pause

sorry there have been no posts. everyone reaches this point in blogging it seems. things have honestly been crazy since coming back from mexico (you can check out the photos on flickr linked to the right). we had a wonderful trip, but life was waiting for us when we got back. some big changes for us in the works. we will be back soon. until then, peace!

One Year!!

This post has been scheduled in advanced because Guthrie and I are vacationing in the Yucatan Peninsula right now. We have not taken a vacation together that has lasted longer than 5 days, we have not been out of the country together, and we have only been on a vacation that didn't involve a car once. We are super pumped. After working very hard in Atlanta and over the past year, we need to some time to relax and rejuvenate--and swim in the ocean :)

What we've learned:
Small changes add up to a lot. Our lifestyle has changed a lot since our first couple months of living together in St. Paul. Atlanta felt like a set back, and now, here in Minneapolis, we have been able to make conscious decisions with lasting impact. We have definitely learned that working towards sustainability takes time (duh!) and patience. My favorite project has been our worms (video here). We keep chugging along, we will create a very earth- and community-centered way of life that we can pass down through a future generation.

What's next:
We are going to continue to document our efforts. It's a helpful resource for us when we need to recycle something we don't normal do or when we need to remember the name of a certain business. We are definitely in a transition time right now. We are both making big career moves--Guthrie is changing directions and I am looking for my first ESL teaching position. We are taking big leaps into adulthood and have even taking a Homebuyer Workshop (HUD Approved) through PRG.org. After completing the workshop, we can schedule an appointment for free homeownership counseling. They will help us set realistic goals that will put us on track for buying a home (hopefully!) in the next two years. With a home, Guthrie and I are not only making a commitment to be community members, but we also have more autonomy in making more sustainable decisions for our household. We are very excited and will also keep you posted with updates related to that topic. I also want to expand the topics of our posts and share yummy meals that we make as we attempt to utilize all of our veggies from our CSA. Guthrie and I also hope to expand our bicycle knowledge and try to cut down on plastics. I hope to continue to knit (as I am going to be an auntie and knitting baby things are so fun and cute!) and also hope to sample more homebrew from Guthrie. As we head off to new careers, we would also like to find ways to introduce more green/sustainable ideas into the workplace. Lots of goals--we are excited for our second year in Minneapolis together.

Peace!

PS: Did I mention that we are on the beach right now?  8-)

Fifty-Seven - Mattress Upkeep & Cleaning

How do you clean a mattress? I recently found some posts on ReNest about keeping your mattress fresh and lasting a long time--keeping it out of landfills, like I referenced in a previous post.

Besides washing our sheets weekly, here's what we are doing:

1. Spot Clean. Strip it and look for stains. If there are any, us an eco fabric spot cleaner or a little diluted mild soap. Clean and let dry. Even better--let it dry in the sun. The direct sunlight can naturally disinfect the mattress. We live upstairs in the duplex so I'm not dragging that thing outside. Though putting it in front the window will do the trick for a small spot. If you have a mattress cover, wash it. Also, wash and air out your pillows.

2. Flip and/or Rotate. Many mattresses don't let you flip, but if you can, mark the corners so that you can flip it one season, rotate the next so the head becomes the foot, flip the next, then rotate. If you can't do that, just rotate every season. It will help the mattress wear evenly and keep if lasting longer.


3. Freshen Up. Sprinkle baking soda over the mattress and let it sit for 15 minutes (longer if needed!). I've also heard that you can use lavender. Vacuum up the baking soda and the dust bunnies at the same time. 

Do this once per season and your mattress will last longer and you'll breathe easier.


Peace!

Fifty-Six - Garden + Composting Expansion!

Guthrie and I got our seeds from the local food resource hub. For $10, we received more than we needed, so we were able to share with friends. We also received little plants like broccoli and cabbage in the first batch and tomatoes and eggplant in the second.

My first week off, I worked hard to complete the new raised bed with wood recycled from the our old box spring. This year, we are definitely doing something different. The garden is much bigger, and we are expanding what we are growing. We are still trying to keep it simple, using ideas from the Square Foot Gardening method from the book with the same name. I would love a copy of the book, and was only able to have it one hand for three weeks because there were many people waiting to read this book at the library. Still, I learn a lot about when, where, how deep, how far apart, how many plants two people really need, etc.

We are also turning into composting fools. The worms are doing well, but we are no longer composting in the backyard. Honestly, pallet composters or the nice ones you buy work much better and are easier to turn. Instead, we are able to bring anything the worms won't eat to Paradise Community Garden to put into their bins (they have four!). They are able to turn out compost much faster and definitely need it in the garden.

So, many of the seeds are planted (the rest tomorrow when the soil is a little drier), the compost has been added, the beds are weeded, waiting for sprouts (and trying to keep the bunnies away!). Hopefully we will have some wonderful, very local, organic produce in a couple of months. Yum!

Peace!

Shout Out: Beez Kneez!

Check this out: The Beez Kneez. It sure is. Kristy Lynn, cyclists, beekeeper, and Minneapolitan delivers raw honey to your doorstep--dressed as a bee!

This is what she's got for you:

Clover/Basswood Honey

• 12 fl oz jar (1.12 pounds honey): $6
• 32 fl oz jar (3 pounds honey) : $15

Buckwheat Honey

• 12 fl oz jar (1.12 pounds honey): $7
• 32 fl oz jar (3 pounds honey): $18

Both are AMAZING! The bees work at the Bar Bell Bee Ranch in Squaw Lake, MN. The clover/basswood is sweet and smooth and the buckwheat (to quote a friend) is "farmy" and rich. Check out her website for pictures, info, pricing, and an order form. If you live in Minneapolis, she'll come to your door. If you don't, let me know and I can order you some. Our first order we were taking a much needed nap and missed her! I can't wait to see her buzzing by the next time with some more honey. I'm buying big jars next time!

By the way, I am done with the licensure part of grad school :)

Peace!

Laundry Detergent - New Recipe

I don't like the laundry detergent recipe I got from Bonzai Aphrodite that I posted on my Green Cleaning post. It's just too clumpy and too much work for the amount. It worked fine, but I want to experiment. Sadly, we've been buying laundry detergent again because being in grad school eats up all of my free time. Now that I am done (did I mention before that I am done?! :) ), I have more time to try some new ones out. I came across a website with 10 different versions on the same thing -- some liquid, some powder, some large quantities, some small. I am trying recipes 1 and 4. I started with #4. It's way easy, though I will let you know how it works later.

-------------------------------

finished product

Powdered Laundry Detergent

-2 cups soap finely grated (I used Zote, because it's what I had, though any castile soap or something that does not have a lot of perfume)
-1 cup Washing Soda
-1 cup Borax

Mix well. Store in an airtight container. Use 2 tablespoons per full load. Simple.

-------------------------------

melting the soap

Liquid Detergent

-1 quart water (boiling)

-2 cups bar soap (grated)

-2 cups Borax

-2 cups Washing Soda

1. Add the grated soap to the boiling water and stir until melted. Keep on low heat while melting.

2. Pour the soap water into a large, clean pail and add the Borax and Washing Soda. Stir well until all is dissolved.

3. Add 2 gallons of water, stir until well mixed.

4. Cover pail and use 1/4 cup for each full load. Stir/shake the soap before using. 

-------------------------------

getting creative with my containers

I'll let you know how they work! As you can see from the pictures, the powdered version takes up way less space and has the obvious plus of not using water in the recipe. Though I know some washers don't do well with powdered detergents and they also don't work with septic tanks. We'll try them out this weekend. I'll leave you with an interesting post on baking soda from ReNest.

Peace!

PS: It's so nice being done with school! The posts are longer, more details and now photos are back! 

Fifty-Five - Spring Cleaning + Online Resources + a little less paper

This is a hodgepodge week. I don't feel like each one in itself is good for a week, but all of these are things we did not do/utilize last year.

Swaps
The clothing swap was a fabulous event and I am loving my new threads. I also wanted to shout out a couple of resources that we have signed up for accounts online that have helped us to give and get cool secondhand stuff.

Twins Cities Free Market - Powered by Eureka! Recycling. It's a lot like the free section from Craiglists. People giving away a lot of furniture, household items, some bikes, toys, anything! You can also great listings for things in good condition that you want to get rid of. 

Freecycle Network - Guthrie and I just picked up a humidifier on this cite. Something we wanted all winter, but with some patience and timing, we will have one for next winter that was free, in the 'hood, and did not end up in a landfill just because someone didn't need it anymore (they are moving away to better winters). Not only can you search and browse what people are giving away, but you can also request items. 

Connecting with our Community - Online
Guthrie and I are finding some great new ways of being in touch with our community. While living in Atlanta, there was a message board for people who lived in the neighborhood where I worked. I joined the group to help aid in projects for Everyday Leaders, the service-learning after school club I facilitated. Here in Minneapolis there is a very cool online resource called E-Democracy -- a site for local politics and action in Minnesota. It's like an online "town hall". Read more about its mission here. We are in the group dedicated to all things Powderhorn. Like any online group, you can receive messages a little or as much as you want--I get nice email digest once a day at 3 pm and click on the posts that are relevant to mean. Guthrie and I learned about the Take Back the Night Vigil, PoHo events, info related to Powderhorn 365, history about our neighborhood, and general requests. We also recently made a request for compost and a neighborhood who is unable to garden this year due to housework has generously donated to us and Paradise Garden.

Along Chicago -- Main Street Market

Powderhorn 365
I realized last week we have not mentioned this. Guthrie got involved in this project last summer when looking on Flickr for photo groups related to PoHo. The project is awesome. Each day of the week a photographer is assigned to take one photo within the neighborhood and post it to the blog. There are more than one photo per day on the Flickr account, but the blog gives a very nice running history of the blog. It celebrates the people and businesses that are from Lake to 38th, Chicago to Cedar. Guthrie is sometimes featured as a "guest" photographer on the days that the regulars are unable to fulfill their duties. Look at his work for this year here. At the end of the year, a book is created of the 365 photos. They are for purchase online at the website as well. Guthrie has met some cool neighbors through this project and some, including Guthrie, are going to documenting the work at the Paradise Community garden this summer.

Check Register
Guthrie just announced today as he was balancing the check book that we need a new register, but we don't have any more in the drawer. Sadly, my first instinct was to do what we would normally do, order more. But then I said, I'm sure we can do this on the computer. Sure enough, Microsoft Excel has check register workbooks. It's great because we can categorize as we go for budgeting and it does the math for us. I know this is simple and almost silly, but it's a good reminder how there are still so many little changes we can make.

Alright, all of those little things make up our 55th post. Peace!

Fifty-Four - Paradise

Sorry for the delay! Guthrie and I have honestly accidentally found ourselves involved in a community garden. We met a wonderful neighbor through the sustainability community and now I have jumped right into to this wonderful project: Paradise Community Garden / Jardín Paraíso. It is beautiful, bilingual communal garden next to South City Cafe that just started last year. It is democratically run and any and all can come and pitch in. You come, you reap the rewards, you get a say, and you connect in English and in Spanish to some wonderful community members. My sense of community has increased tremendously and I have met some wonderful people. Guthrie is getting involved by working with others from Powderhorn 365 to document the goings-on at the garden through photography. This is also wonderful because we are able to bring our excess compost that the worms can't eat up to the garden as well. This is helping us to learn more about gardening, meet with neighbors, be a part of a community beautification project, and compost more! Please come and join us Tuesday 5-7 and Saturdays 2-4!

Peace!

Happy May Day!

Fifty-Four will be coming later this week (updates on the garden expansion and community resources relating to that that we are tapping into...) but for now -- go enjoy May Day!!! We are having a little get together at our place and are heading to the park a little later. You should, too!

Check it out here!

Peace!

Fifty-Three - Clothing Swap

Last weekend I attended a clothing swap that some of my friends put on. It was a wonderful event! One that occurs every fall and spring and is growing in participation. I attended a few years back, but it is a much bigger event.

What is a clothing swap? It is a day where people (in this case, women) bring all of their unwanted, but in still good condition, clothes to a house where it is sorted by type (pants, skirts, dresses, shoes, accessories, shirts, sweaters, etc) and then everyone is free to "shop!". There are mirrors and places to try things on, and everyone can take what they want. It is very open, you don't have to take as much as your bring, or take turns, it's very diplomatic. People bring snacks to share and once everyone is done swapping, the rest of the clothes are bagged up and delivered to goodwill. The group has donated over 50 bags of clothes so far.

I was excited because I was able to find pants, a dress, sweaters, and good clothes for work. I was also able to invite some classmates and hope this event continues to expand. The more people the come, the better selection of styles and sizes. The main lady in charge of the event is moving to California, and I hoping to help organize it with two of the other leading ladies of the event. Interested in being a part of the next one? Contact me and I'll get you on the invite list!

Peace!

Fifty-Two - Powderhorn Park Sustainability Committee

It's one thing to change how you live your life and interact with others within your home, but to act sustainably in all things you do within your neighborhood is a whole different ballgame. Laura and I have made 51 changes that invariably have an effect on how we relate to and interact with the outside world, but, ultimately, the end results are seen within the home.

Laura and I recently joined the newly-formed Powderhorn Park sustainability committee as a way to make sustainable changes that affect the entire neighborhood. We recently attended the first committee meeting where we laid out a hanful of ideas as to what we envision the community transitioning into with our help. The first meeting was spent discussing the recent Earth Day Clean-Up event that was sponsored by the group, so upcoming meetings will allow for more brain-storming related to our mission, goals and tasks.

On April 9th Laura, along with many of the committee members and other neighbors, atteneded the 6th Annual Sustainable Communities Conference. The conference touched on the work of the Transistion Towns program and what local transition groups are doing. Other topics included bike and pedestrian safety, rain gardens, how to start and grow community gardens, info on how to join local Food Resource Hubs, environmental justice, housing, water quality and a lot more. There was even a geographical breakout session to meet up with other neighbors to share ideas on how to make your community more sustainable.

Our goal is to take our views on how to minimally impact the enviroment for the worse and how to greatly impact it for the better, create and maintain safe and thriving local economies and to do so in a manner that includes everyone's participation to the entire neighborhood. We hope we can pool our thoughts and resources with those of the rest of the committee and the neighborhood to live lives that benefit ourselves, our neighbors and our Earth. Moving beyond the sheetrocked walls of our home to the greater home.

Shout Out - Harriet Brewing Company

Since we had to post Sunday's blog early in time for the deadline, I thought I would write up something quick for this Sunday. Continuing our commitment to local brew, we would like to shout out the Harriet Brewing Co.! (and a shout out to my dad for standing in line for an hour and a half on a Saturday awhile back to purchase our growler for us).

They are located on Minnehaha Ave just south of Lake Street and the Hub in South Mpls and are open Wednesdays and Fridays 4-7 and Saturdays 1-6 with live music and fun. I highly recommend the Divine Oculust Belgain-Style Golden Strong (and it is at 8% abv!) but yummy!

Fifty-One - Bulk Buying Paper through Eureka Recycling

Over the last couple of years in grad school, even with printing double sided and reading articles online when possible, we have used a lot of paper. Eureka Recycling has a biannual bulk buy of 100% post consumer recycled paper that is process chlorine-free available for discount from what you would pay anywhere else. You buy by the case (10 reams) and can split with households or keep it all yourself. We'll be splitting with a friend. This is posted early because you need to order by Thursday, April 7. There is also colored paper and paper with three-holed punched, and cardstock.

Fifty - Greener Menstruation

Yup. I said it. I did birth control and now I'm going to green up my periods. I have been working at this for a while now, but I'm going to take it a step further. I will go step by step through my journey. Beyond green, think about these products, what they are made of, and where we put them. Don't we want the safest, most chemical-free products?

1. Greener tampons and pads
The first switch happened when I ran out of tampons in college after moving near the Wedge. I didn't want to make the trek to Target for just that one thing so I looked in the Personal Care isle and was amazed. I found Natracare products, read the box, bought some liners and tampons (applicator free) I started to learn more.

2. Party in Pants / GladRags
Still, I was using tampons that needed to be thrown away. Though difficult to go back to pads, I was startled by these figures from Tree Hugger: "73,000,000 women in the US use tampons. The average woman uses 16,800 tampons in a lifetime; 24,360 tampons for women on estrogen-replacement therapy. Assuming a 40-year period of fertility, that is over 30 billiontampons per year which must be handled by special sanitary disposal systems."
Yuck. I started with GladRags. Honestly, too bulky. Party in my Pants, if you can get over the stupid name, is actually really nice. The slogan's better -- Cloth Pads for the Princess on her Period. For only the cost of shipping, you can try out a liner for free. Marie Claire even has an article review of them. You could also make your own or even, if you can't do the pads, try Sea Sponge reuseable tampons. They last a few months, making them better that the disposable kind.

3. Diva Cup / The Keeper
I talked to my doctor and made the switch. I've practiced a bit, but all went smoothly and I am looking forward to my first real test coming up soon. (wow, usually not excited for these... :) )

It simply folds, is inserted like a tampon, and you remove and rinse as needed. You can wear it overnight, for extended periods of time, and don't have to worry about TSS. This is also going to save me a TON of money! One product for $35-40 does it all--and with no TRASH! Again, many have already written a lot about this topic and this product, so check out this brief posting from Tree Hugger for more details.

Still not convinced? Try this. Take a box of tampons. Divide the cost by then number in them. Decide how many you use in a month. A year? See how much it's costing you. Then, add in what it's costing Mother Nature. I think it's time to switch to something greener.

Peace!

Forty-Nine - Minneapolis Local Food Resource Hubs Network

For $10, Guthrie and I have joined and registered our garden through the South Minneapolis Hub. I pilot program through the City of Minneapolis and Gardening Matters -- a local non-profit community to strengthen community gardening in the Twin Cities. The mission of the Hub is to support "Minneapolis residents to grow, preserve, and cook their own fresh produce." For $10, we get seeds, seedlings, classes at a discount, and are connected with other gardeners in our area. It sounded like a great way for Guthrie and I take our garden to a new level, and really get ready for a full season of planting, weeding, and harvesting (I hope!). There are currently three Hubs you can join in Mpls - Powderhorn-Central (woohoo!), Philips-Ventura Village, or Northside. To learn more, and download the order form here. We'll keep you updated with pictures of seeds and sprouts as we get back to gardening. Tough to think about with the new snow fall that has re-covered our garden, but we are very excited for spring!

Peace!

Forty-Eight - Bike Maintenance (and a side note on good rain gear)

Bike Maintenance Class at Sibley Bike Depot

Laura and I are currently taking a 4 week bike maintenance class at the Sibley Bike Depot. It's a nonprofit, volunteer-run bike co-op that offers various classes for those looking to be more independent bike owners. The course covers how to fix a flat and adjust derailers, brakes, gears and rims. The lovely thing about the class is that there are 9 mounts so you are welcome to bring you bike in (on Wednesdays as well for open bike repair night) and work on it while learning about bike mechanics. Laura and I are making 2011 the year we bike often, not just some of the time.

Our goal is to replace the car as much as possible and prove that we can get rid of our old bikes next year and get some decent ones. Laura and I got more involved in maintaining our bikes last summer but this class is solidifying our desire to truly understand how our bikes work. The wonderful thing about having a couple of old road bikes is that it provides us with ample opportunity to tinker with all the bike components without the fear of ruining the bike.

Safe travels!

Umbrellas and Rain Gear
Guthrie and I are using our REI dividend to get new rain gear -- jackets and umbrellas. Why am I posting it here? I read once a blog--TreeHugger? that having good rain gear makes you more green. You are more likely to bike and walk and take the bus if you are ready to face the elements. I also think that it will mean more hiking trips for the two of us since we often face rain when we try to go camping. :) I'm excited about our new umbrellas because they have the extra flap for wind to escape so you don't have the flipping-inside-out problem. Want options for eco-friendly umbrellas (though sans flap)? Click here.

Forty-Seven - Eye Glasses Donation

I have been wearing glasses since I was 2 years old and have gone through at least 10 pairs since then (maybe more if what my mother says about my abhorrence of glasses as a child is really true). And now that Laura has gotten into the eyeglass wearing business, we know that we will each be accumulating pairs of old glasses in the closet with nothing for them to do. Well, Laura and I love to donate. We donate our time to BBBS and our Little, we donate many household items to Goodwill, Savers and Salvation Army every turn of the season and we donate our time time to community activities. Laura had the wonderful idea that we should donate one of the two pairs of my glasses that have been in the closet with nothing to do for a long time (leaving one pair as backup). I was on board. Now, I have some thick glasses for those of you who know me so I really hope my pair will find their way into the hands and on the face of someone with a similar affliction as mine. Don't believe me? See the picture below!

Laura did some searching and found out that most any eyeglass retailers including as LensCrafters, Pearle, Target Optical and many local optometrists have contracted with One Sight, a family of charitable vision care programs dedicated to improving vision through outreach, research and education since 1988, to offer lightly used glasses to those in need around the world. In fact, they have provided free vision care and eyewear to over 7 million folks worldwide through their global and regional clinics (various U.S. locations including Mpls and ATL) since their inception. They even accept and give away non-prescription sunglasses, so all you ladies sick of those big-ass sunglasses or all you men sick of those Top Gun look-alikes, give 'em away to a good cause.

Laura and I have decided to go to a nearby Pearle Vision retailer next week to donate a pair of my glasses. We feel good knowing that we can donate yet another thing of ours that someone else needs more us. We hope you do the same! Click here for participating retailers in your area. Remember, they have to be lightly used!

Best!

Guthrie (& Laura)

Good news -- the CSA is on!

Just thought I would follow up. The deposit is going in the mail tomorrow :) Peace!

Forty-Six - Minnesota Wines

This a bit of a cop out, but Guthrie and I are going to blog on our experience going to a wine tasting at a local Minnesota winery. We have a had a crazy week: my last week of student teaching and we have just hit a wall. We decided to hit the road, leave the kitties at home, and head to Winona for a night of relaxation at the Village House Inn.

The winery we visited was the Cannon River Winery in Cannon Falls, MN, about an hour southeast of the Twin Cities. For $7, we were able to try all of their wines they had available from grapes grown in Minnesota at their vineyard in Sogn Valley, 10 miles southwest of their store, which is located in downtown Cannon Falls. The staff is knowledgeable and the atmosphere is welcoming. They use hybrid Minnesota grape varsities like the St. Pepin, LaCrosse, and the Frontenac. They even have an apple wine made from honeycrisp apples and a honey mead made from 100% Minnesota honey. They are a part of the Three Rivers Wine Trail -- something we would like to explore more as we expand our palate for Minnesota (and Wisconsin) wines. For a listing of where to buy these wines in town, click here. You can also order wines online here. Our favorites were the soft, crisp Sogn Blanc and the smokey Minnesota Meritage. Cheers!

Fourty-Five - CSA!

Farmer Kate -- from her website

Sorry this is a few days overdue. Guthrie and I have been working hard doing our research, asking for recommendations, and seeking out friends to find the right CSA for us. We are choosing North Creek Community Farm in Prairie Farm, WI.

Community Support Agriculture (CSA) is growing in popularity as people are realizing the importance of knowing where our food comes from and supporting local farmers. What is a CSA? Here's the deal (from Local Harvest): a farmer offers a number of "shares" to the public. It's usually a box of produce, but some farms offer cheeses and meat and dried meals for over the winter. Consumers buy a membership or a subscription in order to receive these boxes of happiness each week throughout the farming season. Of course, paying a farmer is not a guarantee. You are making an investment in the farm, and what you receive sometimes depends more on the weather than on what the farmer has planned. Generally it's 15-18 weeks of produce in Minnesota. Most farmers deliver to multiple drop off sites--sometimes a store, sometimes someone's house. Our site is three blocks from our house--perfect. For more information or for starting your search on a CSA, take a look at the Local Harvest website.

What's included in our CSA? Tons!

• weekly fresh, organic vegetables
• a variety of fresh herbs
• bouquets of fresh flowers
• Weekly newsletter with seasonal recipes and tips
• invites to the farm and its seasonal festivals

I used the awesome list serve for connecting neighborhoods called e-democracy to put out an "ad" for a CSA buddy. We have connected with a family who live in PoHo and they are willing to share the share with us. This is also working out well because we will be able to to connect and meet another family in our neighborhood. It is not 100% official, still waiting for the deposit from the neighbor, but I wanted to post this. If it falls through, I promise, we have a back up. I'll keep you posted. Until then, we are optimistic and can't wait for the first drop off!

Peace!

Forty-Five - Delay! Hold tight!

Sorry for the delay! We promise one for this week--we've been working on it and were hoping to have the CSA all signed up and ready, but there have been some delays. We don't want to post until we confirmed, but we have two choices and we'll be in touch by mid-week, promise! We are having trouble finding someone to split the CSA from North Creek Community Farm. If we can't find someone, we will sign up for half bushels from Vasa Gardens. Though, if you would be interested in splitting, let us know! :)

Forty-Four - Shower Curtain Liner

Guthrie and I got a nylon shower curtain liner. According to the green year, most shower curtain liners are made with polyvinyl chloride (PVC). When heated (like from a hot shower) it can emit harmful cancer causing gases. Instead of breathing this in every time we take a shower, we have purchased a waterproof nylon liner that is machine washable.

Stay warm and safe at home!

Peace!

Forty-Three - Wine Corks

 

This is a special Valentine's Day post. When you purchase your wine, keep in mind the kind of cork it uses. Of course you can recycle the bottle, but what about the cork? I learned through the Cork Forest Conservation Alliance that cork trees are not cut down to harvest cork, and that you can recycle cork. I also learned that it takes more than 10 times the energy to make a screw cap over the cork cap, and it is lined with plastic (bpa?). Also, the plastic stoppers are made from petro-chemicals, where are not biodegradable and produce more than 10 times the greenhouse gases in its production. Guthrie and I are making a commitment to buy wine with natural cork. It's easy to tell if the bottle is a screw cap, but not so easy to know if the stopper is plastic or cork. However, we are making note of our favorite wines with natural cork and are going to stick with what we know. We are also collecting our corks and will bring them to Whole Foods for their recycling program partnered with Cork Reharvest. Cheers!

Peace!

Forty-Two - Greener Cookware

The cheap pots and pans laura and I have had for over the last 5 or 6 years have been beat up, scratched up, and, for a long time, have shown signs of teflon peeling as the non-stick coating gradually dissolves while under the duress of extreme heat. These pots and pans are made with a man-made material called polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) AKA Teflon, which has been shown to corrode and emit toxic vapors when under high heat over extened uses. Another man-made material, Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) or 'C8', has been used for many years to make pots and pans. A third substance used to create this cookware is petroleum which has America by the cojones to this day, even amongst growing sentiment against its use.

These materials have been lauded for their ability to repel oil, grease and water and, in general, make cooking easier for us. These materials have also been showing up in our bodies at greater amounts over the years especially over seas in countries that are using second-hand cookware at extreme heat for long periods of time. Dupont an avid user of PFOAs and PTFEs for a long time settled a class-action lawsuit with the Washington, WV community recently over abundance of PFOAs in the drinking water of the residents. This has led to 3 epidemiologists studying the level and impact of PFOAexposure on the health of Americans. The results of this ongoing study will be available this year.

Laura and I are green, no doubt about it. We want to know the story behind the goods we use; we want to know why a certain process is used and the materials used during that process to make products we buy. We are happy knowing that community members and epidemiologists are scrutinizing what we put into our bodies enough so that it is putting pressure on scientists to evaluate the materials used to making cookware more user-friendly while limiting the negative impacts to our health.

We are also pleased that the the handle of the 8" skillet is made of 70% recycled steel and the surface hard-anodized so it won't scratch. Plus, the skillet is versatile; it's oven safe up to 500 degrees which limits the amount of pans we use to cook and therefore have to wash, saving us time and energy.

Next up, we will be replacing our two large stock pots with one that is made from recylced materials.

Cheers!

Forty-One - Green Contraception

Guthrie told me this post was all me. :) I have been worried about contraception for many reasons, but mostly for the hormones that it puts into a women's body for such a long time. After reading this article on the Huffington Post website, I decided to finally make a switch for me and my planet. The Huffington Post decided to determine the greenest type of contraception out there. Many would say it's abstinence, but here are some interesting facts (without getting into too much debate). From the article, according to the Guttmacher Institute, "200 million women worldwide do not have access to family planning tools, resulting in 52 million unwanted pregnancies each year. In the United States, 50 percent of all pregnancies are unplanned." This is unacceptable, though that soap box is not this blog, so back on topic.

I'll give the summary on what the article discussed:

Condoms - 437 million condoms were sold in the US in 2008. There are now vegan options available (latex condoms contain a dairy derivative). Vegan ones are made from tree derivatives. Still, condoms produce a lot of solid waste each year and many are improperly disposed of. There are some condom companies listed in the article that donate money to charity or are fair-trade and biodegradable.

The Pill - the synthetic estrogen, progestin, etc are released into our water system through urination, which impacts wildlife and our own health when that water gets circulated back through our tap. Many aquatic species are seeing problems with males being feminized due to increased hormones in the water. The pill also comes in some of the most ridiculous packaging that is disposed of monthly.

Vaginal Ring (NuvaRing) - lasts three weeks and uses much less plastic packaging than the pill, though there is still the problem of the hormones.

The Patch - very similar to the ring, lasts one week and has less packaging than the pill, but still, there are hormones involved.

IUDs - 99% effective, little waste, can be hormone-free, and last up to ten years, though less than 2% of the US population uses this method. The up front cost is substantial, but is very cost effective over time.

Also, if none of these are appealing, you can look into the Family Awareness Planning. Nothing needed, if you abstain during your most fertile days (or you use a back up like a condom or diaphragm).

If you are interested, read the article, read lots more articles, talk to your doctor, your partner, and find what works best for you.

Last week I stopped my oral contraception, Microgestin, and went to the doctor to have an IUD inserted.  That's our number 41.

Peace!

Forty - Enjoying the winter weather

Art Sled Rally Workshop - by GB

Since moving back to Minnesota, Guthrie and I (mostly me) have not been very excited about the bitter winters that we were able to remove ourselves from for two years. Though, because things just get cold and ugly, we don't go outside much. We stay in, keep the heat up, sit inside, or go out to eat a lot. Even though it gets colder here, the snow provides for great winter activities that would get us outside (allowing us to turn the heat down while we're away), get us exercising, and more excited about and energetic about coming home for a home-cooked meal. We have started off by sledding and cross-country skiing--something I haven't done since the 5th grade! It is really fun and makes January much more enjoying. We have also signed up for a skate skiing class so we can try out the other type of cross-country skiing. We will be participating in the Art Sled Rally at Powderhorn Park next Sunday with our Little. We hope to do some ice-skating as well and support our local parks.

Peace!

Thirty-Nine - Saving energy while cooking

We are now covering our pots when we boil water. This helps to keep heat from escaping and helps it boil faster (almost half the time as when uncovered). This can't always be done when cooking, since cook time is key for different foods and textures, but we will try whenever possible to cover our pots when we are cooking.

Also, we are making a commitment to use the oven light. The easy thing to do to check on our roasting or baking is to open the oven and take a peek. The Green Year says that each time the oven is opened, the temperature drops 25-50 degrees. The oven has to work that much harder to recoup that energy and it does affect your cooking. This also motivates me to keep that window a little cleaner so that I can see through when I have to check on things like fabulous blueberry muffins while they are baking.

Peace!

Plastic Recycling Update

For those in South who do not want to drive to the Eastside Co-op, Jacob's Well Church has a drop site on Sundays (you can drop and run) that will do their own deliver to the Eastside Co-op for you! Check out their posting on that here.

No Impact Week -- ending early

So, Guthrie and I were suppose to work on water yesterday. We started going through the steps and, like many of the tasks, they weren't really geared toward us or wouldn't work well with our subzero temps (I am not taking a cold shower). The water calculator was in the metric system and then it goes on to tell us not to use bottled water. Plus, I am sick of the YES! Magazine emails to get me to do Twitter chats with the "No Impact Man". This project sounded cool, but is getting too gimmicky and I don't feel like subscribing to a magazine that is delivered (not very eco), so stop asking.

Today we are suppose to give back. Well, we volunteer often. Guthrie was volunteering all week for Arc and next week we are taking our Little to an MLK celebration and making blankets for United Way. Sunday is suppose to be an eco-sabbath, and we are suppose to relax, spend time together, and stay home. We want to go XC skiing and go to yoga, so I am going to say no to saying home. Plus, it's noon on Saturday, and I am still in my robe. I think I am taking care of the relaxing.

You could chalk this up to laziness, but I would like us get to back to our usual weekly posts (starting next Sunday) because that works well for us. The idea is nice, but we've got our way that allows for a little more creativity and flexibility. I definitely suggest taking a peak at the website, but doing it on your own pace would be much more meaningful.

Peace!

No Impact Week: Energy

Let's get to it! Steps for today:

1. Assess current energy consumption habits. Walk from room to room in your home. List everything in each room that uses energy to operate. Put a star next to any item that you would ordinarily use in the remaining four days of your No Impact Experiment.


Kitchen
-toaster*
-radio*
-oven*
-refrigerator*
-overhead light*
-cabinet light*
-window lights
-lights above sink*
-rice cooker (2)
-hand mixer
-blender
-food processor
-crock-pot

Dining Room
-overhead light*
-battery charger
-calculator*
-cell phone (2)*

Living Room
-overhead light*
-computer (2)*
-ipod (2)
-ipad*
-DVD player* (remote)*
-lamp*
-record player*
-TV*
-VCR (remote)
-receiver* (remote)*
-battery alarm clock*
-point & shoot camera*
-wii + two controllers
-digital converter

Office
-overhead light*
-lamp*
-printer
-minolta SLR
-nikon SLR*
-external hard drive
-bass w/ amp
-pedometer

Bathroom
-hair dryer*
-overhead light*
-overhead fan*
-beard trimmer*

Bedroom
-overhead light*
-lamp*
-small floor fan*

Random
-stairwell light*
-hallway light*
-outdoor lights*
-lights in basement*
-washer*
-dryer*
-flashlights (4)
-camping lantern
-stud finder
-drill
-bike lights (4)
-vacuum

2. Next to each starred item, indicate if you are going to eliminate or mitigate your usage of that item.

We will make it a point to mitigate all of our electricity use. We have also pulled out more candles and will use those to help light the house in the cold, dark winter evenings. We also have dimmers on our main lights that we will use. Also always, we air dry many of our items on our basement line dryer.

3. Unplug! Turn it off. Power down. Go off the grid. For the truly adventurous, turn off your electricity completely (Ha! It's winter and I need a little artificial light since the sun sets at 4). I think we have to try this in the summer. :) The hard part will be to not cook. I love cooking in the winter. It warms the house and our bellies. Saturday, we'll put something in the crock-pot instead (oops, didn't star it) so we can keep the oven off.

We use power strips and will work hard to keep things unplugged when not in use and those power strips off. We also have CFLs in our lights/lamps.

4. Continue to reflect on your energy use (though they do tell us to blog everyday...taking up energy...hmmm...

5. Five things for which we are grateful:
   1. No snow today
   2. Sunlight (allows me to keep the lights off and the shades open!)
   3. Comedy
   4. Music
   5. Good food -- as always!

Peace!

Thirty-Eight - No Impact Week: Food

Alright -- we had to make a list of everything we ate yesterday to prepare for today. We went out on a double date to Red Stag Supper Club's cheap date night. The owner also owns the Bryant Lake Bowl (probably my favorite spot in Mpls) and Barbette (had brunch there just before Christmas). Red Stag is the first LEED Certified restaurant in MN and like it's companion restaurants, is dedicated to local, organic food and earth-friendly practices. Read more about it here.

Guthrie
2 homemade blueberry muffins
2 organic granola bars
Amy's Bowl Frozen Meal: Mexican Casserole
@Red Stag Supper Club
   cheese place
   grilled top sirloin with red pepper and onion hash
   raspberry mousse with spongecake

Laura

2 homemade blueberry muffins

1 organic granola bar

1 La Croix sparkling water

Leftovers - homemade mock duck, bok choy, & broccoli stir fry with soba noodles

@Red Stag

   cheese place

   grilled top sirloin with red pepper and onion hash

   raspberry mousse with spongecake

Steps for today:

1. Calculate our "foodprint". This was impossible, since nothing we ate really came up, and it didn't take into account that 3/4s of what we ate was organic, and about 1/4 was local (MN or WI) and 1/3 was local (Midwest) and everything else came from elsewhere in the US. 

2. Change our diet. Honestly, we did not do much to change our diet. We shopped at the co-op as per usual, got as many P6, local, and organic items as possible, the Red Stag is awesome, and we try to cook from scratch (like the muffins and stir fry) as much as possible. Lunch today was local pita and hummus from Holy Land with fresh organic veggies. 

3. Go to farmers' markets and have potlucks. This is a bit of a an Achilles heal for us--we LOVE eating out. We love eating in and cooking meals; we just LOVE good food. Though, I think we should definitely up our potlucks. This is actually spawn me to organize one for this month... (starting to plan) :)

4. Keep track of your food choices this week and reflect. 

5. Write down five things we are grateful for (I think this is a theme...)

   1. A good shovel

   2. The opportunity to volunteer

   3. Mexican food (what we're making tonight!)

   4. Public radio

   5. Public transportation (we both took it today). 

As far as tips, there are some good ones that we try to live by as well as some new ideas for us. Of course, going meatless is a great idea. Trying to have vegan days is also a great idea. I am hoping that when I graduate and we go back to a more normal cooking schedule, that we will deliberately incorporate vegan days into our flexitarian lifestyle. They have a great meat buying guide which you can download here. 

The new idea that we will use is when buying seafood, you can text FISH and the name of the fish to 30644. The reply will provide info about the sustainability of the fish from BlueOcean.org.

I tested it with something that I know is sustainable: Alaskan salmon. The response I received was:

(GREEN) high abundance due to good management; most are caught using purse seines, followed by gill nets and troll gear; cause little habitat damage and moderate levels of by catch. Cool. (I added that last part). This information is based off of the Smart Seafood Guide from Food & Water Watch. This is great when I forget to carry the Seafood Watch pocket guide with me (you can get an iphone app here as well) and forgot when my father ordered Chilean Sea Bass at an Shuang Cheng with me and I even enjoyed sharing it with him! It was very embarrassing, and we talked about it later. He now calls me up with questions, but it's nice to have this tool always with me as I go. 

Check back tomorrow for "Energy".

Peace!

No Impact Week: Transportation / Take Action

This has not been our winter for putting the car away. My placement in Saint Paul made things very difficult and this week is especially a weird one -- three dinner dates, two to the suburbs. We also have other activities either in the suburbs or on the other side of town due to me being on break and us cramming in a ton of activities. We will also be visiting a state park 1.5 hours away to go snowshoeing. We'll be using the car more than usual this week because of that, but the good news in my student teaching placement is on my bus route, so I will be busing five days a week. Guthrie will be busing (as he usually does) to the Courage Center 4-5 days per week. The car will get a rest. We are definitely not winter bikers, and don't pretend to be. Though I am excited to get rid of the snow already because I do miss exercising and commuting at the same time.

The manual has an interesting fact: American car owners spend an average of 1,000 hours annually behind the wheel. Yikes! I hate the car! Definitely would rather be someplace else--at least on public transit you can read (or knit!).

Okay, the steps for today (though, I'm not going to lie, due to the unusual week, we will be breaking some rules--though we have been carpooling with many of our dinner date couples and friends to these activities!):

1. Take stock of your habits. Make a list of everywhere you are going today and how you usually get there.

Guthrie -- took the bus today. I'm at home today. We will go out to eat later, but will take the car since Guthrie would miss the meeting time if he took the bus. Sadly, a draw back of public transit: It takes more time.

2. Throughout the day, make a list of everything you eat, where you eat, and where you purchase your food. (Getting reading for tomorrow!)

3. "Go! Bike, walk, scoot, glide, hop on the bus. Carpool." Due to the subzero temps and places we are going off of the bus grid, we will be doing more of the last two. I don't feel bad, it is what it is, and maybe next winter we'll be able to extend our eco-commute from the winter months. Though, now that it is cold, remember not to idle, and drive carefully and safely with properly inflated tires, it maximizes your mileage. Accelerate slowly and take your foot off of the accelerator as soon as you an when approaching a yellow or red light. If you check your MPG every time you fill up, you will see some changes. Also, make sure you are using your cruise control when you can on the highway--definitely saves on long trips. There's an interesting article that talks about using the cruise control almost all of the time to keep you at the speed limit, and to help you to accelerate slowly.

Want to learn more about how to get the most mileage out of your car? Check out hypermilers.com.

4. Reflect and write down five things you are thankful for:
  1. Family
  2. Friends
  3. Food
  4. Felines (can't believe I didn't think of this yesterday)
  5. Freckles -- why not? :)

The other part of today is to take action. They provide a link to the Sierra Club to to learn more about issues and to sign petitions all in one place. You can also sign up for quick and simple email action alerts through the Sierra Club.

That's all for today. Stay tuned tomorrow for Food!

Peace!

Thirty-Seven - No Impact Week: Trash

On the list for today:

1. Empty your trash bag from yesterday. Separate items into two piles-- stuff you used for more than ten minutes and stuff you used for less than ten minutes.

More than ten minutes:
Some yarn bits (non-compostable), some food bits (things the worms don't like), non-recyclable food, plastic stuff, and packaging material in Guthrie's home brew kit. 

Less than ten minutes:
dental floss
non-recyclable cardboard piece from my no-scratch fabric "kitty gate" project with glue guns bits on it.

We are supposed to evaluate how that makes us feel. Good, I guess, but I'm not too surprised. We don't usually have much trash. Composting is amazing (though we have had a horrible fruit fly problem and our worms are banished to the basement with jars of apple cider vinegar until they get that straightened out. We just started composting again after a couple month break :(

We will still keep our trash and collect it with us as we go through the day. We are not counting what we recycle, since this is to get people to look at what they are throwing away and what they can actually recycle.

2. Put together a no-trash travel kit. Done and done. We already take reusable water bottles, coffee/tea mugs/tumblers, forks, spoons, handkerchiefs, glass leftover food containers, reusable bags, etc with us. If you aren't, you should too.

3. Stop making trash :) The three Rs again: reduce, reuse, recycle. This is where our change comes into play. Guthrie and I are excited to have discovered through a friend that the Eastside Food Co-op on Central in NE has a great plastic recycling program! We will be saving all of our plastic and recycling it at the Coop when we have a big enough load. Here's the deal:

Rinse, sort by number (and some by color), and save the plastic and bring to the Co-op on Thursdays 3-7 pm or Saturdays 10-2pm. All items must have a number.

They accept #1-7!!  

#1 - need to separate clear from color

#2 - need to natural from color

No foam (#6) or prescription bottles (usually #5) - though read on for info on how to recycle these. 

I also copied some of their info from their FAQs:

-------------

Q. Why don’t you accept foam? It’s marked with a #6 PS.

A. Foam is EXPANDED Polystyrene (EPS), and it behaves differently than Polystyrene in re-processing, so we cannot accept foam. There are machines that can reprocess EPS, but none available for the post consumer market in the Twin Cities at this time.

Q. Why don’t you accept unmarked lids? I’ve heard that Aveda does? 

A. Aveda doesn't accept unmarked lids either.  What they do accept is rigid plastic caps.  Click here to learn more:http://www.aveda.com/aboutaveda/caps.tmpl

Q. Why don’t you accept prescription bottles? They are marked with a #5. I’ve heard the Humane Society takes them – why don’t you?

A. Even our recycler doesn’t know why prescription bottles are a recycling no-no, but they are. We can’t take them. We’ve heard that the Humane Society re-uses prescription bottles. The labels must be soaked off, the bottles must be thoroughly cleaned and dried, and they must be delivered to the Humane Society with the lids intact. We encourage our patrons to do that independently of this program.

-------------

Okay, back to the list. 

4. Reflect on our trash each day at the end of the day. So, for today:
Not as much, because we ate leftovers that were already cooked. The 2010 calendar Guthrie got for free last year with orange peels (the worms don't like them as much as we are not food recycling in the outdoor compost bin since it is full and we need to address getting a new one in spring, so we are only saving no food waste compostables that don't go with the worms (another post for another day).

5. Be proud of your efforts and write down five things we are grateful for:

   1. Family
   2. Food / Farmers :)
   3. Friends
   4. Kitties when they sleep through the night (done with the Fs)
   5. That Laura only has one more semester of grad school left :)

Peace!

Thirty-Six and a Half* - No Impact Week: Consumption

Guthrie and I are starting our No Impact Week (we blogged about it a while back). Each day in the manual has a new topic, with tips, and things that you need to do to greatly reduce your carbon footprint for the week. The point is to find some changes that can actually be sustained once the week is over. Luckily for us, we do many of things that the project asks for, but we are hoping to learn new ways to be green. We'll be updating you all everyday this week as we make our way through the manual (which we downloaded online). Feel free to download it, join the action, or do it another week. Just because the website told us this week does not mean you can't do it when you want to. The main benefit of completing the project on the set dates is to maybe link up with others in the community online to share tips, or even in person to share a meal -- though sadly, a group for Minneapolis has not been started.

To kick off our one-week "carbon cleanse", we start by looking at consumption. Here's a summary of the tasks they list for today:

1. Type up a list of things we need to buy this week.
2. Start collecting our trash everyday day in a reuseable bag, and hang on to it for the week. We will need to carry home any trash we create throughout the day. This will help us actually see what we are throwing away, and how much of it.
3. Don't shop. Luckily, we don't have much money so not shopping for extra items is easy for us :)

There is more info on shopping, though Guthrie and I are pretty good about this one. We try to fix things and are learning a lot about how to accomplish DIY projects around the house, use Twins Cities Free Cycle or Craigslist when we can before we buy (though we have bad luck), we like community garage sales, Salvation Army, Savers, and second-hand clothing.  We make our cleaners and some of our beauty products (though we will add to the list as we go). We honestly spend most of our money on food. The main part of today I am excited about is that I believe hanging on to our trash will be very educational for us. Also, having to hang on to it might make us create less -- I hope!

Okay, so our shopping list is a grocery list, yes, we do need to eat. The other thing we need to buy this week is something to keep Harper from scratching on our door frame/mirror at night. We have some organic no-scratch spray, but it only works well on fabric. Guthrie and I can't really sleep past 5:30, and since we have had a few days off (and we love to sleep in), we have been a little upset with the new baby. We have tried a combination of furniture and pillows, but with no luck -- he's long and agile and can get through anything. We will try again this morning, but if we can't think of something, I am going to the fabric store to buy some foam batting to set up, spray, and take down during the day.

Also, Guthrie is starting his home brewing today. We did not have a stock pot or a dial thermometer, but instead of buying, we are borrowing since those are items you don't use too often.

Here are some websites the manual listed to help with our (and your) consumer choices:

• ClimateCounts.org
• TheGreenGuide.com
• National Green Pages (instead of the yellow pages we are trying to avoid)

Stay turned for more -- tomorrow's topic is trash!

Peace!

*and a half? Guthrie and I just had a discussion as to whether or not we count each day as an actual change. We can't really count this first day. Even though participating in No Impact Week is new for us, it is not something that we are going to sustain (like carrying our trash with us). We will only count the days (like tomorrow) where we learn or incorporate something into our lives that will be a sustained change as to how we consume, reduce, reuse, recycle, and impact the world.