bigger impact. From rethinking the way we build, to planning your next open house visit, to choosing better seafood over the Easter break – it’s all about design, nature, and intentional choices.
Marnie x
1
GoodFish for Good Friday
With Good Friday only 10 days away, many of us are planning seafood meals – it’s the second-biggest time for seafood in Australia after Christmas. The GoodFish guide from the Australian Marine Conservation Society, now in its 20th year, makes it easier to choose seafood that’s better for our oceans. And there’s now a handy GoodFish app, so you can check sustainable options while you’re at the fish market or ordering out.
2
Sustainable House Day
This year’s Sustainable House Day is happening on 4 May, with more than 230 open homes to explore – including 150 in-person visits across the country. I’ve photographed 7 of them, and they’re some of the most thoughtful, low-impact designs I’ve seen.
Tickets are now available, so jump on the Sustainable House Day website and plan which homes you’d like to visit.
3
In the press
The latest edition of my eco column in UPPERCASE explores regenerative architecture – a design approach that goes beyond reducing harm to actively creating positive impact. It draws on nature’s principles to guide buildings that generate energy, conserve water, and restore ecosystems, with frameworks like Passivhaus and the Living Building Challenge leading the way.
You can find the full story in UPPERCASE – a quarterly magazine for the creative and the curious.
