Ten Things about Cloth Diapers.

I've known since I was senior in high school that I would cloth diaper one day. That may seem a little crazy, but we had a debate in my Environmental Science class and I was convinced. The decision wasn't a big deal and figuring out what cloth diapering entailed was as easy as turning to my awesome cloth diapering aunts. By the way, cloth diapers are way, way different now than when we were babies. I don't claim to be an expert, as I've only been doing this for two months. This isn't as much of a how-to post as it is a how-and-why-I-do post. (For how-to guides, this is a great starting point, as is this.) I will try to answer any questions you have, though!

1. I don't have enough. But I don't have the money to buy more right now. Maybe we'll get some for Christmas? Our current stash is seven one-size and three smalls (mostly gifts). We do a load of diapers every or every other day, with some disposable supplementing thrown in.

2. Washing isn't gross at all. Since he only consumes breast milk, his poop is water-soluble and the diapers can just be thrown in the washing machine, no pre-rinsing required. If you can handle wiping a baby butt, you can handle dumping a bag of dirty cloth diapers in the machine. Promise. Our set-up involves this pail liner. You could probably just use the same trash bag over and over, too.

3. One-size FuzziBunz are my favorite. Now, I've only tried three types - FuzziBunz one-size, FuzziBunz perfect size and GroBaby one-size. My aunts have tried them all and found that FuzziBunz were the best for not leaking and have snaps instead of Velcro, and since I intend to use these diapers for future babies, I prefer snaps since they don't wear out like Velcro can. The GroBaby diaper inserts take longer to dry and tend to bunch up. Plus, FuzziBunz are soft fleece. I think I'll also try BumGenius 4.0, since they also have snaps.

4. Newborns CAN wear cloth diapers! Once he reached eight pounds - he was maybe 10 days old? He grows like a weed. A chubby weed. - I threw cloth diapers on him. We just made it work - adjusting the snaps as tight and small as possible.

5. He doesn't wear cloth overnight. In order to get our beauty sleep, I put a disposable diaper on him for 10-12 hours a night. Disposables hold more pee and wick the moisture away from his skin. (I think I've gone over the importance of sleep here before. When I was a rookie, I'd change his diaper and re-swaddle him and sit up to nurse him...now Gabe and I stay half-asleep while he nurses. Sleep is priceless!)

6. No more poop explosions or diaper rash. Period. (Though there is still some pee leakage now and then.)

7. We've saved money. Like, a lot. I've only had to buy two packs of diapers since he was born, which is sort of amazing since most people go through that much in a week. Saving money is the number one reason I cloth diaper (waste and keeping Gabe away from yucky chemicals are the other reasons).

8. So. Much. Less. Waste. I am amazed at how much waste we created when we used disposable diapers for a weekend while traveling. It's a little crazy, really. Babies create so much extra waste already (har har), no use in adding to it with disposable diapers!

9. We cloth diaper on the go. Usually. It's easy to throw used cloth diapers in a wet bag like this, and just bring along a few extra cloth diapers. If I'm leaving him with my mom, I bring disposables.

10. Big baby booty. The cloth diapers add some bulk to Gabe's behind, which means he tends to grow out of onesies more quickly.  No loss, really, since I get impatient for him to wear his cute clothes in the next size!

Shampoo Free. Seriously.

If you follow me on Twitter or read my blog, you may think that I am consumed by my pregnancy. Not so. (Okay, mostly so. Let’s not address my complete and utter inability to focus on anything work-related. Ask me my opinion about a project that’s happening in September and I’ll probably stare at you with glazed over eyes. I’m busy Googling birth stories, thinking about maternity leave, and wondering what taking care of a newborn will be like. Sorry, boss.)

I’ve done lots of non-baby or pregnancy related things this summer. I had a tire blow out on the highway. We went camping. I worked a lot. We redecorated our apartment and I love it. We went across the state to visit with Mike’s niece and nephews. I created a new budgeting system. We saw my extended family a lot. My commute became really freaking long. My sister moved back across the country and asked me to be her maid of honor (yay!). I continued to take on blog design work and have new hopes and ideas for how to grow my little business. And I stopped using shampoo nearly four weeks ago.

Let’s talk for a minute about that last one. First, I promise you I’m not a scuzzball. See?

So maybe I haven’t used shampoo or conditioner from a bottle, but I have used baking soda, apple cider vinegar, and water to keep my hair clean.

Why?

I ran out of conditioner and was trying to figure out if there was a plastic-free option for conditioner when I stumbled across this great post (the whole website is fabulous, by the way). Intrigued by the idea that baking soda and apple cider vinegar could get my hair clean, I figured I’d give it a shot. If it worked, I’d be saving tons of money, not using any chemicals, and reducing my waste. If my hair became greasy, tangled, or dirty – I’d just wash it. No commitment, nothing to lose.

That was on July 22nd. I haven’t touched my (giant!) bottle of shampoo since.

How?

Tsh recommends a mixing a tablespoon of baking soda per cup of water for the shampoo part. (I have thicker, wavy hair, so I increased the baking soda.) I keep the mixture in a plastic squeeze bottle that used to hold chocolate syrup. Just squirt and rub into your scalp, massaging as you go. The baking soda acts as a clarifier on your scalp and removes dirt and oil.

For the conditioner, mix a tablespoon or so of apple cider vinegar per cup of water. I keep this mixture in an old conditioner bottle and apply mostly to ends of my hair. I have even stored it in a cup and dipped the ends of my hair in the cup to really make sure they get good and conditioned. I have pretty dry hair, so I make sure and apply lots of it and leave it in for a few minutes while I finish showering.

Since my hair is typically pretty dry, I sometimes use a teensy bit of coconut oil (we’re talking a dab on my finger) and rub it through my hair to get rid of flyaways and such. It’s sort of like this stuff, minus the cost.

What are the results?

My hair is soft, clean, and manageable. I don’t have to choose between chemically-laden, but cheap or expensive, natural shampoo. My new ‘shampoo’ and ‘conditioner’ cost me very little and create hardly any waste.

I am going to continue on my happy shampoo-less existence until a problem arises.

Wanna try?

I've told a few friends what I've been doing, and one of them tried it out as well. Here's what she said:  "Also, Teej and I have been 'poo free for a week now! Just baking soda and apple cider vinegar! I LOVE the vinegar as conditioner... I think it works WAY better than store bought conditioner."


Check out this post for more details, ideas, and links to other blogs. And let me know how it goes!

The One With the Pile of Crap.

See, rounded corners even make old onions and rotten apple cores pretty! (What's that? The snow helps? NO! It's all the rounded corners! Lah lah lah I can't hear you.)

[I've been meaning to write this post for ages, and now I've waited for so long that our compost pile is completely covered in snow.]

Composting. It can be stinky, messy, and gross, I won't lie.

But! It's ridiculously easy, makes some awesomely potent garden juice, and reduces your waste.

There's some science behind it, which I never bothered to learn - but basically, put food waste (well, raw fruit and veggie scraps), yard waste, and/or dryer lint in a pile and let it sit. Rotate it every once and a while. And it turns into dirt. Or some sort of natural fertilizer, I'm not quite sure....Let me consult my sources. Oh, Mike says it's both. Sweet mother, who wouldn't want some rich topsoil? Sign me up.

(Okay, so I don't actually have a yard that I can plant in. But I'm sure the future tenants of this house will appreciate the rich topsoil that's coming their way.)

What works for us:

• We tried a big pile at first, and that was no bueno, so Mike took some chicken wire and some wooden stakes and whipped up up a nifty little compost pile. (You could also buy a fancy pants compost bin or tumbler. But we do things on the cheap 'round these parts.)
  
• We have a few old yogurt containers in the kitchen: we keep some scraps in there until we can take them out to the pile out back.
  
• Every few months, we stick a shovel or pitchfork in the pile and mix it up a little to aerate it.

Pretty easy, right? And it makes a huge difference in the trash we have to throw away each week.

Do you compost? Do you know anyone who composts? Does the idea gross you out?

FAQ Round Two.

Can we call them FAQ even if one one person asked the question?

Anyway, a few more questions and their answers...

Lily asks: What were the first changes you made to your life(style) when you decided that living green was a priority for you?

What a great question, Lily! The very first, most important change for me was reducing waste. This has taken different forms as I've grown and learned more in this lifestyle. At first, it was simply getting a water bottle to avoid all the plastic water bottles I was going through. I started to refuse bags at the store if I could just throw what I'd bought in my own big purse-slash-bag. It slowly, naturally spread to other things. One day my senior year of college, we ran out of paper towels in our house. We just started using normal towels instead. And never bought more paper towels. I didn't think twice about it. And we saved tons of money. I am convinced that no one has an excuse to not be doing these things. It's insanely easy to get a water bottle. Or wash your towels instead of getting disposable ones. It saves money and resources. Win-win.

Now, I avoid most all disposable plastic containers (particularly if they're non-recyclable). I make a ton of my own stuff, including cleaning exclusively with baking soda and vinegar. It's all come so easily and has made so much sense.

I still have some areas where I know I can improve - less driving, not getting coffee if I've forgotten my reusable mug at home, keeping the house colder, and so on. I think the more you become aware, the more you are inclined to want to do. And that makes me happy. Nothing seems to take an unusual amount of effort or thought - it's just the way things are done.

Ashley asks: What about your top 5 fave blogs to read and what your fav blog post you've written so far.

Ah! A hard one. I hate picking favorites - because then someone ALWAYS feels left out, you know? Since I am often one who feels left out (I am so sensitive that I am sad when a blogger I love doesn't have me in their blogroll. It's pathetic.), I'm going to a few awesome blogs that might be under the radar, how's that? Those bloggers who I love and think, More people need to read this!

Hilary @ Alt Christian.
Callina @ The Gingerbread House.
Sara @ Walk Slowly, Live Wildly.

And a few bloggers I've discovered fairly recently and love them to bits. (Hi Kyla Bea and Nicole Antoinette!)

My favorite blog post I've written might be my post for Steph's summer contest about summers at my grandparent's growing up. I had such a unique childhood with my growing up overseas, and sometimes that part of me gets buried, so it was kinda of romantic to remember.

Laura asks: How did you find the courage to open your shop & how do you keep yourself motivated?

Ha. Truth be told, I often act and then think. So, with my Etsy shop, it wasn't so much an issue of having courage - mostly because I figured, Eh, let's give this a shot. We'll see how it goes. Maybe people will like what I create?

I haven't sold a ton yet, so I'm probably not the best person to ask about motivation. I get so much inspiration from books and photos and other Etsy creations that if I happen to be successful with my Etsy shop (when, not if! power of positive thinking, right?), I'm not concered about motivation. There are so many beautiful things in the world. Plus, I aspire to do many things - add candles, soap, and graphic design services. So, I already have big plans and motivation!

I say you go for it, create that Etsy shop! What have you got to lose, honestly?

And I want to share my latest creations for my brand-spankin-new Etsy shop.

Blue Dots Tote $13, Purple Birds Boxy Pouch $5, Hot Pink Star Mini Pouch $4.25

Please Don't Tease Me for This, Okay?

In my pursuit of becoming a true domestic goddess, I've been hoping to plan my meals for a while now. This week, I finally got it together and took inventory of food in my fridge and pantry and used that as my starting point for meals. It means less food will go to waste, since I'm not just flying by the seat of my pants. (Ideally. We'll see how this actually goes.)

Ta-da, here's this week's dinner menu:

Monday: Whole wheat spaghetti with homemade pesto and salad.

Tuesday: Acorn squash soup (will make Monday night) and corn bread.

Wednesday: Vegetarian sloppy joes or chili (depending on my mood).

Thursday: Stir fry with veggies, tofu, and rice noodles. (I stir fry in olive oil, low sodium soy sauce, and a little toasted sesame oil.)

Friday: Out to eat or grilled cheese.

I'll have enough left over each night to bring as leftovers for lunch. Score.

PS: Check out this website for links to hundreds of other weekly meal menus.

Must Love Coffee.

A great post from the lovely Heartbreaker totally called me out today.

She said I "know (my) shit about saving the planet."

You wouldn't think so looking at my pathetic blog lately. I've been all about my clothes, my crappy work ethic, my itchy disease poison ivy, my move, and my marriage. Me, me, meeeeeee.

Time to get out of my selfish little bubble and talk about some other stuff, mmmkay?

Like, how about summertime iced coffee and iced tea? And yet another way we can be as green as possible when it comes to our beverage choices.

We've talked before about some ways to -

• Bring your own travel mug, avoid waste!
• Buy fair trade, sustainably grown, organic coffee or tea
• Brew coffee using a french press, use less electricity!

We're in the throes of summer, and who doesn't enjoy a big glass of iced tea? Or stopping by the coffee shop for a refreshing iced coffee? Yummy.

You can cheaply and easily make either of those yourself - which means:

• Saving money!
• Using your own coffee - many coffee shops don't always offer fair-trade, shade grown, organic coffees.
• Less packaging for iced tea mixes and prepackaged iced coffees.
• Avoiding the mystery chemicals, like silicon dioxide or artificial colors.

Iced Tea

1. Brew a tea bag or two in half a cup of water [chai or herbal teas are my favorite].
2. Sweeten the hot tea if desired. [I always desire sugar.]
3. Fill a glass with ice, then pour the hot tea in the glass. [Add milk if making iced chai or black tea.]
4. Stir and enjoy!

Iced Coffee {Using a french press}

1. Grind (coarsely) 1 cup of coffee and pour in bottom of french press.
2. Pour 2 cups of water and mix with wooden spoon.
3. Place plunger on top, but don't press down too far.
4. Put in the fridge for at least 12 hours.
5. Plunge/strain the coffee. It's now a sort of coffee syrup that you can pour over ice and add milk, water, and/or sugar to. I usually use a third coffee, a third water, some half & half, and a heap of sugar. [I always love sugar.]
6. Stir and enjoy. Better than McDonald's or Starbucks, for sure!

I make a pot of the iced coffee once or twice a week and drink it every morning, and love to enjoy a glass of Tazo Passion iced tea while I'm reading on the porch at night.

Here's to summer!

Trouples Rock. Irony Doesn't.

I'm starting to think Mike and I are going to have to advertise on Craigslist for a male to be a part of our trouple when we move to Cleveland. We seem to always have a good time with our friend, Tim. And in Denver we hung out with Joe, another troupler. It's grand when you get to the point of no third-wheelness.

Wanted: Easy going, fun male willing to hang out with young newlyweds. Must be okay with vegetarians, the occasional bicker, Thai and Indian food, a kiss or two (us, not you), and wanna be hippies. Vespa preferred, for nostalgia's sake. Make us laugh or engage us in an intellectual discussion and you're in.

After our trouple picnic on Friday, we headed to the coffee shop for an evening of reading and coffee. I ordered a tall iced chai latte in my reusable mug and plopped down in a big comfy chair, ready to settle into a long session with my beloved Photoshop.

Twenty five (25!!) minutes later, my drink was *finally* ready, and in a disposable plastic cup.

"Um, where's my mug?" I asked innocently, to the young barista.

"Oh!," smacking his head.

"Don't worry about pouring it in my mug," I say tersely, wanting to just drink my friggin' tea.

Like a good little yuppie, I proceeded to whine to Mike and Tim about the consistently poor service at this coffee shop. 25 minutes! Plastic cup! Argh!!

[Let me stop here to say that I don't hassle people who give me food. As long as it doesn't have meat, I'll take it. I don't cause problems. I'm pretty passive, as you know. And I hate to think or say mean things about anyone. So, when I say the service is bad - I MEAN it. It's awful - I feel like I'm at a bar where boys desperately attempt to pick up girls, instead of a coffee shop!]

As I'm ranting, the barista comes over, apologizes, and offers me two samples - a grenadine blended coffee, and a smoothie. Well. SHUT. ME. UP.

Happy about the samples, cringing at the bad timing, and realizing the irony: I'd brought my own mug to avoid a disposable coffee cup. Instead - I now have a big plastic cup for my chai tea, a small Styrofoam cup, and a plastic cup from my samples. And my coffee mug is still clean.
Well.

What can ya do, right?

I enjoyed all my sample goodness and my iced chai tea latte.

PS: We spent 3 hours and $600 at Ikea yesterday. I know, right? I can never just go in and get one thing.

PPS: Tomorrow is the Big Blog Swap. So look for a guest blogger on here, and look for my post over here about my blogaholism. It's an issue, people.

Exposed: The True Story of Yogurt

Let's talk about yogurt.

Yes, yogurt. (Do I have the most random blog ever or what?)

Yogurt is good for you. There are all kinds of probiotic, enzyme-y thingamabobs. It tastes delicious, too.

BUT! Two big problems, guys. 1) What the heck is IN most yogurt? and 2) The plastic. OH! The plastic.

First, let's check out what's in a typical cup of, say Strawberry Light N' Fit Yogurt:

Nonfat Yogurt, (Cultured Grade A Non Fat Milk, Modified Corn Starch, Kosher Gelatin, Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin D3), Strawberries and Water, less than 1% of Modified Corn Starch, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Sucralose, Sodium Citrate, Malic Acid, Potassium Sorbate (to maintain freshness) and Red 4.

I used to eat a cup or two of delicious, sugary (or, Splenda-y, I guess) yogurt a day in college. I never once noticed it had all these ingredients. I stopped eating yogurt for a long time because I felt so guilty about all the plastic (non recyclable plastic!) single-use cups left over.

Then I read French Women Don't Get Fat this year (yeah, like, waaay behind the craze. It was actually a good book, surprisingly. I don't do the diet thing.) The author raved about plain yogurt with a sprinkle of wheat germ and a dribble of honey as a an alternative to our chemical-and-sugar-laced stuff. It took a few days to get used to - but OH MY LORD! It was amazing. I would add some frozen peaches and take it to lunch. The other yogurt paled in comparison.

Plain yogurt has two ingredients: Milk and active cultures {I still don't really get what those are, but apparently they're good stuff}. Seems a little less sketchy than fake colors, malic acid, and gelatin.

So, any of you who are yogurt lovers like myself but haven't spun the container around to see the 5 inch list of ingredients - you've been warned! There's so strange stuff in there.

Now, onto the domestic-y part of the problems of yogurt: the plastic. Buying a bigger, resealable container is a short term solution, but we still quickly accumulated TONS of plastic containers. And there's only so many of those you can reuse, ya know?

Enter: YOGURT MAKING.

Yes, that's right: People make their OWN YOGURT. How cool is that?! I desperately want to try, but I haven't found the time. (I did try once, but didn't read the directions and ended up with buttermilk. Which meant we had pancakes and muffins. Equally nutritious as yogurt, right?) All you need is milk, a thermometer, a pot, and some glass jars. It seems pretty simple...You save money and avoid those darn plastic cups from accumulating. And homemade is always (always!) more delicious.

(Sometimes I really wish I was a housewife and just got to sit around making food and cleaning the apartment. Then I remember I'd probably just end up on the computer or watching Friends reruns in my PJs...)

Paper Towels are for WIMPS

Wanna know something quirky about me?

I make a point not to use paper towels in public (or work) restrooms.*

I just shake my hands little and wipe them on my pants. Why not? They're clean. I also enforce an "Only One!" rule with my kids at work when they're using paper towels. That goes for napkins at dinner, too.

Otherwise, I point and them and ridicule them, "Do you hate trees or something??".

Okay, only joking. or not.

If you pay attention to how much paper you waste - you make a baby step. That's what I tell my kids, anyway.
________
Side notes
1: I'm curious: responding to comments on your blog - how do you do it?? Do you ignore them? Do you email them? Do you reply back underneath their comments? Each individual comment? Help! I rarely go back and visit blogs to see if the author responded, but I've done it a couple of times myself. I have a lot of questions - do you have answers!?

2: I think I heard a ghost in the elementary school girls' bathroom today. It was creepy. I know I'm supposed to be an adult and be all, "That was NOTHING, guys. No big deal. Do do do do." But when you hear a door close and you ask if any one's in there and you hear a small "Yes" but don't see anyone, you have reason to be scared. Right!?

*In particularly nasty restrooms, I totally use a paper towel just so I don't have to touch the door. *Shudder*

And Then I Found Five Dollars.

Good news abounds over here at Our Little Apartment!

1. YOU GUYS. I cannot believe I haven’t told you about this yet, because Lord knows I’ve told my husband, like, five times already.

I’m a Targ-a-holic, right? I’m not in denial –I’m fully aware that if I give myself an excuse, “Oh I need a pair of hose,” then it’s like a gateway drug into the wonderful red and white world that is Target. I’ll plan on getting a pair of hose and come out with nearly a $100 worth of $1 specials, red tag clearance, and clothes made in Guatemala. So I lie to myself to make it more bearable – just getting a bottle of shampoo, but, oh wow! Look, this hair dye is on sale CLEARANCE (oh, how I LOVE CLEARANCE), must get some! And check out that lip gloss, more clearance! And so on.

Last Friday, I was going down that road. I get out of work at noon on Fridays (BEST! PART! OF! MY! JOB! Oh…wait, the kids are great, too.) and was planning on replenishing my hair product and contact solution supplies, since I was running low due to the Buy Nothing challenge in April. I planned on swinging by Target to pick them up; using the excuse that Target has super cheap contact solution – never mind that Target is 13 miles away from my work. (What is the DEAL with all my excuses?) I had daydreams of gliding my red shopping cart down Targets aisles, going wild with the ability to finally SHOP! Imagining myself guilt-free, grabbing things off the shelves and throwing them in my cart. I envisioned finding an adorable spring trench coat, whirling around in it and enjoying how cute I felt.

Do you believe that I have an addiction now? I’m hallucinating, people. About Target. Oy.

Anyway, as I was looking up directions on Google maps* (far superior to MapQuest, let’s be honest) and calculated I’d be driving about 23 miles, or a gallon of gas, just to feed my addiction. In reality, all I needed was some contact solution and miracle curl spray to get by (“Need” and “Get by” are obviously relevant terms). A red cart full of unnecessary crap was, well, unnecessary. It was painful to admit this to myself, but I DIDN’T NEED TO GO TO TARGET. (!) In fact, I’d be wasting gas and spending more money if I went to Target. I decided to stop at the drugstore on the way home and see if I couldn’t fulfill my “needs” there. CVS? Had their contact solution on SALE. Booyah. My only splurge was the clearance Burts Bees lip gloss. And four bucks is a lot less than the damage Target would have done.

Pretty excited that I was able to withstand Target’s magnetic forces. I guess consciously not purchasing anything for a month made me at least a little stronger against complete consumerism.

2. PLUS!! My post about my experience with Buy Nothing and tests has been chosen (by the wonderful Tipp) to be a part of the 20 Something Bloggers Carnival, Third Edition. I’m SO psyched about this, so please go check out my entry and the other winners. And be my friend on 20SB while you’re at it – it’s a pretty fantastic group of people.

3. And want to know MORE good news? This is a three day work week; because I have a work retreat I’m going on Thursday and Friday. It’s a FUN work retreat – I get to see my siblings, too, because they’re only 30 minutes from the retreat. (Side note: Yesterday, I called my mom to talk about coming up and spending the night tonight, and my freshman college sister who’s home for the summer tells me my parents are leaving for BRUSSELS that afternoon. News to me! But I guess that’s our family rolls, as I’ve traveled to Vancouver and London before without letting my parents know ahead of time.) For the 3.5 hour drive up tonight, I picked up some chick lit on CD to keep me entertained as I drive. (NPR is usually my choice car companion, but for longer trips I like to fill my head with fluff.)

4. With last weekend’s trip to the in-laws and this retreat, I have an apology that’s in order:

Dear Fellow Bloggers,
I am a wee bit behind in my Google Reader (66 posts to read, to be exact)– meaning my comments have been really sparse lately. I won’t kid myself saying you miss them, but I feel guilty because you’ve written some really great stuff! So, *mwah,* I love you, you’re awesome.
I’ll be less busy soon, I promise.
Ashley

5. Thanks for the fantastic, helpful responses to my last quandary. It made me think about my blog and who reads it. I'm really considering sharing it with more people that I know...But we'll see. I guess it's better to tell people than for them to find it on their own, right? I'll just voice my complaints through What the Hell!? Wednesdays. :) But, I know I definitely do NOT want to have my blog link on Facebook. Or, at least, I think I don't....

*Enviro Tip: Don’t print off your driving directions if possible – just write them on scrap paper! (Or at the very least, PRINT them on scrap paper.) J C’mon, it’s not that hard!

At Least Some of The Coffee Was Fair Trade

This weekend I went to a conference about 3 ½ hours away. (It was a fantastic conference, if you’re wondering, about youth and conflict – specifically conflict resolution education. Enthralling, important work presented by people from 19 countries…and yours truly.)

On the way to my parents’ house the night before the conference, I stopped at a gas station for a Starbucks double shot of espresso. The next day I got an iced coffee drink in a plastic cup, because I had forgotten my travel mug at work. (So this was pretty ironic!) At the conference, I drank a Diet Pepsi from a can and at a boxed lunch. The next day, I succumbed to the coffee again and used two Styrofoam cups. (Two because they wouldn’t let me bring any food or drinks into the keynote speaker, so I never got any of the first coffee). There was another boxed lunch, Diet Pepsi, and a good cup of coffee (Whole Foods, dark chocolate mocha. Sigh.) for my drive home.

It made me feel AWFUL.

On a normal weekend, I create little waste – maybe some plastic bags from carrots or a paper bag from flour. And some food scraps because we stopped composting. (It smelled. SO. badly.) We use small plastic bags for our trash (reused grocery bags) and take it out once or twice a week.

Here was my waste this weekend:

* 3 aluminum drink cans
* 2 Styrofoam cups
* 2 boxed lunches with disposable napkins, forks, plastic containers, plastic bags, etc
* 1 plastic cup with lid and straw
* 1 coffee cup with plastic lid and cardboard sleeve
* A take out box and paper bag for my Tofu Pad Thai
* Oh, okay, and a little paper bag from Taco Bell (Cinnamon twists are my secret love!)

In two days, I created as much waste as Mike and I create together in about 10 days.

It makes me feel guilty, especially because I could have avoided using 3 cups if I had remembered my travel mug.

And I really didn’t need to drink the Pepsi. But it was free. And I was thirsty.

It might be really silly that I felt a major twinge of guilt for creating so much more waste this weekend. I know the nature of traveling is disposable items, but still.

Maybe I should view this as progress – that I’m becoming more aware of my consumption; that I can’t just mindlessly create trash without thinking about my actions.

Now, I just need to work on that pesky Target habit.

Oh! How convenient! Crunchy is challenging us yet again; this time, to not purchase anything new for the month of April. Not counting food, of course.

I’m going to challenge myself one step further – and say no disposable convenience food. That means if I forget my travel mug at work, I’m stuck with nasty office coffee.

And if I’m hungry, I either eat at home or somewhere that doesn’t use disposable products. If I eat out, I’ll either ask for foil for my leftovers or bring my own Tupperware.

It’s against my American nature of impatience and laziness. If I’m hungry, I want to eat NOW. If I’m craving something, I want it ready, NOW.

But I’m going to try and make a conscious effort in April to be less selfish and less of a consumer.

Baby steps.

A Reusable Coffee Mug - Easy As 1-2-3

I’ve heard (seen?) a lot of confusion on different blogs/comment/forums* about using a reusable coffee mug at a coffee shop. As someone who frequents the coffee shop QUITE regularly (They recognize me by my mug; and last time, veteran barista told newbie, “She brings her own cup” as newbie reached to grab me a disposable cup.), I can speak with some authority on this matter.

Here’s a little “how to” for using your own coffee mug at a coffee shop.

1. Get a reusable mug – avoid plastic if you can; it’ll last longer and not affect the taste of your delicious coffee (or tea or hot chocolate!)
2. Measure how much liquid your mug can hold, so you can order coffee at the shop. Mine’s a tall (12 oz), FYI.
3. Bring clean travel or ceramic mug with you to coffee shop (this means don’t forget it at work the night before!)
4. When you order, show them your coffee mug and say, for example, “I’ll have a 12 oz Highlander Grogg in this.”
5. Make sure to unscrew the top from the mug if it has one and hand them the cup part. There are some reports that at Starbucks they put the lid in a plastic disposable lid so it doesn’t touch the counter. So just keep it yourself!
6. Enjoy your coffee and the fact that there is a little less waste because of you.

I’ve heard people complain that Starbuck baristas sometimes mark your drink on a disposable cup and then throw it away – they’ve created new post-it note stickers to help avoid this, but it’s possible they could be out of stickers or just hate trees or something. Most times when I go to Starbucks, the cashier just verbally tells the barista what my order is as he hands her my cup. (Though now I normally go to the local coffee shop – so there is never any cup writing). If you’ve experienced the wasted cup phenomenon, maybe just casually mention something about not wanting to waste cup?– or just order plain coffee so no marking is required!

* Hey, I spend a lot of time, online, what can I say? Yesterday my husband sent me this article. Maybe he was passively trying to stage an intervention?

Yep, I'm Pretty Much a Weirdo

This morning as I was doing the dishes, I paused for a moment and wondered how many other people actually wash out their Ziplock bags to use over and over again. Sometimes I really forget how weird I am!

Here's something to think about though - I have not had to buy any kind of plastic bag for an entire year. For trash bags, we just use Target bags (or whatever other store we happened to go to and not bring a tote bag. Even though we make an effort to bring our own bags to the store, we are not in danger of running out anytime soon of the plastic bags from the times we forget.) For food storage, I continue to reuse the ziplock bags, used plastic containers from food, and cute little Corningware dishes.

I remember the first time I'd ever heard of someone reusing Ziplock bags. I was in middle school, living in Thailand and our housekeeper (no, we weren't rich, everyone had one) would rinse out the bags, turn them inside out, and stick them to fridge to dry. My little American self thought her Thai ways were strange. I was a product of a country who valued disposability and the temporary nature of our merchandise. Now I see that she saw no reason to throw away something that had just been used once.

It's definitely to the advantage of a company to create disposable products, because consumers will need to keep spending their money to buy replacements. But we really don't need to - not when we buy products that will last or just use products longer. Sometimes it's good to be weird. :)

Check it out. It was a Winter Wonderland. No cars! (Except the dozens at the car dealership.)

Beans, Beans the Musical Fruit.

I don't eat meat, so to get protein I consume lots of beans. We use beans for hummus, quesadillas and to add to mac and cheese, salads, stir fries and sooo much more. (FYI: The average American consumes 50% MORE protein than the RDA. So eating beans, grains, and veggies gets us enough protein without needing supplements.) Beans are a fantastic nutritional source - there's more calcium, less fat, and more potassium in black beans than in 95% fat free beef. As an added bonus, they are more affordable in comparison. Especially if you’re like me and decide to buy dried beans. It always seemed like such a pain to worry about rinsing, sorting, soaking, and cooking beans that you could just as easily pop open a can and dump into a bowl.

Then, as always, Crunchy mentioned something about beans and I gave it a try. I had never even so much as looked at the dried beans at the grocery store, but when I did. WOAH. Less than a dollar for THAT much beans!? Being Young, Fabulous, and Broke, I decided to quickly snatch up half a dozen bags of beans. What a steal! I could figure out how to cook them later.

I am lazy and therefore half read the instructions on the back of the package. Three cups water, one cup beans – boil until they’re soft. That’s my Cliff Notes version. There are all kinds of options like quick soaking and overnight and blah blah blah. My lazy girl method seems to work so far*. But if you’re cooking chickpeas (for yummy hummus; which is consequently the cornerstone of my husband’s diet. I swear that if I didn’t cook he’d eat cereal for every meal of the day. Not that I have anything against cereal. Mmm. Cereal.) you need to add fresh water a couple of times because it boils down. I learned the hard way last week when I set off the smoke detector and found a saucepan of blackened chickpeas. (Yes. I used them still. Blackened chickpea hummus is a delicacy in some places.)

So bottom line. Beans are delicious and nutritious. They’re REALLY cheap if you can handle a little more work and get some dried beans. Throw them in anything for a great meal. Uh, except for waffles. Or oatmeal. That could be weird. (Although authentic Chinese food does involve some interesting sweets with red beans.) Get creative though!


*If you prefer, you can be a lazy girl (or boy) with your slow cooker as well. I fully support that.

The One with the Zits

Just a quick note before I head out of town, then have my family visit me. Yay. I'm pretty excited. My mom is coming here JUST TO SHOP AT TRADER JOE'S. Over three hours in the car. To shop at TJ's. And, oh yeah, to see me...right?

Let's talk about skin for a moment, shall we? I feel as though I am not privy to the knowledge that most women have - like how to put on makeup or taking care of your skin. I have three sisters who are all MUCH more into that than I am. Only just know am I learning to find good products. And I tend to get really excited when I find something that works really, really well. (like OMG! Tweezerman tweezers! great!!) Spending a little more on a product if it works REALLYWELL is worth it. Because then you won't waste money guessing.

My sister, T, is just a year younger than me but a world different. I have no idea how she knows SO MUCH about make up, hair, and skin - but that girl wrote an assignment about how to put on makeup in middle school. And - I distinctly remember this because I thought it was so odd - she included little known tips like, "If you blend white eyeliner into the length of your nose, it will appear thinner." I am not kidding you. I mean, maybe this is common knowledge...but c'mon! That's just a little too much for me. I'm happy if I put the eyeliner and mascara in the right place. Then I cover up my blemishes and call it a day.

When it comes to my skin - I was spoiled by inheriting my dad's skin. My mom has never had PERFECT skin, whereas my dad was the poster child for clear, pale skin in high school. (And apparently, HUGE tinted eyeglasses. And ridiculously skinny appendages.)

In high school, my skin was flawless. No make up, no face washing, just. perfect. Since then, I tend to get a few blemishes every now and then, but I have NO IDEA how to take care of my skin. I mean, I'm used to people being jealous of the fact that I can not wash my face ever and have clear skin.

Now, I'm like a skinny person in a fat body. (Or. A pimple person stuck in a clear body. Um, that analogy sounds awkward no matter how you put it.) I can't accept that fact that I'm now bound by having to take CARE of my skin. Sunscreen!? Floppy hat?! (Okay, that's NEVER HAPPENING unless you show me a really cute floppy hat.) Face wash?! And then comes the "what the heck do you with a zit ahhh" part.

(Side note: I fear I'm sounding too dramatic. I have two blemishes on my face. I'm not like a teenager, just a 20-something with penchant for not taking care of her skin. No more rambling. I promise.)

Well, instead of having someone teach me - I made it up. I used to use toothpaste (not gel) and put a dot on the blemish. It worked really well.

But then I got the eco-guilt and thought "ah! chemicals! ah! plastic!" and decided to try something else. I figured, baking soda is used for tooth paste - and when you get a bee sting - maybe that'll work. I put a pinch of baking soda in my hand and mixed it with a drop or two of water. And smeared it on the problem (one of those pesky under-the-skin pimples. so painful.)

And?

It totally works! It dried it a bit so it wasn't so big, wasn't so painful and was gone quickly. Plus? It's super cheap, there is little packaging, and it's not damaging to the environment. How can you lose?

sooo not as good as baking soda.

The Way I See It

Apparently, no one has listened to me!

C'mon Mitt, Hil, John, and Barack - lead by example. I have nothing against drinking water and coffee, don't get me wrong! (yumm...coffee.) It's just that I know that y'all are better than that. (Well, most of you anyway. :) )

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In other news, this blog is slowly making it to the top of Google when searching for that Atomic Kitten song. WTF? At least lots of people are unknowingly learning about the benefits of soy candles as they search for those lyrics. :)

I Come Bearing Gifts

I LOVE Christmas!

I do, I really really do. My extended family gets together and is disgustingly happy - playing games, sledding, and doing things like exchanging sappy letters instead of useless gifts. We even have a caroling party. (It seems like no one carols anymore. People don't know what to do when we come to their front door. Not like I'd have any clue, either: "Crap! It's cold and I'm wearing pajamas and I can't leave or I'll look rude! Smile and endure the singing.")

I usually spend lots of time the month before Christmas trying to find exciting, personal, unique gifts for everyone. No cheap, plastic, battery operated toys for my godson (or new nieces and nephews)! Wooden personalized name puzzles or photo books or wooden sushi sets, like I'm giving this year. I love the personalized gifts for EVERYONE - Snapfish has been my best friend for the past few years. There aren't a TON of people we get gifts for - immediate family, grandparents, and my godson. Maybe some friends? That's over 20 people right there.

This year, newly married, trying to save money, and enjoying the added bonus of not doing too much of the commercial Christmas thing, (I did go Black Friday shopping. It's FUN! I like buying stuff. Retail therapy and all that, I believe in it. :) But I definitely keep it to a minimum. Because not being able to pay my bills would cause way more stress.) we decided to make our own gifts. We have been saving our glass jars from salsa, applesauce, and jelly. Plus, we have lots of mason jars lying around -- so we decided to do gifts in a jar! Sand Art Brownie Mix, Cappuccino Mix, Friendship Soup Mix, French Vanilla Hot Chocolate, Candy Cane Bath Salts, and the most endeavorous of them all - Homemade Candles.

I'm not sure how well received they will be, but they were so much fun to make together. I got to be crafty, have an excuse to watch more TV, and test the mixes, of course. :) Yum! I went the grocery store to buy all the food mix ingredients - it was less than $50. Add to that the craft store materials (wax crystals, wicks, salts, fabric, ribbon, etc) and we made 25 jars for less than $100. That's less than $4 a gift. Shhh, don't tell. We'll probably give one or two to everyone on our list (except the little kids - they get sushi), plus a small gift that is more personal. It's really hard for me to restrain from not spending more on everyone -- I just want them to know how much I love them. :)

Here's the finished product of the cappuccino, hot chocolate, and brownie mixes:

After I made the mixes and put them in jars I decorated some of the jars with green and red fabric cut into stars or trees, a la this salsa jar turned cappuccino mix:

I also cut squares out of the fabric and hot glued them to the lid, then used some hemp string to tie the fabric around the jar. For most of them, the lid can easily be unscrewed with the fabric and string still in place. I cut the labels out of card stock, decorated them and put instructions on the back. This project is pretty darn environmentally friendly PLUS it's super affordable. Score. You're reusing old jars, buying some simple food and craft items, and spending a little time to create some really special gifts.

As far as wrapping goes, it would be most eco-savvy to not wrap the gifts at all. However, seeing as how we have a bazillion bags left over from our wedding, we'll be using those some some reused tissue paper to give most of these gifts. They are sort of wrapped already, but I really love the prolonged suspense of giving and getting gifts. Kids don't love gift bags so much, since they just want to tear through the paper. So I wrapped those in classifieds and added some cloth ribbon:

it's da sushi!

The ribbon, hemp string, and fabric really made a few simple gifts look nice. I'm really excited to give these out!

Here are a few more pictures of our hard work::

First time making candles -- they smell like lilac!

Yum. Chocolate chips.

(Recipes are from allrecipes.com, razzledazzlerecipes, and organizedchristmas.com.)

Leggo My Pesto

We got a basil plant as one of our wedding gifts. It's great! It naturally repels insects, smells yummy, and tastes delicious. Since we live in an apartment, sans balcony or courtyard or any greenery, we adore houseplants. We have quite a few. Don't ask me what they are or you'll hear descriptions like "it's a potted plants that's green with long leaves. or maybe they're called strands? there are little sprout thingys off some of the strands." Wow, I'm making myself sound ditzy. I'm not. Promise.

Where was I again? Oh yeah, making your own food in your own jars is cheaper and creates less waste and more fun (cheesy much?). You can reuse the same jars over and over, and you don't have to drive to the store, so you save some CO2 as well. It's a win-win-win-win situation.

Here are some pictures of what I did:

I picked ALL of the leaves off the basil plant (which, by the way, is pretty much a fool proof plant if you give it enough sunlight.) Notice the sewn-by-Mike curtain and chives to the left and the Ikea bamboo-esque plant to the right. :)

I put the basil along with olive oil, garlic, and walnuts in the food processor. It was soooo easy and the best pesto ever. The mess left a little to be desired. (Notice our teeny tiny sink. At least there's a garbage disposal. But nope, no dishwasher. That would be Mike.)

We got really pretty antique jars at one of our wedding showers:

Ta-da! (That whole basil plant made this little jar. But a little pesto tossed with spaghetti goes a long way.) Looks yummy. You can either stick it in the fridge and eat it in 2-3 days, or freeze it.

Yay! I did it! 30 days!! It's only the beginning, though. :)

If It Ain’t Broke Don’t Fix It

But do if it is.

We live in a disposable society. Consider the sheer amount of stuff we throw away daily. From our dishes to our toilet scrubber, we are used to having disposable conveniences. Constantly. It’s easier. It’s more sanitary. It’s faster.

But it’s also wasteful! And expensive!

By choosing to fix (or mend or alter) an item instead of tossing it for something new, you reduce your waste. For example, instead of throwing away some shoes, try getting them resoled. Instead of throwing away an old t-shirt, repurpose it as dusting rags. Or you can be classy like us and take someone else’s trash and fix it. A few months ago, I went running and saw a broken futon sitting on the curb of our neighbor’s house. Mike and I rescued it from the trash and hauled it up to our apartment (sans mattress…we ended up getting a fresh one via craigslist). Mike worked his magic and put it all together. Now we have a fantastic, nearly free futon in our living room. And we feel resourceful. Score!

Long Live the Addiction!

Like I said. I LIKE COFFEE. Coffee shops usually give you your latte in a cute little paper cup with a plastic lid. Or even worse, some sort of polystyrene cup (Styrofoam). Ack! As we know, waste is BAD.

The answer is to brew at home to save money and not use disposable cups, right? No! The answer is to continue to be lazy and waste money at coffee shops but to bring your own reusable coffee travel mug!

I got my first travel mug last Christmas and I can say without hesitation that it was THE BEST PRESENT I have EVER been given. (It came with a coffee shop gift card inside, in case you’re taking notes the coffee lover on your list.) Many coffee shops give you a discount for using your own mug, so you’re saving money, as well. Invest in a quality travel mug, especially if you use it at least daily like I do. ☺ It’s worth it.