Frugal Accomplishments

This past week has been out of the ordinary, but not necessarily for this time of year.  We've received about 12 inches of snow over the past several days, which meant that school was cancelled every day but Tuesday (and Monday was a holiday).  In light of the weather, we hunkered down and ventured out very little.  This saved us tremendously over the week.  Here's how:

• I carpooled to work on Tuesday.  Every other day, my principal was flexible enough to allow me to work from home, which was a great blessing both financially (by not having to use the gas) and to our family time (I could work while little man slept or was otherwise occupied).
• Tutored on Tuesday, and was paid for that.
• Little man did have preschool on Thursday morning, so Benny took him and picked him up.  He did our small bit of grocery shopping ($15 in milk, almost free yogurt, 28 oz tomato products on sale for $1/can, and a few staples), got the car inspected, and filled it up with gas while little man was at preschool.  This saved on gas and time.
• Otherwise, we have not left the house since Thursday.  This has saved on gas, and thankfully, Benny was able to get his hours in at work on Monday and Tuesday before the weather got bad.
• We were able to meet for little man's IEP this past week via phone, which saved on gas.  This also means that we'll now be receiving his speech services for free through the school system and no longer paying for them out of pocket (our health plan does not cover any speech services).  This will save us a few hundred dollars a month.
• We did "splurge" and have the gas refilled for the gas logs.  This cost about $160.  While this is not our primary heat source, and we rarely lose power, it is nice to have them and to know that we could use them as an emergency heat source if necessary.
• All meals were prepared at home.  This included:  vegetable beef soup and corn bread, baked potatoes with lentil sloppy joes, foccacia (x2), baked oatmeal, salmon and roasted veggies, and pizza.  We also plan to make stock in the crockpot today, using leftover turkey parts from Thanksgiving.
• Met one of my new year's goals by trying out this recipe for pumpkin spiced baked oatmeal.  We did jazz it up with the addition of raisins and pecans, and found that it was better leftover than the first day.  It would be good with pumpkin seeds and other dried fruit too.  We used pureed winter squash from the freezer instead of canned pumpkin.
• Worked to assess the pantry/freezer stash, and have found a few more items to use up (such as some of the barley that went into the vegetable soup).
• Accepted a few gifted items that were going to go bad at the food pantry, including:  two turnips, four carrots, one peach, and a mango (which ended up getting composted because it was too ripe).
• All compostable items were composted, including salmon skins.
• When the oven was done being used, we tried to leave it open to benefit from the residual heat.
• All laundry was hung to dry, and only full loads were washed.  (This also helps with the humidity in the house, since the air is so dry this time of year.)
• Potty training continues to go well, so our loads of laundry continue to decrease.  
• Entertainment took the form of shoveling snow (a great workout), filling bird feeders, and watching a few shows for free via Netflix.  Little man and I also made some paper collages using paper destined for the recycle bin, which he's had great fun practicing his scissor skills with.
• Made thank you notes in preparation for meals, gifts, etc. when baby #2 arrives.
• Graciously accepted hand-me-downs for baby #2, including an infant car seat and base.  We were also able to secure a second seat and base for our other car.
• Organized baby clothes, so that we know what we have and if we have any gaps (it doesn't appear that we do).
• Made a small dent in organizing the garage space.  It is going to get worse before it is better, but Benny is using up some scrap drywall to hang in the unfinished space.  This will insulate it a bit more, and will clear out some more space.  We stored a few more items up on the high shelves, since they are rarely needed (camping water jugs, etc.)
• Cleaned the rental room upstairs thoroughly.  Have now posted it to Craigslist and the university housing site, with the hopes of renting it soon.
• Repaired the stain on a chair upstairs.  Plan to put a coat of paint on an existing shelf today.
• Invited our new downstairs tenant up for dinner, which was fun.  She seems to be settling in, and aside from the big snow, is enjoying being here.  She is quiet and is keeping the space nicely, so we hope she'll stick around for a while.  Her lease is a year long.
• Researched natural alternatives to commercial lotions.  They have bothered my skin in the winter for years, and now, I think I've found a few easy recipes using ingredients we already have around.

What did you do to live and save green this week?  I'd love to hear from you, so leave some notes in the comments!

Going Paperless (or Reusable) as Much as Possible

We've made the effort to go paperless as much as possible in our household.  Not only does this mean we're using fewer resources, and therefore being more environmentally friendly, but we're saving in our budget too.  Here are a few places we've started:

1.  Paper towel-less.  We try really hard not to use paper towels to clean up messes, cover food in the microwave, etc.  We use rags for messes, and have a microwave cover for the microwave (you could also use a plate you turned upside down too).  I've been known to use brown grocery bags cut down to cook bacon in the microwave, or to drain meat instead of paper towels.  (We then compost these; we've never had any trouble with the minimal amount of grease affecting our compost or drawing unwanted pests.)

2.  Tissue-less.  We use handkerchiefs instead of tissues in our house, and have for a long time.  We use them for a few days at a time and then wash them in warm water with towels or sheets, so we don't have any bacteria issues to worry about.  If we're sick, we sometimes do use tissues because they're easier on the nose, but we generally compost them too (as long as your compost gets hot enough for long enough, bacteria shouldn't be a problem).

3.  No disposable dishes.  There are a few times a year we break this policy (for parties mostly), but even then, we try to choose items that can be composted or washed and reused.  We always use dishes that can go in the dishwasher, so clean up is a breeze for weeknight dinners.

4.  No paper napkins.  Cloth napkins have been the standard in our house since we got married.  They're nicer for guests, and easy to wash with the weekly load of towels or sheets.  We try to use patterns that hide stains, such as plaid or darker colors, so we don't have to use a lot of stain remover.

5.  Cloth diapers, not disposable.  For the first year of little man's life, we had him in cloth diapers exclusively.  Now we use one disposable at night, because he sleeps through the night that way.  We also use disposable for travel, but we plan to potty train next month over spring break, so hopefully we'll be done with diapers all together soon.

6.  Cloth wipes (or "family cloth").  We use cloth wipes for our little one, and also use them some for ourselves to cut down on our toilet paper usage.  This actually ends up being really good for those of us with sensitive skin, because it means that we're not exposing our skin to all the bleach and other chemicals that are used in commercial toilet paper.  We just wash the wipes with the cloth diapers, so it's pretty easy.  The wipes that we use are just cut from a few old t-shirts, so there's next to no work involved.  For some people, this would be over the line, but for us, it works.  We still have TP around for times when we need it and for guests.

7.  Less packaging.  Buying in bulk saves a ton of paper and plastic packaging.  Buying used saves packaging all together (think Craigslist, thrift shops,etc.).  What packaging we do get, we try to deal with responsibly (recycle, reuse cereal-type boxes for projects, composting unwaxed cardboard, etc.).  By using whole foods (whole produce, baking from scratch,etc.) and cooking from scratch, we save a ton of packaging.

8.  Reuse containers.  We wash and reuse plastic ziplock bags that didn't contain meat.  Saving produce bags and bread bags from our CSA subscription gives us enough bags to handle our homemade bread for a year, usually.  Repurposing plastic containers (sour cream containers, large yogurt containers, etc.) gives us a ton of storage containers for small toy items, craft supplies, etc.  We can also use these for starting seeds early for the garden.  This is a huge help with our herbs and lettuces.  You can also do some cute kids crafts with paper milk cartons.  Some of these containers make fun bath toys too.

9.  Use both sides.  When cleaning, I use both sides of a rag.  When we print something, we try to use both sides, or at least use the back for a to do list or something else.  When I use cotton balls or pads to clean my face, remove makeup, etc., I use both sides.

10.  Reduce magazine subscriptions and bill mailings.  We're trying out an online subscription to a magazine this year and so far it's working out.  By paying most of our bills online, we save on paper and on stamps.  The company saves on resources too, which hopefully would trickle down to us.  Our church recently went to online giving, so this has saved us paper in the form of checks each month too.

These things have become so much a part of our lives that we rarely consider that they might not be the cultural norm.  It's only when we go to someone else's house and see something like *shock* paper towels or the lack of a compost container that we realize how much we have reduced the amount of disposable resources in our lives.  (It also registers when we consider that we only have to take one kitchen trash bag out about every two weeks, and that's with someone who rents our upstairs space contributing.)

What have you done to reduce your resource consumption?  Did I leave anything off my list?  How are you living and saving green this week?  I'd love to hear from you!

Green Crafting

So, if you've known me for much of any period of time, you know that I have a love of recycling and a love of crafting. I was introduced to recycling at an early age and it had a big impression on me. I was introduced to art around the same time, and later in life today, I've found ways to blend the two.

A friend introduced me to mosaic art using paper, specifically paint chips (the color chips you pick up at a paint store or hardware store that supplies paint). She primarily uses them to create wall art, using scrap wood as a canvas. I've started using this technique to cover tables and dresser tops. I simply choose my colors (on these pieces, I chose colors we've used throughout our home) and cut the pieces to the size I want. Then, I glue them on with a glue stick. The added bonus to both of these pieces was that the coffee table was a dumpster find (so we literally saved it from a landfill--I am always amazed at what people will throw away) and the end table was a hand-me-down from a friend, which she purchased at Goodwill, so we were able to give this piece new life. The coffee table didn't originally have the trim around the edge, but I wanted that, so we found some at the Restore (for about a buck) and Benny and his dad cut it to fit. We then primed and painted the table. Once I had applied the mosaic to each table, we then applied a bar top resin (not a low VOC product, so use it in a well ventilated area or opt for the greener option of using glass, preferably recycled.). The nice thing about the bar top resin is that it gave us tables that didn't need coasters and it helped to keep the edges of the mosaic "tiles" in place.

Over Christmas, I gathered all of our old wine corks and created a trivet out of them by attaching them to a piece of reused cardboard as backing. While the trivet is usable as it is, I'd like to add some trim to the bottom to give it a more finished look. I used a glue to attach the corks, but you might have some success with drilling a hole through each one and wiring them together. (I didn't want to mess with dragging out the drill at the time.) I also have visions of using more corks, cutting them in half lenthwise, and "tiling" the top of a Restore dresser, which I'll put a piece of glass on top of to create a flat surface. I think this would provide a unique look and would be a neat way to reuse these pieces.

Lastly, since I've mentioned my draft dodgers in other posts, I thought I'd show you a picture of one. To make it, I simply sewed up the casing, starting with right sides together. I sewed one end closed and left the other open so that I could fill it. I turned the whole thing right side out and filled it with layers of the dried beans and dryer lint. Then, I carefully (and somewhat neatly) hand-sewed up the end. (You can also see our bamboo floors here, if you were wondering.)

Happy eco-crafting everyone! May you find new ways to reuse things and reduce the landfill space your family consumes.