Green at Home Mom

#72 Homemade Granola

2010-12-11T21:46:00.000-08:00

Breakfast time! I don't know of anyone who doesn't like cereal, and I can't think of a worse or more convenient breakfast than cold cereal. Granola is a great option, as it is nutritious, filling, and easy to make. And awesome with our homemade yogurt, by the way.
Here is my recipe:

4 C Rolled Oats

3/4 C Sliced Almonds

1/2 C Pecans (coarsely chopped)

1/2 C Flax Seed

1/3 C Sunflower Kernels

1/2 C Coconut

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Salt

In a medium saucepan combine:

1/4 C Honey

1/8 C Molasses

1/4 c Oil (coconut oil would be the best.)

2 tsp Vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pour liquid over oat mixture and stir to coat. Spread granola on a cookie sheet and bake 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Cool completely on a rack, stir in dried fruit if desired, and store in an air-tight container.

Pros: Easy, yummy, saves a lot of wasted packaging-- as convenient as cereal without all the additives and junk. You can make a large batch, as it stores very well.

Cons: The nuts and dried fruit can be expensive (but are optional!)

#71 Beat cooking blues with a big batch!

2010-12-06T14:49:00.000-08:00

This post is hereby dedicated to Kim, the person who has made me not give up on this blog. Thanks for being a faithful follower!

You're tired, your family is hungry, and it's 30 minutes to dinner time. What do you do? Pull out a dinner from the freezer because you made extra last week! I'm really not a good planner when it comes to freezer meals, but since I do cook nearly every day, there are some meals that it's just as easy to make extra and freeze what we don't eat! There really is little extra time spent to double your ingredients. Then cooking time is about the same, also. Then when you need a meal, it's like getting served a fabulous meal with little to no effort. Currently I have in my freezer: borsht, perogies, chili, and stuffed pepper with polenta. This can certainly also apply to baked items, like muffins.

Pros: Save money (and waste) by avoiding fast food or unhealthy "convenience" meals. Use the same amount of electricity or gas as you would normally use to cook one meal (except for reheating.)

Cons: Requires freezer space and extra cookware. Also requires time to thaw-- so if it is a casserole of something, more time will be needed to warm it (try to plan ahead on a crazy day.) Not all meals freeze well.

#70 Homemade Yogurt

2010-05-25T17:40:00.001-07:00

This is a BIG one. Particularly since in my area they will not recycle yogurt containers. And yogurt is pretty expensive, considering what you get. Making your own takes some getting used to, but is certainly worth it. Here is a recipe that we started with, which now we have modified. But I'll leave the modifications up to you. Oh, and if you have a wonder box, it is much easier than using the oven. Then you don't have to wrap it, just warm it up and stick it in there!

Here is an approximate recipe:

3 c. water

1 1/2 c. dry milk

1/2 can evaporated milk

2 T. yogurt with live cultures

Optional: heavy whipping cream (helps it with creaminess)

Optional: honey or sugar (can also be added afterwards)

Blend together, put in stainless steel bowl or canning jars, and wrap with an old towel. Heat oven to 275, put the yogurt in the oven and turn it off. Check in 8 hours, and if it is not set, repeat the process. (This is where a wonder box is really useful as we don't ever have to repeat.) Be sure to save a little of your yogurt to start your next batch with!

Pros: No little plastic cups to dispose of, and very inexpensive to make. The taste is better, too, once you get used to it (much less sugar!)

Cons: Certainly it is not as convenient or as portable. It takes some practice to figure out what works to get it heated to the right temp.

#69 Homemade bread beats all!

2010-05-10T17:07:00.000-07:00

I am one lucky lucky woman because I have a husband who will not eat store bought bread. Why does that make me lucky? Because he makes all the bread! And does a marvelous job at it. I can make bread in a pinch, but it never turns out as good as his. What's his secret? Practice, I suppose. He's been doing it for years, and never uses a recipe. So I'm not going to post a recipe. There are enough great bread recipes out there for you to find one. I just want to inspire you to try. We have a grinder that we use to fresh grind our wheat, groats, rye, millet, flax seed, and whatever else we want to put in the bread. It is sooooooo good. And what else is great about it? None of those annoying and unneccessary bread bags.

Once a week makes us three loaves. One for Sunday dinner usually, and two for the rest of the week (one or two go in the freezer.)

Pros: More nutritious, fresh, tastier, no preservatives, no plastic involved

Cons: homemade bread doesn't last as long as store-bought. It also takes time, effort, or a baking husband

#68 Pop your popcorn

2010-04-22T16:49:00.000-07:00

Happy Earth Day!! What kind of earth-friendly blogger would I be if I didn't post on Earth day? I am getting ready for a series of posts on how to green your cooking and kitchen. In most homes, most of the consumption and waste occurs in the kitchen. There are many things you can do to cut back on the waste.

So, I'm going to start with a very simple one, and one that I've actually practiced for my whole life (well, my dad did it when I was little.) That is, pop your own popcorn! Popcorn does not require a premade bag full of fat and salt and some nasty chemicals. It requires a pot with a lid, a few kernals of popcorn, some oil of your choice (I use olive oil,) and a bit of heat from the stove. Put just enough kernals to cover the bottom of the pot, and enough oil to barely coat the kernals. If I crank up my stove on high, it literally takes the same amount of time that it would take to pop a bag of microwave popcorn. When popped, put it in a bowl and sprinkle with salt, and there you have a good, healthy snack, with total control over what goes into it. Buying popcorn in bulk is best, as that will cost less than .10 per batch popped.

As a side note: Did you know that if you burn a bag of microwave popcorn in the same room as a bird, the bird will die from the fumes??

Pros: Healthier, cheaper, and a whole bunch less waste. You can make it the way you want, and add butter (if desired) instead of butter flavored chemicals. And no dead birds.

Cons: It takes a little practice to get the proportions right, and it doesn't have that movie-popcorn smell that is for some reason so appetizing (it's the chemicals that make it smell so good.)

#67 Use your local library

2010-04-09T16:42:00.000-07:00

As a big lover of books and reading, one of my favorite places is our public library. What better way is there to get all the books you want at no charge? And then return them so they don't clutter up your house? Not that I don't like to own books, and my kids especially have quite a few. But the library is the greenest way I know to do a lot of reading. Then I can know after I've read a book if it's one that I potentially want to have a copy to keep.

Pros: Free, reuses books therefore less trees used to make new books. Many libraries also have great kid programs, and movies.

Cons: Fines for not returning things on time. High demand books are sometimes hard to come by.

#66 the Wonder of the Wonder Box

2010-03-24T16:23:00.000-07:00

What in the world is a wonder box? I asked the same question when it was announced we would be making them for a church activity. Okay, I'm always up for making adventurous new things. I just didn't realize how wonderful and useful the wonder box would be! I even ended up making 2 more for my sisters-in-law for Christmas. There is some great information and instructions here. Which is also where I got the pics (I'm feeling too lazy to go take pics of my own.)

You just have to heat whatever you're cooking through, then you can turn off the heat and stick it in the box. It will stay hot and continue cooking your food! Like I said, wonder-ful! The things I use it for most often are yogurt (a post about this coming soon) and rice. It can also be used to keep food cold-- like if you want to take ice cream to a picnic!

Pros: Decrease the amount of energy you use in cooking. Versatile, easy to make

Cons: Bulky to store, and the food you cook pretty much must be in liquid form. (So although I've heard there is a way you can bake bread in it, not sure how that would work.)

#65 Rechargable batts

2010-02-22T13:30:00.000-08:00

I love my digital camera. But it eats battery power like crazy. I purchased a Duracell mini charger, and it's perfect for those devices that use so many batteries. I've actually had mine for a while, and I think I may have gotten it nearly free with rebate and coupons. The batteries charge fairly quickly, and I have been satisfied with how long the charge lasts. I just picked up a few more to put into some toys and into my wall clocks. Pros: Less wasted batteries, and batteries should not be thrown in the trash after use- so these save you the trouble of proper disposal-- at least not nearly as often. It saves money in the long run.

Cons: The batteries cost more initially than traditional batteries. Their one-charge life may be less than a traditional battery. When they need to be disposed of, it has to be in a proper way. (I actually haven't had to dispose of any yet-- but I saw that Lowe's had a recepticle for rechargeable batteries.)

#64 Paint cup

2010-01-23T13:18:00.000-08:00

One of the frustrating things about my local recycling center is that they only recycle #1 and #2 plastics, and that means that all my containers for sour cream and cottage cheese have to go into the trash. I just can't do it-- so I save them to use for "tupperware" or freezer containers or whatever comes up that I need a simple container for. Whenever there is a use for something that is normally thrown away, I'm all over it. But even so, I still end up with more than I need (I guess I really love my sour cream!) So with all the painting I've been doing, I find they make great paint containers for the "cutting in" brush. If I need to stop before it's empty, I can snap the lid on and save it for later, and if I'm done I can toss it without having to wash it.

Pros: They are free. (I don't have to purchase a paint cup.) It puts plastic at least to multiple uses before being thrown away.

Cons: Doesn't have a handle like the store purchased cups. It still is plastic going into the trash.

#63 drop cloths, and my new year's goal

2010-01-11T21:37:00.000-08:00

I have not forgotten this blog, or my resolve to get to those 100 things. I have not even run out of things to write about-- I just have been too busy! But my goal is to finish by July. Then I will see where I will go with my posts.

Anyway, Yes, I am still posting about painting things. Although I finished the painting project I was working on at the time that I posted those, I am about to start another. A couple more things had occured to me at the time and I just never posted them.
So-- about 3 years ago I bought new mattresses. And what did they come in? A huge plastic wrapping. A double plastic wrapping, in fact. I could not bear to just toss all that plastic into the trash, so I wadded it up and put it in a trash bag and stuck it into the storage room. Then when I started a year or so later on some painting projects, I pulled them out and used them as my drop cloths! Perfect! Big, square, thick plastic. It has now made it through many paint projects, and each time when I'm done it gets stashed the same way (except for the one my cat peed on-- I made an exception and threw that one out!)
I don't think that everyone is really going to have mattress wrappings lying around, but the next time you come across a big sheet of plastic (and yes, they are very common,) think about your next painting project and if it could be of use.

Pros: Free, and it's putting some trash to good use.

Cons: Bulky plastic can be hard to store. And occasionally your cat might pee on it.

Just in case.....

2009-11-23T15:11:00.000-08:00

Just in case anyone is actually reading this blog (I don't pay any attention to reader counts or anything,) I've signed up as a partner at letsgogreen, and now anyone who uses my coupon code, MMR20 can get 20% off any purchase at their site! Great green products such as biodegradable trash bags and recycled paper products. See the banner on the side as well. You have to enter the code to get the discount, so make sure you do that at checkout.
Thanks!

#62 A use for the old holies.

2009-11-21T12:34:00.000-08:00

Honestly I have never darned a sock in my life, but that doesn't mean that my old holey socks are going in the trash! I have done a huge amount of wood refinishing this year, and I love to use gel stains, even though they can be really messy. I've found that the best application tool is a sponge brush, and the best "wipe-off" tool is an old sock. It's better than wasting a rag that you would then have to throw away. This vanity is one of my recent projects. The picture isn't great-- but when we bought it it was a natural wood color with not much of a finish on it. Pros: A great use for an item that is trash. Cheap, and at my house, plentiful.

Cons: You still have to throw them away, and I try to do it in an empty stain can with the lid shut.

p.s. I've also used old socks for wax buffing my countertops.

#61 What to do with your brushes and rollers in-between coats.

2009-10-26T10:11:00.000-07:00

What do you do with your roller and your cut-in brush in between paint coats? Wash them? If so, you are wasting a whole lot of water! I wrap mine up in a plastic bag and put it in the refridgerator. It will keep several days that way (if you're like me, and with the kids around sometimes I just don't get around to finishing it when I want to.) Then you can take out your brush and/or roller and continue painting! I'm honestly not sure if this is a "normal" practice for a lot of people. But if you do any painting, you should try it! When your done with your roller, wrap it back up in the bag and toss it! Of course, you should wash your brushes.

Pros: Saves a LOT of water and paint from going down the drain. It also saves time and energy.

Cons: It requires the use of a disposable plastic bag. Requires some fridge space.

#60 What to put that paint in!

2009-10-23T13:49:00.000-07:00

I discovered another wonderful thing while working on my painting, and now I can't do without it! It's a non-stick paint tray. You don't wash it, you just let it sit and dry. Then you can peel the paint off and, voila! It's ready to use again.

Pros: NO water used to wash your paint tray, and you are also saving all that paint from going into the water treatment plant. No plastic liner needed.

Cons: It doesn't exactly peel off so nicely like in the picture, but it does come off pretty easily. A bit more expensive than your average paint tray-- but it will pay off in the end.

#59 Recycled Paint!

2009-10-08T22:12:00.001-07:00

Where has the month gone? I really have been so busy with canning and remodeling projects that it has been very hard to find time for blogging. But I have in the meantime found some more ways to do green remodeling. When I was in Seattle for weekend in July I went shopping at a place called Second Use. They have a line (called MetroPaint) of recycled paint! Available in different colors! It really made my choice much easier by limiting it. There are so many paint colors that it is usually really hard to choose. I couldn't find a great picture of the walls, and can't take one right now because that would mean I'd have to clean up first (still remodeling!) But here is one with my daughter in front of it:

You can find more information on it here

Pros: 100% recycled paint, and you can choose your color! Now that's using materials wisely! It painted on so easily and seems to be very high-quality. Well under EPA's limits for VOC's. Oh, and did I mention it only cost $16 a gallon??

**UPDATE: I found out that Miller Paint stores in Washington and Oregon sell Metropaint for about $10/gallon!!

Cons: Limited colors and finishes (or this could be a pro!) Limited availability-- I have to go to Portland or Seattle to get it.

#58 Don't waste the v-bag

2009-09-12T22:22:00.000-07:00

Vaccuum bag, that is. I was vacuuming the other day and realized that my vacuum was not working very well. hmmm, maybe that was because it was completely full and filling up the hose part! Yikes! Being a usually prepared but somewhat forgetful mother of 3, I realized I had no extra bags. Oh no! What to do? The Frugal Zealot came to the rescue. I had read her books a while ago (the Tightwad Gazettes) and remembered a tip that I thought at the time that I would probably never bother with. She cuts the bottom off of her vacuum bags and empties them that way and then tapes them back up for reuse. Well I was stuck so I guess I had to give it a try. Guess what? Easy, little mess, and much money saved! Yea! So until I can afford a good bagless, the old reuse-a-bag will have to do.

Pros: Saves time and energy, and saved me a trip to the store. Less waste.

Cons: After a couple of cuts the bag will be too short to use. It's a little messier than just being able to throw out the whole bag.

#57 Cookin' Solar

2009-08-07T22:30:00.000-07:00

We had a serious heat wave a week or so ago. There were several days that were over 100 degrees. Doesn't sound too bad if you're in Arizona, but in the northwest that is unheard of. We have no air conditioning, and normally little need for it. But it was hot. And we had guests coming for dinner. We came up with a dinner that we could make completely outside using the grill, crockpot, and this lovely solar oven. We made brownies in it-- and they were almost cooked after a couple of hours (we needed to get them in an hour sooner!) My second attempt at using the solar oven was much more successful with making cookies. A great way to make use of all that heat! I'll have to get adventurous and try some new things in it.

Pros: Cheap materials (cardboard, aluminum foil,

and glass.) Doesn't take any electricity or fuel. No heating up the kitchen!

Cons: It has to be sunny. It takes some real planning ahead because the cooking time for most things is very long.

#56 This mower is REELY great.

2009-07-28T16:31:00.001-07:00

This summer I decided I was fed up with my big old clunky smelly gas mower. It was really heavy, really noisy, and not in the greatest condition. It used to be that mowing was the man's job around here, but well, I guess I've just kept my hubby a bit too busy with other things (ie remodel) and it's fallen into my lap.

I went for a cheap ($20 on CL--woohoo!) no frills reel mower. I don't have a huge lawn and this little mower really isn't hard to use at all. The main difference is that instead of using muscle to push a big heavy mower I am having to move super fast to keep the blade spinning and cutting well. I never realized how much pollution an old gas mower could create until I read this article by the EPA. It makes sense.

Pros: Easy to use, no pollution, no noise, low maintenance. I can mow with my kids in the yard and not worry about flying debris, and my 7-year-old can even use it (and thinks it's fun.)

Cons: It doesn't cut grass that has gone to seed very well. I haven't yet figured out how to sharpen the blades. Little pieces of stuff sometimes get stuck in the blades and bind them up.

#55 Don't pay for hot water you're not using!

2009-07-20T17:02:00.000-07:00

Wow! It's been a month since I last posted! It has been a very busy month and I've been gone for a lot of it.

Sometime back in March (I remember because I had just gotten back from somewhere) I read a suggestion to turn off your water heater when you are gone from your house for an extended time. What a great idea! But of course I couldn't post about it until I put it into practice. It's simple, just flip the electrical circuit for the water heater before you leave on vacation, and you won't be using electricity or paying for hot water that will just sit there. I don't know for sure, but I'd estimate that you need to be gone for at least 2 days for this to be an effective money-saving method since it takes quite a bit of energy to heat up the entire water tank once it's all cold.

Pros: Simple, effective, money-saving

Cons: You have to remember to do it before you leave. You will have to wait an hour or so after you get home (after you remember to turn it back on) before you have hot water.

#54 Oxi-clean saves the day!

2009-06-21T21:11:00.000-07:00

I know I finished posting about laundry already, but just recently I had an "oh, duh" moment that has saved me a lot of money and plastic waste. I mentioned that with my homemade laundry soap I have to be extra diligent about stain removal. Well, I was going through spray bottles of Oxi-clean like crazy, and at $3.50 a bottle, the cost was adding up. Although some of the bottles got reused, most were going into the recycle bin. Anyway, last time I went to buy some the price had skipped up to $7!! This made me stop and think if there was another way. Right there next to the spray bottles was a tub of oxi-clean powder. I looked at the label, and lo and behold, I can mix about 1/4 cup in a spray bottle with water to make the same thing I had been paying so much for. The best part is that the price on the other one was a mis-mark and the $7 was actually the price of the tub. Thanks WinCo! Yea!! I just bought about 20 bottles worth for only the cost of 2 bottles. And I can reuse the same spray bottle that I already have for all of those. I feel so silly for not realizing this before. I can also use the powder to add to a whole load that needs extra stain-lifting power.

I haven't found anything better for gettng poop stains off of diapers.

Pros: Much cheaper, and much less plastic waste. Stain removal power is just as good.

Cons: None.

#53 Catch the rain

2009-06-10T14:16:00.000-07:00

There is something that I love and hate about my hubby. It's that he gets an idea in his head and won't let it go until it's accomplished. One day he decided we needed to have rain barrels. Double rain barrels, no less. He watched some online videos of how to make them. The next we had purchased all the parts and as soon as he had a spare hour, there they were. The barrels are food-grade and we bought them off someone on Craig's list. The water is diverted from the rainspout into the barrels and if they get full, the water overflows back into the rain spout. Ya, I know they are not the prettiest things. But they are on the least visable corner of the house, and I will paint them when I get around to it. They have been great for watering my small garden that's here at the house, along with my potted herbs and roses and such.

Pros: Great way to conserve water, lower water bill, less water into the storm run-off, naturally soft water that's great for plants, chlorine free water, good back-up water source in times of drought.

Cons: Not very pretty (although there are some you can buy that are nice looking-- they just cost a lot more,) hard to get water pressure out of the hose. Also, you must make sure the spigot is CLOSED when it rains, otherwise all the water goes right next to the house foundation.

Oh, and did I mention that they are illegal in the state of Washington? The rain run-off apparently belongs to the government. Ha ha. Luckily and understandably, that law is not enforced.

#52 Cloth Goodie Bags

2009-06-06T20:10:00.000-07:00

Okay, one last thing from the birthday party. Instead of the little plastic goodie bags, I made the party guests cloth drawstring bags with some princess fabric. I actually ended up making them out of some fabric that we already had. They were easy, turned out really nice, and the kids can keep them to put whatever they want in them at home, instead of throwing the plastic ones in the trash.

Pros: Easy, reusable, less plastic waste, and something the kids (and hopefully parents) appreciate more.

Cons: It took more time to make them than it would have just to buy the plastic ones. Also, I couldn't figure out a way to label them with the kids' names.

#51 Easy green tablecloth

2009-06-02T14:02:00.000-07:00

Half way there! Yea! It's been difficult to blog lately due to computer issues and the nice weather outside. Also, the party is long over, but I still have a couple of things to post about it. All in all I could have done better at making it a "green" princess party, but I think I did okay.

One of the things was to skip the plastic or vinyl tablecloth that is so common in kid-themed parties. Unfortunately I didn't get a great picture of the table, but you can kind of see it in the picture above. I picked up some purple fabric from Goodwill for the main part, and put a leftover square of purple/pink butterfly fabric in the middle.

Pros: Easy, pretty, and cheap. Fabric will either get used for something else, or given back to goodwill

Cons: Because of lack of time, I didn't roll and sew the edges. I still was able to wash it, but it frayed a little.

#50 Asking for "green" gifts

2009-05-17T20:14:00.000-07:00

I debated about posting about this, since I wouldn't consider it the greatest success. But I tried! I enclosed a note to the parents in the invitations that said something like, "Please feel free to search your child's unwanted toys or a thrift store for a treasure for our princess. We promise she won't know the difference." Well, a couple of people took heed to that, but most didn't. I'm not sure if it's just that they chose not to, or that they didn't see the note in the invitation.

So how does this save me money? I hope to start a trend. Really I don't know anyone who is just itching for their child to get a whole bunch of new toys with all the packaging that they come in. My kids really have too many toys as it is, and every so often I have them choose out things to give to goodwill. My plan is to start a "gift box" where I can store things that my kids no longer want that I think may be gift worthy. I can add to it things that I find at yard sales as well.

Pros: More reused items, less waste, less cost for used things.

Cons: My kids are hard on toys-- finding one with all pieces intact and they don't want can be a challenge. Some people may take offense to the idea (I don't think that any one we invited did, but I can't be sure.)

#49 Green Birthday invitations

2009-05-05T10:25:00.000-07:00

It's birthday time around here. My daughter is turning 4 and having her first real party with friends over. It is of course going to be a princess party like most girls her age would ask for. I am now up for the challenge of making sure her party doesn't create too much waste or have a negative environmental impact, but still lets the kids have a lot of fun. The first thing is the invitations. I looked everywhere for something that was decently priced and eco-friendly and just had no luck. Any recycled paper invitations I could find were outrageously priced. But, I found a site with free printable invitations. I let my daughter pick the one she wanted, then printed them on my own recycled printer paper. Voila! Wait, what about envelopes? I printed those as well! It prints the picture in the right place for you to fold your own envelopes. They turned out great. My daughter had fun putting stickers on them to keep them closed.

Pros: Easy, cheap, saves packaging, saves a trip to the store, and you know the invitations will eventually go in the trash anyway(well, hopefully the recycle bin.)

Cons: It took quite a bit of printer ink.

#48 Don't spoil the foil

2009-04-29T17:01:00.000-07:00

Since I'm on the topic of reusing things, I thought I'd post about reusing your aluminum foil. In this case it pays to get heavy duty, good quality foil. After it is used, carefully wash the foil in soapy water, or even tent it up and stick it in the dishwasher. If you are careful with it, it can last a long time. I've had a roll that was given to me about 3 years ago and it's still going strong. When the peices get too small or holey, I still wash them and then put them in the recycle bin.

Pros: Aluminum is expensive, so conserving it can save you a lot of money especially if you use it a lot. It's also a resource worth conserving.

Cons: You really do have to be careful with it when washing it. That's why I recommend the super heavy duty stuff. Sometimes stuff just gets too stuck to it and it's hard to get clean.

#47 Don't toss 'em 'til they're sad and holey

2009-04-23T09:26:00.000-07:00

Know what I'm talking about? Yes, that ever-so-useful zipper plastic baggie. They are everywhere, aren't they? Even if I didn't purchase any (which I haven't since 2007,) they end up in my house. And lets face it, although I'd like to be rid of such plastics they are extremely useful. From freezing stuff to holding stray crayons. So in order to get all the use that I can out of them, I wash them. It really is simple. Rinse them out, turn them inside out, and put them in the laundry. Easy, no? Okay, you have to take them out before they go into the dryer. But still. I have not purchased any bags since I started going green, and yet it seems that I have more bags than I used to. They come home from school, from goodies from friends, and my husband even brings some home from work when they were just going to get thrown in the trash.

I throw them away when they get holes, will no longer close, or when they've been used for raw poultry.

Pros: Reusing plastic means less plastic waste, while still retaining the convenience of the bags.

Cons: It is plastic, and they do wear out eventually (the more expensive brands last longer.) I have to make sure they don't get washed in loads of laundry with diapers. I have occasionally missed one and sometimes they will get melted in the dryer.

#46 Avoid dry cleaning like the plague

2009-04-14T09:34:00.000-07:00

People are becoming more and more aware that the main chemical used in dry cleaning is perchloroethylene, a known carcinogen. Why expose yourself to this? And why pay so much money to do it? My solution to the dry-cleaning problem is mostly to NOT OWN DRY-CLEAN ONLY CLOTHES! Simple, isn't it? Okay, I confess that I have a couple of very nice articles of clothing that slipped in somehow and must be dry cleaned. But really, any mother of small children knows that it isn't worth owning nice things in the first place. They end up covered in some sort of goo-- and the nicer the clothes, the more stuff that ends up on them, right?

There are beginning to be some greener dry cleaning options out there, unfortunately there are none locally for me. Also, some clothing that claims that it is "dry clean only" can actually be washed in a gentle cycle and hung to dry. I have had success with this with a few items that were hand-me-downs from my mother. (It's a little easier to take the risk when I didn't pay for the clothes in the first place.)

Pros: Avoiding the dry cleaners is avoiding a huge expense! Non-dry-clean-only clothing means more practical clothing. Staying away from carcinogens is always a good thing.

Cons: If you do want to dry clean at a "green" dry cleaners, it's bound to be more expensive. No dry cleaning may mean limiting your clothing choices.

#45 Make your own detergent

2009-04-07T17:19:00.000-07:00

Back up to the wash cycle again. I have been wanting for a while to try making my own laundry detergent, and now I've finally gotten around to doing it! It was really easy and so far has been working great. Here is the recipe I used:

1/2 c. borax

1/2 c. washing soda

1/2 bar soap, grated

about 2 gallons water

Place part of the water in a pot and bring it to a boil. Add soap (I used Lever because that's what I had around) and other ingredients until dissolved. Take off heat, add to the rest of the water. Stir. Use 1/2 to 1 cup per load, depending on how soiled your load is. I estimate the cost for this entire batch at $0.40. I used an old cat litter bucket to put it in.

As a side note: a lot of recipes for laundry soap include Fels Naphtha soap. I was going to try this, as it has been praised for it's effectiveness. However, the ingredient list for this soap is "cleaners, soil and stain removers, chelating agents, perfumes, and colorants." Can it get any more vague than that? What is really in that stuff??? Sorry, don't trust it.

Pros: Cheap, effective, much less packaging than prepared soaps. No added chemicals, dyes, or perfumes (or at least you can choose what you want to add by what kind of soap you use.)

Cons: Doesn't really have any stain removal power, so I must be diligent in my use of oxi-clean as a pre-wash stain treater. Also, homemade detergent must be stirred before use.

#44 Ditch the Dryer sheets

2009-03-30T09:44:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I get the occasional sock stuck inside a pair of pants. A little static cling is not more trouble than I used to get from using dryer sheets. There are a plethora of reasons NOT to use dryer sheets. I will not go into detail, because I'm lazy and other people have already done that. One of those places is at healthy and green living. The reasons not to use them include some very nasty chemicals and some not-so-good long term effects on your clothing. Other reasons for me include sensitivity to them (they make me itch!) and of course, no need to waste all those materials. Also, most of static cling comes when you over-dry your clothes. Be sure to set the dryer so that it stops before they get static cling!

There are some alternatives out there. One is to use vinegar in your rinse cycle (too much trouble for me,) and another is to use a dryer ball (controversial, since most are made from PVC-- anyone know any that aren't?) I go for the simplest of all methods. Use nothing. There.

Pros: Less chemical-infused clothing and air, less skin irritation, less packaging waste. Oh, and I haven't mentioned yet that using dryer sheets causes unecessary wear-and-tear on your dryer if you don't wash your lint trap (and possibly a fire hazard?)

Cons: Static cling. (Did you know though, that most static cling occurs in synthetic fibers? Use natural fiber clothing, and it won't be such a problem!) My laundry doesn't smell nice. But as long as it doesn't smell at all, I'm okay with that.

#43 Sort the "heavies"

2009-03-23T09:10:00.000-07:00

Oh my! When I started this blog I thought I'd be done by now with my 100 things. Life has just gotten in the way. I'm not giving up though-- I am going to try to post more frequently.

So, don't you hate it when you go to get your clothes out of the dryer and there are a couple of things that aren't dry? Usually towels or jeans. Or what I like the call the "heavies." So there are two ways to handle those. First, just make a separate load of the heavy laundry. Anything that normally takes a little longer to dry. Then you can plan on running that load a little longer. The other way is to stop the dryer when most of the clothes are dry and hang up the ones that are not dry so they can finish drying.

By the way, my wish list includes a decorative laundry arbor so I can hang clothes outside in the summertime. As it is, I have an indoor rack for diaper covers and odds and ends.

Pros: Less dryer time means energy saved and getting laundry through more quickly.

Cons: Sorting heavies means that you may be mixing parts of different colored loads.

#42 Wash in Cold (or at least not hot)

2009-03-08T16:21:00.000-07:00

I used to think that my clothing, and particularly my whites, would not get clean unless I washed in hot water. Not true! I have switched to using cold or warm to wash, and always cold to rinse. I notice no difference in the way my clothes wash. And I'm not using any special cold water detergent. I found this great website that has charts of what the costs are per load at different temps. I know there is a lot of variation, but it will give you an idea of how much the temperature affects the cost. It also mentions on this website that "washing your clothes in hot water instead of cold water for a year uses more electricity that leaving your refridgerator door open for a year 24 hours a day!"

Pros: Use less electricity, therefore spend less money and reduce carbon emissions. Less shrinkage of your clothing.

Cons: I can't think of any.

#41 Fill it to the top! (but not too full)

2009-02-26T21:34:00.000-08:00

A very basic piece of advice, I agree. But for all those busy moms out there who need something washed right now and it's not laundry day and everything is crazy busy... you know what I mean. Yes, there are smaller load settings on your machine, but it still is going to take the same amount of electricity to run a small load as a large one. So take the extra moment or two to find items similar to the one you need washed now and throw them in there with it. I have also been known to leave my last load of laundry on laundry day when it doesn't fill up the machine. It gets filled up quickly enough, and is washed in the next couple of days. Ta da.

Pros: Bigger loads of laundry means less loads of laundry.

Cons: It's easy to get carried away and fill the load a little too much, causing unnecessary wear and tear on your washer and dryer.

#40 Reduce your laundry load

2009-02-16T08:33:00.000-08:00

Oh the dreaded laundry. Unless you are rich and have a maid, or live in a nudist colony, you can't really escape it. The more people in your family, the bigger that pile gets. Uggghhh! Not only a lot of work, but a huge energy-consuming task. So we'll explore some ways to reduce your energy consumption from this task, aside from getting a nice energy star efficient washer and dryer (although I'd love this, it's not in my budget.)

The first one is: Do less laundry. Yes, I'm serious. I know, generally my suggestions promote more laundry (cloth everything, right?) But does every article of clothing or towels that are used for a short period of time really need to be washed? In some cases, yes (underwear.) In other cases, I recommend the sight and smell test. Before you throw those jeans into the laundry bin, look to see if there are any visible spots on them. If there are, see if they will wipe off with a damp rag. If the clothing passes that test, then use your smeller to make sure no icky odors have stuck to the clothing. And there you have it. If it passes the test, fold it back up and put it in your drawer or hang it in your closet. Hang your towels up to dry and reuse them at least a couple of times. Paying a little attention can save you money and energy in the end.

Pros: Less laundry to wash, dry, and fold. Reduce your carbon foot print. Clothing will last longer when it is washed less frequently.

Cons: KIDS! With young kids, not only do they rarely not get something dirty even if it's only worn for 5 minutes, but they cannot tell if something needs washed or not. It might take a little more effort when you're getting undressed.

#39 A roll of paper towels can last how long?

2009-02-09T12:42:00.000-08:00

So what's the significance of this one little empty paper towel tube? (Besides that it's being shown off by my cute boy.) That tube is the inside of the roll of paper towels that was already partially used up in January of 2008 when my family started to cut way back on paper products use. We finally actually used it up. That's because I reserve the use of paper towels for only the ickiest of jobs, like cleaning poop or puke off the floor or something seriously greasy that wouldn't wash well out of a towel. It really isn't hard to grab a cloth towel instead of a paper one. And a few extra towels doesn't have much effect on the amount of laundry I do. So next time you have a mess to clean up, think about the lasting effects of grabbing that paper towel! I used to use paper towels in the bathroom to dry my face (the hand towels hold too much bacteria) but discovered it's just as effective to keep a stack of small clean towels and use those instead.

One statistic I found stated that "The NRDC estimates that if every household in the United States used one less roll of paper towels, we could save 544,000 trees." Alright, what about several less rolls of paper towels? And if can't use cloth towels, you could at least use recycled paper towels. I plan to buy recycled next time I need some, but right now since I bought a package before I started this plan, I have about a 20-year supply.

Pros: Less paper wasted, less trees dead. Cloth towels really clean things up better than paper towels, no matter what the quality of paper towels you buy. Paper towels are not only wasteful, but very expensive!

Cons: Though it may be a small amount, it still is more laundry to do and fold.

#38 Green Remodeling? Use Renewable Resources!

2009-01-26T09:44:00.000-08:00

This is perhaps the toughest part of green remodeling if you are trying to do it with spending as little money as possible. But I'm here to tell you that it is possible to find great "green" products new for good prices. It just takes flexibility and a little time to search.

First- decide what your requirements are for your project. Measurements, durability, colors.

Second- determine what types of materials you would like to use. Something recycled? Something made of a renewable resource?

Third- research, reasearch, reasearch. We would not have been able to do ours without the internet.

Fourth- shop shop shop!

Here's my example. We wanted to replace our kitchen countertops. We had an ugly color peeling-off laminate counter. We wanted something classy but not too expensive. We also wanted it to be durable, waterproof, heat proof, and environmentally friendly. We looked first into granite. Not-so-green. There was an option for a granite cover-up counter that we liked (it meant we wouldn't have to rip out the old one) but very expensive. Then we found out about Eco-top and Paperstone products. Made of 100% post-consumer recycled paper. Awesome! Was it in our budget? Not really. However, when we were at EcoHaus in Portland looking at some, the guy says, "We have these pieces in the back room that are an odd color and we haven't been able to sell them." Bingo! They happened to be just the amount that we needed for our kitchen, and at a fraction of the cost. And in brown tones that I was using anyway.

Lucky for me, my husband is handy and was able to cut and install them. Even with the purchase of some new tools, our eco-friendly countertops cost us only about $900. And I think they look great. Other things we did were a cork floor, purchased from a builder's liquidator, and a recycled glass tile backsplash.

Pros: Less depletion of the earth's resources. In the case of these countertops, they are fully recyclable as well as made from recycled paper.

Cons: Some eco-friendly materials are not as durable (such as our cork floor, but I still like it.) It takes work to find these types of materials on a limited budget.

#37 Green Remodeling? Reclaimed Materials!

2009-01-13T12:24:00.000-08:00

Okay, so you've used everything that you could from your own demolition. Now it's time to start building. Do you head to the nearest retailers and pick out what you want? For some things that may be warranted (like drywall) but really the best thing to do first is to check for reclaimed materials that work. One way is to use Craig's list (the Craig's list people should be paying me for how much I promote their site.) Another way is to find a Habitat Re-store, or another place like it. My new favorite place to go to shop for stuff for our remodeling projects is The Rebuilding Center in Portland. They take all the stuff out of houses that are being torn down and sell it for reuse, as well as create really fun furniture out of reclaimed wood. Our latest finds there were a drinking fountain for our mud room and an old lighting fixture that we will fix up for the new bathroom.

Our latest and greatest Craig's list finds were some beautiful travertine tile for bathroom floor and vanity, and a solid granite tub surround that was taken out of a luxury hotel suite (only $200!)

Pros: Reusing stuff prevents it from filling the landfills (The Rebuilding Centers slogan is "Just because it's called a landfill, doesn't mean you have to fill it.") It is much cheaper than buying new.

Cons: It requires greater flexibility and you may not be able to find exactly what you want.

#36 Green Remodeling?--- Reuse what you can.

2009-01-03T22:05:00.000-08:00

Remodeling is not really green. In most cases, things left the way they are is the greenest route. That old vinyl floor does the least damage left right where it is. Left alone, less goes to the landfill and less products need to be produced. That being said, realistically there is a lot of value in aesthetic appeal and better function. My husband and I constantly have a project going in our home. We are doing it for our comfort and for the resale value of our house. Built in the 1950's and poorly maintained, there is much to be done.

There are a number of ways that we are seeking to make our remodeling projects as green as possible. The first thing that we do is reuse anything that is possibly reusable when we take it out. Our project this year is converting a room (formerly a bedroom?-- we used it mainly for storage) into a master bathroom and a mudroom. There was a decent set of built-in cabinets and shelves. The cabinets became toy cabinets in the basement, and the shelves moved to the storage/work room for organizing tools.

Any wood that we tear out that is not stained or painted becomes firewood, and decent wood pieces will be turned into something else useful (the wood paneling will become shelves in our shed.) If you can't find a use for it, freecycle or Craig'slist it and see if there is anyone out there who can use it.

Pros: Less trips to the landfill, less in the landfill, and the stuff can fill a need if you will be creative with it.

Cons: There will always be some stuff that just cannot be reused. Sometimes it takes a little more work to get things out so that they are in usable form (today my husband was complaining about how long it was taking to get the paneling out of the old closet he was tearing out.)

#35 Craig's list is your Holiday friend

2008-12-22T09:45:00.000-08:00

Yes, I've already posted about shopping yard sales and thrift stores. This is similar, but I am giving this it's own post because of the relation to Christmas shopping! There is something about gift giving that makes us all want to run out and buy all new, nice things in all those nice new boxes and plastic packaging. Perhaps that's because there is a stigma associated with giving a used gift that says "cheap" (in a bad way.) I admit, a lot of the gifts I sent off to family were new, but for my own kids-- Ammon is getting an art desk (bought on Craig's list), Talia is getting a home-made wooden chest for dress up clothes (purchased at thrift stores), and Jarom is getting a wooden rocking horse (Craig's list).

Next year I am going to strongly suggest that we make it a rule in my own family's sibling exchange that we buy something used. It really is fun to see what you can come up with for a great price!

Pros: Cheaper, and a great way to reuse things. Less waste and less new packaging.

Cons: Sometimes harder to find what you want. Sometimes I have to travel farther to get the item I want.

#34 Alternative to paper wrapping

2008-12-12T14:32:00.000-08:00

How much paper do you waste to make packages look pretty for Christmas?

This year I am beginning a gradual change over to cloth bags to wrap things in. And it will be quite a gradual change because I have scads of leftover wrapping paper from the last few years. But no new paper for me. I bought some cheap Christmas fabric (and plan to get more after Christmas when it's on clearance) and am sewing some simple bags to wrap in. I made one with a drawstring (shown above) but decided it's easier just to make the bag and tie it with ribbon or string. These should last indefinitely. I even made some for some of the gifts I mailed out to family members, hoping they will keep them and use them next year.... and the next year.... and the next year...

Other alternatives to traditional wrapping paper: comics from the newpaper, brown grocery bags, Christmas pillowcases (double use-- I like that.)

Pros: Less paper produced and wasted. I'm not a good wrapper, and it is SO much easier just to stick the gift in the bag without having to package it so it can be wrapped in paper. The bags are going to be useful in wrapping up my fragile decorations when it's time to put them away. They can be made in any size you want, and it takes me the same amount of time to make one as it does to wrap a present nicely.

Cons: Initial cost is higher than paper. It can be easier to tell what the gift is by feeling the bag. My kids might notice that Santa doesn't bring gifts wrapped differently (I had this problem with paper anyway-- I just told them that I helped Santa to wrap his gifts.) It also doesn't quite have the same effect as ripping off the paper when you are opening the gift.

A new name!

2008-12-10T11:50:00.000-08:00

It was a tough decision, and I was hoping to get a little more feedback, but I've chosen
Green at Home Mom (obviously). I've notified the winner. The suggestion was actually "I'm a GAHM," but I just chose to write it out. Thanks for all the clever suggestions!
Life has been crazy with trying to get ready for Christmas and trying to finish our kitchen-- I will get back to posting soon, hopefully.

#33 Green your Holiday packages

2008-12-03T13:23:00.000-08:00

My next few posts will be about how to make your Christmas a little more green and a little less in the red.

I was just thinking of this as I packed up the prizes for the contest (one is addressed, one is not-- I'm still thinking on the name contest.) At Christmas time I end up sending out about 10 packages, with my family and my husbands 2 families being spread across the country, and each having their own means of gift exchanging. So during the year I save padded envelopes, and in the fall I start saving boxes and packing materials, for shipping. If the end of the envelope is torn, you can cut that part off and tape the end shut. Boxes can be expensive (and wasteful) if you have to buy them. My husband is pretty good at taking the boxes we have and cutting them down to exactly the right sizes. If you don't have any boxes to save, get them from a local retailer. If you don't have packaging material for the inside of the box, use newspaper.

Pros: You don't have to buy packaging. Less paper and plastic waste. The materials can be recycled just as easily after they've been used several times.

Cons: The USPS is picky about labels and writing on packages, so make sure it's all scribbled out or covered up

A New Winner, and Help, please!

2008-12-01T09:21:00.000-08:00

Well, the winner of the random drawing did not contact me, so I have picked a new winner! The winner is circustimes! I will contact this person via email.

Okay, so I've managed to narrow down the list of suggestions to a few of them:

More green for less green
Envirocents
Living Green. Loving Green. Saving Green.
Mean Green Mommy Machine
Green Frugality
Adventures in Growing Green
Eco-momics
Efficient Earthlover
Green at Home Mom

It's much harder than I thought to decide on one. Please, if you have any input, help me out.

We have a winner...

2008-11-28T09:52:00.000-08:00

To the random contest, at least. The randomly drawn winner of the Burt's Bee's mini set is...
Lala who said "i May be green but i always save."
However, this person did not leave a way for me to contact them! I will give you 48 hours to contact me before I pick another winner.

Thanks for all the great ideas for blog names. I am in the process now of figuring out which one to use-- so be patient with me-- there are so many!

#32 What to do with your "icky" water

2008-11-22T21:30:00.000-08:00

The other night my son came down the stairs after having been tucked in bed. He announced to my husband and I that he had drunk the rest of the water in his cup before he was going to refill it, even though it was "icky" because he didn't want to waste it. Well, I can't get the child to turn off the faucet when it's running needlessly, or to not take a forever-long shower, but at least I know he is paying a little attention. Anyway, we explained that it wasn't really necessary for him to drink icky water just for the sake of not wasting it. A much better use for the water would be to put it on one of the houseplants.

Now I admit I do this much more during the summer, but even during the winter, some of that "gray water" can be of use. Water the garden, grass, or houseplants. I also dump mine in the compost bucket if I have nowhere else to use it, because the compost needs moisture, too. You can use your vegetable wash water, water you have cooked pasta or something in, water left in glasses at dinnertime. You can also "catch" water that is running while you wait for the water to get hot or cold. Any time that you would normally dump water down the drain, just stop to consider if there is a use for it. Be sure not to use water that has a lot of soap or any chemicals in it.
**Update: I stumbled across a post today at The Greenest Dollar (a great website, by the way) all about how to recycle gray water. Check it out!

Pros: Use less water, have greener plants

Cons: I sometimes end up with noodles in my houseplants :) It also throws off any watering schedule if you like to keep one. I find my plants do better without one-- they are green and healthy and I water them when they look dry or droopy.

#31 Eat those green tomatoes (or whatever else you have around!)

2008-11-17T09:01:00.000-08:00

At the end of October, the community gardens closed. We had to have all our stuff out of there. Well, due to the late Washington season, we had loads of green tomatoes. And we were headed out of town for a week. What to do with all those tomatoes? Well, ours were turned into green ketchup, fried green tomatoes, and a green tomato chocolate cake (plus baggies in the freezer to make more in the future-- it was that good!) and the ones that looked like they would keep were set out to ripen and then sliced and dried. I consider not wasting things to be a very green practice. My husband is particularly good at this-- it was him who came up with doing the chocolate cake, and also made a pumpkin topping for it out of some leftover pumpkin that we needed to use.

Pros: If you use what you have, it won't go to waste, and you save yourself from having to buy new food. Less for the landfill, and easier on your budget.

Cons: It can be a challenge sometimes to come up with ways to use things. Sometimes my kids don't appreciate my cooking when I'm trying to use things up.

Mama needs a new name!

2008-11-11T09:46:00.000-08:00

I'm back! And I've decided that before I delve back into some more wonderful ways to save the earth and money, I am going to hold a contest. I've found that there are quite a few blogs out there with the same or similar name. I want something original, but I'm just not coming up with anything.
So here's what you need to do. Leave me a comment with a suggestion for a new blog name. You will either need to leave me your email address so I can contact you, or be willing to come back on the contest closing date to check if you are the winner and then can contact me. There will be 2 winners!
The winner whose new blog name I like and choose will receive a BeautiControl hand softening kit (includes paraffin hand treatment, age spot treatment, overnight hand treatment, cuticle oil pen, and overnight gloves.-- retails at $68.50!)

Another winner will be selected randomly out of all comments and will win a Burt's Bees Baby Bee Getting Started Kit (includes mini apricot baby oil, mini shampoo bar, mini buttermilk bar, mini diaper ointment, mini buttermilk lotion, and a comb.)

The contest will end on November 27th, Thanksgiving Day. I reserve the right to lengthen the contest if I don't get enough response.

Thanks for reading!

#30 Green your Decor

2008-10-27T09:05:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not talking about getting organic bamboo sofas or 100% recycled wall art (although those things would be nice.) I'm talking about real green ways to decorate your home, with plants. In my opinion, there is no better way to add life to a room. Real live plants. The nice thing about indoor plants is that you can grow so many varieties that can't be grown outdoors (unless you live in a tropical climate.) There are also very cheap ways to get some plants. Yard sales, for one. Another is to get clippings off of plants from people you know. Many plants can be started from a clipping, and the ones that can do this generally are easy-keepers and require little care. You can grow plants from seeds if you wish, or shop the clearance racks at gardening centers. Most houseplants are fairly resilient-- trust me I know because I do not really have a green thumb. Generally I wait until they are looking a little droopy before I give them water. I've heard that more plants are killed by over-watering than underwatering, and maybe that's why mine do so well. My husband and I even have an avocado tree in our house that we grew from the pit of an avocado that we had eaten. This tree has survived about 7 years, a week-long trip in the back of a moving van, getting all the leaves stripped off by my son, several weeks without water, and all sorts of other abuse. As a bonus, you can use whatever old container that you want to recycle as your pots. Just make sure there are drainage holes in the bottom.

Pros: Beautiful, cheap, and natural air filters.

Cons: They do take some care, occasional fertilizing, pruning, and sometimes they just die.

By the way, I am going out of town this week and won't be blogging while I'm gone. Just so you know I haven't dropped off the face of the planet and I will be back!

#29 Inch toward sustainable living

2008-10-21T13:05:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all live on what we alone produce? Think of all the problems that would solve! But how realistic is it? Not. Not realistic at all. However, there are ways that we can get just a little closer to it. One of the ways that my husband and I do this is to incorporate producing plants into our landscape. A section of our front flower bed is miniature blueberry bushes and a strawberry patch. We also pulled out a bunch of invasive ground cover that is taking over our yard and put in some fruit trees. (I know, it takes a long time for fruit trees to become established, but we are thinking about the future for whoever lives in this house.) We made room for a patch of raspberries as well (although our neighbor accidentally killed them when he sprayed his blackberries.) This is not the same thing as gardening. These are plants that will be part of the landscape year-round and are all native plants as well. Almost anyone can do this if you really put your mind to it. Even if it's just to plant herbs as your houseplants. Grow something of your own! You'll be surprised how much better it tastes when you had to work to get it.

Pros: Fresh, yummy things right from your yard or in your house. All organic, if desired. More plants promotes cleaner air! Planting native plants feels like giving something back to the earth that has been taken away by buildings and pavement. Also, native plants require less care.

Cons: It still takes some sort of space. They might not be AS attractive as flowers or something else (although we eat a lot of our flowers too!)

#28 Another way to use those kitchen scraps...

2008-10-13T10:46:00.000-07:00

Do you use chicken broth or stock from a box or a can? Do you realize what you are paying for? The packaging, that you must throw away when that golden, tasty and very inexpensively-made liquid is used up. Here is the solution. Home-made stock. Keep scraps from veggies or fruit that are clean in a bag in the freezer. Add in bones and scraps from a chicken or ham, or whatever meat you had that week (optional.) You can keep adding to it until you have enough to throw it all in a big pot of water and simmer it for a few hours. Add a little salt and seasonings if you want. Drain out the scraps (and put them in your compost, except for the bones,) bottle up the stock (mayo jars are perfect for this,) and put them in the freezer.

We use our pasta pot because it is much easier to get the scraps out that way. You can also use a crock pot.

It has so many uses, that we go through the stuff very quickly. Use it for soup stock and you can make a quick soup that tastes like it has simmered for hours, thicken it up and you have gravy, use it instead of water to make very flavorful rice, use it in any recipe that calls for broth or stock.

Pros: Yummy and easy. No packaging. I feel like I'm getting more use and vitamins out of my vegetables.

Cons: It takes some electricity to cook it. It's a pain to drain out the slimy scraps if you don't have a pasta pot. I get a little layer of fat on top from the meat scraps--You can scrape it off if you want.

#27 The miracle of Rot. (Composting)

2008-10-09T21:22:00.000-07:00

Did you know that up to 40% of American's waste that goes to the landfills is compostable? I am posting this after my canning and gardening posts because those are some things that I do that create a whole bunch of organic waste (no, not "Organic" in the product sense, I'm just talking about living stuff- or stuff that was once living.) Composting is one of the most environmentally friendly practices out there. That "waste" can be turned into something extremely useful while at the same time preventing so much stuff from going to the dump. There was a recent post at 5 Minutes for going green that has some great information on composting.

It really isn't difficult to compost. The minimum requirement is a place to put a decent sized pile. You can get one of these fancy compost tumblers, but they are not necessary. What we had is a round flexible bottomless bin that was provided by the city. This summer we outgrew that, and now have one gigantic pile that is rotting away beautifully and will make our garden and lawn next year very healthy. In the past we've put quite a bit of money into bags of compost purchased from gardening centers. Again, I'm not here to tell you exactly how to compost, because there are so many sources of information on that. I just want to encourage you to try it.

One more thing: Why not flush all that kitchen waste down the garbage disposal? It takes a lot of water and electricity to do that. Puting it in a bucket and walking out to the compost pile only takes a little walking, and who can't use more of that?

Pros: Prevents a huge amount of waste from going to the landfills and creating methane gas. Saves a lot of trash bags. Less stinky trash in your kitchen. It's creating something that is great to put back into the earth and make things grow. You can get paper products that are compostable.

Cons: Yard waste needs to be chipped small enough that it will decompose at a reasonable rate. Without a big enough pile, you may not create enough heat to kill off seeds in the compost and can end up with things growing in your compost (not that this is really that big a deal). Our compost bin in our kitchen has to be emptied frequently and attracts a lot of fruit flies.

#26 You Can Home Can

2008-10-08T10:43:00.000-07:00

I don't really know if I have any faithful blog readers out there, but if so, sorry that I've been slacking lately. I'm going go get back to blogging with a vengeance!

Home canning, believe it or not, is coming back into style. It's not just for granny anymore! I'm not sure what the reasons are, but I really am glad. Not only is it a great way to stock up food for the winter, it's a great money saver and very friendly on the environment. We routinely can peaches, tomatoes, applesauce, and a wide variety of jams. This year we branched out to include beans and tomatillos. Below are just some of my shelves packed full of jars and boxes of full jars:

Don't know how? Don't be intimidated by the process. It really is simple. But I'm not going to go into that here. There are many websites, books, and people who can help you with that if you so desire. I suggest that you ask around and look at yard sales for your jars and canning supplies. Then once you have them they are yours forever (okay, we occasionally have a jar break.) You only have to buy new lids each year, which can cost you around .08 to .15 per lid.

Pros: Cheap, you can reuse your jars indefinitely (no aluminum cans to be made or recycled!), and you have complete control over what goes into your jars. Organic if you wish, sugar-free, and you can grow your own food or support local farmers. It's also a great way to involve the kids in the food-saving process.

Cons: It takes time and energy. And makes a mess. It also requires room to store the jars.

#25 The next best thing

2008-09-22T10:53:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I mentioned this in my last post, but it's worthy of it's own post. The Farmer's Market! Just about everywhere has one. So next to growing your own produce, this is the best way to get fresh local stuff. This summer I have depended on it for things like garlic, eggplant (mine didn' t do well,) berries (the ones we didn't pick ourselves), and other odds and ends. Yes, sometimes they can be more expensive than the grocery store, but the freshness and having the food grown locally is worth it. But you also need to shop the whole thing to find the best price on the produce you want. Another trick is to go right when the booths are ready to be packed up. This is especially useful if you are looking for a large amount of something. Most of the vendors really don't want to take the produce back home to sit for a few days until the next market (here they are Tues. and Sat.) Offer them what price you want to pay, and the worse that will happen is that they will say "no." If you go often, you can build relationships with the vendors and let them know what kind of things you are looking for at what price, and you'll be amazed at what they can come up with for you.

Pros: Fresh produce, with the middle-man eliminated. It doesn't have to be shipped across the country.

Cons: They are only available in the summer time (for obvious reasons.) And only at limited times. Prices can be high.

#24 Gardening

2008-09-15T12:44:00.000-07:00

So I was going to continue on about some ways to save on fuel and such, but I'll come back to that later. This summer a good portion of my time has been spent with my garden in one way or another. It's the first year that we elected to get a plot at the community gardens and it has been great! Well, great besides the bad soil and weed problems. But we are dealing with those and next year we will be better prepared. And despite that, we have had a great yeild of produce, especially beans and peas. Tomatoes and tomatillos are coming. I admit, it's a lot of work. Soil prep, planting, thinning, weeding, watering, harvesting. But with each bite of fresh, organic produce that I take (or my children and husband), it becomes more and more worth it. We have had countless meals that were almost entirely made with produce from our garden. My husband has even worked hard to save us from having to drive to the garden too often by leaving to work early on his bike stopping by on the way. We also have a small garden plot at our house with some lettuces, summer squash, beets, cherry tomatoes, and carrots.

You don't need to have a green thumb to have a garden. Really all you need is a little space and a desire to do it. There is a wealth of information out there on gardening-- my advice would be to find someone who is a gardener and have them help you get started. If you don't have the space, you can just do some container gardening, or check to see if your community has garden plots.

Pros: You can be as organic as you like, get wonderful fresh produce and not have to buy storebought, shipped-in produce. You can also get the whole family involved!

Cons: It's a lot of work, requires patience, and a lot of water. And sometimes things don't grow the way you hope and work for (like my three-foot tall corn stalks and 3-inch long ears of corn)

#23 Idle no more.

2008-09-09T13:42:00.000-07:00

School is back in session. The weather is beautiful, so when school lets out I pack up the baby and the 3 year old into the stroller, don my running shoes, and get ready to push 70 pounds+ of children and stroller up a very steep hill. It's great exercise, I feel good about it, and I even get cheered on occasionally by strangers who witness my battle with the full stroller on the steepest parts of the hill. I finally reach the top, and inhale a nice deep breath of... car fumes? My path takes me past the "pick-up line" where parents await the final bell and the rush of children from their classrooms. I have noticed that about 75% of the cars, trucks, SUV's, and minivans keep their motors running while they wait, emitting a steady stream of exhaust right into the path of walking kids and parents. I want to knock on their windows and say, "Could you please turn off your engine?" There really is no excuse to keep it running (around here it's rarely even warm enough to need the AC.) Starting your car again is NOT hard on the engine, does not use more fuel, and your car engine does not need to warm up to drive in cold weather (see here). That information comes from old cars and old myths. Idling wastes fuel and creates emmissions. I'm not sure I could go for turning off the car every time it's idling (i.e. stoplights,) but there are definitely times that my car is running idle and I am working toward making turning the car off a habit. I am grateful that the school buses do not idle their engines while waiting for the kids.

Pros: Less fuel wasted, less exhaust emitted.

Cons: You can't run the AC with the car off, and it takes a second or two to start the engine to get moving again.

#22 Garage sale fun!

2008-09-03T10:29:00.000-07:00

Did you know that garage sale shopping is environmentally friendly? I definitely consider it so. Just think of all the things that you can put to reuse instead of having to be purchased new! The same can go for thrift stores and better yet, hand-me-downs from friends and family. But here is my loot from the last time I went to garage sales:

It includes 2 Children's Place sweaters, 1 pair of L.L bean shoes, one pair of firetruck jammies, one Thomas shirt, one Gap hoodie, 1 pair Levi jeans, 3 pairs of nice shorts, 3 pairs of tights, 4 pairs of socks, 1 Mr. Potato head computer game, 1 popsicle mold set, 1 bear backpack, and one turtle sandbox. My total for all of the above? About $15.00.

Pros: Fun, cheap, and puts a lot of things to good use.

Cons: It takes time and fuel to drive around to the sales. If you like currently trendy clothes, they are harder to find. It's also harder to find stuff as the kids get older-- that's where thrift stores come in handy.

#17 to 21. More ways to save trees

2008-08-28T11:01:00.000-07:00

Since I'm on the subject, here are some more ideas on ways to cut down on paper use:

Recieve and pay bills online! This was difficult for me at first because I can't flip open the filing cabinet to pull out an old bill. I have to count on cyberspace to keep track of things. But it's quicker and doesn't require postage. This can also apply to documents/applications.

Put the paper right back into the printer. Do you ever print mistake pages? Or how about that page that has just the footer printed on the last page? Most stuff I print is just for my own use, so who cares what's on the back? I put it back in the printer so that the back side will be printed on with my next print.

Hand write things. A simple recipe, an address, or some other thing that you look up on your computer can be jotted down on a scrap paper (see previous post) instead of being printed out.
Use your debit card. No checks to write or pay for, and my bank actually pays me .03 for each transaction.
Buy recycled paper. Okay, so this may or may not save money, but it is worth it. I can usually get recycled printer paper on sale at office max- just keep your eyes open and buy when it's a good price and not when you need it because you run out of paper.

To read some statistics on what is required to make paper, go here. Scary, isn't it? So be a tree-hugger, and save yourself some money in the process. And when you do use paper, make sure it goes into the recycle bin instead of the trash

#16 Paper paper everywhere, but not a scrap to write on?

2008-08-24T20:53:00.000-07:00

Are you a list maker? I never thought I was, but lately I can't seem to accomplish anything unless I have a list. Or remember what to buy if it's not written down. The problem is that lists take paper. Not to worry! I get enough junk mail to keep me well supplied. The backs of the envelopes are perfect. I might as well get some use out of the complete waste of paper. I also use other pieces of scrap paper, like stuff I printed (like directions) and am no longer using. Then when I am done, it can go in the recycle bin where it would have gone anyway.

Pros: Makes some use of waste paper, and you don't have to use up a piece of new paper

Cons: My lists are more easily misplaced because they look like trash.

#15 Reusable shopping bags

2008-08-22T10:15:00.000-07:00

I know it's not a new idea. Stores everywhere are selling reusable bags, there has been a lot of hype about it in the media, and we all know it is one of the easiest and best ways to replace disposable plastic. So why when I go to the grocery stores do I never see anyone else with their bags in tow? I confess, I don't remember every time. I hate having to answer the question, "paper or plastic?" when I know that at home or even in my car there are a stack of bags I could have brought. But I am making an effort, and getting better. It's about doing it until it becomes a habit. I try to return my bags to the car after I have emptied groceries, that way I know they are there for next time and for unplanned trips to the store. Some big cities, like Seattle, have started actually charging for the use of plastic bags. I wouldn't mind that, because it would push more people into bringing their own bags, but I am also grateful that here the stores offer a 5 or 6 cent refund per bag brought in for reuse. My favorite reusable bag I have is from Target, because it's big and it folds up nicely. There are also some great bags out there made of recycled material , but I'd like to have some like this:

Pros: The bags tend to be sturdier and can hold more groceries. They will prevent the waste of thousands of plastic bags over a lifetime. They will save you money (by either paying you or preventing you from getting charged.)

Cons: You must remember to bring the bags with you! I have yet to find a suitable replacement for garbage can liners. Also, if you giving something (such as garden produce)
to someone, it's much easier to give it to them in a bag they don't have to give back.

#14 Wet Bags

2008-08-19T10:28:00.000-07:00

This is must-have cloth-diapering accessory. It's called a wet bag, because you can put the wet, stinky diapers in it and zip it up, sealing it all in the water-proof material. Usually they are made out of PUL (polyurethane laminate) which can be purchased on ebay (I also saw some bags on sale there), or you can go here to purchase the bags online. In addition to going in the diaper bag, they can also be used as a diaper pail liner or in place of a diaper pail. And the best thing about these bags-- throw them right in the wash with the diapers!

Pros: Less stink and mess to deal with, it's durable and come in some cute patterns. A much better option than using plastic bags.

Cons: More expensive than plastic bags, but it is all part of the money-saving cloth diapering process.

#13 Diaper wipes

2008-08-16T19:50:00.000-07:00

I thought while I was on the subject of diapers, I would include some things that go along with cloth diapering. If you're using all cloth diapers, it really doesn't make sense to keep using those disposable wipes! You can use the same wipes containers that you have. They are available for purchase if you choose, or if you are like me, just use what you have available. My wipes are a mixture of baby washcloths that I never used, cut up burp rags that had holes, and a few other ratty washcloths. You can find a recipe for diaper wipe solution online. Or, if it doesn't bother you, just use water. I mostly just use water. Yuck? Well, to each his own-- you can choose how you want to handle it.

Pros: Very cheap, in fact free if you make your own out of what you have. No wipes to be thrown out, and you can just wash them with the diapers. Also, no plastic packaging that comes with store-bought wipes. Store-bought wipes have always seemed to irritate my baby's skin-- using home-made is very gentle to baby's bottom.

Cons: A little less convenient to have to make your own. I sometimes get too much or too little liquid in the container, and my baby likes to get into them and pull them all out (not that this is much different from disposable wipes.)

#12 Time to go cloth!

2008-08-10T10:32:00.000-07:00

Cloth diapers have become a big issue lately. I decided to post about it today because I just read this at 5 minutes for going green. I have to tell you that even after making the switch from almost all other disposable paper/plastic products, I resisted the cloth diapers. After all, I was on my last child, he was several months old already, and cloth diapers are ICKY! Right? Well thanks to my friend Julie, I made the switch anyway. I had the advantage of trying out all of her different types of diapers that her oldest was out of and baby hadn't grown into yet. They really aren't that bad. A little extra stink, a little extra laundry, but over all a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. And trust me, my child has not been the easiest child to diaper. He is an extremely heavy wetter and blow-out pooper. Because of this, most AIO's (all-in-ones) and pocket diapers don't work for him. So I use prefolds with a doubler (I use microfiber washcloths) and good quality velcro covers. No pins, no snappis, just stuff it all in there and close up the velcro. Oh, and the biodegradable flushable poop-catching liners are a HUGE help (no dunking or spraying). There is a lot that goes into choosing your diapers and getting started. The best way is to find someone who uses them to get information (and I have never known anyone who uses them and doesn't want to convert all moms to using them.) There are also a lot of websites out there that may be helpful. Try this one to get some good info. My favorite site for buying diapering supplies is cottonbabies.com . I have even tried to make my own AIO diapers. They turned out okay-- but unfortunately did not work for my child.

Even if you just want to use them part of the time, like when you are at home, it is definitely worth it and will save you money.

Here is my baby with his cloth diapers doubling as a swimsuit.

Pros: Cloth diapers are reusable, long-lasting (very high resale value too!), soft, cute, chemical-free, and may help your child potty train more easily. The estimated savings per child is $2000 to $3000. And then there are the thousands of diapers that won't be headed to the landfill

Cons: The stink is worse, but not from poop-- the wet diapers can smell very strongly of ammonia. A little more laundry-- but who with a baby isn't doing laundry all the time anyway? The initial cost can be high. I suggest you try Craig's list for some used ones. For my child, it requires extra diaper changes because he wets so heavily. I keep disposables on hand for emergencies and traveling.

#11 More freezing fun

2008-08-08T16:41:00.000-07:00

'Tis the season for freezin'-- food that is. As much as my family loves berries, we can't afford to go buy the little packages of pre-ripe picked berries that they sell at the grocery stores. So when they are in season-- stock up! In my opinion, really good fresh frozen berries are just as good or better than storebought, shipped-across-the-country, packed-in-little-plastic-packages berries that are available year-round. Buy the berries when their season is in full swing, wash and dry them thouroughly, spread them on sheet pan and put in the freezer. When they are frozen, put them in ziploc bags or food saver bags. They can then be used for the rest of the year. Blueberries are probably the best freezing berries. They make a great healthy snack. So head to the farmer's market, or the berry patch to pick your own! Yum!

Our latest blueberry pick. I wanted to get pics of the kids picking, but I forgot the camera when we went.

Pros: Yummy, healthy, and less expensive when purchased in large amounts. Picking berries is a great bonding activity for my family. It's more economical to run your freezer when it's full. There is less packaging to throw away.

Cons: It requires freezer space. If you don't have a food saver, the berries can get a bit freezer-burned in a few months.

#10 Freeze to please

2008-08-05T15:18:00.000-07:00

Is there anything kids love more in the summertime than popsicles? How much money have you spent on sugar water because it's frozen on a stick? So my tip is-- make your own. A plastic popsicle mold is very inexpensive and can be used indefinitely. No wooden sticks, plastic wrappers, or bags/boxes. If you're worried about BPA, you can get BPA-free molds here. (Tupperware doesn't use polycarbonate to make children's products.) You could also create your own molds out of jars or whatever you want.

You can make any kind of popsicles you want, including yogurt, fruit juice, or go cheap and do kool-aid. One of my kids' favorites is lemonade pops.

Pros: Healthier (if you want them to be) and cheaper. Less plastic, less waste.

Cons: My daughter keeps losing the sticks outside. Most plastic molds probably do have BPA in them.

#9 So much packaging, so little product

2008-08-04T09:20:00.000-07:00

It's a world of convenience foods. It seems that everything has to come in single-serve packaging. It's so convenient! And so expensive! And so wasteful! I admit to endulging my kids with string cheese once in a while, but individual cookies, chips, crackers, and even peanut butter? You've got to be kidding. So just don't buy it. The funny thing about such conveniences is that you'll never miss them if you never try them. Also, the more you buy these products, the more things companies will produce because of the demand.
Pros (of not buying them): Less waste, less money, and less junk food (typically healthy food does not come single-serve)
Cons: Less convenience.

#8 Sqeeze every last drop

2008-08-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

You're down to the end of that tube of toothpaste and you just want to toss it. But it's likely that there is still some toothpaste in the "hub" of the tube. So bunch up that tube, push with all your might, and you'll be amazed at how much more toothpaste you can get out. I know, there are a million different tube squeezers out there that are supposed to help you with this, but don't waste your money. They can't do anything your fingers can't already do.
Before:

After:

Pros: I'd estimate about a tube of toothpaste a year in savings. One less to buy, one less plastic tube to dispose of. Over a lifetime, that's a lot.
Cons: At the end, I have to set the toothbrush down and use both hands to get that last little bit.

#7 Shaving cream the old-fashion way

2008-07-28T09:48:00.000-07:00

This is again one of my husband's ideas. He actually really wanted to go the whole way and shave with a straight razor as well as use the old fashioned type of shaving cream, but found he couldn't get the razor sharp enough. But the shaving cream is a big success. It's inexpensive, lasts a long long time, and he says it works just as well as the regular foam or gel. He even picked up his own "DAD" mug at a thrift store that fits the disk perfectly. It looks like round soap and yes, it can be purchased just about anywhere. Ours came from Fred Meyer, including the brush. Do you realize that when you are buying shaving cream, mostly what you are paying for is the container and the water?

Pros: Lasts a long time, inexpensive, no containers to dispose of, and works great!

Cons: Not as transportable as regular shaving cream for traveling purposes.

#6 Half and half moo juice

2008-07-25T08:06:00.000-07:00

Here's one that I never ever thought that my family would go for. I think it's one of the oldest money-saving tricks on the books, though. Use powdered milk and mix and a half and half ratio with real milk. We use whole milk since powdered milk is fat-free. Really, I thought it would be gross, but I can't really tell the difference, as long as the milk is cold. We buy 25 lb. bags, but dry milk is available boxed in most stores, and in bulk bins at many.
Pros: Less plastic milk jugs, less trips to the grocery store, and save a lot of money especially with the rising cost of milk, and it's great to have extra dry milk around in case of emergency.
Cons: If you need it right away and don't have any mixed up, you then have to wait to mix it and it doesn't taste as good before it's chilled. Also, even though I wash the milk jugs before reusing them for mixed milk, sometimes they make the milk sour quickly. Recycle and replace the mixing jug often, or use a pitcher. I have to reserve some whole milk for the baby (under 2).

cloth diaper contest

2008-07-23T09:56:00.000-07:00

Cloth diapers will definitely be one of my future posts, but for now I just wanted to share a contest going on at http://babycheapskate.blogspot.com/2008/07/giveaway-12-bumgenius-30-diapers.html. 12 bumgenius diapers! Go and enter!

#5 Share a magazine

2008-07-23T09:21:00.000-07:00

How many magazines do you subscribe to and read? What do you do with them when you are done? If you are like me, I browse through once and then it sits around, or gets tossed into the recycle bin. I recently discovered a great thing at my local library. A magazine exchange rack! Give a magazine, take a magazine! I now subscibe to a couple of magazines (home improvement/decor are my favorite). I am going to take them to the library from now on when I am done with them and pick up something new. Check your local library to see if they have this service. If not, why not suggest it to them?

Pros: Less paper waste, new and different magazines for free

Cons: Takes a trip to the library to get them, and there my not be any magazines you want to read there.

#4 Refill you ink cartridges!

2008-07-21T15:15:00.000-07:00

How often do you have to replace your ink cartridges in your printer? Mine are quite frequently. I know they have a business reply envelope in most new ink cartridge boxes so that you can recycle the old one, but why not recycle your own? You can go to any office supply store and have the cartridge refilled for an approx. 25 to 50% savings. I take mine to Walgreen's. Actually I'm feeling a little guilty because as of yet I haven't paid for a refill there (I think I've had 3.) They keep telling me that it failed the print test, so there is no charge. But when I try it in my printer it works fine. So next time I run out I probably will buy new cartridges just in case there is something wrong with them, but then I will get the new ones refilled when they run out.

Pros: Costs less, and reuses plastic (better than recycling plastic,)

Cons: It takes a little more time than buying a cartridge (15 mins to 1 hour, usually) but I just leave it and pick it up next time I am in the store.

#3 Getting Creative with Cork

2008-07-20T22:45:00.000-07:00

Yes, cork is one of those wonderful environmentally friendly products (I'll save that for another time,) but that's not what this post is really about. It's about being creative so that things you have are not wasted. The lovely pieces of cork you see above are actually samples that I requested from a flooring company when we were shopping for a new kitchen floor. I didn't end up using any of them, and then I had these samples just sitting around. We were just going to throw them away. But then my hubby had the brilliant idea to make trivets out of them. All we had to do was cut off the lip that stuck out (because they were a piece of click-lock floor.) And Voila! Something really cool and different and useful. What do you have sitting around that you could make something simple and useful out of?
Pros: They go great with our kitchen decor, are great to put hot things on, and are made of a great renewable resource. And we didn't have to throw them in the trash.
Cons: They could possibly be ruined if water is gets spilled on them.

#2- Cloth Napkins

2008-07-19T09:16:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has eaten a meal with children knows that napkin use can get a little out of control.

My solution for this is to use cloth napkins! In fact, most of my napkins I made from a pair of my husband's linen pants that got a hole in the knee. The rest I had in a drawer I think since we got married. My kids think it's pretty funny to have pants for napkins, and never get tired of joking about wiping their faces on "pants" at the table. The non-pants napkins have even been dubbed "shirts" just for the fun of it, and probably because I am constantly telling the kids NOT to use their shirts as napkins.

Pros: Washable, reusable, durable, and less waste of paper products (especially important since used napkins are not recycleable.) They are also much more effective than paper at wiping grimy fingers and faces.

Cons: They have to be washed. But since laundry is pretty much always running at my house anyway, not a problem.

The Goal and #1

2008-07-18T21:50:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about starting this blog for a while. If I get anyone to read it, great, but mostly it's for me to motivate myself and make a record. I know that saving the environment is a very trendy thing right now. Although I normally am an anti-trendy person, I think this is great because people are thinking about it. Just this year my husband and I have made a lot of changes in our lives as to how we think about the environment and money. We were enlightened starting with a book called, "Money, It's Not Just for Rich People." From there we went on to read the frugal zealot's books, "The Tightwad Gazettes." We have always cared about the environment, but never realized how easy it was to make a difference while saving money at the same time. This doesn't come from the need to be frugal so much (we didn't do these things while my husband was a student, but are doing them now as he has a full time good job.) But it certainly does help us to put more in savings, pay down school debt, and have money to put needed improvements into our home.

So, to start out my goal is to come up with 100 things that we are doing, have done, or will do to save the environment. Almost all of these will be money-saving as well. Some are big things and some are little simple things. I'm ready to start now!
So #1 is..... drum roll please.... only having one car! Having no cars would be great, however that's complicated with 3 children. So Russ rides his bike to work. All year round. Rain or snow, heat or ice. And yes, we live in the Northwest where it rains about half of the time. There is nothing better to motivate him to do it than not having another form of transportation. I would do the same if I were the one going off by myself every day. On the rare occasions that he is home with the kids and I have somewhere to go, I will bike. And occasionally we will go on bikes as a family, like to the concert at the lake last week. Our 6 year old can ride himself, the 3 year old in the bike trailer, and the baby in the bike baby seat.
The benefits: Only one car to register, insure, make payments on (although our car is paid off), less gas to buy, less pollution, excercise, and being outdoors