New Greener Family

photo credit: >>>WonderMike<<<

Or hold house was in the perfect location. Three blocks from the park and library, a couple more blocks to the shops downtown, and if I felt snackish a little further to a Subway. Only if the weather was bad, or we were going to the grocery store, did we need the car.

Here, we are not as lucky. Though the park is semi-close, it is still too far for the kids to make it. There is a Walmart almost walking distance, but A) again, the kids can’t make it, and B) it’s Walmart. All around us are fields and cows and wide open spaces. Cut through by a couple well-traveled mini-highways. Great for scenery, not so great when we need to go somewhere. Read more…

My poor plants!

The peppers and strawberries seem to be fading fast in the heat, and I think the peas are already goners. Despite keeping them in the shade during the hottest parts of the day, and making sure they are watered deeply, the heat is shriveling them up. And we haven’t even hit the hottest part of the summer yet. Read more…

Yesterday was the local food coop pick-up day, and along with some yummy foods I also walked away with a collection of plants. Four small strawberry plants, and one large thornless blackberry plant. Tomorrow they get to be moved onto the back patio with the rest of my container garden, where they will hopefully make good friends.

I know it is a little (or a lot) late in the season, but when I saw that a local farm was selling them I could not pass up the opportunity. I loved picking fresh berries at my grandmother’s house when I was a little girl. How could I not want to pass on a tradition like that? Read more…

One of my favorite new blogs, Love and Trash, had a post up a couple weeks ago about cutting down to only 15 things of clothing. It’s a huge thing for some people, cutting down on the things that most of society assumes you need more of.

I assumed that this would be a no-brainer for me. After all, I had already cut out much of my clothing when we moved. And I’m still in that annoying mid-body shape where I can’t wear maternity cloths anymore, but none of my old stuff fits either. So really, cutting it down should be a piece of cake. Read more…

As the cost of food continues to rise, many people find themselves needing to choose more carefully what they will buy. Buying organic foods is often the choice that we want to make, yet the higher costs make it seem impossible. However, with a willingness to make a few simple changes anyone on a tight budget can enjoy organic foods in their kitchen.

If you want to find organic foods at lower costs, the first step is to stop shopping at your local grocery stores. Many of the foods found grocery stores, even in the organic sections, have been imported from around the world. This is how they can offer fruits and vegetables out of season all year long. The cost of shipping and transporting adds to the cost that customers must pay. Instead, look for local producers who will more likely have a lower price. Read more…

Sometimes you just know something can be reused, even if you don’t just how yet.

We like green onions around here. They go in soups, in rice, in casseroles, and pretty much anything I think to toss a handful in. But silly me, I’ve always tossed the bulbs into the compost and bought a new bunch. Then yesterday, I stood holding the bulbs in my hand and had a thought. What is cutting them up isn’t killing them? Read more…

Yesterday I read a piece at Dr. Mercola’s site about genetically modified (GM) foods and the risk of sterility. It seems that a group of researchers fed a bunch of hamsters GM soy and watched what would happen. According to Mercola, their death rates went up in the second generation and by the third generation only one female was able to reproduce. The rest had become sterile.

That’s a scary thought. Read more…

Wow, has it been a long, strange several months! Things happened, like moving again. This time across the state, and into a much smaller townhouse. My big backyard has been replaced by a tiny patch of dirt that doesn’t seem fit to grow anything.

So as I waved my garden goodbye, I made plans to grow a new one. A greener, smaller one. OK, so I won’t be feeding my entire family on everything I’m growing (sorry Backyard Homestead), but I can at least make a mean salsa from the tomatoes, peppers, and herbs. Read more…

photo credit: tiffanywashko

Cloth diapers have been the only choice mothers have had for centuries. With the arrival of the disposable diaper in 1940, parenting was turned on its head. Parents were freed from the constant need to wash and dry diapers ever day, instead they could simply toss out a used diaper and put on a fresh cleaning one. However, many parents are now returning to cloth diapers for environmental and health issues. Are cloth diapers really better than the disposable ones?

The average child will go through almost 6,000 diapers in their lifetime. That is a lot of dirty diapers, all of which will eventually find their way into a landfill. These diapers can take up to 500 years to fully decompose, slowly leaking chemicals into the ground as they do so. Cloth diapers, however, are washed and reused several times before being retired. Less trash and fewer chemicals making their way into the world is always a good thing. Read more…

photo credit: kafka4prez

I have a small, ceramic, kitchen scrap bin that I use for collecting compost material. Normally I dump it out every evening and wash it out. This system has worked great, up until now. Suddenly there are gnats flying all over the kitchen.

Since the Mr. isn’t the compost and gardening type, he’s suggesting that i ditch the whole thing. He was willing to put up with it until now, but bugs in the house crosses a line for him. For me too, but I’m certain there is a way to keep kitchen compost scraps without gnats or other bugs. There has to be a way, because no one else is talking about the little flying things in their houses. Read more…