Holy Crap - it is December Already

I have not given any thought to my December item. I will have to ponder this for a few days and come up with a plan! Maybe something Holiday related? not sure really ...

In the meantime, I bought some shampoo and conditioner for the girls last week, and I even went Eco-friendly for them! However, I have to plan better because the prices are actually *better* at Whole Foods than they were locally! Who'd a thunk!

I've been really good at the re-usable bag thing. However, our beloved dog was put to sleep a month ago now, and we have this huge stash of plastic bags that I am not sure what to use them for now. When Mulligan was around we used one or two bags a day. Our supply was usually dwindling at that rate. Now ... not so much dwindling going on. FM still uses the store's bags, so we have a small trickle coming into the house. And with no out-going source they are stacking up. (It was a sad realization, too, when I was attacked by falling plastic bags and realized the reason why was the loss of our very loved poochy.)

I have also discovered the over lock stitch on my sewing machine, so I am going to take those flannel sheets of FM, and override his veto on making rags out of them. So, come X-Mass break or so I imagine I will have flannel wipes to use. Let's see how this one goes!

So, December is here and I need an idea. Got any to share?

And For November I Will

I have made the decision, although failed to post it, that I will now properly dispose of all non-rechargeable batteries. We never really used many of these little things until recently. Bought a Wii, changed to a wireless mouse, Ziggy has taken to reading by flashlight till the wee hours of the morning, and a few other odds n ends. So I am now officially committed to taking all my batteries to the hazardous waste disposal. No more trash cans for them!

I bought new prersonal care products

I finally needed some more shampoo, and I succumbed and purchased some conditioner as well.

I happened to be running errands near a Whole Foods and decided I wanted to pick up some Oil of Oregano to help fight this flu thing that has been going around our neck of the woods. While there I also picked up a bottle of their 360 degree brand lavender shampoo and conditioner. I did not closely scrutinize each and every ingredient, and I did not re-peruse the list of ingredients to avoid since my purchase was rather impulsive, but it looks pretty good from my quick scan.

It has been since mid-August since I have regularly used conditioner, and pretty much since Sept. since I have used any at all, so this is a weird feeling to me now. I think I may really need some conditioner on a weekly or twice-weekly basis come full blown winter. Already my hair is frizzier than this summer due to the dry air from the furnace. And, to make matters worse, since someone seems to be fighting a fever every day here lately, our heat has been turned up warmer than normal. (Still, it is only turned up to 67 degrees)

So, while this purchase was very impulsive, I did manage to do OK. I think I could manage pretty well with this concept for myself ... now only to convince FM that he needs to use better products.

and to find a deodorant that is more human friendly and yet works.

Line Drying in Winter

As I sit here watching the cold, fall rain come down, I am reminded of my line-drying challenges during the winter months. All summer long I pondered this conundrum, trying to find a good solution. And I think I might have it.

My solution involves some PVC piping, another rope, and the floor supports in the ceiling of my unfinished laundry room. I will lay the pipes on top of the supports and string the rope similar to my outdoor line. I have been working to clean out the storage areas and have found some room near the furnace area. The line will be rather low to the ground, comparatively, but that means I will have to hang tall items differently, that's all.

Here is hoping it will work out as I envision!

The Coming of October, and Light September

So far this September I have not had to purchase any personal care products. I did purchase laundry soap, and while I chose a dye/fragrance free detergent, I know there are more ecological choices out there. I just need to research it some more. But my decision to limit my personal care purchases has not been tested this month.

Which brings me to October and yet another decision. I am doing this to try to create new habits that will help me lead the lifestyle I desire to have. This means that I need to choose a change that will challenge my current habits. hmmmmm makes me think - I do not know what to change yet.

So I think some more.

Do Free Items Count?

I went to the dentist the other day, and they gave me my requisite free samples of Crest toothpaste and (some brand name I can't recall off the top of my head) dental floss. I, being frugal, naturally accepted (sans little plastic bag to carry home in) all three items, and headed home.

So my question is, do these freebies count towards my Sept. goal of 1)reducing personal care product usage (neither tooth brushing nor flossing has ever been on the list to eliminate!) and 2)buying low-er impact products?

Hmmmm. Maybe I should have passed on the freebies.

I actually have passed on regular floss before. I have very tight teeth and floss just shreds in my mouth. I have specific requirements on floss; their new brand meets my requirements. And, oddly enough, my hygienist is very green and eco-minded and does not use traditional products either. In fact, she rarely even offers me the toothpaste because I don't use it ... but it was cinnamon flavored and I love cinnamon.

Anyway, I guess this is a failure then. Turns out so far I have not had to purchase any personal care products so far this month. So maybe this was not a good month to adopt this particular change. Ah, it is sort of a freebie now!

It was SO annoying!

I went to a local Big-Box store today to purchase one item. Being of the mind set that a bag is truly not necessary for one little item, I wasn't expecting a bag for my purchase. However, I never thought to mention this to the cashier. So, after I paid for my purchase I was very surprised to see my item in a large plastic bag.

"Oh, I don't need a bag for just one item," I say. Then, wanting her to realize just why I said this, I added, "Save some plastic and let another person who has multiple items use it."

We smile nicely at each other, and I turn to walk away. She grabs the bag and throws it in her garbage can.

I stop, dumbfounded. Didn't I just explain to her why I was not taking the bag; that I wanted to save some plastic from entering our landfill? OK, apparently I was not explicit enough. Note to self, be more explicit next time I forget to tell the cashier ahead of time not to bag my item.

But, not wanting to loose this moment, I say,"You still could use that bag, and save some plastic from entering our landfill. It is perfectly good still."

She rolls her eyes at me, obviously annoyed. "It is more hassle for me to use the bag now that it is all wrinkled up."

I am sure my mouth dropped open, and my own eyes rolled a few times (apparently I am a huge eye-roller, but I never know I am doing it) as I weighed my new options as how to respond to this scenario. Then, I did it.

"Well, if your just going to throw it away, hand it to me and I'll dispose of it in a more appropriate manner."

...and so tonight Gherkie and Ziggy made parachutes for their dolls out of Big-Box Store plastic bags.

A Slight Delay

My TP removal has hit a snag. FM is attached to our too-small flannel sheets, and does not want me to repurpose them. When I asked if he minded me cutting up and repurposing the sheet, he asked what I was going to use it for. I said rags (grin) because, really that is what they are going to be. He was upset that I was going to use it for rags. So I mentioned making something for the girls to wear; apparently the fabric is not good enough quality for clothing, but too good for rags. Well, now I guess I will contemplate another possibility.

Hmmm, I do have a pile of old cloth diapers from way back when ....

Adding Another Change for Sept

Yes, this is going to be a TMI entry. So, be forewarned ... if you are squeamish or just do not want to know personal things about me, ignore this entry!

I have been contemplating ways to reduce all those single use products in my life, and toilet paper was one item that I simply was blocked on precisely HOW to eliminate it. At first, cloth wipes just did not enter my mind (duh!) then when I suggested using cloth wipes instead of TP I was met with intense opposition from FM. And then only because I am oh so good at creating my own obstacles before I even attempt something new - I envisioned Gherkie and Ziggy using them too and flushing them down the crapper. Not a pleasant scenario. So I have never embarked on this journey.

Until now. Inspired by my friend Crunchy Chicken (I am totally OK pretending we are best friends!) and her now annual cloth wipe challenge, I'm jumping on board with this idea I've been mulling around for quite a few years.

I am going to use the moist-wipe method, created from repurposed flannel sheets and stored in an old wipe container from babyhood days, and disposed into an old lidded coffee canister. I have quite a few empty canisters lying around waiting for SOME purpose, and now I have found the perfect purpose for my stash!

I'll keep everyone posted on the results and pitfalls, etc. I know you are just waiting with baited breath on this one!! TMI

Reducing Personal Care Products

Treehugger.com has an informative article about ingredients to avoid in cosmetics, and I just might use this info, in conjunction with the much less succinct EWG's database, Skin Deep, to help pare down and clean up my personal care product selection.

This is quite the overwhelming task to undertake; I have tried many times to switch over to healthier products and always seem to return to mainstream products. Part of the reason is the difference in feel and performance - as my shampoo-switch experiment clearly illustrates! Another reason for me is simply the difficulty in finding "alternative" products in my neck of the woods. (insert big sigh here) I miss living in more liberal areas of the world. ...but I digress....

I really do want to make the switch to healthier and more eco-friendly products. So I think for my first month of a real change, I will commit to purchasing personal care products with a maximum rating of 6 on the EWG site. I'll strive for lower, but sometimes the availability in my neighborhood is really limited!

Anyway, check out the article on Treehugger.com, or reference Skin Deep when thinking about your next purchase.

My August Results, So Far

I realized I have not posted anything related to my August One-A-Month pledge to follow through 100% with my previous changes, challenging items especially!

I have to say that when it comes to not using plastic bags, I have managed to bring home 3 plastic shopping bags so far this month. I am still using plastic produce bags, and therefore want to make some re-usable produce bags out of sheer curtains. I am on the lookout for some at my local re-sale shops to use for just that purpose but have not found any.

I have faithfully taken my 5 TJ bags (that I LOVE because they are so strong and large) to the grocery store. Those 5 bags are usually more than enough to bag up my weekly groceries, but this week I purchased more than my 5 bags could hold, so I ended up needing one plastic bag for the remaining items. (And it never occurred to me until just now that I should have asked for paper! duh!!) I did purchase a roast last week and the bagger put it in plastic, even after I had already used a plastic produce bag to contain leaks.

The girls and I went out to eat one evening and we had leftovers. The take out container was, of course, Styrofoam. I managed to stuff my leftovers and Ziggy's leftovers into one container, but it was VERY full, so I did use the plastic bag they provided. We were doing some back to school shopping and I did not want the food to leak in my purse! So plastic bag #2 was brought home.

My large purse has worked wonderfully for stashing the odds and ends that I purchase when I am out and about. I stuffed fabric in it one day, I stuffed it with 5 or 6 shirts and some old sheets from a resale store.

I also brought home a plastic bag with a new school outfit for Ziggy and a shirt for Gherkie. They like to carry their own stuff, and I did not bring a separate bag since this shopping trip was rather spontaneous. I have since decided to make a little fold-up bag to keep in my huge purse for just such purposes. (I also try to purchase used clothing for them, but I do promise them that they can have one new outfit each; I try not to let them look too "recycled.")

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So bags have really not been an issue this month! But composting my food scraps, well, I've been really bad!! My worms died a year ago, and our compost bin is just awkward to get to and the evening is just not my prime-time to want to go climbing over rocks and garden to dump my food waste. Lazy. I know. I am working on this, and actually want to get more worms. That seems to work well for me.

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Organic dairy: I know I should purchase only organic dairy. But since milk prices dropped so drastically I have a hard time justifying $5.30 a gallon when the non-hormone milk is only $1.40 gallon. I do buy organic yogurt, or use organic milk to make yogurt, but I rarely see organic cheese or other dairy items in our local grocery store. So, yea, organic dairy is still a stumbling block.

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All in all, I think I have done really well. And I even made some pretty cool bags to tuck into my purse so that when the girls and I go shopping on a whim, I can whip out my own bag for them to carry! Now I need to commit to a September change soon!

Resuable Bags & Big Purse

Awhile ago I purchased this really big purse. I normally carry a smallish purse, because quite frankly, I don't carry much in my purse. But something about this, hippy style, purse just struck my fancy, and I bought it.

Turns out I like a big purse! But not because I carry lots of stuff inside it. Nope, I like it because when I run to the store for a few items, I just put the items inside my purse rather than using a plastic bag. There is no need to store a reusable bag inside my purse; my purse is my bag! And being that it is so large, and flexible, it holds quite a bit of extra stuff.

Today I bought about 7-8 yards of fabric for a pioneer dress outfit for Gherkie. Fabric, buttons, thread; it all fit inside along with all the other odds and ends already stuffed inside my purse.

Yea! I love this new discovery.

Homemade Deodorant

I came across this blog post today, thanks to one of my fellow Granola Moms. It describes a pretty easy sounding way to make your own deodorant. And my two guinea pigs both say good things about it.

Hmmmm, this just may make the short list for one of my changes to adopt. I still really want to reduce and change my personal care products, but I simply have not found a good replacement for forgoing those items that I deem "give-up-able." Vanity is, apparently, not green.

I Feel Like Farah Today!

Washed my hair with traditional shampoo, used traditional conditioner, applied mouse, and blew it dry. Ohhhh what luxurious hair I have today. Unfortunately, it was 90 degrees and I was outside all day, so it is sweaty and messy now.

But it does feel good. Looked pretty good (for me) too.

Hair Woes & Wonders

My poor hair has not looked its best this summer. It is not due to humidity, because really there has not been much of that this summer. (ahhh!) But I think it is due to removing the "silicone" derived hair-care products from my showering regime. (And I really have no idea what the official type of ingredient I'm missing, I'm just lumping it as a "silicone" type product for lack of better label.)

If I use traditional shampoo and no conditioner my hair seems to be fairly normal afterwards. If I use my "natural" shampoos and traditional conditioners it also seems fairly normal afterwards. However, if I only use the "natural" shampoos, my hair looks frazzley. It also feels gummy and gets greasy really fast. Well, this gummy and greasy effect takes a few days to develop. It is like I have to wash my hair 2-3 times to remove all the build-up off it. (Oddly enough, I did not believe in build-up before; I just thought it was something the cosmetic industry created to make us women buy yet another product. Now, I just may be a believer!)

So after almost a month of trying this natural shampoo and no conditioner (off and on, to be honest) I have been seriously considering the "no poo" method of hair-care. I know, I know, most bloggers give it up after a month or so. (and seriously, after this past experience I can understand why!) If I were going for the big sacrifice and not trying to strike a balance in my life, I'd just push ahead and forget the fact that I look kinda scary. But I don't want to look scary! I do have a small scrap of vanity.

Sigh - what to do?

The biggest draw back to all of this hair-debate? I cut my hair short (for me - I guess technically it is medium, as it touches my shoulders) and really cannot pull it back in a pony tail. I was trying to look a little "fashionable." HA! Frazzley, yet stylish.

Well, Green is in style, right?

3 Weeks for A New Habbit

I was talking to the girls the other day and somehow the concept of it taking three weeks to form a new habit came up. I laughed, thinking that my little One-A-Month inspired activity was a great way for me to form new and healthy habits.

Never really thought about it that way before. I was totally inspired by Green As A Thistle, but felt that one change a day would be WAY too much for me .... remember I want to maintain a balance! I do want to make some changes, so I aspire to maintain my changes I adopt over the course of the following year ... and who knows, I just may continue making one more change a month even after my official year is over.

No pressure though.

Styrofoam Take-Out Containers

My mother-in-law was visiting us all last week, and we did a bit of traveling and dining out. Which always leads to bringing home leftovers in the dreaded Styrofoam containers. I wish I could tell you how many said containers ended up in our trash last week, but surfice it to say that 5 people x 2 meals eaten out a day x 5 days is a lot of containers. I try to double or triple up, but still, it is a lot of Styrofoam! (Which we cannot recycle in our local curbside recycling service. I have to look into other options.)

I mentioned something about needing to bring our own take-out containers to restaurants, and was met with a very strange look from my table mates. I had to remember that balance thingy I am trying to achieve here ... balancing my green goals with the traditional status-quo of my society .... and thought, "hey, why not just leave the food at the restaurant." FM is too frugal for that thought! We were leaving behind a whole meal!

So, then I argue about the wastefulness (and waist-fulness) of the quantity of food served. Lets try meal sharing, I argue. FM eats too much, there would be very little left for me to eat! And the kids long ago decided that they wanted their own meals at restaurants. It was, after all, getting hard to pick a meal that sounded good to me and to one of my kids.

So here I am again, trying to decide what I need to do with restaurant left-overs. The easiest solution is not to eat out. But when traveling, it is rather difficult. So I sit here and continue to ponder.

I guess I need to look at my county-wide, independent recycling station.

Hair v.2

So yesterday I washed my hair with the usual Dr. Bronner's lavender soap. But thought I'd put some of my "old" conditioner on ... the stuff I have been going without for the past two weeks or so.

Guess what? My hair felt normal again! And today I just washed it, no conditioner again ... it was a bit "frazzlie" like the past week, but not as bad. Hmmmm, maybe my thought of having washed out the build-up was correct. This makes me really wonder about lots of stuff ... like residue "polluting" my body, what my hair is really like without all this stuff on it, and, well, lots of stuff in general.

The experiment continues, and my little head is spinning about what to do with my end results!

Comming up to a No-Chemical Cleaner Challenge

Our beloved dog has terminal cancer, which lately has made him throw up about once a week. Bright yellow puke on our off-white carpet, that stains no matter how soon we discover it. As of now the dog seems to be feel OK, and we are treating the symptoms, so living with a puking dog is status quo for a few more weeks still.

Which means that our carpet cleaner machine and our usage of spot remover has gone into overload. I have managed to use a simple solution of soap and vinegar in the machine, and it seems to work well for most purposes. I admit, that with the bright yellow dog puke polka-doting our house I have been using a decent amount of carpet-spot cleaner. I think I may try some sort of homemade version of a spot cleaner, but I bet that FM will run out and purchase a bulk supply of spot cleaner soon.

This one may prove to be a bit of a challenge.

Stick-to-it-tive-ness, Revisiting Old Committments Is My 1st "Give-Up"

I guess I should let everyone know what I am giving up for the first month of my 12 month journey. Somehow the beginning of the month just snuck up on me!

After MUCH deliberation and some research, I have decided to ease into my grand idea of making one change a month. I have made a handful of changes over the past 10 years, most of which I have stuck with pretty faithfully. Some, I admit, I am not so good with maintaining. And then some are just ideas to reduce the amount of water bottles or paper plates (for example) that I use - I have not pledged to forgo those wasteful things completely. After all, I am opting for a balance in life, not a militant outlook.

So I am going to pledge to stick to my current "changes," 100.% This will mean that if I decide to use an eco-friendly cleaner, I will *always* use an eco-friendly cleaner ... not just most of the time as I currently interpret my goals.

What changes am I sticking to? I have a list on the side of the blog, well 2 actually, that tells you what changes I have Incorporated, and what changes I am struggling with. Point of note here ... I am calling it fair game to use any "banned" item that I already have in my house. So from here on out it is "use up, and not re-purchase."

...now, just to get the rest of my family on the same mind set!

Hair Update

I'm feeling a bit "Frazzley" without the conditioner. My hair is usually quite silky, but as of late it is not. Also ... it feels a bit dirty really fast; like I did not rinse it all the way and the dirt just sticks to my hair within a few hours.

Is this because I have been using ONLY the "natural" shampoo/soap for about two weeks now, and have therefore stripped all residue of conditioner and other shampoos out? Hmmmm ... between this and a not so good haircut (or bad shampoo that exaggerates a not so good haircut) I am not happy with my short term results.

See .. this is why I have to experiment before I commit to a full year of this!

I'm learning about my priorities

As I contemplate what to change for the month of August, and possibly beyond, I have learned quite a bit about myself and my priorities. While I may think of myself as "green" and eco-friendly .... the reality is somewhere far less than the mental image!

I still have not decided what I am going to do come August 1st - one week away! I have a good idea, but I am feeling as if my current working idea (which I am keeping secret still so I can contemplate it some more) is just not enough. Something about simply one change a month, for a total of 12 changes, is not that much in the grand scheme of things. Then again, I am not following through with some of my current changes 100% of the time either, so ....

Anyway, I really wanted the first change to deal with personal care products, since that was the impetus of this whole thought process. But in thinking what I use, and then what I can do without, I had a hard time paring it down ... and in the end it said a lot about what I value. Not that I am proud of the reasons why I felt I could not make the change away from said product.

Here is my list of current daily personal care products, and my thoughts of eliminating them:
Shampoo - Nope - I really need clean hair. I do, after all, have to interact in my very mainstream neighborhood! I have thought about trying the whole "No Poo" method, but for now, I'll give up something else!

Conditioner - Maybe. And actually right now I am trying to see how this is going. I'll keep you posted.

Bar Soap - Sure I can go without this in the shower. In fact, I usual just use the suds from my shampoo anyway. That and a washcloth work for most things.

Shave Gel - Don't want to!! I am very addicted to my shaving gel. I could go without it, but I just do not want to!! This is very very indulgent, and I know so. I might give this up once I go thru the can I have and the two cans my mother recently gave me because she gave it up.

Tooth Paste - ummmmm I suppose I could use baking soda. But I like the clean breath smell too. I often use fluoride-free paste, so I am only going without the breath freshening smell. This is on the short-list for elimination.

Body Lotion - maybe. I use it semi-often. More in the winter than summer ... and I am contemplating coconut oil as a replacement. Short list.

Face Lotion - maybe. Again, coconut oil. Short list after more research.

Mouse - maybe. I am experimenting with my looks right now! So, Short List!

Sunscreen - Nope. I burn way too easily.

Face Sunscreen Stick -don't want to. I like the fact that this stuff does not get in my eyes. So while I could get rid of it, I don't want to.

Hand Soap - nope. Need this for after bathroom and etc.

Chapstick - maybe. It all depends on what I could replace it with.

I"d Have to Get Used to Pain

As part of my mulling process for my One Change A Month project, I thought about giving up some of my 200 personal care products and attempting to par it down to a mere 10 or so. So this morning I thought, what about hair conditioner? I am sure that giving up on that would significantly reduce plastic, chemicals, and water consumption. And can you imagine if everyone gave up conditioner ... the impact would be ginormous!

So, this morning I shampooed my medium-long, wavy tresses in my Lavender Dr. Bronner's Soap, used the suds from my head to wash my body, shaved one leg (I am a one leg a day shaver, always have been.) with shaving gel that I love and am dreading ever giving up, and then turned off the water. Gherkie happened to be in the bathroom waiting for me, and when I opened the shower curtain she said, "Wow! That was a fast shower." Whoo Hoo; already seeing results!

So out I get and dry myself off, apply some lotion and deodorant, get dressed, brush my teeth, then go to brush my hair.

OUCH!

Well, if I go this route I'd definitely have to get used to some pain. My hair simply tangles so easily. And I might be bald too, since my hairbrush was filled with hairs I pulled out of my head. I don't know; this may not be one of the things I give up. We'll see. Sacrifices must be made, but what .....

Ug! What To Do?

So I've been mulling over all the possibilities for the first change I will undertake come August 1st.

So many ideas, so many "obstacles."

I was seriously thinking of undertaking some personal care product change ... but the more I thought about that, the more I thought I should try the product first. I have this mental image of me making this change that creates this horrendous result - and I end up with 12 months of looking like a total freak! Some of that feeling is just a bit of nerves - you know, agreeing to a huge change for a whole year. No one likes change, right?

But actually, an even bigger reason for some of my resistance is the fact that I have a semi-decent stash of various products in my house already. The impetuous for this change was my Dr. Bronner's Soap relovation, and since then I have been seriously trying to use up product and not buy anything new.

Hmmmmm - maybe that should be my Aug. challenge: Not to buy any new personal care product until I have used up *ALL* the items I have stashed in the house currently. And then .... to only purchase ... what? Healthy products? Eco-Friendly products? Multi-use products? What really is my criteria? I'd better figure that one out, huh? But really, is that a change, and one that can be sustained for a whole year? I need new ideas.

Well, I only have a week or so left until August. I'd better get crackin'!

I'm Trying Something New - 1 Change A Month

I have been at a stand-still as of late with my "green-ness" and have been struggling to maintain some things, and not so motivated to try new things. Well, I'd like to in theory, but the reality is I am overwhelmed with stuff just from life, so I have not made many new changes.

Time to shake things up a bit!

I decided last week (I need to mull my ideas over a bit before I commit to them!) that I am going to do one "green" change a month and agree to stick to it for a whole year. So by the end of the year - or next August, I'll have 12 new healthy habits, and hopefully the family will too.

So, stand by as my mind concocts new adventures!

So Many Personal Care Products

I have recently switched to Dr. Bronner's soaps for shampooing my hair. I've had a bottle of Lavender soap for a little over a year, but never used it for shampooing, more of a hand soap and to wash my bras. When Ziggy and Gherkie come home from school with lice (ewwwwww) this spring, I purchased a bottle of tea tree oil soap as well. Turns out I really like their soap for shampoo! But, being the curious reader that I am, I have been reading all the text on the bottles.

Dr. Bronners recommends "enjoying" no more than three cosmetics. That got me thinking; how many do I use on a daily basis? A lot more than three, I could tell you right off the start. And what is in each and every one of those products I use.

Shampoo, conditioner, soap, hand soap, hair mouse, deodorant, hand lotion, eye cream, sunscreen, face (stick) sunscreen, and toothpaste are my daily items. I often also use shaving gel, face lotion, lip-balm, and lip gloss. The really sad thing about this list? I am a very low maintenance person!

So, after thinking about this for a few weeks, I need to find a way to make myself be OK with using fewer products. I've heard good things about coconut oil as a moisturizer and face cleanser, and even as a deodorant!

But, at the very least, I should be aware of what is in my products and try to use a "healthier" version of the products I cannot go without.

I Found A Local Milling Company

So in my efforts to try to eat more local, I have located a small milling company not too far from here and plan on investigating it for flours and other goodies. I have known about them for some time, and heard good things about them, but forgot about them until recently. They only carry locally and sustainably grown products. I am excited to try them and to feel good about my grain based food consumption.

I plan on going there the first week of April. I'll keep you posted on my experiments!

An Old Set of Sheets

I have an old set of sheets that I really want to make into some sort of summer wear for the girls. I have to live with if for awhile before I figure out what exactly I am going to do with it. But at some point in the distant future, like June or July, you will probably see the results of my mullings. Just wanted to warn you. And to post something here. I've been way to quiet online. Which only translates to very busy in real life. It is Girl Scout Cookie time and I have two girl scouts, one of which I am the leader for her troop. You figure out what all that means.

Reclaimed & Repurposed Fabric

Ziggy loves to sew, and she is rather good at it. She quilts with my mother, because I really am not a sewer. Well, I am being dragged into it through Ziggy's interests. After all, it is my desire to show my kids, through my actions, that we can do just about anything ourselves. If I just say, "I can't sew," and put no efforts forth, what kind of example am I to my kids ... particularly Gherkie who is extremely prone to claiming incompetence prior to trying to do something new or challenging.

I'm finding that I actually enjoy (to a degree) creating something out of nothing. I have only used a pattern once in my life - that was a pioneer outfit for Ziggy this Halloween. The majority of my sewing efforts are costumes or doll clothing, all made from my head. I hate following patterns. (I have conformity issues, can you tell?!)

Being the frugal being that I am, I also have a hard time throwing away anything. And that includes worn out clothing. You could use that fabric for something else, right? Well, I have used the odd piece here and there when making Halloween costumes, or a homemade toy etc. But I really have not delved into repurposing.

This is something that has always fascinated and interested me. Long before I was thinking of owning a sewing machine (think 4th grade) I was intrigued by the concept of reusing old clothing. And now I think this is a great idea, and part of the reduce and reuse concept I believe in.

Lately I keep looking at the stack of worn and torn and not quite worth mending pile of old clothes in my basement. And my mind thinks: What can I make from these items? Or, more appropriately, what can I ruin with these items. har I have larger ambitions than talent, but that is half the fun, right?

Does anyone else have images of Molly Ringwald chopping up the prom dress in Pretty In Pink?

Worm Energy

A friend and fellow Granola Mom called me up the other night; turns out she is interested in worm composting. She wanted to ask me a few questions, and apparently she heard that I would not only share my knowledge, but also my abundance of worms. sigh - sorry to disappoint you, but, well, their all dead now.

I find it funny that I just posted something about killing my worms, and lo and behold, I get a phone call about worms. The universe is a funny place; you put out a thought and you get a response.

Anyway, it was fun to talk worms again, and this is a person that is known for her intense research into the minute details of whatever it is that she delves into. She does not do anything partially, or half informed even. I was rather flattered that she came to me for information. I usually go to her for information!

But now I am thinking about my old friends the red-wigglers. I miss them, in a weird way. I loved having a full-circle method of disposing of my kitchen waste. I loved sharing my worms with anyone who would sit for 5 minutes and listen to me blather on about how easy it is to keep them.

Unless you forget about them for 6 months. oops

Waiting for Community Clean-Up Day

My basement is the repository for all things "homeless." Isn't this what basements were designed for? Well, FM, who grew up in CA where basements are extremely rare, disagrees with my interpretation of use for our basement. He happens to believe the garage is the place for all things homeless, and thus we have a bunch of stuff stored in every corner of the garage. I argue that most of that stuff goes in the attic, and our basement is more of a staging ground until we find a new home (be that in our house or in someone else's house, or the "trash.")

So the ever growing pile of old paint cans, used batteries, broken electronic devices, etc. are waiting for our community clean-up day when we can take them to the local township office and properly dispose of them for free. It annoys FM, but makes me happy to properly dispose of these items.

I also have a large pile of items waiting for me to put them on my local Freecycle board, but that is just an issue of me taking the time to sort through an then list those items. I'm slowly working on that project.

Making Yellow Snow

It was a very busy, and unbalanced, week here in our household. The girls had some crazy ideas of what to do with the theme color, ranging from using crayons as start and finish lines to do races, to doing the old etching project where you color a piece of paper entirely with crayons, then color it over in black and scratch off the black crayon to find a surprise burst of color. This is fun, don't get me wrong, and it was their idea - which is one of my criteria for these unplugged projects (the projects belong to the child, I just provide the inspiration and materials and safe environment) but we were so pressed for time that I did not have a block of time to do this project and document it too.

What we did do that made the cutting board here, is spray "paint" the snow. I had the usual extra kids I babysit for so I had to do this project with everyone. And one day the weather warmed up to the double digits, so we all bundled up and made yellow snow. And blue, and green, and orange, and red ....

I filled some of my spray bottles I usually use for cleaning concoctions with water and some food coloring. I had four bottles and four kids - whew! Everyone loved trying to make different colors by adding layers of color on the snow.

Ziggy made a snow angel and then colored it in. The picture does not show all the different colors she ended up with.

Gherkie adjusted the flow to more of a stream and was able to make more intense coloration in the snow, and eventually write and draw lines.

We had a really good time, and only quit because the water was freezing and clogging up the spray bottles. Again, a good project for us to have fun with. Next week's inspiration is FLOAT. Oh lordy what will the two kids come up with for that!!

I Caught Myself Wanting MORE Today

I went grocery shopping today, with the entire family no less. (That is always a fun adventure!) I was looking for two meat items, a pork roast and chicken of some sort. I could not find a pork roast in the entire meat department, and have not been able to find one for months now in any store I've been shopping in. Do people no longer eat pork roasts? Did I imagine myself cooking them in the past? And when I went down the chicken isle I did not like the assortment this particular store, not my usual either, had to offer.

"This is it?" I found myself repeating this question, in disgust, out loud.

I had to check not only my volume level, but also my thought process. I looked at the quantity of meat surrounding me and re-evaluated that thought based upon the knowledge that there were quite a large number of animals that gave their lives for this rather obscene quantity of food in front of me right now.

But the problem for me was that I was not finding that just right piece of meat that I had envisioned before I left my home. And here is the crazy part, I believe in using the whole animal, not just consuming the "prime" cuts of meat. I mean, I really believe in that concept. So why had I succumbed into that mainstream prime cut consumer? It's the farthest thing from where I usually am.

I am a little embarrassed at myself today. And simply shocked that I wanted more to choose from, when usually I am appalled at the vast over quantity to choose from.

Silicone vs. Paper

I was washing my silicone cupcake containers, which I use for my girls lunches - never think of them for cupcakes, not that I make them often - and suddenly had a thought; which is better for the environment, paper or silicone. Then I went on and thought of all the other silicone products I had in my house, and how popular silicone has become recently. This stuff doesn't biodegrade (that I know of) and can't be recycled (again, that I know of) so, just how much of this is going to be clogging our world in the future?

I know I can use various paper products to help removal and clean up when baking, but the thought occurred to me, the best answer is to go au-natural. Or use glass products.

But I wouldn't. I hate scrubbing dishes and such. And then the thought hit me: Well, we really should not be eating these baked goods anyway. Refined flour, sugar, bad fats, etc. are all really bad for us to eat anyway. So is this a delima?

Well, yes it is. Because I live in the real world, and my kids really expect a cake for birthdays, and I do enjoy making them one. So now I have to wrestle with this thought now: Paper, or plastic, or silicone.

Unplugged & Recycled Solar System

I almost curse introducing my kids to this unplugged concept! The other day we had no school, but they woke me up bright and early, all excited to work on our solar system unplugged project. Note all photos depict the kids still in pajamas, and if you could see their innards there would be two very empty stomachs because they did not want to eat breakfast. Although, a snack break did happen an hour into the project. And mom was sure to down her required morning coffee.

This week's inspiration was BALL. The kids had two ideas. The first being play basket ball. And being that we have had week after week of frigid temperatures, keeping the kids inside more than usual, I thought a raucous game of basketball was a good idea.

But the fun didn't stop there. The girls wanted to do a *project* not just play. So, we talked a bit about what we could do that would involve "ball" and they came up with the idea of creating a solar system mobile for our Space Room. (Our guest room came with an entire wall covered with a giant photo of the Space Shuttle Challenger.) And being that Gherkie is all about the solar system in general, I was up for the challenge.

We gathered the plethora of solar system books we have on hand, and looked through them for reference on planet size and shape/marking etc. The girls each drew the relative size of each planet, so we would know what size to make all 9 balls. (And we all know that Pluto is no longer a planet, but just try to convince Gherkie of that fact!)

Gherkie also decided she should draw any distinguishing features for each planet; this was all done from memory. She is getting into the whole documenting your thought process. While her writing is not the best, and spelling is, uhh, questionable (apple does not fall far from the tree there) I was pretty impressed with her knowledge of all the planets.

We decided to create this solar system with whatever we had on hand. (Especially since they were not dressed and had not eaten breakfast. But basically why would I purchase something when I can reuse objects I already have in my house.) So we made newspaper balls and glued them together.

We have yet to paint the solar system. The balls of gooey newspaper needed to dry before we tackled painting. And the girls went to Nanna and Poppa's for the weekend before they were dry. This upcoming week is crazy busy, but I hope to finish this project soon. I have to figure exactly how to hang these planets, but I'm sure I can figure that one out.

Remembering the Reduce and Reuse

Recycling is slow to catch on in my neck of the woods. Seriously slow. My neighbors think I'm crazy for recycling all that I do. But this fall, for some unknown reason, it seems that a few of them suddenly began recycling some of their paper and plastics. There sure are a lot of plastic water bottles in that recycling, too. Which got me to thinking ...

The saying goes: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Listed in order of importance. If you reduce the amount of waste created you should have less to recycle, right? And if you reuse the majority of what you would waste, there is even less to recycle. And finally, if you do end up having some waste, then you should dispose of it in the appropriate recycling facility.

But all I seem to hear about is the last part, recycle. It seems the first two, the most important two, have become lost in our current society. Even during the frenzy of Earth Day education in April I have not noticed much, if any, literature or talk about the trilogy: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. I just hear about recycle.

Personally, I need to work on the reduce part some more. But all in all I think my family is pretty good. I do not buy single serving products if I can possibly get around it. I've even switched to blocks of cheese for my kids to snack on rather than purchase "cheese sticks" as we call them. My kids would rather have the plastic encased cheese sticks, but I figure I have to start somewhere, and unfortunately some of these choices are not going to make them happy. Or me, because frankly it was so easy for them to grab a cheese stick on their own; now I have to help them cut off a chunk of cheese.

But there are many other venues that I need to address when it comes to the reduce aspect of the trilogy. Cosmetics and personal care products always seem to be over-packaged. (Lets not get into the ingredients at this point; I'm working on that slowly.) Even my "green" products are packaged in plastics and sometimes plastic inside plastic. And often the plastic is something I am not able to easily recycle. Raw ingredients for foods are usually packaged fairly minimally, but wouldn't bulk purchases, gathered with a reusable container be so much better?

I would like to reduce my packaging consumption, but as of right now I have no good plan of attack. Stores in my neck of the woods are completely tied to the demands of the masses, and these masses do not care about such issues. They all worship the single serving concept for its ease of control and portability. (Although, I am guilty of disposable bags for snack 5 times a week, so maybe I should not be so huffy!)

And the reuse part. Now there is one we could definitely improve upon. Glass jars should have some re-use, right? I have tried to use them to store left overs, but unless you have a soup, sauce, or other liquid type left over they are really awkward. With small kids in the house (and a less than graceful me) it makes me nervous to have too many things stored in glass; I'm afraid something will fall and break. I've tried to save cardboard from various boxes and such, but I really do not need the clutter in my house. And as it happens, it seems recycling day always happens the day before we attempt some project that would benefit from one of those disposed of cereal boxes. I do reuse the yogurt containers, but I recently stopped buying yogurt and making it myself. So that is a reduce part, right?

I am going to have to make a conscious effort to remember the entire trilogy and Reduce first, then Reuse. And maybe I will start talking about it some, just to get it back in the mainstream thought process. Let me go grab my Crunchy Crusader Cape ....

Wormless Worm Composting Anyone?

Sigh. I am a bad worm keeper. I killed my poor little critters after almost 3 years of raising and nurturing them, and sharing with friends and family.

This summer I gave quite a few worms away to friends and loved ones. I just can't share my enthusiasm enough. I love(d) worm composting. It is so easy, so awesome, so fun for the kids, and my plants love the bi-product.

But after giving away a substantial portion of both of my worm bins, I decided to combine the remaining worms into one bin, and then harvest the casings. Honestly, this is the hard process for me. My bins always are wet, so I have to let it dry out some, and I have to kind of "starve" the worms (read, let the worms eat all the visible food) and then "bribe" them to one end of the bin with some special yummy treat.

So this means that I leave off any lid that I may have on the bin. FM does not like the thought of worms in our basement, so I agreed to keep a lid on it, errr, lid on them. snicker. Anyway, I took the lid off both bins and waited for a week or so to let the casings dry some. I stopped feeding both bins - well why would I feed an empty one, duh - and was waiting a few days to feed them one of the melon rinds from our garden.

Well, then school started. And I forgot about them. Completely forgot about them. I've let the worms go without food for a few weeks at a time before, and while I am sure they were not happy worms gorging on tons of fresh kitchen scraps, they did survive just fine.

But like I said, I completely forgot about the poor worms. For like, uhhhh, 4 months. Now don't go and call the Humane Society on me, please. I have to keep the little critters in an out of sight place, and well, lets just say that this year has been a very hectic year and I am struggling to get a handle on our schedule. (You can use your imagination to guess what our laundry situation looks like. And the dog hair; well that has had some moments too.) So when I was clearing dishes one evening and scraping the scraps into the frozen heap of compost material, I realized (Duh!) I had not fed my worms in a long time.

I ran downstairs with the fresh batch of scraps - which included squash rinds, something the worms love. I peeled back the layer of shredded paper from the worm bin and noticed a hard, dry layer of, well, hard dry stuff. Hmmmm, did any little worms survive? I fluffed up the dirt and added the squash rinds, figuring within a day or two I would see who survived.

It has been over a week, and no worms have come to dine at the squash rind. Yup, I murdered them all. Or, as I prefer to think, they all packed their bags and went to some refugee camp where they could get better care.

Now I have to wait for some of my friends and family members to grow their own population and share worms back with me.

Unplugged Theme: Balance!

How funny! This week's Unplugged theme is "balance." Yea, I know a bit about that topic!

The kids had quite a few ideas to approach this topic. Ziggy said we should talk about having a balance in nature. I think that was even her actual words. So we talked about what was needed to keep nature in balance. They came up with some of the following ideas: (I did not write them down, as we talked about this while driving to dance class, so bear with my interpretations and memory)

• not cutting down trees unless you plant a new one to replace it. And it should be the same size. (We then talked about removing damaged, sick, or dying trees to help keep the balance.)


• not removing habitat - which upon further discussion seemed to focus on trees and shrubs for birds and rabbits. (We have been talking about rabbits for nature study recently. And our bird feeder is a constant source of nature education this winter, too.)


• not spraying chemicals on gardens. (Our discussion on this one did not go beyond that point because we had reached our destination, but boy did I want to delve into this one to help them understand why it is important to lessen the ubiquiness of said chemicals!)

Gherkie wanted to use the balance scale we have, and see which of her plastic animals weighs more. This was a doable project, and a great little science project as well! We took out our project journals and proceeded to write down our predictions, results, and guesses as to why one weighed more than the other.

They really got into it, and when my mother came to pick up Ziggy for an afternoon of sewing, they could not wait to share this project and their results. They are excited to try next weeks theme, Ball.

Keep looking for updates. This is a great project we have successfully scheduled into our week and added some balance to our learning and playing.

Is It the Winter Weather, or Me?

Maybe it is the relentless deluge of snow this year (which I actually really enjoy!) or the day after day of fridged temperatures (which I enjoy to a point, but when the temperature is in the single digits, or less, I protest and complain with the masses) but I am loosing some of my desire to fight this fight. I am so tired of always doing things the "hard" way.

This lack of desire has ebbed deep into my psyche, because I actually subconsciously bought Peanut Butter Capt'n Crunch cereal this week. I had no idea I bought it. Seriously. FM doesn't believe me (which angers me) but it is the truth. It was around 9pm and I was on the phone talking to a friend trying to make last minute arrangements for an annual trip a bunch of girlfriends and I take, and apparently talking, thinking, and shopping are too difficult for me! I remember thinking *I* really wanted PB Capt'n Crunch, but it is so not good for you that it is defiantly on my "Do Not Purchase" list. But when I got home FM was shocked to see a box of it in my purchases. So was I! (But secretly glad, and the girls and I have all had a bowl of it for breakfast now! Sugar them up and send them off to school!)

Maybe I just over-exhausted myself this holiday with "pioneer" activities and projects. Maybe I am just half frozen most of the time from my 64 degree home and sub-zero outside temps. Maybe I am fighting food poisoning from homemade yogurt & keifer (smirk.) Or, maybe I am just tired of always trying to find a "new and improved" way of living my life in this world.

Well, tomorrow is a New Day. Maybe I'll be less tired of the fight. .......maybe.......

Unplugging the Kids

We try to keep TV, Videos, and Computers at a minimum in our house. We do watch TV and the occasional movie - in fact we do belong to Netflix and love the documentaries and family movie nights we have almost every Friday night - but as a family we engage in very little "media time." Each year we participate in the annual Turn TV Off Week, which is probably harder for the adults than the kids!

Recently I stumbled upon the blog Unplug Your Kids and I was intrigued. I especially loved the idea of the weekly Unplugged Projects. This seemed like a fun way to help create some more learning opportunities and put some different, and planned, creativity in our lives. So, armed with this week's theme, we set off to do a project or two.

This week's theme is SQUARE

I told the kids about the Unplugged Project idea, what this week's theme was, and then asked them what thoughts they had on how to approach it.

Kids' Idea: Make Squares with K'nex

Ziggy was at Girl Scouts, so she did not participate. But the 2yr old and the other 5yr old I watch during the day did. They all loved the idea of playing with K'nex, and we had some good mathematical discussions. This was the first time any of them had really played with the K'nex. Of course it is too complex for a 2yr old, but he had fun playing with the larger pieces. Gherkie had fun trying to break down large squares and shapes into smaller squares. I tried to make a cube, but couldn't. Not sure why, but I could not find the right pieces to connect everything correctly. So much for *my* part of the geometry lesson.

All three kids played with the K'nex for almost an hour. It was a success!

Mom's idea: Art History Application - Mondrian

My first thought went to pop-artists Piet Mondrian. I was going to have them create an art piece in the style of Mondrian, and also talk a bit about his works and the influencing forces of his time. But I forgot to look for a book at the library, and when I visited their school I noticed that the art class had already done a Mondrian project. OK, time to revisit the idea.

I decided to still talk some about Mondrian and the influences from that period in time, (figuring that the art teacher did not talk much about the social and political forces in play at that time)but to let them do something creative based upon the idea of squares. Sort of like Mondrian, but without a grid. So, I cut up some scrapbook paper into various squares, and had them glue them onto a piece of construction paper of their choice.

Oddly enough the history part kept their interest, and they were intrigued to learn about Mondrian's life. But the actual art part. Well, apparently gluing squares onto paper was not too much fun. They spent about 15 minutes on the project and then ran off to play with their fairies.

I did enjoy their interpretations. Gherkie had a very free flow to her work. One square was turned around to hide the pattern of the paper and show the white back. And, she had a few squares off to the side some, as if they were running away. I always enjoy the flow of her art work.

Ziggy's work was more orderly. Of course, no shocker there. She also stacked her squares one on top of another, and played with the "square" relationship. You can see some of her quilting influence in her piece.

Mine, oddly enough, was very orderly. I was trying to show, without using words, the concept of constructing larger squares with smaller squares, and deconstructing squares into smaller square parts. Or at least that was the concept in my head when I started out. I don't think you can really tell that in the finished product. Oh well.

After "living" with this thought in my head for a week, and in their head for a few days, it is amazing to see how often they are noticing square related activities or objects, and they are talking about square stuff quite a bit. I find that interesting. Just a small focus on one topic really influences their thought process for the week. Just helps confirm my ideas on adding in some planned, themed activities, yet also letting it be child led.

New Years Resolutions?

I usually do not make resolutions for the new year. I know myself well enough that any bright idea I get I either immediately jump whole hog into, or dink around and only do it half assed for a short time before abandoning the idea all together.

However, I'm feeling as if I should make an eco-resolution this year. Something rather major, something rather challenging. But, I am feeling overwhelmed with just my life right now - which is amazing because I do not work out of the house, so why am I so overwhelmed?? Anyhow ...

My current eco challenges I'm facing right now are finding local foods and keeping the heat down to 65 degrees during the day. And, truth be told, I just turned up the heat in the house to 67; I was COLD and even a warm cup of tea and snuggling with Ziggy and Gherkey under the quilt did not warm me up. So, what about my local food issues: no news on the home front regarding new connections for local winter foods. I suck.

But my brain is so cold it is not thinking clearly. he he