As if there wasn't enough to feel anxious about with the environment now us "A types" have to think about Precycling. Actually if you do the Three R's (Reduce,Reuse, Recycle) you probably have already considered this and just didn't have a name for it. Precycling means making choices that consider the health of the community near and far. The choices you make from where you live,to how you travel, to what you eat have an effect on the overall living environment. You should definitely reduce the amount you buy, reuse what you can (like glass jars for storage and plastic containers), and recycle everything possible in your community.
*In Hot Springs: Call Earth Angel # 501-321-6911 for clear glass, aluminum, corrugated cardboard, newspaper and Leaf and Mulch pickup
* Plastic #1 and #2 (milk and soda jugs, water bottles, some plastic bags), steel cans, auto batteries, tires,metal objects, office paper (white) go to the county recycling center about 1/4 block past North Moore Road, and Hwy 7north 1/4 mile past Fox Pass cutoff on Hwy 7 on the right.
*Take appliances and T.V.s and household batteries, computers etc. to the intersection of Valley and Runyon for recycling. Call about Refrigeration 312-6921
Precycle tips for the day:
1. Shop local and small business as much as possible.
2. Buy less but buy better quality that will last.
3. Invest in your local community. Shopping local is one way but if you have money or time to give donate that also.
4. Drive less.
5. Buy organic food.
6. Compost
7. Share food and equipment
8. Carpool or use public transportation if available.
Namaste"
Courtney
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Monday, May 14, 2007
Free Time
Free time is a concept that I struggle with. I lust for free time. My work only requires me to be gone several hours at a time several days a week. However, my home life is full throttle all the time. At present I am facilitating a course on Voluntary Simplicity and this is keeping me on track a bit. So what if the floors don't get swept, if I get to lay in the hammock and look up at the sky this helps my mental state more than clean floors. There is a part of me that has the old Protestant work ethic. Sometimes the little devil on my shoulder tells me I am a bad person for letting some things go; What if my mom comes over. She always makes some remark about how the kids should help me clean more. Mom if your reading this I still love you even if you gave me the O.C.D. gene.
Tips on free,frugal, earth friendly leisure:
1. Take a walk. Nothing better than getting out and taking a walk. I meet my sister in law several times a week at the park and we walk and talk. I enjoy seeing the changes in the plants. I am getting to know a lot more canines. I happen to love anything in the furry family. This makes me very happy.
2. Read a book, from the library of course. I love to read. If you don't, borrow a DVD or a book on C.D.. If you drive an ancient car like me they still have tapes at the library.
3. Play games with your friends or family. Blake and I have some friends who like to play cards. I love those times and they cost me nothing except a little food for the
potluck, I would have to eat anyway.
4. If you are blessed enough to have a porch have some people over and sit and talk.
Have a drink or some tea and enjoy the company. Who cares what your house looks like, your friends will be glad you are normal and they don't have to compete with you.
Namaste"
Courtney
Tips on free,frugal, earth friendly leisure:
1. Take a walk. Nothing better than getting out and taking a walk. I meet my sister in law several times a week at the park and we walk and talk. I enjoy seeing the changes in the plants. I am getting to know a lot more canines. I happen to love anything in the furry family. This makes me very happy.
2. Read a book, from the library of course. I love to read. If you don't, borrow a DVD or a book on C.D.. If you drive an ancient car like me they still have tapes at the library.
3. Play games with your friends or family. Blake and I have some friends who like to play cards. I love those times and they cost me nothing except a little food for the
potluck, I would have to eat anyway.
4. If you are blessed enough to have a porch have some people over and sit and talk.
Have a drink or some tea and enjoy the company. Who cares what your house looks like, your friends will be glad you are normal and they don't have to compete with you.
Namaste"
Courtney
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
aesthetics aside.
Today I really screwed up. I needed mulch around my plants and I am allergic so I went and got straw from the farmers co-op. Straw does fine in your garden. It has the look of a classic gradpa garden. Straw in your front yard beds looks really bad.
I would describe this look at super-crappy and a bit trashy. My hope is that when my husband sees it he will be so ticked at me he will go immediatly buy some mulch and cover it up. The gardener part of me that is missing is the aesthetic part. Weed pulling rates right up there with pooper scooping.
Frugal tips with food:
1. Grow your own. Everyone can grow something. Get a book or ask someone you know to teach you. Every year by trial and error I do a little more. I am getting more accomplished every year.
2. The front and back page of the weekly ad (usually comes out in the Wedn. paper)
has your loss leaders. These are the best deal in the paper. This may be a repeat tip but it bears repeating. You can save tons of money if you only buy off these two pages and stock up when they are on sale.
3. It goes with out saying: eat out less. I had coffee at one girlfriends house this morning and this afternoon another friend brought some groceries over and I used what I had and we had a really good Vietanmese soup. Conversation was as good as it would have been out and I didn't have to get dressed up.
Namaste'
Courtney
I would describe this look at super-crappy and a bit trashy. My hope is that when my husband sees it he will be so ticked at me he will go immediatly buy some mulch and cover it up. The gardener part of me that is missing is the aesthetic part. Weed pulling rates right up there with pooper scooping.
Frugal tips with food:
1. Grow your own. Everyone can grow something. Get a book or ask someone you know to teach you. Every year by trial and error I do a little more. I am getting more accomplished every year.
2. The front and back page of the weekly ad (usually comes out in the Wedn. paper)
has your loss leaders. These are the best deal in the paper. This may be a repeat tip but it bears repeating. You can save tons of money if you only buy off these two pages and stock up when they are on sale.
3. It goes with out saying: eat out less. I had coffee at one girlfriends house this morning and this afternoon another friend brought some groceries over and I used what I had and we had a really good Vietanmese soup. Conversation was as good as it would have been out and I didn't have to get dressed up.
Namaste'
Courtney
Monday, May 7, 2007
everyday earthday
Saturday I picked up a paper to see if there were any garage sales of interest. Captivated by the front page I sat in my car and read " Global Action Plan to reduce Co2 emissions". I am so happy that there is a consensus to take action yet I am skeptic that the Bush Administration will adhere to any policy that takes away from the Oil and Gas industry. If our next president doesn't win by a landslide (I hope with all my might its a Democrat)then we the Christian Democrats and Liberal Democrats have really done a poor job of getting the point across. This brings me to another point that causes me to feel the need to speak up. The last election was basically won because the Republicans made it their agenda to say if you were a Christian or a moral person you could not be a Democrat. Well I am here to tell you there are a lot of Democrats who are Christians and are Liberals. We as a group tend to be too quite about our beliefs and now I hope we have learned a good lesson. I saw this bumper sticker the other day and it says it all
The best National Defense is Education, Health care, and Tolerance.
Tips for the day:
1. Plug in power strips for as many plugs as you can. Appliances suck energy even when they are off. WE keep our cell phones on one and our t.v. and stereo. Any place you plug in more than one appliance should have one. This is easy to flip off before you go to bed or leave the house.
2. If you are building or adding on (or feel inclined) add skylights and light tubes. We put two into our new addition and we are so pleased. There is no need for overhead lighting during the day and if there is enough moonlight its like Gods little nightlight. Plus you can look up and see the stars as a bonus.
3. Compost. Even if you live in the city or an apartment. There are easy indoor compost buckets you can go online and build. We had one that utilized red wigglers it was pretty cool but we ended up just using the big one in the back yard.
Why should you compost? because when you pack household raw waste into landfills it produces Methane Gas which pollutes the environment and causes more global warming.
When raw materials breakdown naturally they produce great soil that you can use or give to someone who can.
Compost:
Raw: fruits and veggies and natural grains.
Egg shells, coffee grounds and tea bags,
newspaper, and drier lint.
Hint: The darks; coffee, tea, drier lint, newspaper, leaves,twigs and non diseased yard waste, need to always be on top as they are high in nitrogen and keep the bugs away.
Namaste'
Courtney
The best National Defense is Education, Health care, and Tolerance.
Tips for the day:
1. Plug in power strips for as many plugs as you can. Appliances suck energy even when they are off. WE keep our cell phones on one and our t.v. and stereo. Any place you plug in more than one appliance should have one. This is easy to flip off before you go to bed or leave the house.
2. If you are building or adding on (or feel inclined) add skylights and light tubes. We put two into our new addition and we are so pleased. There is no need for overhead lighting during the day and if there is enough moonlight its like Gods little nightlight. Plus you can look up and see the stars as a bonus.
3. Compost. Even if you live in the city or an apartment. There are easy indoor compost buckets you can go online and build. We had one that utilized red wigglers it was pretty cool but we ended up just using the big one in the back yard.
Why should you compost? because when you pack household raw waste into landfills it produces Methane Gas which pollutes the environment and causes more global warming.
When raw materials breakdown naturally they produce great soil that you can use or give to someone who can.
Compost:
Raw: fruits and veggies and natural grains.
Egg shells, coffee grounds and tea bags,
newspaper, and drier lint.
Hint: The darks; coffee, tea, drier lint, newspaper, leaves,twigs and non diseased yard waste, need to always be on top as they are high in nitrogen and keep the bugs away.
Namaste'
Courtney
Friday, May 4, 2007
but MOMMMMM everybody's doing it.
Writing everyday has proved to be harder than I thought. Four kids take a lot of time and leave little time for getting to the computer. My priorities are such that I feel the need for them to have clean clothes and food on the table. This takes an extrordinate amount of time. Today I had a field trip with my daughter and I am worn out. Here I experienced from listening to conversation that apparently "not every kids actully can watch R movies, go to the mall unsupervised, etcccc.....". It wasn't so much in what was said as what wasn't said when the conversations came around to what the girls were doing over the weekend. My kids would like me to believe I am a prison gaurd and the only parent in the world who acts as such.
So my dear little children will probably be lucky to go to the YMCA or take a walk with me this weekend around the block and I won't feel bad one bit about it.
1. Kids are better off earning some of lifes little necessities. By necessites I mean set a budget for those things, lets say shoes you agree to $30 three times a year. You will provide hand me down shoes and thrift store finds,etc.... no charge.
Above your limit let them earn the money. My oldest really wanted a pair of shoes that cost $70 he got on line and found them on clearance for $29.99. I was so proud of him I paid the shipping.
2. Pick up kids clothes at thrift stores and yard sales. Let poeple know you love to get hand me downs. Explain how this helps the earth and how some poor soul in a third world country makes a lot of our clothes for little pay and bad working conditions.
3. If you have picky teenages who are slef concious about there clothes despite what you say heres what I do. My teenager likes a certain brand of clothing. He doesn't care where it comes from so I keep this in mind. We have a T.J. Maxx that sells his favoirte brands for 1/4 the cost of the mall. He has about 5 shirts, 2 pairs of jeans, and two pairs of shorts that he wears to school. I wash them quite often and he mixes and matches. At home and when we are hanging out on weekends and holiday he wears whatever I have picked up on my thrift shopping excurisons. Most of this actually looks nicer to me but hey he's a teenageer what can I say.
Namaste"
Courtney
So my dear little children will probably be lucky to go to the YMCA or take a walk with me this weekend around the block and I won't feel bad one bit about it.
1. Kids are better off earning some of lifes little necessities. By necessites I mean set a budget for those things, lets say shoes you agree to $30 three times a year. You will provide hand me down shoes and thrift store finds,etc.... no charge.
Above your limit let them earn the money. My oldest really wanted a pair of shoes that cost $70 he got on line and found them on clearance for $29.99. I was so proud of him I paid the shipping.
2. Pick up kids clothes at thrift stores and yard sales. Let poeple know you love to get hand me downs. Explain how this helps the earth and how some poor soul in a third world country makes a lot of our clothes for little pay and bad working conditions.
3. If you have picky teenages who are slef concious about there clothes despite what you say heres what I do. My teenager likes a certain brand of clothing. He doesn't care where it comes from so I keep this in mind. We have a T.J. Maxx that sells his favoirte brands for 1/4 the cost of the mall. He has about 5 shirts, 2 pairs of jeans, and two pairs of shorts that he wears to school. I wash them quite often and he mixes and matches. At home and when we are hanging out on weekends and holiday he wears whatever I have picked up on my thrift shopping excurisons. Most of this actually looks nicer to me but hey he's a teenageer what can I say.
Namaste"
Courtney
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
little things matter
A few years back there was a popular book called "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff".
I am hear to tell you that in frugality and the enviroment the small stuff really matters. You have many options daily to make a diffence in a small way but only once in while do the big things happen, like say voting for a canidate that supports what you believe in.
Recently there was a bill proposed that I disagreed with. I called the Governors office and left a message. To my surprise I got a long phone message back stating the
Governors positoion and a little more. It felt good to be heard and I hope it helps some people who would have been negatively effected by that bill.
Daily tips.
Little things matter:
I will give six since I missed a day.
Shopping wisdom:
1. Ask yourself when shopping "Do I need this? Does it serve a purpose that something I already have could do?"
To much consumerism can fill landfills and junk up you house.
2. Buy it used.
3. Borrow it.
4. Can you purchase an enviromentally friendly version. I recently needed a nightgown. I found a Hanes Organic night shirt for $10.
5. How much packaging is there, is there an option with less. Buy in Bulk, avoid individual packaged items as much as you can.
6. Cut back your wardrobe and put outfits together in your closet. This gives you the notion that you have more options. When everything is a mess sometimes we tend to go buy something new rather than take the time to look or try on what we have.
Namaste"
Courtney
I am hear to tell you that in frugality and the enviroment the small stuff really matters. You have many options daily to make a diffence in a small way but only once in while do the big things happen, like say voting for a canidate that supports what you believe in.
Recently there was a bill proposed that I disagreed with. I called the Governors office and left a message. To my surprise I got a long phone message back stating the
Governors positoion and a little more. It felt good to be heard and I hope it helps some people who would have been negatively effected by that bill.
Daily tips.
Little things matter:
I will give six since I missed a day.
Shopping wisdom:
1. Ask yourself when shopping "Do I need this? Does it serve a purpose that something I already have could do?"
To much consumerism can fill landfills and junk up you house.
2. Buy it used.
3. Borrow it.
4. Can you purchase an enviromentally friendly version. I recently needed a nightgown. I found a Hanes Organic night shirt for $10.
5. How much packaging is there, is there an option with less. Buy in Bulk, avoid individual packaged items as much as you can.
6. Cut back your wardrobe and put outfits together in your closet. This gives you the notion that you have more options. When everything is a mess sometimes we tend to go buy something new rather than take the time to look or try on what we have.
Namaste"
Courtney
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