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.
Recycled Note Of The Week: Re-purposed Band Flyer Envelopes
I stumbled upon these re-purposed envelopes on Etsy a week or so ago, and was immediately enamored with them, as they are comprised of paper collected from telephone poles in the seller’s neighborhood, ten assorted band and event fliers that have found rocking new life as unique and 100% recycled envelopes.
Via nowvember, a.k.a. the seller, Lisa Riddle:
“Don’t worry kids — flyers were all expired before I pulled them down, ’cause I’m not out to sabotage local bands. I just hate to see such nice looking paper go to waste.
Envelopes measure 3.5″ by 5″ and are all hand-cut, folded and glued.
Hard To Be Green When You Need To Dry Clean
Help! My healthy, green lifestyle has produced a serious conundrum. On one hand, I am making genuine progress with my health. Acupuncture and massage have improved my sense of well being while giving up dairy has alleviated my chronic sinus condition allowing full, relaxed breathing. Much better.
On the other hand, I am a big admirer of fashion and although I have a very meager wardrobe in comparison to the typical woman, I am left with a tough decision. Where to take my dry cleaning? Although I have many clothes made from eco friendly, organic materials that are able to be laundered, I have a variety of vintage and second hand items that genuinely require dry cleaning.
When Good Food Gets Wasted
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.
Green Doesn’t Grow On Trees
Recently, I walked through our backyard and checked every tree and there wasn’t one coin or bill dangling from the limbs. We just took our last vacation for the “summer” to the Bay Area and I’m tired of it; not the vacation, but the Bay Area. I’ve lived it and done it several times over. I want to visit some place exotic like Bolivar, TN where my in-laws live. The only problem is that what I want to do isn’t what I can afford to do right now. I want economic change in my life and I want it now.
Just to let you know, I’ve tried it and wishing upon a tree hasn’t created any monetary blooms.
Seeing Green In November: The Energy Crisis On All Ballots This Year
It’s the middle of October and election day is fast approaching. With November 4th comes one of the most highly anticipated and unprecedented presidential elections this country has ever seen. This year perhaps more than any other year before it, environmental issues–the idea of a nation learning daily how to go green and greener still–will play a significant role in choosing candidacy, as no doubt our nation’s leadership will help propel or hinder our forward motion in the areas of eco-friendly living and preservation on a global scale.
Feeling strongly that you should make the decision for yourself–and hopefully you already have–I am not here to sway you to one candidate’s side or the other; nor am I here to debate along partisan lines.
All The Brown Material You’ll Ever Need For Your Compost Bin
At my house there is never a shortage of green material (also known as wet or nitrogen-rich matter) – orange peels, corn husks, dinner food scraps, yard waste, etc. – for my compost bin, but when it comes to finding brown (also known as dry or carbon-rich) material, in the past I’ve often ended up coming up short. The trick, of course, to getting compost to work and breakdown into that coveted nutrient-rich soil is to have the right combination of both green and brown matter.
About a year ago, however, I posted my first Green Tip of the Week suggesting that my readers keep a bag or two (or three) of their dry fall leaves to use throughout the coming year as brown material to add to their compost pile or bin.
Recycled Note Of The Week: Thanks For Being So Dear
© Ink+Wit
These modern takes on traditional thank you cards from Tara Hogan are 4.5×5.5 inch hand-made postcards, with plenty of room to write on the back. These particular notes come in a set of five, and are comprised of 100% cotton paper, 100% cotton white envelopes and water based inks, which means not only are these cards adorable (and they so are), but they are also an eco-friendly option for sending the best and brightest of all grateful correspondence. Their pun-ny slogan, combined with all of the above is what makes them this week’s Note Of The Week.
Visit Tara Hogan’s Etsy shop, and her main art & design site at www.inkandwit.com
Does Anyone Want My Lexus? IGO Car Sharing!
Car payments, leases, insurance, gas, parking, washes, maintenance, I-Pass… it all adds up. Before you know it, you are in over your head. When I look at all the extras in owning our car, I always come back to the basic philosophy our family recently adopted. We want less.
However, this simple life strategy isn’t quick or easy to achieve. Take for example, the 2007 Lexus parked in our garage. Thank heavens it is leased so that in a couple months (don’t say years, it sounds too long) we can happily hand it back to the dealership and politely say no thank you to their pitch for the newest model.
Green Beauty: Are Cosmetic Labels Meaningless to Determine Safe Products?
How do you figure out what’s safe in beauty and personal care products? I previously posted about how the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not test cosmetics before they go on the market. Cosmetic manufacturers must list all ingredients on cosmetics, but who in the heck even understands the chemical names? How do you figure out what is safe when you are standing in the middle of Target, reading the back of a bottle of liquid foaming soap? It says that it contains sodium laureth sulfate derived from coconut, so it must be safe, right? It says it is natural, so it is okay, right?
