Stubby Pencil (School Supplies) Discount

August means back-to-school supply shopping.  Stubby Pencil (of which we are big fans) is offering 15% off through August 13th with the coupon code: SAVE4SCHOOL.  If you have to stock up anyway, best to do it green.

What back to school supplies are grabbing this year?

What To Ponder Before Purchasing

There have been a lot of bigger than usual purchases taking place or being considered in our household lately. We have tried to make each one in a very thoughtful way, seeking to minimize our impact on the planet with our purchases.  I think it's worth noting though, that we did not necessarily run out and buy organic/recycled/sustainable/whatever-other-greenwashing-terms each time.  These are some things we considered with each purchase and some examples.

1. What can we reuse around here?  I shop around first and try to use innovative economy to come up with creative solutions for reusing our things.  I was able to do this with the frames in the robot room.

2. Can we make it/fix it?  Let me clarify, we are not handy people.  So our ability to make things and fix things is limited.  But when we can do it, like with our clothesline, it saves us from most any purchasing.  We were also able to do our best on the floors, saving us thousands.

3. Can we hire someone locally to make/fix it?  When we cannot do the work ourselves (which is often), we look to hiring local people to help us.  This supports our local economy and cuts down on travel, production, and often manufacturing impact.  We were able to find someone local to make the loft bed in Tucker's room.  We took the check together to Mr. Harry and the result of doing good by keeping the money in our neighborhood was tangible to all of us.

4. Can we get it second-hand?  I always look to second hand early in the shopping process.  If I can find something second-hand locally, that is a new-to-me product with virtually no impact on the planet.

5. Is there an affordable "green" alternative for purchase (first locally and then by order)?  I love doing the very best for the planet, but I am not made of money.  And unfortunately, many of the green options out there still require quite a bit of it.  Luckily, when I ask questions 1-4 first, this one often isn't a concern.  Sometimes I get to this point and I have to really look at where I can best spend my money.  For Tucker's mattress, we went "green" because second hand wasn't an option.

6. What are the special considerations for our home and what will last the longest?  When buying each product we really consider, how long will this last.  That often goes into how much we are willing to pay and the product's long-term impact on the planet.  With the rug in Tucker's room, I could not find a second-hand, local, or green alternative we could afford.  I also knew that we needed a certain type of rug, or the dog would destroy it within days.  So I purchased an affordable, but not green rug.  There is certainly a trade-off.  The rug smells like the chemicals it was created with, but it will not need to be replaced for quite some time and suits our needs quite well.

There isn't one cut and dry answer for every purchase.  But as we train our minds to take into account the whole picture for our health, our pocketbooks, our communities, and the planet, we will start to make better purchasing decisions.

What are the things you ponder before purchasing?

Buy It Used Home Tour: Bedroom and Bathroom

Today I take you to my youngest son, Everett's, bedroom. Here you will find the toy chest above. This traveled to my home from my mother's. She bought this one, and the same one in green (which is in Tucker's room) about 20 years ago. It's the place where she stored school projects, report cards, etc...for my brother and me. These now house toys in the boys' rooms, but every time I see them they make me happy and bring back memories. Plus I think they are pretty cute for toy storage.

This changing table is almost 30 years old! It was my husband's when he was a baby and it has now been through both our boys. When the youngest gets potty trained, I am planning on repurposing it (maybe as craft storage or more toy storage, suggestions?). Hopefully we can keep it around long enough for our kids to use it too if they so choose.

The last thing I want to show you in Everett's room is this dresser. This was passed down to my mom, was in my childhood bedroom, and has now been in both boys rooms at some point. I think it's a beautiful piece and another one I hope to keep around.

And there is one more thing I want to share with you today, which is not in a bedroom. It is actually this piece we picked up at the same sale where we got the living room table. We used it originally in our first home where we had no storage in the bathroom. We now live in the home built for storage, but I still love using this piece. It's in the hall bathroom (the boys' bathroom) where it holds a laundry basket for guests, little extras, etc...It just goes to show you that when you find a great piece, you can use it, reuse it, and repurpose it anywhere.

Any stories from your home? Any pictures? Anything? Bueller?

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Look at this beautiful, if small, bounty from my garden. Small is good since I seem to be the only one eating veggies around here these days. I love to dip these little guys in hummus for a mid-afternoon snack. Delicious!

I am clearly not the only one who has discovered the benefits of growing your own food to Earth and self. There has been a 19% increase in U.S. households growing their own fruits, vegetables, and herbs over last year. 54% of households grow their own food primarily to save money on groceries. And why not, just $70 spent on planting can yield $530 worth of produce per season!

Growing your own organic produce ensures that less pesticides and herbicides are used, the food has a shorter distance to travel to your plate, and you know exactly what you are putting in your body once it gets there.

What's growing in your gardens? How is your "harvest" going? What didn't you grow this year that you will definitely plant next year? Any organic gardening tips?

Healthy Headache Cures

Ugh.  That's the only sound I can verbally utter from my bed today as I lay here with the my fifth migraine in as many days.  I know what you are thinking, "Then Willo, why the heck are you writing a blog?"  Well, the truth is folks, I can only sit and be unproductive for so long.  

We haven't been able to pinpoint where the headaches come from or to what they are related.  So there is some work to do there.  In the meantime, I am trying to keep up healthy eating and exercise (look for the importance of staying healthy later this week) and do what I can.

For me, this means rest, and a couple other all-natural things I have found can have a positive effect.  The first is the smell of mint.  A few drops of peppermint or spearmint essential oil right under my nose can offer a little bit of immediate relief.  

Another thing that can really help is cold.  I put my flax wrap in the freezer for an hour or so and then lay it across my forehead or drape it around my neck.  Like the mint, the cool offers a little bit of immediate relief.  I would highly suggest a flax wrap, but if you don't have one and need immediate relief, a washcloth soaked in cool water or put in the freezer will also work.  I have even used teething rings (clean of course) and placed them on my eyelids straight out of the ice box.  

I would love to hear from you on this!  What are your quick and green home headache remedies?  Have you tried any of these?

Swap-a-DVD

I'm home watching DVDs with my hubby tonight.  We couldn't seem to get the Netflix coordinated to get something on our list here on time.  By the way-Netflix is a very good eco-idea, but more on that later.  Because this time, I was thinking about this great service we use called swap-a-dvd, which is where we got the gem we are watching now.  

We do own a few DVDs, some of which we don't exactly enjoy or watch.  These have usually been given to us by well-meaning friends.  We appreciate the sentiment, but we still don't care for the DVDs.  Swap-a-DVD is a website that allows you to list such misfit DVDs.  Other people can then request those from you.  When a DVD is requested, you print out a wrapper (which can include postage if you like) and mail out the DVD.  This then gives you a credit to request a DVD you do desire from someone else and for the meager price of shipping, you have yourself a new-to-you DVD.  And even better (to me) is that you save the planet another disk.  

This service is also available for CDs and books.  Which is the same exact concept but with books.  Which I also love.  Has anyone ever tried this?  What did you think?  Any good recommendations for my DVD or book lists?

Nocturnal Energy Use

At work the other day I was having a conversation with my boss about laundry.  It surprised me that we are both night-time laundresses.   Why?  Because it helps the planet, and maybe your pocketbook to use energy at "off" times, like at night.  

Here's how it works, every time you flip a switch or fill a washing machine, that power is tapping a plant (usually coal run) somewhere.  If everyone does this at once ("peak" times), more power plants have to go online.  And with more people using energy then ever before, more power plants are having to be built to accommodate this peak usage, meaning, more energy used.    Peak times range based on season, but are generally between 3:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.  

Many energy companies charge less for energy during mid-peak or off-peak times.  Which means just by contacting your energy company for information on the getting enrolled and switching a few habits, you can gain the double eco-whammy of money and Earth saved!  

Here are a few things we do around here just to make sure we are taking full advantage of off-peak energy times:

• Charge all electronics (computers, cell phones, cameras, etc...) at night.
  
• Throw in laundry before bed, hang dry in the morning.
  
• Wash dishes at night.
  
• Take full advantage of longer days and keep lights out as long as possible.  Heck, sometimes we never turn them on.

Also consider night-time use of:

• Dishwashers
  
• Sprinkler systems
  
• TV, radios, etc...

Has anyone taken advantage of this?  What was your experience like?  Is anyone planning on it?  What did I miss that is a great use of nocturnal energy?