Costco - A Great Store For Organics

People are often surprised to hear that I do the majority of my shopping at Costco.  But I really do.  It's amazing how much organic food they sell now.

We live on a budget just like everyone else, so I try to buy in bulk and freeze things to save money.  The fact that I can do this at Costco with organics makes me very happy.

Take yesterday's shopping trip, for instance.  Here's a list of the organic food I picked up:

• Bunny-Luv organic carrots
• TreeTop organic applesauce
• Kirkland organic apple juice
• Alpine Valley organic whole grain bread (we LOVE this bread)
• Sun-Maid organic raisins
• Kirkland organic extra virgin olive oil
• Ruta Maya organic coffee
• Daisy Fresh organic eggs
• Kirkland organic butter
• Kirkland lowfat milk

I also bought a few great all-natural (but not organic) products, such as:

• Coleman hot dogs
• gala apples
• lovely, sweet cantaloupes
• watermelon
• Tilamook mild cheddar cheese

Other organic items I saw but didn't need that day:

• organic quinoa
• organic baby spinach
• organic pasta (various kinds and shapes)
• organic pasta sauce
• organic cereal
• organic hummus
• organic bean and cheese burritos

I also saw a number of great green products such as:

• HydroRight dual-flush kits
• solar Halloween decorations
• solar landscape lights

Homemade Fruit and Veggie Wash

Tired of buying fruit/veggie wash?  Me too.

Here are two recipes that clean as well as those store-bought washes and cost just pennies.  In both cases, spray them on, let sit 5 minutes, then rinse thoroughly. 

Water and white vinegar in equal parts.  Put in a spray bottle and leave it buy the sink.

OR

One cup of water and two tablespoons baking soda.  You could also add a few squirts of lemon juice.  Put in a spray bottle and leave it by the sink.

An Organic Square Foot Garden, Part 1

I live in Texas.  It's a part of the country where you can grow many fruits and vegetables year round (different ones at different times of the year).  Until we moved here I had never really considered growing my own food.  Now I see the logic of doing it wherever you live, even if you are restricted to just a few seasons: knowing what you're eating (i.e., what it was grown in), doing something good for the environment, saving money, and enjoying the incredibly fresh taste of food that was grown just steps from your back door.

I was attracted to the concept of Square Foot Gardening because it yields an organized, attractive, efficient and super productive vegetable patch.  I highly recommend you read the book.  Another benefit is that it allows you to "start from scratch" so you don't have to engage in the laborious process of correcting whatever is wrong with the existing soil.  And I liked the idea of a raised bed because it lessened the possibility that my vegetable patch would be contaminated by runoff from my neighbors' yard (who use all manner of chemicals to control their lawn.)

Cost/Benefit
Being the practical person I am, I needed to run the numbers to see if it would really work for us.  I determined how much space I would need to grow enough food to generate the lion's share of what we consume.
 
Then I considered what it would cost to build it...

one Suncast tumbling composter $99 (at Lowes)
two 4x4 Frame-It-All raised garden beds $200
six 2-cubic-foot bags of Lady Bug Square Foot Gardening Blend soil $90 (special blend based on Mel Bartholemew's "Mel's mix" recipe)
one 3 ft x 50 ft roll of Landmaster Durable Weed Control fabric $13
one bottle of Liquid Seaweed (root stimulator for transplanting seedlings) $10
one seed starter tray $10
eighteen (mainly organic, some heirloom) fruit and vegetable seed packets $36
one roll of mason string $5
one roll of packing tape $1
...and for the canopy (to protect it from heavy rain, wind, cold, insects before flowering, birds...):
four lengths of 1/2 inch PVC pipe $5
one package of heavy duty zip ties $5
two 12x10.5 foot frost blankets $26
eight 2" metal spring clamps $24

total: $524
Note: I'm quite sure I could have spent a lot less on the composter and frames, but I chose the tumbler composter because it makes it easy to turn the compost and the type of frame I used makes it very easy to reconfigure or expand the garden later.

And compared that to what I expected we'd save...

These two boxes should support a good deal of our fruit and vegetable needs over the next year, especially if we use frost cover, make full use of the composter and carefully select what to grow during which seasons.  It's easy to see how the savings can quickly surpass the initial expenditure.  Consider that my family's typical weekly consumption of the fruits and vegetables I plan to grow is probably about $30.  I tend to buy organic, which costs more.  That amounts to about $1550 of savings a year, which means I'm saving $1000 in the first year alone.  Plus, we have the added benefit of knowing exactly what we are eating and experiencing the enhanced flavor of truly fresh food.  Giddyup!

After determining that it was a fiscally sound idea, I set about planning, constructing and launching my garden.

1. I  determined where my square foot garden would go on my property in order for it to have at least 6-8 hours of daily direct sunlight without ruining the look of my yard.  This also involved deciding what sort of container I would use.  Would I put it on my patio so I could see it through my kitchen window?  This would require putting a bottom on it so it wouldn't stain my deck.  Would I put it out in my yard?  I didn't want to tear up sod in order to put it in the grass, so I finally determined I'd put it in an unoccupied mulched area.  This would have the added benefit of making it easy to dismantle it if we had to.

2. I mapped out what I would grow and where I would grow it within my square foot garden.  Square foot gardens are typically 4x4 foot boxes.  This means that each 4x4 box would have 16 square foot boxes for planting (hence the term Square Foot garden.)  I decided to zero in on the vegetables and fruits that we tend to eat a lot of and paid attention to seasonality and principles of companion planting.  Not every plant grows nicely next to every other plant.  Sometimes one plant can make its companion plant taste bitter.  Good companions deter pests or enhance flavors.  

In the end, my spring planting map looks like this (visualize square foot boxes):


tomatoes, marigold, peppers, peppers
basil, onions, carrots, carrots
spinach, spinach, broccoli, broccoli
radish, bok choy, bok choy, lavender


lettuce, lettuce, pole beans, cantaloupe
oregano, marigold, zucchini, zucchini
watermelon, watermelon (given the size, these will occupy two entire rows - eight 1 foot boxes)


3. After a some thought and investigation, I went to Lowes and bought a tumbler composter.  Good compost is essential to a healthy and prolific vegetable garden.  I then went to an organic garden center and bought the rest of my supplies.

It took me 30 minutes to assemble the 4x4 frames so each looked like this (note the stake at the bottom left - this anchors the frame on four sides to the ground).  I highly recommend using a mallet to start the screw holes.  The planks are VERY hard.

It took me another 45 minutes to complete them.  Here's what I did:

I lined each frame with the weed control fabric...

 ... filled each frame with three bags of the square foot gardening mixture and used a rake to smooth it out.

I watered the boxes heavily and turned the soil as I went to ensure I got it good and wet.  I then measured and marked the frame at 12 inch increments in order to attach my string grid...

 

... until they looked like this...

Since we're expecting a cold snap later this week, I went ahead and put up my canopy to keep the ground a little warmer so I can plant some seeds at the end of the week.

I attached my PVC pipes and lashed them together at the top (where they cross) with heavy duty zip ties...

... then covered them with the garden fabric and secured the fabric to the frame with the spring clamps.  I'm sure I could have been tidier, but you get the idea.

4.  Then I determined:

• how many plants should go in each square foot (e.g., 16 carrots or one broccoli), 
• what needed to be started by seedling (tomatoes, peppers, onions, broccoli, lavender, oregano, watermelon) versus putting a seed right in the ground,
• what could be started in the ground now (carrots, spinach, bok choy, lettuce, cantaloupes, radish, cauliflower) versus after the last frost (marigold, basil, pole beans, zucchini), and finally,
• I enlisted my little boys to help me start the required seedlings.  They loved getting their hands dirty! I am hopeful that they will be excited to eat the food they grow - another great way to get kids to eat their veggies!

I am really excited about this project and I'll update you as I proceed.

***

The Basics of Composting
An Organic Square Foot Garden (Part 2)

An Easy, Effective, Inexpensive and Eco-friendly Way to Wash Dishes

According to recent Consumer Reports tests on the efficacy of automatic dishwasher detergents,

"detergents without phosphates—which help clean but also boost algae growth in freshwater, threatening fish and other plants—tended to perform worst overall."

Of the phosphate-free variety, Method Smarty Dish tablets and Simplicity dish sachets performed best.  Method costs about $0.35/load.  If you have to run your dishes through more than once because the first time just didn't do the trick, well, that would start to add up!

So, you want to be environmentally responsible but you want your dishes to be sparkling clean and don't want to pay a fortune in the process?  Here's what I do:

First, I prepare them properly.  The following is a great list of tips for dazzling dishes, courtesy of Consumer Reports:

"Any detergent is apt to clean better if you scrape off heavy soil before loading dishes. (You'll save energy and water if you don't prerinse.) Then take these steps:

• Load large items at the sides and back so they don't block water and detergent.
  
• Face the dirtier side of dishes toward the center of the machine.
  
• Don't let dishes or utensils nest.
• Rest glasses upside down on prongs so that they don't fill with water. 
• Hand-wash silver and fine glassware. Judging by tests that mimicked long-time machine-washing, some products could be harsh on silver (Cascade with Extra Bleach Action powder, Great Value, Sun & Earth, and Target) or could etch fine glassware (Cascade with Extra Bleach Action powder, Finish Quantum, Method, Seventh Generation, and Simplicity)."

Then, I use a half portion of a phosphate-free automatic dishwasher gel (such as Seventh Generation, which is fairly cheap relative to other eco-friendly brands) and fill the dispenser cup the rest of the way with baking soda.  Baking soda freshens, cleans and acts as a water softener, which helps the detergent do a better job.  I fill the rinsing agent well with white vinegar.  Works like a charm and saves money, too.

A lot of people make their own dishwasher detergent using 1/2 Borax and 1/2 baking soda (put 2 tablespoons of the mixture in the detergent well), but Borax is toxic - dangerous around kids - so I don't use it.  Maybe after my kids are older.

Costco Is Now My Primary Source of Organic Food and Products

Costco finally became the primary place where I shop for food.  It displaced other retailers once it started carrying most of my organic/all natural/environmentally-friendly basics.  Here is a sampling of the products I typically see there these days:

• Marcal recycled toilet tissue
• Kirkland environmentally-friendly laundry detergent and dish soap
• Coleman Natural Beef Hot Dogs
• Apple & Eve organic juice boxes
• Dakota organic ground beef
• Lundburg organic short grain brown rice
• Treetop organic applesauce
• organic raisins
• Ruta Maya organic coffee
  
• Kirkland lowfat organic milk (they carry chocolate milk boxes, too)
  
• Kirkland organic butter
• Earthbound Farm organic baby spinach
• Earthbound Farm organic gala apples
• Bunny-Luv organic baby carrots
• Daisy Fresh organic brown eggs
• Kirkland Filippo Berio Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1.32 gallon jugs of Heinz all natural distilled white vinegar (my primary cleaning agent)
• 12 lb bags of Arm & Hammer baking soda (my second most-used cleaning agent)
• Garofalo organic pasta
• Simply Natural organic pasta sauce
• Wholesome organic sugar
• Amy's organic bean & cheese frozen burritos
• Kirkland organic orange juice
• Kashi cereals and waffles
  
• all purpose organic flour
• Coleman's organic chicken
• Kirkland organic strawberry jam
• Pacific Natural Foods organic free-range chicken broth
• fresh salmon
• Kirkland organic peanut butter
• Oroweat double fiber bread
  

Check it out!

Green Up Your Holiday Table

When you're preparing to entertain, why buy a floral arrangement for your dining table when you can create a centerpiece with elements from your own garden or existing craft supplies?  Even if you live in a very cold climate, you can reuse what's around you rather than buying new things.  Here are a few ideas:

• Make an arrangement of holly from your garden - the red and green are very cheery.
• Make a "Thankful" arrangement.  Take a beautiful, short bare branch that has broken from a tree in your yard and place it in a nice vase.  During Thanksgiving, have your children make Thanksgiving ornaments shaped like turkeys and hang them from the branches.  Have them write on each one something they are thankful for.  These ornaments are easy to make.  Take orange or brown construction paper, trace your child's hand in pencil, cut it out, cut a hole at the top of the middle finger and thread a string through (the thumb is the head and the fingers are feathers).  Then decorate them with crayon, glitter glue or construction paper "feathers."  You could do the same thing for the December holidays, but with construction paper Christmas Trees,  Snowmen, Menorahs, etc.
  
• If you have a chandelier over your table, make a "family" arrangement with double-sided printouts of photos of every family member, hung on pretty string from the chandelier at different levels.
  
• Decorate with a "cornucopia" centerpiece that you'll later cook up and eat.  You don't actually need a wicker cornucopia.  You can just decorate the center of table with seasonal fruits, nuts and vegetables in nice bowls.  Make sure they're washed in case someone takes a bite!

Use your imagination.  There are tons of ways to cheerfully decorate without creating more waste or spending more money!

How to Make All Natural Lip Gloss

A few weeks ago, I wrote about running out of facial powder and substituting organic corn starch - with great success.  I'm comfortable now that I'll never go back to buying commercial facial powder.  Inspired by this success, I decided to try my hand at creating other beauty products.  My criteria: they must be all natural, easy and quick to make, smell great, feel soothing, and be edible.  Yes, edible - that's my measure of safety, particularly for lip gloss.

Over the next few weeks, I will experiment with making a few different items, and I'll share my recipes here with you.  I hope you enjoy the health, savings, beauty and fragrance of these as much as I do!  Also note: they make great little gifts for the holidays!

Pink Lip Gloss

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons grated pure beeswax
8 teaspoons castor oil
4 drops vanilla extract
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon organic beet juice powder (be careful where you put this - it is a strong dye)
 -- you will also need a container to put it in - I bought a small Nalgene jar  (they are BPA free) at The Container Store for $0.99.

Directions:
1. Melt the beeswax and castor oil together in a small Pyrex dish in the microwave.  45 seconds ought to do it.  Mix well.  Add the vanilla, honey and beet juice powder.  Add more beet juice powder if the shade is not as dark a as you'd like.  Let it sit in the Pyrex dish until it cools enough so it won't melt your Nalgene jar.  Don't wait until it's fully set up to move it to the jar.
2. Pour it into your jar.  Let it sit 20 minutes before covering it.

Recycling 201: Yard Sales

I love yard sales.  It's an important and fun part of the recycling chain.  The process of preparing for a yard sale is a great way to keep your home tidy, organized and efficient.  It requires sifting through your possessions to see what you can part with.  It generates cash, and it's a great way to lessen your contribution to landfills.  Your castoffs might be another's treasures, and you can feel good about that.  You're doing a solid for humanity. 

My friends are dedicated yard salers.  Every Saturday morning they set out to see what treasures they can find.  This past Saturday, during my visit to LA, I joined them in this ritual and learned some great tips.

Here's a list of good things to know about yard sales.

Where to Find Yard Sales

• You can find yard sales by driving through your neighborhood on Saturday mornings and looking for signs.  Don't be misled by the number of signs you see for a yard sale.  If you see a lot of signs for the same sale, it doesn't necessarily mean the seller is desperate.  It might just be because there's an overzealous teenager involved who has a stake in the proceeds.
  
• You can log on to CraigsList.  Just navigate to your city, then use the search term "yard sales."  Up pops everything that folks have listed (here's an example, for Los Angeles).  
• If you are planning your own yard sale, put up signs with your address and the time of the yard sale at major intersections near your home, and don't forget to list it on CraigsList.
  

Pricing of Items

• Pricing is an indicator of the economy.  In good times, people are just looking to get rid of their things.  They're less likely to care about the pricing.  These days, you'll see prices stuck to every item.  People are more serious about getting their asking price for their things.  Sellers need to have realistic expectations, though.  For instance, if you want $20 for that big box of Legos, you won't get it.  You'll only get $10.  It doesn't matter how much they sell for in the stores.
• If it isn't gone by 11:30am, pack it up and drop it off at Goodwill.  So price things to sell.
  
• Buyers can find Harry Potter books for $1 at yard sales.  Want $50 for the whole series?  You won't get it.  No, it doesn't matter that Amazon sells the hardcover boxed set for $120.  You will get $1 a piece.
• Don't sell high end things at yard sales (yesterday, I saw a jet ski at a yard sale for $7500).  You won't even get a "reasonable" price.  
• The golden ratio is 20:1.  If a yard saler pays $1, it's worth $20.  One person's trash is another person's treasure. 
• Sellers should have lots of change on hand - dollar bills, fives and quarters.  LOTS.
• You can find baby books, in great shape, at yard sales for $0.25 a piece.  In stores, a small stack of baby books would cost a fortune.  Get there early to find these treasures.
• CDs can go for $0.25 a piece.  Buyers can upload their favorite songs to their iPod, then resell the CD at their own yard sale for $0.25, rendering the uploaded songs free.

Should You Hold A Yard Sale?

• In yard sales, the dollar still has value.  Buyers are looking for a "find", a "treasure."  They're not looking for a deal versus retail.  That sort of shopping is done on eBay, so you might consider listing certain items there.  If you don't want to ship items, list them on CraigsList because the expectation there is that people will come and pick them up from your home.
• Yard sales are a great way to teach your children lessons about money, the value of a dollar, budget and frugality.  It's also a great opportunity for your youngster to operate a lemonade stand under your watchful eye.  The going rate for lemonade is $0.25 a cup (not dixie cups, not huge beer cups - the size just up from a dixie cup) - maybe $0.50/cup if your neighborhood is more affluent.  Another great item to sell is Donettes or bite-sized brownies for $0.25 a piece.  It is breakfast time, and people would probably love these.  If you have an older child manning the stand, he/she could also make change.  Younger kids might request exact change only, and buyers can get change from mom and dad.
  
• Goodwill Versus A Yard Sale: For clothes, you might sell a pair of pants for $0.50.  The tax deduction you might get through a contribution to Goodwill might be $0.50, and Goodwill might resell those pants to the public for a few dollars.  
• Consider joining forces with your neighbors to hold one large yard sale at one person's house.  You can separate the shopping areas so folks pay the proper sellers, but you might gather a larger crowd if you've got a few houses worth of items displayed.
  

When to Go

• Yard sales tend to be held 8am-noon on Saturdays.  Most of the good stuff, if priced correctly, will be gone by 11:30.  What's left at noon should be packed up and taken to Goodwill. Sunday yard sales don't do well.   
• Serious yard salers should show up early.  In LA, there are professional yard salers.  They show up at 7:30am, scour the landscape, pick up a few treasures and then might resell them at the Rose Bowl.  The Rose Bowl hosts a huge, wonderful flea market one Sunday each month. 
• It's ideal to arrive at yard sales at 8:30am or 9am. 
• Sometimes it's better to show up late because when people have never had a yard sale, their expectations are high and they won't bargain until they realize they're not getting people to buy things.  That usually happens later in the day.

Etiquette

• If someone wants $60 for something, don't say "will you take $10?"  It's insulting.  You don't want to break someone's spirit.  Maybe you could ask for 1/2 off, or a "2 for 1" deal.  If it's $10 and you say "will you take $5?", that's very different than saying "will you take $2?"  
• If you see something you like and want to discuss it with your shopping buddy, don't look directly at the item while you're talking.  It attracts the attention of other yard salers and they will descend like vultures.  
• Don't step on another yard saler's deal.  If an item is tagged at $10 and they're offering the seller $5, don't cut in and say "I'll pay $10!"  You will make a yard sale-ing enemy.
  

The Best Way to Display Items

• Put items on tables.  Resist putting things on the ground.  That's what you do with garbage.  It's a psychological thing.  If you put things on a table, people feel like they are shopping.  If things are on the ground, people feel like they are rummaging.  They might not be very careful with your things and they will not want to pay money for items they have to rummage through.
• If you're selling clothing, try to hang it up on racks.
  
• If you're visiting a yard sale and you see lots of things on the ground, you might find some bargains because people overlook things on the ground.

A Word of Caution

• The vast majority of humankind is honest and nice.  Just be alert.  You might encounter someone who is casing your house, looking to "shoplift" or wants to pull a scam.
• Don't hold your yard sale inside your house. 
  
• One scam I've heard of is someone approaching a seller when he/she is very busy and asking a price for something, then coming back and saying "do you have my change?  I gave you a $5."  You don't want to make a scene, so you give the change and the person walks off with the item AND the change.
• Don't accept checks, and don't accept any bills over $20.  Counterfeiters love yard sales. If someone approaches you with a larger bill, ask them to go to 7-11 for change.
  

The Many Uses for Corn Starch

I ran out of facial powder this morning.  I've used Prescriptives for years as it's one of the only ones that doesn't irritate my skin.  But there is just no way I am going to drive 30 minutes and navigate mall parking with a cranky toddler to buy some anytime soon, I'm not going to pay for shipping and I've wanted to try something more natural anyway.

So I grabbed the box of corn starch from my toddler's room (when he was a baby, I used to apply it to the deep chubby creases around his neck and under his arms to reduce irritation).  A little dab here and there and the shine was gone, which is really the only reason I use facial powder.

As I researched whether or not to do this, I came across Hodgson Mill's website.  It has a page chock full of tips on other uses for corn starch (recipes, too!), including, among many others:

• as an underarm deodorant - just wipe your underarm first with rubbing alcohol to kill bacteria, then apply corn starch
• to patch plaster walls
• to shine your car
• to clean your silver
• to make powdered sugar
• to make finger paint or "play clay"
  
• to remove grease stains
• as a facial cleanser
• to thicken gravy
• to make homemade baking powder
  
• to soothe sunburn
  

I'll still use foundation and under-eye concealer for dressy occasions (ok, well the concealer is mandatory until my toddler starts consistently sleeping through the night!), but I'll ditch the department store powder and head to the grocery store instead.

Bonus: a box of corn starch costs about a buck, which is a savings of about $30 versus what I used to pay - maybe more since the box is so big.

Score!

All Natural Solution to Hard Water Spots

I use white vinegar as a cleaning agent for just about everything in my house.  I've written about if a few times - you can read more here on how I use it.

This evening, I saw the "add rinse agent" indicator lit up on my dishwasher, which reminded me of yet another way to eliminate chemicals from your life and save a few dollars in the process.

Once you've finished off the last of your store-bought dishwasher rinse agent, just fill that rinse agent well with white vinegar.

Problem cleanly solved.  Oh, and your dishwasher will smell better, too.

A Little Boy and One Great Green Idea

Yesterday, as my five year old son and I walked past our Town Hall, he asked what was inside the building. I told him that it is where city officials work and the town council meets to discuss how to run the city. It is also where the Public Library is. I reminded him that he's been to story time there a few times.

He's told me a few times that he usually prefers to read fiction books only once ("they're not as exciting when you know what's going to happen") but he'll read "fact books" (science, human body, etc) many times because it helps him remember "things that are important". So I told him that we should stop buying fiction books and instead just borrow them from the public library. This would save us money and be better for the environment.

He enthusiastically proclaimed, "let's go to the library! I want a library card!" Though we needed to get home so I could start dinner, I agreed. We were right there, he was excited about it, and it was something that needed to happen eventually. So we ducked in.

The librarians were very sweet to him, gave him a library card and helped him find some "spooky books with skeletons, ghosts and vampires." Clearly, Halloween arrived too soon for my son. We also picked up a "Miss Nelson" DVD (which is sort of spooky too).

This morning, he took his library books and card to school for show and share. He is very proud. So am I!

The Public Library - One Great Green Idea.

A Great Article on Fake Plastic Fish about Baking Soda

Beth Terry of Fake Plastic Fish wrote a great article today about the many uses for baking soda.  I've written a few times about it (for example, here) and use baking soda every day.  But in Beth's article, she highlighted a few interesting and surprising uses for it - things I'd never considered before - particularly pertaining to personal care.  It's worth a read!

If You Don't Ask, You Will Never Know

Yesterday's post compared my life over the past week to the Bermuda Triangle.  Almost everyone in the house got sick and just about every crucial electronic we own malfunctioned, requiring expert attention.

Thankfully, things are on the path toward recovery - except the budget, which took a bit of a hit.  The family is feeling much better, the nail holes in the roof repaired, the car battery replaced, a new digital camera purchased, the MacBook "geniused", a free replacement cell phone ordered, and a new motor for my energy and water-efficient clothes washer purchased.  This last one taught me a very important lesson.  You never know what you can get unless you ask - nicely.

I called a repairman we'd previously used to repair the same washer while it was under warranty.  This time, I was told that the entire motor needed replacement.  The total cost of parts and service would be close to $400.  When I asked the likelihood of a motor wearing out within two years of purchase, he indicated it was fairly unusual.

I know that the manufacturer stands behind its products, so although the washer is two years old and it only carried a one year warranty, I called the parts line and asked what they might be able to do for me.  I was extremely nice about it, and so were they.  While I did not get the part for free, they did give me a good discount.  I should receive the part soon, at which point the repairman will return and install it.

Unnamed washer manufacturer: you rock.

The lesson here: if you don't ask, you will never know what you can get.  That is true in just about any situation in life.  And if you get nothing after asking, at least you stood up for yourself, tried and have nothing to regret.

25 Great Green Ideas

There are so many great things I'd love to do to make my home greener.  For a variety of reasons, I haven't done them all yet, but they remain on my list and I hope to get to them eventually.

Here are 25 Green Ideas you might also consider:

1. Composting - this is the next thing I'll do.  A composter tumbler is a must for easy composting.
   
2. Tubular skylights - I can think of at least 5 places I'd put one of these in my home.  Seriously awesome idea.
3. See if radiant barrier foil makes sense - we installed this in the Summer of 2008 and our house was noticeably more comfortable this past summer.  We also get an annual tax credit for the enhancement.
4. Solar landscape lighting - I bought a bunch of solar lights this past Spring for our front yard.  While they are not as powerful as corded lights, they enhance the evening appearance of our home and provide critical path lighting.
   
5. Explore solar roof panels.
6. Consider a wind turbine - we live in a very windy part of the country.  Right now, our city doesn't allow them, but I can hope!
7. Install a programmable thermostat - we've got one and it's really useful  Along those same lines, try to tolerate warmer in-home temps in the summer and colder temps in the winter.  This saves energy and might even be better for our health.
8. Collect rainwater from our roof in rain barrels and use it to water our lawn later.  This might be our second project, after the composter.
   
9. Bathe the kids together to save hot water.  I've got two small boys so it works for now. 
10. When doing dishes, scrape pans and scrub dishes with the water faucet turned off, rather than letting it run.
11. Grow organic fruits and vegetables in the backyard.  It saves money, provides fresher produce, and reduces environmental impact.
12. Install energy-efficient motion-sensor floodlights above your garage and in your backyard.  They use less power (you don't leave them on for any longer than you need them) and they might scare off intruders.
13. Use homemade non-toxic household cleaners.  I've been doing this for a while and love it.
14. As old light bulbs burn out, replace them with more energy efficient ones.
15. Get rid of plastic food storage containers in the kitchen.  Plastic leaches toxins into food.  Replace plastic with stainless steel or Pyrex.
16. Cook with cast iron, not non-stick pots and pans. 
    
17. Get rid of plastic in kids' meals.  Use stainless steel whenever possible.  Need ideas? Click here and here.
18. Maintain the lawn and garden organically to keep kids, pets, wildlife and beneficial insects safe.
    
19. Have a bug problem?  Deal with it organically.  Don't want to make your own solutions?  Here's an online guide to organic products you can buy.
    
20. Recycle when you can.  
21. Sell or give away things you don't want - post them on freecycle.org or craigslist, or give them to Goodwill.
22. Avoid some of those dry cleaning chemicals by learning how to wash dry-clean-only clothes.  Better yet, vow to buy fewer dry-clean-only clothes.
23. Drink tap water rather than bottled water, but make sure your tap water is healthy.  If it is not what you would like it to be or you worry about it, consider installing water filtration.
    
24. Use less paper.  Remove yourself from mailing lists - click here to do that.
25. Don't just clean the home - keep it tidy and organized.  This facilitates figuring out what can be discarded (see #21) and using possessions more efficiently (thereby avoiding unnecessary purchases).  Green living and good organization go hand-in-hand.

Hair Clippers - Maybe My Quickest Payback Ever

Wrangling two squirmy, impatient little boys into the children's hair salon (salon might be overstating it) once every few months isn't what I would call fun.  The wait is sometimes quite long, the toys in the waiting room are grimy and inevitably there is some kid with a hacking cough showering my kids with the virus du jour.

So about a year ago, I bought electric clippers and started giving my kids haircuts in the kitchen.  $30 for the clippers with all of the accessories, including a short instruction manual and a cape.  I just turn the TV on for distraction, plop them in a chair and trim away.  After one or two haircuts they got used to the sound and vibration of the clippers.  Cleanup is easy - just keep the vacuum handy.

My husband complains that I cut my kids' hair too short (I like it tidy), so I'm working on improving my repertoire to include something more fashionable.  YouTube has a lot of how-to videos for cutting hair at home.  I also recently took the kids back to the salon for haircuts and got a tutorial from an unsuspecting hair stylist. 

A lot of green ideas are beneficial on many levels - they might have less impact on the environment, use fewer resources, be less toxic, might save money.  And many of them are less convenient and take a bit of time.  Hair clippers are MORE convenient, take LESS time, don't require gas to get us to the hair salon and cost us less.

I can't think of many things I've bought that have delivered 100% payback within a day.  $30 for clippers versus $26 (plus tip) for two kids' haircuts at the salon means that the clippers just about paid for themselves after cutting both of my kids' hair myself just one time.  Not bad.

Oh, and one other tool I've found useful for dealing with very thick hair: thinning shears.

No More Toxic Cleaners

(originally published 6/29/09, updated 9/25/09)

I finally did it. I rid my home of toxic cleaners. I wish I'd done it a lot sooner.

I was worried about using harsh household cleaners around my small children. I also felt like the products were overkill. The fumes were ridiculous and if I didn't wear gloves, my hands were practically raw afterward!

When I was a child, we used products like Comet, Spic and Span and Joy. Not as harsh as some of today's products, but still not quite green. So I stepped back and looked one generation further. Folks used to clean their homes with much simpler ingredients: baking soda, white vinegar, essential oils. So I decided to use these to make my own household cleaners.

The old fashioned ingredients work well (even in my oven!), leave my house and car clean and fresh, aren't toxic, are easy to make and cost next to nothing.

I bought a bunch of empty spray bottles at Lowes, 3 huge "bulk" jugs of white vinegar, a few "bulk" bottles of hydrogen peroxide and a "bulk" bag of baking soda at Costco, and a small bottle of tea tree oil and a bottle of all-natural liquid dish soap and some lemon essential oil at my grocery store.

Here's what I use now...

1. Glass/window cleaner: 20 oz water, 8 oz white vinegar, 20 drops lemon oil. I have found that newspaper cleans glass really well - better than paper towels or cloth.

2. All-purpose cleaner (not for marble, but I use it on granite, my wood kitchen table and my stainless steel appliances with equally good results): 10 oz water, 10 oz white vinegar, 7 drops tea tree oil, 4 drops lemon oil. Shake it, spray it on, then wipe it off.

3. Tile floor cleaner: half warm water, half white vinegar. I clean with the 50/50 mixture, then wipe with plain warm water.

4. Hard wood floor cleaner: a bucket of warm water with three drops of lemon oil and three drops of uncomplicated liquid dish soap. I clean with the mixture, then wipe with plain warm water.

5. Marble cleaner - most folks recommend only wiping with water, but I like to clean things. So I fill a spray bottle with warm water and add a few drops of uncomplicated liquid dish soap. Shake, then spray it on. Marble stains easily so I work quickly, rinse the solution off with a very wet cloth and towel dry to avoid hard water marks.

6. When I need more muscle, I have a spray bottle filled simply with white vinegar. I spray it on and let it sit for a few minutes, then wipe. It will clean the inside of the microwave, oven and refrigerator without a ton of scrubbing. In the shower or commode, I spray vinegar or hydrogen peroxide, then apply baking soda if I need to scrub. Let it sit a few minutes, then rub a bit and rinse with water.

7. Hydrogen peroxide is also good when you need deeper cleaning in the kitchen or bathroom - I keep this in a handy spray bottle, too. To properly disinfect, you need to let it sit for a few minutes while it fizzes, then wipe it off.

8. Wood polish: 1 cup of olive oil plus 1/2 cup of lemon juice - I make it fresh each time -rub it in with one cloth, then buff it off with a fresh one.

As a result of this, I no longer use a ton of disposable disinfectant wipes and disposable floor wipes, so I went to Costco and spent a few bucks on a dozen white bar towels, picked up a mop with machine-washable terry cloth covers at my grocery store, and a two-compartment rolling mop bucket at Lowes. Now I not only save money on my cleaning supplies and feel better about the chemical situation in my home, but I also no longer generate as much waste because it is all machine washable.

Win win win!

Time will tell how well these mixtures work for me, but so far so good. I’ll keep you posted.

Update 9/25/09:
Tired of lugging around buckets of clean and vinegar water, I bought a Shark Steam Pocket Mop.  It cleans and kills germs using only hot steam.  I sweep or vacuum first to remove debris, then use the steam mop to remove stuck-on dirt and spots and disinfect.  I bought a few extra pockets and just toss them in the washing machine when I'm done.  I use it on my tile and hardwood floors.  LOVE it.

Freeze That Bread!

I've blogged before about the beauty of a freezer.  But this morning I was reminded how great it is to freeze bread.  I used to throw away so much stale, moldy bread, but I haven't done that in ages.  We use every slice.  Now THAT is a green idea.

Do You Live Without A/C?

The New York Times (Home section) had an interesting article today titled "The Unchilled Life." It got me thinking.

I'm pretty sure that I would not go without air conditioning where I live since summer temperatures frequently reach into the 100s - I wouldn't want to put my children through that. But the article really made me think about raising the temperature on our thermostat above what I'd previously considered "comfortable." Might it actually be better for my family's electric bill and health?

As I drive around my town, I frequently see landscape crews working in the intense heat of the summer - wearing long sleeves and hats, no less. Obviously, the body must adjust somewhat to extreme temperatures or these guys would pass out from that heat.

Do you live without A/C? If so, what was that adjustment like? If not, at what temperature do you typically have the thermostat set?

10 Ways We've Gone Green This Year

This has been a year of change for us and we've really just begun. I've got a lot of other projects under way to make our lives greener and more efficient, and I'll blog about those as we tackle them.

Here are ten ways we've become more environmentally conscious so far:

1. As our light bulbs burn out, we've started replacing them with more energy efficient ones. They last longer and use less energy.

2. I now clean our home with homemade cleaning supplies and machine-washable cloth towels, not paper towels.

3. I buy green versions of the household products that I don't make myself (such as garbage bags, bathroom tissue, facial tissues, paper napkins, paper towels, laundry detergent, dish soap, dishwasher detergent). The labels don't just feature nebulous words such as "green", "non-toxic", or "environmentally-friendly". Rather, the words I look for are "recycled" (at least 30%), organic, biodegradable, or sustainable.

4. I give things away rather than throwing them away. I could go on and on about this. We all sometimes itch to push the ejector button on certain things in our homes - maybe old plastic tubs, clothes, shoes, that old wagon-wheel table, or old baby toys. Before you haul it out to the curb, ask around to see if someone wants it, post it on freecycle.org or craigslist, give it to Goodwill. Your castoffs could be treasures for someone else! Seriously. You will be surprised.

5. No more bottled water. As I previously blogged, we had our tap water tested, confirmed it's safe to drink (as best as we can) and stopped buying bottled water.

6. I am more careful about planning our meals and food purchases to minimize tossing out spoiled food.

7. I use reusable shopping bags whenever I remember to bring them. When I don't bring them, I opt for plastic bags and use them to dispose of dirty diapers later.

8. My older child is now old enough to understand conservation, so I've started reinforcing this with the kids. We turn off lights when we leave a room, don't run the tap while we're busy brushing our teeth, eat what is on our plates. This last point is an important one. I've started explaining about those in the world who often go to bed with empty stomachs. It is disrespectful to these people to waste the food we are so fortunate to have.

9. We are more careful about recycling - particularly our curbside recycling, which represents the majority of our recycling opportunity. But we are also now more careful about finding ways to recycle items that should not or cannot be picked up curbside.

10. We've lined our attic with radiant barrier foil to save on our electric bill. I will write more about this later. I'll just say that we did it last summer and are now reaping the benefits.

Must go now. The older child has just convinced the toddler that he is missing a toe. I hear some shrieking.