Does your living room need some help? Guest contributor Joanna shares some eco-friendly tips on redecorating your living room.
Change of slipcovers and pillow covers
Easy touches like changing your sofa and pillow covers makes a big difference in your living room. The best thing is you can have multiple options throughout the year to change the look and wash the old covers in the mean time. Slip covers are one of the few accessories that doesn’t cost a fortune to give your room a complete face lift. The best options are always organic cotton covers as they are softer and contains no chemicals in the making of the material – perfect to be around small children in the home.
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Written on
April 6, 2010 by
Amber
Thrift store teacup
There was a time in my life when I never darkened the door of a thrift store. I had a variety of reasons – I thought it took too much work to find something really good, I thought second hand stores smelled bad (they sometimes do), and I didn’t really like the idea that some stranger had worn that shirt or eaten off this plate.
Things have changed. These days I love second hand shopping. When I had kids I discovered that children’s clothing can get really expensive, really fast. This is especially true when they’re super-tiny and they grow through clothes at an alarming rate.
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The holidays are behind us, and we’re moving into the time of year when lots of people are facing the daunting twin tasks of finding places to put all the Christmas presents and getting ready to do some serious Spring cleaning.
If you’re like me, you may even have made a New Year’s resolution that seemed like a good idea at the time, but now seems a bit daunting: “Take care of the clutter problem.”
I suspect de-cluttering is harder for those of us who hate to add things to the waste stream. The thought of putting something into a landfill that someone else might get use out of is bothersome, but how do we find someone who needs or wants our old stuff?
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I am, by no means, perfect when it comes to green living.
There are many, many things I know I can easily replace in my home that consume energy. I can easily do more.
So why don’t I? Because I’m used to convenience. I like my food processor and my coffee maker. I love my vacuum and my lawnmower. I had once made a vow to begin replacing items in my home with green equivalents, if or when they broke down or got used up. Old habits die hard. My first instinct is to head to Walmart and pick up a replacement at a very low, low price.
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If you’re a homesteader like I am, or even just a beginner or veteran gardener, chances are, you’ve got some books on your list to dive into now that the outdoor growing, harvest and preservation season is just about over. (Of course, I am speaking for those of us who live in climates where we cannot outdoor garden year round!) It’s important to find new ways of doing things on your homestead, or just refining what you already know. This is why I’ve got quite a few books on my list and my night stand to read during these long winter months.
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Have you ever wondered what kind of stuff people find in dumpster bins? Think it’s all rot, filth and mold? Better think again! I thought I was in the know about all the different lifestyle choices out there but I learned a new word the other day – Freegan. Perhaps you know of one?
The term Freegan is coined by combining the two words, vegan and free. According to one Freegan site “Freegans are people who employ alternative strategies for living based on limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources.”
In order to free themselves as much as possible from the ethical issues that come along with participating in the conventional economy, a Freegan opts for only eco friendly transportation such as bikes, train hopping and veggie oil vehicles, squatting or low cost housing, community gardening and reclaiming green spaces, and minimal to no employment.
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When I first wrote this article, I was gung-ho all fired up about a campaign I started on my blog called Going Scratch. That was nearly a month ago. I write for this blog once a month, sometimes more when I get a bee in my bonnet. Going Scratch was an idea I had to help myself return to basics. My question to myself was: Why am I relying on the store to provide things for my family when I can just as effectively make them myself? It’s a good question I thought. Why not? Things like food items I would normally buy I can make at home.
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Pressure Canning…..does that cause fear to run it’s icy fingers down your back? The idea of something sitting on your stove boiling to un-godly temperatures with pressures that exceed normal atmospheric levels? It did for me. The thought of pressure canning made me nervous and scared. I’m not really sure why I was nervous about it. I’ve never had any bad experiences with pressure canners in my past. I think it was the fact that I’d NEVER used one, nor had I ever seen anyone use one, that caused me to fear the unknown.
Now, please know that I am not talking about pressure cookers.
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If you happen to live in a place that has one solid outdoor growing season like I do, then the harvest is fast approaching. Here and there you’ve probably begun to pick a few things out of your garden already. Soon, though, your garden will be overflowing with produce and it will be a good idea to have your food preservation methods ready to go.
What? Preservation methods? I can’t just eat it all fresh?
You’re going find out quick that you cannot eat everything fresh out of your garden, and your friends might get tired of you popping by with baskets of offerings.
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With gas prices at record highs and only expected to go up, we all need some reminders on how to save money on gas. Not everyone can afford to switch to a hybrid, nor want to, but there are some simple ways to increase the MPG on your current vehicle. It takes a few changes in driving habits, but once you start, they’ll become second nature and you’ll be saving money before you know it!
