itching (oh, and look, it's Tree Huggin' Tuesday - been too long, eh?)

I've been feeling the craft itch, so I've been scratching it. And having so much fun doing so. And learning that my sewing skills might be pretty okay. Check out my latest fun - it's so super green, and so super cute, and so super easy! Reusable sandwich bags. I think I mentioned them earlier, but I know I didn't have a picture to share. Velcro, vinyl (or mylar - you can totally use a potato chip bag or some other silver-lined food bag - I had no idea until after I'd made these - talk about green!), scrap fabric, thread, sewing machine, basic knowledge of how to operate the machine. Oh, and scissors. Easy, peasy!

I'd say that Aubrey'll be the only kid in her school with reusable bags, but my friend Judy's daughter goes to the same school, and Judy's the Bubba to my Gump (or the peanut butter to my jelly, or the TweedleDee to my TweedleDum, or or or I think you get the idea), so Aubrey and Jacki will be the only two kids with reusable bags. Until their teachers and friends see how cool they are. Trendsetters, that's what we'll be calling Aubrey and Jacki. :-)

Happy Earth Day!

One of the cool things about living where we do, is we are nestled between two major cities that each have their own PBS affiliates, so we have lots of opportunities to see all the neat shows they do. One of the sucky things about living where we live is sometimes we have to choose which PBS show we’d rather watch. Tonight I face that dilemma. All the channels are featuring Earth Day relevant shows. Anyway, I've been thinking...

I love Earth Day - I love that we have a day to focus on the Earth and what we can be doing to make it a better place. I always try to think of something cute for my girls to do for their classmates - we're giving them each a packet of seeds. Plus, lots of my favorite eco shops have Earth Day discounts - love when you can combine greenin' it up with saving some dough! ;-)

Anyway, while I love Earth Day, I'm also saddened at realizing that we need to have Earth Day at all. Shouldn't it be a priority of everyone everywhere to take care of this place we call home. This only place we can call home? Why do we have to mark it on the calender to take care of our home?

I know in my life there are so many things I could do to be greener. At the same time, I know we do an awful lot - more than most people I know personally. I don't say that with judgment or a feeling of superiority. But, in knowing that we do so much, I'm able to talk myself out of feeling guilty when I use the occasional ziploc bag or throw out a package from a food product I know I could've made myself but didn't take the time to do. That's a bad habit, talking myself out of feeling guilty - I'm still being wasteful, and in the end, I'm still contributing to the problem instead of the solution.

I guess Earth Day is relevant because we still need it to be relevant. Until every single one of us is committed to solving the problem and focused on no longer contributing to the problem, we need Earth Day to remind us to take care of our home. And, unfortunately, there are lots of us that still need to figure out that taking care of our Earth is not some hippie-dippie trend for those just trying to be cool - it's a responsibility we each have.

No matter what's going on in your life, chances are you can do more. Please think long and hard about what more you can be doing, and let's work together to make Earth Day irrelevant.

Some things I will be trying:
- switch completely to cloth wipes - no toilet paper at all at home (except a roll tucked away for guests)
- hang my clothes out to dry every load (when the weather doesn't allow for hanging outside, use my indoor drying rack)
- bake 1 loaf of bread a week (with a goal of soon baking all our bread - with the help of my bread machine)
- unplug more unused appliances - this will involve some rearranging and investing in power strips to make it possible - I will not move the 6' buffet every time I need to plug in or unplug the tv!
- be organized enough to go to rummage sales
- eliminate ziploc baggies

Some things I will be continuing:
- cloth menstrual pads
- stainless steel water bottles for the family
- bringing our own bags shopping (and work harder at remembering the cloth produce bags we have!)
- recycling (though reducing our use of recyclable materials is the greenest option)
- baking soda and vinegar to wash hair
- combining errands so trips to town are minimal
- buying local eggs and produce, as well as growing my own veggie garden (this is seasonal at this time in my life)
- check Goodwill for what we need before going to Kohl's or Target
- no paper towels - use kitchen towels instead
- composting kitchen scraps and yard waste

What are you doing or willing to try?

(image courtesy Sacramento365)

Happy New Year!

Loads of thoughts are rambling through my head.

First, as I was writing about the childrens book we are currently loving, I thought to myself, wouldn't it be great for my kids to have some penpals?

Nothing fancy (or elaborate or spendy), but my girls would love to get a postcard, letter, anything, from anyone. So, anyone interested in a penpal opportunity? I envision sending postcards from Wisconsin with little bits of info about Wisconsin and our lives, a drawing and some fun stickers we found, stuff like that.

I can't devot loads of time to this project, my initial goal would be to send one mailing a month (one mailing per penpal) in hopes of receiving one mailing back from each penpal. Let me know if this interests you, and we'll work it out.

Second, I want to do a little earthy giveaway, based on green things we do, so get your thinking cap on and start thinking about all the little things you do to help mama earth. I know one of the items will be a string bag - I love them, but got 5 in the set, and never use that many. Hey, I am a proud re-gifter. It's all about being green, you know. I'm trying to think of another one or few items I could include. Anyway, start thinking (if you might want to enter, that is!) and I'll try to get my booty in gear.

Third, any new years resolutions or goals for you? I've been exploring my personal faith and relationship with God, and know that this bit of exploration I am on needs to intensify into the new year, but I'm not willing to elaborate too much on that right now. Any plans to lose weight are, of course, tabled. After the holidays I crave healthy food, so I am hoping to milk that for all it's worth well into 2009. Family goals of eliminating some of our debt (well, all of it, but we're being realistic here). And I want to strive to be less lazy about cleaning up the house.

That's all for now, I am exhausted and want to read a bit before I fall asleep. I hope you had a great New Year's Eve and that the new year is one of your best!

Small steps, indeed

In my online adventures, I always stumble upon neat things, and sometimes I like what I see so much I kinda want to share it. So when I stumbled upon this post I was inspired to elaborate on one of the small steps (that the post mentioned) that I've been taking for some time. This small step helps save some money and also helps me to leave a smaller footprint here on earth.

Some people know I don't use shampoo or conditioner in my hair already, but if you didn't know, there you have it. Conventional shampoo strips your hair of it's natural oils and conditioner then adds in artificial ones. I don't like much that's artificial so I wash my hair with baking soda and rinse it with apple cider vinegar. I urge you to try it, and if you are so inclined, know that there's an adjustment period where your hair may feel kinda funky, but when that period is over, your hair will likely be silky soft and dreamy. So soft that you'll catch yourself absentmindedly running your fingers through your hair throughout your day, loving how the softness feels between your fingers.

Here's how to do it, and what to expect.

1. Get your hair wet.

2. Obtain a scoop of baking soda (this is not very scientific, and varies based on your hair thickness, length and what feels right to you - I use maybe 3 tablespoons???) and spread it over your scalp. Keep it out of your eyes, please. It's pretty messy, just do the best you can. (Don't worry too much about the ends of your hair - as you rinse, they'll get plenty clean. Unless you are 2 years old and have a nice blob of maple syrup caked in there - in which case, some extra baking soda attention is required.)

3. Rinse the baking soda out.

4. Fill a cup (again, not scientific) with mostly water, top it off with apple cider vinegar (I've heard that regular vinegar is too harsh for your hair). My measurements work out to approximately 1 1/2 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of vinegar.

5. Pour water/vinegar over your scalp.

6. Rinse until you no longer smell vinegar.

If you want to add a pretty smell, after the vinegar rinse, put a few drops of essential oil into another cup full of water, and pour on your scalp.

There is something quite satisfying about the lather you can work up with shampoo, and you don't get that with baking soda. Also, for a few moments your hair does smell like easter, as opposed to strawberry shortcake or ocean breeze. But oh, the dreaminess afterward. Occassionally I'll miss the lather so much that I'll sneak a bit of Andy's Suave. My satisfaction is fleeting, however, as my hair doesn't feel nearly as good and I think of all the unpronounceable chemicals that I just put onto (and therefore into) my body and our water system.

So there you have it, one small step. Give it a thought, and let me know if you try it. Or if you have any questions.