My Earth Day Accomplishments and Goals

Happy Earth Day!

I really don’t have anything revolutionary to say on this important day, so I thought I’d make a list of accomplishments and a list of goals instead. Maybe you’ll get some new ideas or be inspired to share some of own with me!

Things our family already does for a cleaner earth:

• Live Close to Work/Amenities. Someday, I’ll share the story about how we started building a house in the exurbs, experienced family identity crisis, and then backed out and moved to the city. But I really don’t have time for that today. Let’s just say it was the best decision we ever made! Instead experiencing an hour-plus-long commute, hubby now bikes to and from work when the weather permits. We live on the bus line and close to food co-ops, farmers markets, parks and bike trails. The only drawback is that we’re becoming somewhat inexperienced at freeway driving!
• Drive only one car. This, of course, would have been impossible if we hadn’t moved to the city. Kyle bikes/buses to work, while I drive kiddo to a nearby preschool before going to work myself. It’s been working for us for more than two years! And our gas fill-ups are few and far between.
• Support Local Farms. We’re regular co-op shoppers and consistently choose local meats, milk and cheeses. Local veggies and fruits are less available in the cold months, but summer brings a decent variety. And this summer, we’ve signed up for a community supported agriculture share. Each week beginning in June, we’ll receive a box of fresh vegetables (and sometimes fruit) grown by a local farmer.
• Avoid Using Air Conditioning. Old houses are drafty, have lots of windows and are typically surrounded by big old trees. This combination works quite well in the summer. Although we have central air, we almost never use it.

Things I plan to start doing:

• Composting. My friend Molly at The Snyder 5 recently started composting on a small scale. Seems to be just our speed!
• Line Drying Some Laundry. Although I don’t think I’ll be hanging up my intimates for the neighborhood to see, we could definitely line dry our sheets, towels and T-shirts. We have posts up in the back yard. We just need to string the line and get some good clothes pins.
• Avoiding Excess Packaging. We’re already fairly good at this, but I tend to use too many paper bowls, plastic cups, disposable forks and spoons, and napkins at work. I’ve also been eating out far too often lately, which always means more garbage. I’m planning to gather a small collection of silverware, and containers that I can keep at my desk. I’ll also bring my lunch more often (in a reusable bag and with reusable containers, of course). I’ll have lots o’ veggies to eat, after all!

Any other ideas? We have a tiny yard, so I’m thinking a rain barrel might offer a good way to water our plants and grass form time to time. I’ll have to do some research!

Farmers Markets Stress Me Out

As a self-proclaimed “natural foodie,” I should love farmers markets. And for the first 15 minutes upon arrival, I really do like them. Latte-fueled and brimming with anticipation, I arrive eager to fill my reusable tote with area’s best produce.

But by the time I pass by the sixth stall selling rainbow chard, I start to feel lost.

“Hmmm…,” I wonder. “Should I buy from the guy in the red hat or the lady with the long braid? What about that father and son duo? They seem nice. Ooooh, samples! Wait, did that customer seriously just try to haggle? Am I supposed to be doing that? I’m Scandinavian, for goodness sake! I’m not built for haggling. Hey, I haven’t been down that aisle yet! Oh, yep, more vegetables. No surprises there, huh? Will I look silly if I go back to buy something from the lady with the braid now? I mean, I walked by her stall like four times, looking lost. Wait, where was she even located again? Oh, forget it. Look! Another aisle!”

This year, I’m eliminating the choices and stress by purchasing a community supported agriculture share. Each week, we’ll receive a box full of veggies (and sometimes fruit) grown by a local farmer.

And the best part is that the farm we chose specializes in “normal veggies.” From the farm’s Web site (they also have a cool blog):

"As much as we like the ‘exotic’ vegetables like kohlrabi, pak choi, and arugula, we will not be growing them for the CSA. Instead we focus on heavy amounts of the staples you know and love. You can look forward to broccoli, kale, lettuce, carrots, and peas in the Spring. Summertime brings tomatoes, sweet corn, green beans, melons, and more. Onions, potatoes, squash, carrots, cabbage, and other favorites come in the Fall."

I’m excited! And if we get overwhelmed by our weekly box of veggies, I have plenty of neighbors who I’m sure would take some off our hands.

Happy spring!

"Reuse Is Better Than Recycle"

My son has a frustrating habit of stealing things out of our recycling bin. He uses the items to make art projects, "machines" and — most recently — musical instruments.

He might make a mess, but I love his creativity! And I suppose he's right. Reusing is better than recycling.

HDTVs Are Expensive. Are They Worth It?

I'm still in shock after TV shopping this past weekend. Who knew that HDTVs were so expensive? (I realize that the correct answer here is everyone. Cut me some slack, OK?)

I expected a new TV to be moderately expensive. Kyle found some nice Samsungs on Amazon priced in the $600 – $900 range. Although I can't say I love those prices, they certainly don't surprise me.

But that was just the beginning.

On Sunday, we visited an electronics store to see the TVs in person. That's where we learned about a vast array of upcharges that are required to properly install and enjoy your new TV.

You need to buy special cords and a surge protector, of course. If you're hanging your TV on the wall, a mounting bracket is required. Oh, and you should really consider hiring a professional installer to hide the special cords behind your wall. If you're not hanging your new TV on the wall, you need to buy an HDTV stand — most of which look like bizarre, futuristic technology shrines.

Then there's the calibration fee.

Call me crazy (or maybe just out of touch), but I figured that an $800 HDTV would arrive ready to watch. Oh no! Apparently, the manufacturers don't calibrate the colors because — according to our sales guy — "they want to save on production time to bring down costs for the consumer."

Um...yeah. I'm sure that's it. Because a manufacturer doesn't pay a third-world factory worker to properly configure the TV, an electronics store can pass on the saving to me...in the form of a $200 calibration charge.

Gee, thanks.

And don't even get me started on planned obsolescence. I asked the guy how long we should expect to own our new HDTV. He said they're built to last for "decades." (I couldn't help but imagine our grandchildren gathered around our ugly TV shrine in 2040.) Then I asked how long his many HDTVs had lasted him. The answer: an average of 3 years (with some duds burning out almost immediately). Naturally, he used this opportunity to tell us about the extended warranty program. Nice.

So now we're at a crossroads. Do we really want to spend more than $1,000 on a TV? Seriously, a TV? Even if we can afford it, is that where we want to "invest" right now? (I'm asking you!)

After all, a lot of people are giving away decent old TVs on craigslist right now. We have a converter box.

Hmmm...

Can Your Kitchen Make You Fat?

I just read an interesting little article about the connection between your kitchen and your weight. The conclusion: modern-day kitchens are making us fat.

I say "modern-day" kitchens, because most of the problematic features listed are relative newbies in American homes. They include:

• Platter-sized plates and wide glasses
• Super-bright lighting (recessed lighting, under-cabinet lighting, etc.)
• Expansive, clutter-collecting surfaces
• Spacious pantries
• Food as decor (clear jars, etc., to store and display food)
• Centralized, open designs (i.e., your kitchen is the hub of your home)

As a city-dweller, I live in a older home whose kitchen has none of these features (much to our dismay, at times). We have no room for a kitchen table. Our pantry is tiny. Our counter space is minimal. Basically, our 1936 kitchen is designed to do one thing: serve as a space for storing and preparing food. For it serve this purpose well, our kitchen must contain only the most essential foods, tools and equipment.

Hmmm. Could our tiny, featureless kitchen help us stay thin?

Probably not.

Still, it's an interesting connection to consider. As families have shrunk significantly in recent generations (numbers-wise, if not weight-wise), our kitchens have grown magnificently. Why?

What is it that we're stuffing into our huge, French-door refrigerators and walk-in pantries?

After all, fruits, vegetables and meats spoil within just a few days...

Why I don’t Use Coupons (Am I Missing Something?)

It’s Sunday. Coupon day.

Despite many (admittedly feeble) attempts to “score big” using coupons, I must confess that I simply don’t get it. It’s not that I lack resources, of course. The blogosphere is filled with moms who would be delighted to show me the way.

Still, I can’t shake the feeling that using coupons simply isn’t worth the time and effort involved — at least not for me. I just don’t think I have the personality for it.

That’s not to say I’m a spendthrift. On the contrary, our family can be quite miserly. We have one reliable car, we don’t have cable, we have a super-cheap cell phone plan, I probably own (I am not joking, ladies) maybe four or five pairs of dress shoes, and we still use the same television that my hubby bought more than 10 years ago.

The only area where I’m guessing we spend a LOT more than the average family is on food. We like to eat at nice restaurants, and our grocery budget is rather large for a family of three.

But I don’t think that coupons would improve our lives for three reasons:

1. I buy minimally processed foods whenever possible. Our usual grocery haul includes fresh produce, meat, bulk grains/dried fruits, milk, yogurt, cheese, butter, eggs and bread. From time to time, we’ll also stock up on olive oil, spices, jarred tomatoes and other basic pantry items. What I find is that coupons rarely apply to these staples. So unless you buy commercially prepared processed foods, do coupons really pay off?
   
   
2. I hate shopping. Well, I don’t mind grocery shopping a couple of times a week, but I certainly wouldn’t want to spend a great deal of energy doing it. Making a list and going to one store (sometimes two) is really about all I can handle. So you can imagine that comparing circulars, assembling binders and darting all across the city might be a bit much for me. So for people who don’t love playing "the game," are coupons worth the time and energy involved?
   
   
3. I don’t have the room (or desire) to stockpile. Couponing seems to be predicated on the idea that you seize opportunities when they arise — even if you don’t need an item at that moment. This might mean that you buy 10 boxes of crackers because they’re almost free (or because you earn points/store credit for future purchases of things that you do need). My tiny pantry simply can’t handle that degree of stockpiling. And my brain can’t cope with that many “what if” scenarios. So if you only want to buy what you actually need on a weekly/biweekly basis, does couponing even work?

Am I missing something? Sure, I’m fascinated by moms who claim to feed their large families on $10 a week (or some other amazingly small amount). But for people seeking simplicity and minimalism in their lives, is couponing a boon or bane?

That's Better

Urbanites and suburbanites have entirely different expectations about their homes (and lawns). After all, if you live in the city — where most homes were built in the early 1900s — "keeping up with the Joneses" has to look a bit different.

Suburban Neighbor to Mr. Jones: "Hey, how’s that home theater project coming along? Man, it’ll be nice to watch the games down there! Ya think there’ll be room around that fancy new wet bar for me and guys? Sure hope so!"

Urban Neighbor to Mr. Jones: "Hey, how’s that foam insulation project coming along? Man, it’ll be nice not to have ice forming in that south-facing bedroom this winter! Ya think that’ll solve your mold problem? Sure hope so!"

Luckily, we haven’t had any major issues with our house....yet (knock on wood). We have completed a few projects to make it more livable, though. For example, our kitchen cabinets are original to the house. The layout is a little odd, but the cabinets are large and made of solid birch. We talked about replacing them, but I choked at the thought of destroying something so central to our home's history.

So for now, we’re working around them. In October, we repaired some of the kitchen walls, put up a fresh coat of paint, installed a pegboard pot rack, and bought a small kitchen cart. Little things, to be sure, but they’ve made a big difference.

East Wall Before:

East Wall After:


We also bought a new stove and are having a chimney-style vent hood installed. But I won’t show you those “before” pics until we can take the “afters.”

I’m quite happy with the little changes we’ve made. Does my kitchen ever seem small? Sure. But I remind myself that families much larger than ours survived in this house just fine. In fact, families all around our neighborhood are surviving in kitchens like ours right now.

It’s all a matter of perspective.

Happy Birthday, Toilet!

Kyle just removed the main-floor toilet from our historic 1936 home. We were surprised to discover that the inscription on the lid reads:

Sept. 16, 1936
Made in the USA

Cool, huh? Our toilet is 72 years old TODAY!

We plan to replace the flooring in the tiny bathroom and reinstall the toilet with a new seat and wax ring (it was leaking). We had been considering buying a new toilet, but today's discovery felt like a sign. The toilet is in good shape, really. And I have to admit, the newer low-flow models can be rather annoying despite their "green cred."

I'll have to post a pictorial tour of our house sometime soon. Believe it or not, we live in the former parsonage of the Lutheran church just around the corner. We've been repainting and decorating, but it's amazing how long it takes us to finish projects. In fact, we've been living without a door on our second-floor bathroom for... I can't even admit how long. But don't worry, the door is painted and ready for hanging. I'm not sure that I'll know what to do with my newfound privacy!

-Angie
(Who is glad that Rowan's birthday is approaching, forcing us to finish various projects before his party.)

Pedal, Baby, Pedal!

With chants of "Drill, baby, drill!" filling the Xcel Energy Center, I think it's fitting to announce that we're now a one-car family!

But before you go thinking that we're green, I'll admit that the decision wasn’t ours. My silver Ford Escort with the orange hubcap — the car I bought when I turned 17 — won’t start. After serving me well for nearly 12 years, it now sits in our garage among the other junk and unfinished projects.

We don’t really know what’s wrong with the car, so there’s a chance that we (“we” meaning someone else who knows something about cars) can fix it. But I won't be holding my breath.

Surprisingly enough, we haven’t missed the second car. In fact, we rarely used it when it did work. Our house is perfectly situated for commuting to either downtown by bus or bike.

Kyle totes his bike to work on the bus and then pedals home. He'd bike both ways, but his employer doesn't have on-site showers. Maybe biking to work will be more practical now that the weather is cooler.

A side benefit: Kyle comes home in such a good mood when he's biking! The sunshine, fresh air and exercise must be a welcome change from fluorescent-lit cubicle land. And our pocket books are happy, too. We don't even fill our gas tank once a week.

At least we can feel good knowing that we've further reduced our family's dependence on big oil.

Every bit counts! (Something to keep me sane this election season.)

-Angie

*Shall I continue with the disclaimers? I think not. I don't plan to make this a political blog, anyway. I'm not enough of an expert (AT ALL) for that. I just need to get my feelings off my chest sometimes! And I think that it will be fun for Rowan to know how his mama felt during this history-making election.