MUST DO: 7 feelgood local ideas for January

1. The bookshelf set up by Francisco at Kentish Town West provides Overground commuters with a decent range of tomes to read. But they need more donations so why not go through your own thoroughly and give what you can?

2. The Working Men’s College (WMC) in Kentish Town offers printmaking, book-binding and etching in their lovely Victorian building on Leighton Place. Students use the traditional processes to achieve the effects of etching and printmaking – hard to find nowadays. Courses listed here.

3. VegBox is a local community initiative: organic vegetables are sourced locally and delivered weekly to a local hub by bike and cargo trailer, saving carbon emissions and the earth from noxious pesticides. More info here.

4. Green Gym takes over local spaces for volunteers to come and garden them. Savings and exercise all rolled into one. More info? Call Pete on 07769 642395.

5. The Re-start Party teaches people to fix their own electronics as opposed to binning them. Also incorporating ‘Cracked It’, a group of young people who can and are trained fix phone screens. More details here.

6. The Clothing Swap, now in its third very successful year, happens every second Saturday monthly at The Grafton. Saves thousands of clothing items from landfill and save money too. More info? Head here.

7. Spare food to give? Olio is now launched all over London, with ideas on how to cut down on food waste and save money. We have an interview with the founders in our next print issue out on Jan 15, but in the meantime find out more about them here.

With thanks to Julietta Cochrane for her research.