Food Waste

I have seen this feature on several of my favorite blogs lately. I am going to take a picture of my food waste in the hopes that it will help me to waste less. I think the impact of actually seeing it all and then the embarrassment of posting it will lead me to try to get more conscious and creative.

So here is last week's. I figure the first week is bound to be the worst. The olive mix to the left was ancient, and while it didn't smell weird or anything, I decided I didn't see myself ever eating it because I knew how old it was. Next to that is some ancient cream cheese that was waaayy at the back of the fridge. The food in tinfoil is bread pudding I made for my son's Amish party. I ate as much as I could but it started to get really soggy and gross. There is about 2 cups of cream that went bad before I could use it up, cabbage that was turning brown and mushy, the vanilla sauce for the bread pudding that nobody liked. The other bottle of olives was really slimy so that had to go. The green tea was just plain nasty. There is 1/2 a tub of ricotta that was moldy, some pinapple juice I didn't quite finish up, a head of broccoli that was turning brown, shriveled grape tomatoes, shriveled squishy kiwis (3) and 1/2 a beer I didn't finish.

There should be less this week because we went out of town for the weekend, but also because I plan to buy less and use it up before it goes bad. I guess we'll see how it goes!

Clear the Air Challenge

Utah is holding a Clear the Air Challenge. I signed up to eliminate 12 trips each week for 6 weeks. So far, by combining errands I've eliminated 2 trips. I could almost count it as 4 trips because I opened a checking account at the bank in the grocery store so I don't have to make a separate trip to the bank all the time.
We always complain about our air and all the junk we can see. It's time to quit complaining and DO something!!!

Living Green

I've been thinking about the quality of our life. There are so many ways we can enrich our lives, but one of the most important is living as sustainably as possible.

Here are some ways I try to live a bit "greener":

1. Garden-the last few years we have had a container garden. This year I am expanding to a bed that we cleared out last fall. I've decided that I need to raise it a bit, so this weekend I am going to head to the Home Depot and construct some simple raised bed forms out of 1x6 lumber and L brackets. Then we can fill them in with compost and garden soil. I'm anxious to get some stuff planted. Later this summer I am planning to lose the lawn and add some raised beds there as well.

2. Buy Used-I have a confession to make. I love our local Deseret Industries. You can find the coolest stuff for pennies. Truly. I bet 75% of our purchases come from there. I buy books, clothes, dishes, furniture, appliances, picture frames, decor, you name it. M thinks it just common sense. Why pay 10 times as much for things? Obviously, there are limits to what you can, and should buy used. I don't buy shoes or underwear or bedding. Sometimes convenience or quality or having the latest technology means new is the way to go. But for so many things it just makes sense financially and environmentally to buy used. I find it quite satisfying to find something like a perfect condition North Face coat, size 12, for $6. In a few years, M will be excited to have such a great coat, and I'll be excited I only paid $6 instead of over $1000

These are just 2 of my favorite ways to live a little lighter on the earth. More posts on this important subject to come.

Oh hi, it's me again.

Well, one month of 2009 already gone. And I never got around to posting my resolutions. Well that's OK, let's just say I used January to really refine my priorities and goals for the year. What I was thinking I'd like to accomplish on January 1st has changed and crystallized into some simpler, but more impact-ful decisions. Sounds to grand doesn't it? Well, not really. It's just life.



Resolution #1

I will bring my own bag instead of using paper or plastic. Even for things other than groceries.



Resolution #2

I will remember that LOVE is a verb.

I will quit trying to change my spouse into a happy, go-lucky optimist, because he really isn't one and it is making our marriage very tense. So I will do my best to point out the good side of things, without being preachy or naggy. When he gets into one of his funks, I will not go all Pollyanna on his ass, nor will I get frustrated with him for not seeing how our thoughts shape our reality. I will either support him by listening attentively, or ask him for what he needs from me, or if I can't be objective, I will tell him I need to think about it before I react, and go from there. I can't keep taking it personally, because it really isn't. He is stressed. He is worried. That is his reality, not mine. I will love him, because I love him. I will do my best to accept him for who he is today. I will be present with whatever our marriage brings and try to not to be so judgmental.



Resolution #3

I will parent as mindfully as I possibly can. I will accept that I am human and will not always do the "right" thing. When I regret how I have handled something, I will acknowledge it, apologize and ask for understanding. I will remember that my children are my equals, they are just younger and less experienced than I am, and that is the way it is supposed to be. I will look for the teachable moments, but I will also look for the learnable moments. My kids are so cool and such fantastic individuals. I will do my best to guide, teach, enjoy, support, and accept my boys for who they are. I will remember that this is their lives we are talking about. I will try my best to take me ego and pride and pre-programmed ideas out of it and just let my heart guide me. I have wonderful motherly intuition. I will trust it, because I have never regretted doing so. I will tell them often how much I love them. I will let them know I trust them to do what is right for them. I will empower them. I will remember that they are children and that they have lots of time to learn "grown-up things". I will take their issues and worries as seriously as I take my own. And I will let them know, often, how cool I think they are. And lots and lots of cuddles and hugs while I can still get them.



Resolution #4

I will live below my means. I will do my best to realize that "stuff" is not what it is about. Money is a resource to help you attend to your priorities and reach your goals. It is not about pride or status. I will do this by simply spending less. I will acquire less stuff. I will look for non-spending solutions whenever possible. I will use my money to further my values and goals. I will expect my spending to have a high ROI. I will save up for things I want. I will remember all the incredible things I already have, and do my best to be grateful and content.



Resolution #5

I will be lucky! I am going to affirm that I am lucky and I will expect lucky things to happen to me. I will also keep track of what lucky things come my way. I will be open to possibilities and say yes more to see what opportunities it may bring. I will express my gratitude daily for all the amazing experiences I have.



Resolution #6

I will reach out to others more. I will call someone to catch up every day. I will do things for the people I care about and support them through their days. I will send cards and letters. I will really listen so I can remember the details. I will HUG (I've never been much of a hugger). I will smile at strangers and strike up conversations when possible. I will be open to what others have to bring into my life, and I will gladly share my gifts with others.



Resolution #7

I will make myself a priority. I will do the things that make me happy because I am every bit as deserving as everyone else. I will cultivate joy in my life. And fun. I will find hobbies that I enjoy, and that give me some time away from my family. I will pursue my interests, even if I have to do them alone. I will see the movies I want to see. I will attend the lectures I am interested in. I will figure out what makes me fabulous (blond hair? pink toes? fab boots? waxed legs? jazzy underwear?) and find the resources to make it happen for myself! I will find ways to learn and enjoy myself. I will be proactive, instead of waiting for it to be a convenient time for everyone else, or for someone else to think of ideas and activities. I will buy myself the gifts I want, the flowers I think are pretty. I will paint the cabinets the color I like. I will journal and blog and collage and imagine so that I keep in tough with my real feeling and desires. I will LOVE me!



Resolution #8

I will walk more. I will walk to keep myself and my kid's and my dog's bodies healthy. I will walk because I am fed up with the quality of the air in this city and am sick about the idea of not letting my kids out to play because the air quality is dangerous. I will walk to put less money in the pockets of people that don't deserve my money. I will keep that money for me and my family. I will walk to have a sense of my community and what is going on in my neighborhood. I will walk and say hello to my neighbors. I will enjoy the feeling of blood pumping in my legs and heart.



Resolution #9.

I will cultivate a home that is peaceful and comfortable. I will not get sucked into the idea that it needs to cost a lot, or that it has to be perfect, shiny and new. I will look for creative, thrifty ways to craft my home into the place I want it to be and a place my family is comfortable and happy. I will make each one of our bedroom's a sanctuary and a personal expression. I will declutter the extraneous and enjoy the cherished. I will learn new skills and take pride in our home!



Resolution #10

I will find a way to make some money for our family. I will do something I enjoy and am good at. I won't do something that is beneath me or that I find boring or disagreeable. I will give marketing for our business the importance it deserves and make sure that each piece has the right message and goes out on time.



So there you have it. I see a lot of "being present" and "living in the now" and being "mindful". I also see quite a bit about loving and accepting, enjoying and fun! I think it boils down to authenticity.

I know that the world has some challenges to overcome. I also know that a bazillion wonderful things happen every freakin' day that no one hears about. I'm going to focus on the positive. I'm doing to do my part to make this planet, my community, my family and my life a better thing than it was last year. I am going to do my best to "be the change that I want to see in the world". Really it comes down to individual actions. I'm excited about this year. I see this year as a time to get back to basics. To cultivate. To learn and improve skills. To prepare. As a catalyst. I also see it as a time for joy, happiness, gratitude and fun. But I see everyday as a time for those. I see those as the purpose and point of life.


Peace!

The Dilemma of Laundry

Laundry. I hate it. I hate sorting it, soaking it, folding it, and especially putting it all away. I daydream about the day M and Z can do their own. R? I should make him do his own, but I figure, he does support the family and all. I'll give him a pass for now.



So as much as I already dislike the chore, I find it is beginning to bring about a whole new level of stress beyond "Do I really have to do it?". Am I doing it in the "right" way? The most environmental way?



I try to do full loads. It is rare that I do a smaller emergency load. I generally wash in cold unless it is whites. I buy a "green" detergent from Costco. Is it really green? I don't know, I just believe it is because they say it is. I haven't found the time to research my laundry products. Does it work as well? Not as well as say, Tide with bleach, but it is acceptable. Does it cost more? More than Costco's Kirkland brand. About equal to Tide. I've begun adding Borax. This I know is environmentally OK. I use it to boost the only acceptable detergent. It's a new cost, but minimal. About $3.50 for a box that last's about 2 weeks. I used to use Clorox 2, then I switched to Purex all fabric bleach for colors. Now I'm using nothing. Are my clothes as clean? No. I use more Spray n Wash now, which I'm sure is a no-no. I tried several environmentally correct stain fighters. None really worked all that well and they cost a fortune. I don't use a fabric softener in the wash. And then there is the bleach problem. I tried not using it for awhile. My white towels, which I bought because they were "simpler" because they all matched, didn't fade and I could always bleach them white again, require bleach to stay white. Then I found out bleach was bad. So my towels began to get dingy. Plus what about Z's "accidents"? I sure do like to bleach his little undies white again, plus I know they are really clean. Not sure if just hot water would kill all the germs. So I began to use bleach again. But now I feel guilty. This month's Martha Steward Living says to use Oxigenated Bleach instead. They show a photo of an environmentally correct brand. Will Oxi-Clean work? Or is there something in there that isn't good? And does it kill germs as well as clean stuff? More research to do.



And then there is the dryer. In the summer I hang 90% of our laundry outside. I don't really mind crunchy clothes. I learned that using less detergent actually leaves your clothes softer. But in the winter I have to move this operation inside and it takes a lot longer for everything to dry. So when I do use the dryer, once again I try to do full loads, do them in succession to take advantage of a hot dryer, and always clean my lint trap. But I used to use Bounce to tame the ever dreaded static cling. I'm guessing there is something petroleum based in there (research, anyone?) so I bought an environmentally friendly claiming brand at Wal-mart (of all places, which is whole different rant). The clothes are softish, but it does almost nothing for static cling. Seriously, folding socks is a shocking experience, and I keep finding stray socks in my pants.



I have no concrete answers and certainly don't claim to be the pillar of environmental living. I try very hard to do the best thing for our environment. I really do care. But sometimes I get so sick of how hard it is to do simple things like laundry. It would be nice if all so called "green" products really were and there weren't any money hungry corporations out there willing to take a buck they don't deserve by touting their "green"ness, when you read later that they aren't really. It would be nice to live in a world where people wouldn't want to sell you anything that will cause algae blooms or kill ocean wildlife or build up toxins in their bodies, which inevitably we eat and end up building up in our own and children's bodies. What if all products were OK for the environment and our bodies because that was all our society allowed? It would be nice if good products weren't half the size and twice as much. It would be nice if I didn't care if my whites were blindingly white or my clothes soft and static free. There is plenty of blame to go around.



I guess change happens from right where you are. If I do a little better, learn a little more, and decide to put my money where my mouth is, change will come. Hopefully, others will make changes as well and the momentum will pick up. I am a hopeful, optimistic person. I believe that change will come and we will figure out a way out of the mess we've made. It starts with people like me thinking about simple things, like laundry.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some research to do.

Peace.

Car Free with Kids? and a few Updates

I've been thinking a lot about what it will take to to truly heal our planet and our society. I honestly think going to a car-free or at least car-lite society would be the quickest and maybe largest change we could make towards this goal. I just finished a book called How to Live Well Without Owning a Car by Chris Balish. It was an extremely quick, entertaining and thought provoking read.

He spends a good portion of the book proving that you will definitely save money by not owning a car. I believe that. But in our case, not as much as he makes it out to be. Our 1999 Subaru Forester was paid for in cash 5 years ago. Our insurance is $400 a year. The registration fee is around $100. I pay $80 a month for gas and $80 a year in oil changes. During warm weather I generally wash the car myself, but in the Winter I wash it about4 times including a vacuum which totals around $20. So I'm looking at $660 a year I would be saving. Nothing to scoff at, but he consistently claims it will save me around $8000. One way not having a car would save me money is in shopping expenses. Hard to really total that up though.His next biggest point is that it will give you less to worry about. You don't have to worry about registering it, getting gas, parking, maintenance, traffic, etc. And I buy that. I'm just not sure that figuring alternate transportation would be any less stressful for me.

The thing that irritated me however, is something I find common in environmental and simplify you life type books. He glosses over how a family might be able to do this in the very last chapter and gives it all of 4 pages . He starts off with all the reasons a family might find this difficult: sports practices, lessons, doctor appointments and the like. Then he basically just says that people in Oregon have done it and that it will save you money. No list of tips or practical ways to integrate car-free living into your life.

I find that if you have made the choice to have children, and happen to also be interested in simplicity, sustainability, or environmental issues, you are pretty much on your own to figure it out. There don't seem to be any gurus out there for people like me. There are blogs which leads me to believe that there is a decent size population of people who have children who also want to lessen their impact on the earth. I'm grateful that I at least know there are people like me and that I'm not totally on my own. Most of my friends give lip service to the idea but don't plan on making many changes.

When we moved to our current home 2 years ago it was everything I wanted. It is big, around 3400 square feet. It is in an established, high value area. The public schools are the best in the state. It has an incredible view almost 360 degrees. I look over the Salt Lake valley at the Great Salt Lake and the city, I also have a gorgeous view of Mt. Olympus. Across the street from me is mountain and we get all manner of wild life marching past our front door. The neighborhood is diverse and fairly liberal and our neighbors are wonderful. We live on a cul-de-sac. And there is practically nothing within walking distance.

I honestly do love this house, and my neighborhood and our schools. It is also a great investment. But our house payment is definitely a stretch. If I could do it over, I would pick a more walkable neighborhood. I think this is the only way a family could go car-free. Our good friend is "flipping" a house about 2 miles from us. It is smaller and older, but he has redone it completely. It is within easy walking distance from: a park, a library, a youth rec center, the firestation, several gas stations, 2 dentists, a preschool/daycare that also picks up from our elementary school, a vet, several restaurants and cafes, a convenience store, a drug store, a grocery store, several fast food joints, a dry cleaners, a shoe repair, a bank, and 2 strip malls. I could. We could feasibly sell our house and make a lateral move to the other property. The other great thing about it is that it has a large yard that would be perfect for a large garden and city chickens. But alas, R won't even consider it. He loves this house and I can understand why.

So my next best option is to figure out ways to go car-lite. Even though we live on some seriously steep hills, I finally feel that both my kids are capable of walking them. I look forward to the day they can bike them. Talk about fighting childhood obesity. M's school is just under a mile away. R drops him off which is on the way to work, but we should be walking home. The store is within walking distance as well. The big area I could improve upon is combining errands when I take Z to his preschool. It is about 5 miles away. I should plan on heading that way and staying that way until I pick him up. My gym is right there. So is a major shopping area. I could easily park my car by his school and either walk to the gym or walk to do my errands. That would cut my mileage for sure and give me some exercise. I also should figure out some bus routes for places that are just a little too far to walk, like the library. We could easily hop on the bus by M's school and then walk home from the bus stop. The biggest obstacle, and he makes this point in the book, is that with a car in the garage, it is just too easy to depend on it. If you don't have it, you are forced to make the change.

I'm going to set a goal for reducing our mileage each week. I'll be posting updates.

"Green" and Happy? Is it possible?

Is it better to live with your head in the sand? I wonder sometimes. After I saw an Inconvenient Truth last summer (I went alone, no one else would go. I cried through the whole thing) I have struggled with a bit of depression. The idea of the natural world being a hostile environment for my children and the idea that they very well might not be having children of their own has left me in a state of chronic stress.
I love reading blogs. Some of my favorites focus on the climate crisis. But I always end up with a knot in my stomach afterward. I've also read a ton of books and have several more right now from the library. I'm thinking about taking a moratorium on worrying about the state of the whole friggin' planet. It's making me sick. So I'm taking them back. They will always be there if I decide to read them.
Does that mean I don't care? Not at all! I care deeply!! I just feel like I know enough right now about what I should be doing. I know we have likely reached peak oil. I know we have likely hit the tipping point. I know the aqua firs are drying up. I totally get that cars have really just got to go. I think I've gathered enough info and it is time to focus that energy on doing instead of worrying. I can't fix it but I can do my part.
In many areas of my life I have decided to start doing instead of thinking. I've also decided that I need to focus on the good things in life. They are so many. By constantly thinking doom and gloom I feel like I've lost more than half a year of my life. I want to be happy and green at the same time. Is it possible?

CSA

So I signed up for a CSA. The farm is East Farms. http://www.eastfarms.net/about.htm is the link. It was $185 for a half share of approximately 20 weeks of fresh produce. The pick up is about a mile away from my house. I'm thinking I could easily walk there with my jogging stroller and walk home. I'm not sure which day my pick up is. I'm really excited, though it doesn't start until May or June. If you haven't heard about CSAs here is what their website says:

What is Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)?
CSA is a partnership of mutual commitment between a farm and a community of supporters which provides a direct link between the production and consumption of food. Supporters cover a farm's yearly operating budget by purchasing a share of the season's harvest. CSA members make a commitment to support the farm throughout the season, and assume the costs, risks and bounty of growing food along with the farmer or grower.Members help pay for seeds, fertilizer, water, equipment maintenance, labor, etc. In return, the farm provides, to the best of its ability, a healthy supply of seasonal fresh produce throughout the growing season.Becoming a member creates a responsible relationship between people and the food they eat, the land on which it is grown and those who grow it.This mutually supportive relationship between local farmers, growers and community members helps create an economically stable farm operation in which members are assured the highest quality produce, often at below retail prices. In return, farmers and growers are guaranteed a reliable market for a diverse selection of crops.

Happy New Year!! I'm kicking around my New Year's resolutions. I haven't finalized what I'd like them to be just yet but they are all focused on Simplifying my Life and making sure I am true to myself and priorities. I know I've got to think small, I just don't have the energy for a major overhaul just now. Some I know will be on the list are: Walk 1/2 an hour every single day, use canvas bags, practice random acts of kindness towards my hubby. Other ideas include: drink one large glass of water before drinking coffee in the morning, have a small garden, quit eating after 7, have more fun! I will be posting my final list soon.