Recent Garden Pics

We're getting there! Lots of lettuce here with big heads and now where I have cut the lettuce its growing back!! I had NO idea it did that! I was so excited!!

I have one small, green tomato growing. More pics later!!

100 Things Challange

So I was browsing thru Treehugger doing my usual daily reading on their and came across an article about the 100 Things Challange.
Its a challange from a Guy named Dave (and thats the name of his blog too!) whose goal is by November 12, 2008 he will only have 100 personal things. Then he will live with only 100 personal things for one full year, until November 12, 2009.

Sound crazy? Could you do it?

If you click thru to his blog you'll see the most up to date list of the current things he is living with. This is his personal goal and bends and makes his own rules (his words, not mine) throughout this challange but currently he is only living with about 111 items. He separates his stuff into different categories like personal items (bathroom stuff), clothes and basic items. He isn't including (it appears anyway) things in his kitchen I've noticed. Maybe thats his wife's domain and he doesn't want to get rid of her stuff.

Considering other people who have lived with less then 100 items like Hugh Sawyer who lived in a woods for a year, living in a home with 100 things doesn't sound so bad!! Besides how much STUFF does one person need anymore anyway??

Sometimes I look around at my things and wonder what the heck do I need that for and why did I buy it again? I'm one of those people though who has little sentimental value attached to anything. About the only things I have sentiment for is most of my Mickey stuff I've collected over the years....sigh....Yeah I got at least 75 of just THAT stuff.

Do I think I could live with only 100 things? Yes, actually I do think I could do it. Now if only I could determine what 100 things I absolutely need!! I will say I'm paring down a lot of my stuff and hoping to have a yard sale next weekend to be rid of a lot of it. At least make a buck or 2 off of my goods. Besides, there is something truly liberating when I walk into a room and its not all cluttered with THINGS and collectables and just things that collect dust mostly.

I'll keep you posted on how well my paring down of my stuff goes. 100 things might be a long shot right now, but I think its entirely possible.

Planet Green

So you've probably heard about the new "green" channel on TV now called Planet Green from Discovery channel. Its the first ever 24 hr channel to devote its shows to all green info, ideas, tips and so on.

I was skeptical at first picturing A LOT of repeats of the SAME info over and over. I mean lets face it--green is the new "in" thing to being doing and I wasn't sure they would show stuff that would go beyond just buying a Hybrid and using LED lights.

Not so and I was So wrong. I actually REALLY like this channel. And their website is pretty awesome too. So far I really like the shows Wa$ted and Greensburg. Greensburg is about at town in Kansas that was hit by a tornado and 95% of the town was distroyed. 95%!!! That is CRAZY! It was hit by the largest tonardo in history and just leveled. Now they are building the town from the ground up totally green. So its basically a real-life story show. Its pretty dang inspiring if you ask me.

Maybe you should check this out yourself. That is if you are watching TV, have TV, have the channel, etc. If you already have it (and most people do they just dont' realize its one of their channels) let me know what you think. To find out of Planet Green is available from your cable provider click here for more information.

Have I gone mad? Or just more accepting?

I'd like to think I'm more accepting, but in many ways I think I've just gone plain mad abotu some of the things that I view now as no big deal. I think I'm becoming more accepting of certain things because i'm creeping up on my Green anniversary. I'm thinking of having a party to celebrate my big One year anniversary!

My mindset has gone beyond changing--its changed in so many ways. I look back now and go, why did I think was so bad/hard/challanging or whatever before??

If someone had told me a year I ago I would be seriously considering things like the DivaCup, the Family Cloth, raising chickens, dumpster diving or Peeing on my garden (lot of bodily functions I'm noticing here!) I would have told them they were nuts. When did I cross over to such a mindset and way of life??
I don't know, but I've always been one to go against the norm and try new things.

Personally, I never saw myself as balsy enough to even go INTO a health food store and buying organic stuff. I just wasn't "one of them" in my mind.

I'm not a left-winged crazy liberal-dreadlock wearing-nose-ring sporting-birkenstock buying-dumpster diving-reggae listening-patcholoui smelling type of girl. BUT I soon came to realize that reality is more people live this life and don't do any of those things. Well, except maybe sport a nose ring and wear Birks. I DO live near Seattle People! Gotta keep it real.

So I might be one of the few Conservative Green people who grace God's beautiful green earth, but heck, I'm proud of who I'm and what I'm living like.

I'm not perfect by any means. I'm still trying to break my Wal*Mart habit (I just lost readers by saying that) and learning to be more self-sufficent, but I'm getting so much better. Sometimes I blow myself away with what I'm capable of and what I'm willing to consider like raising chickens or dumpster diving.

I'd like to thank someone though for making all of this possible---my blog. Thank you blog for teaching me to learn about the world around me and truly OPENING my eyes to educating myself so I would have something intelligent to write about.
But mostly I want to thank my wonderful loving Lord and Savior Jesus. Thank you Lord for reminding me that your people are truly precious and you created all of this for MY enjoyment.
Thank you for opening my eyes to the injustice of how some people are treated or how people live in other countried. Thank you for taking me out of my comfort zone and making me really take a look into how things are created.

This might sound gross....

I'm going to tell you all the things I do to be green that might seem gross to some people.
But bear with me. Its not ALL about being green. Some stuff is so easy and its really not gross. I just know that if I put the terms gross & green my blog might come up in some random google search.

So.
Here it goes.

5. I don't always wash my dishes. Well you figured this out from previous posts, but yeah if the dish was barely used & nothing like raw chicken or something greasy like butter touched it I just rinse it and put it back. Its not like I have to run it thru my dishwasher when something like flour was in it. Its not dirty!!

4. I don't wash all my clothes. I will wear them again before washing them. Yep, I don't wash every stitch of my clothing after I've worn it. However I do have expections (I'm not totally gross people!!) when it comes to shirts, under-stuff, socks and anything I wore on a hot day.

3. I don't always flush. Yep, this is a family thing too people. I was NOT hard to convience my boys to stop flushing because they didn't really flush anyway. We do live by the motto, "If its yellow let it mellow, if its brown flush it down."

2. I wear reusable (MEN LOOK AWAY NOW!!) pads. I wear LunaPads and I like them. Did I like them @ first? No. In fact I hated them, but I grew to like them. I'm now seriously considering buying the DivaCup soon...More on this stuff later.

1. I use hankerchiefs instead of Kleenex. Yeah it sounds gross, but I remember my dad and grandpa always using them all the time. I like them now. Its handy to have when I need one and I can give it to my son in a pinch. Its not as unsanitary as you think and it saves a lot of extra waste. When I was sick these past couple weeks they were a blessing, especially if I woke up and needed one. Just kept it under my pillow!

So thats it. See that wasn't so bad. I'm sure you all do much more gross things like pee on your gardens to make them grow...wait some of you really ARE doing that!! don't believe me? Click here.

The Counter has Spoken..

So my statcounter has shown me that I get more hits for people searching for Small ways to make changes. I don't' know if they were really looking for "green" changes, but I'm going with that.

I think those looking for small ways to make a change is a great stepping off point. People don't want to be told to buy a Hybrid car or go out and get all new energy star appliances when maybe their bank account says they shouldn't. And really, the small steps is what can make the biggest difference anyway.

So awhile back I posted about the things I did for earth day that were simple and tiny, but they are things I do DAILY--not just on Earth Day. I got a lot of comments from it (ok only like 4 comments, but that's a lot for me) so I'm going to do it again.

Here is another list of the Small Things you can do w/out having to spend a lot or make a lot of effort. And I'm not going to talk about CFL light bulbs either -- that's been done. And done and done and done. Once Wal*Mart starts carrying something you KNOW that its been done.

1. I recycle at work and bring it home to recycle in my curbside container. I have my whole team using my recycle bin and encourage the other agents I work with to use it as well. Its easier then you think and although I know its small, its something.
2. If I don't have one of my reusable bags on me when I buy something I still object to a bag. Even if it is paper, I still pass. If you carry it out w/ the receipt no one will bug you.
3. Look for the most minimum packaging when buying something. If you have to choose between individually wrapped to one large package, go for the large package where you can separate the stuff yourself. less waste is best.
4. Composting really is easier then you think. I personally don't use my compost yet to mulch my garden because its still to new, but just keeping my food waste out of the trash has made a big difference.
5. Shop online. The UPS man or the USPS man is going to come to your door anyway so you might as well let him use his gas instead. I've found that even green stuff is available in bulk if you buy online. Amazon offers quite a few options of things like Seventh Generation or Tom's of Maine in bulk online and the shipping is normally free.
6. Send Emails or hand written or homemade cards instead of buying cards. Why bother with the Hallmark cards anyway? The receiver is more then likely going to throw it away anyway. And really? $4.99 for ONE card is a little outrageous for my taste. If you want a card that sings or talks to you maybe send a music download or a calling card.
7. Stop buying crap. I know that sounds too general, but take a serious look at what you buy and really ask yourself if you really really REALLY want need it. Sometimes I look at the stuff that I have and go, "Why did I buy this?"
8. Unplug your stuff. You'd be shocked at how much energy some of your stuff is sucking when you don't use it. Like your TV or your computer. Or especially your cell phone when you leave it charging overnight. If the charger is warm, you need to unplug it in a timely fashion and don't leave it plugged in.
9. Hang dry most of your clothes. Really this is very simple. Just grab some of your hangers and hang them on a door frame or anywhere they can hang and get some air. Sure you might want to dry your undies, socks and towels, but those dry much quicker then your jeans anyway. Your clothes will thank you by not shrinking or setting stains when you hang dry. Where do you think all that lint comes from anyway?
10. Do you really need to turn on that light? Maybe you just need to open your blinds or just go into a room with little light. Its not always necessary to turn on a light when going into a room.
11. This is going to be scandalous--Let it mellow when its yellow, when its brown flush it down. WE have the 2 pee rule (unless someone is coming over of course, sheesh people) where you don't flush unless you see that it is already yellow. You'll save a lot of water trust me.
12. Don't wash every dish. What I mean by this is when you use a dish for something like toast and all that is on there is a crumb, it doesn't' need to be run thru the dishwasher. Just give it a quick rinse or brush it off and voila-clean plate.
13. Check out magazines from the library. You might have to check out the past month or read the current issue at the library, but you'll save a lot of extra virgin trees from being cut down by not having your own subscription. Or borrow the copy from a friend when they are done and then recycle it of course! (after you've removed all inserts and make-up samples)
14. Don't drink a lot, smoke, chew or wear a ton of make-up. Your skin will thank you for one, but so will your teeth, your pocketbook, your gums, your eyes and your trash. Just because something is organic doesn't justify us using a lot of it. Still keep it in moderation.
15. Skip the gym membership. Yes, Yes I know I know, you won't have that super fancy elliptical, bike or weight machine, but think about how much electricity ALL those treadmills, bikes, electric weight machines, etc use. Not to mention all those crazy lights to remind you of how fat you look. I don't think ANYONE looks good in artificial light. No wonder they use them at gyms--thats pretty motivating!! I've found great workout tips just browsing online, with pictures or videos to show me how its done w/out the need for fancy machines. Besides, you'll get outside more and you could probably use some Vitamin D and fresh air anyway.

Those are not fancy suggestions nor are they anything new, but they are small and easy. I don't want to leave a huge list anyway because it will just bore you.

Ciao!

Happy Fathers Day!

Well we did buy something for hubby, but we decided we wanted to do something fun when Hubby drove into the driveway.

Here's Noah's sidewalk art for Fathers Day. When you think about it, its quite an inexpensive and unexpected gift to anyone. Cheaper then a sign and it washes away w/ nothing toxic going into the water.

Consider this for your next holiday, birthday or anniversary.