tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88063752024194587342024-09-20T09:04:55.878-06:00Making life a little greener for your body, your budget and the environment.Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00145004327456823335noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8806375202419458734.post-7954792219831521042012-05-22T19:17:00.001-06:002012-05-22T19:17:32.228-06:00

It hasn't been quite a year yet since I had solar panels installed on my home from Sungevity. I have had quite a few people however ask if I've noticed a difference, and at first I had to tell them I didn't notice much, though my bill has been on the leaner side, but we also had a warm winter, so it was hard to tell. But then as the sun got higher and the warm weather moved in my wife and I got

Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00145004327456823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8806375202419458734.post-9831853794613815972012-02-07T10:29:00.000-07:002012-02-07T10:29:01.255-07:00

Well, my fun for the last couple of days began Sunday morning. I was getting ready to go to church and went out to the garage. I pushed the button to open the door and heard a very loud noise, turned around to see my door still closed and heard the motor still running on the opener. My first thought was, "This is not good." I pushed the button again to stop the motor and then climbed into the bed

Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00145004327456823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8806375202419458734.post-38245105246433512812012-01-26T09:07:00.000-07:002012-02-07T10:34:33.077-07:00

A little over a month or two ago I bought some steel cut oats with plans to start making them and increase the fiber in my diet by a bit. The oats I purchased sat there for a bit, my excuse was I wanted to get something else like dried fruit to put in to it. A few weeks ago we got the dried fruit and my laziness kept me from trying to make it for a bit yet, but this last weekend I finally got to

Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00145004327456823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8806375202419458734.post-78968301754596097852011-12-13T21:05:00.000-07:002011-12-13T21:05:06.850-07:00

Well, we've been using the homemade stuff for awhile now and still like it. We've made it easier on ourselves by getting a bigger food processor, one that has the power to take care of the soap. One thing I did start to notice recently was that our towels were starting to smell like mildew. I knew our washing machine had to have the door left open to keep it from smelling that way, but this was

Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00145004327456823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8806375202419458734.post-1013014836001682312011-11-16T07:46:00.001-07:002011-11-16T08:49:00.636-07:00

I just read a comment someone wrote about Facebook. It wasn't long, it just contained a short quip about the user's mom and what she said about it. What she said was that ever since Facebook became popular and everyone started using it she, being one of the few who doesn't use it, has lost track of what is going on with the people she knows. She used to get the occasional e-mail or

Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00145004327456823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8806375202419458734.post-90628064657070237402011-09-29T07:56:00.001-06:002011-09-29T07:56:38.536-06:00

What an interesting year it has been for me. Back in February, when I was hoping that the solar install would happen our energy provider decided to stop handing out rebates, which was essential for my lease to work. So I played the waiting game, following up every few weeks with my project manager to see what was going on and finally, after a few more anxious months, my panels were installed in

Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00145004327456823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8806375202419458734.post-26210198474347646342011-09-26T12:11:00.001-06:002011-09-26T12:12:00.420-06:00

After ditching the cable oh so many years ago (has it really been 4 years already?) and going with over the air television for quite a while, I decided, after hearing about their streaming service, to try out Netflix. I have to say, it was great. It was affordable and so long as we watched at least 2 movies a week it paid for itself when compared to Redbox (which is another good option for the

Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00145004327456823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8806375202419458734.post-84568715389403624932011-01-26T10:26:00.000-07:002011-01-26T10:26:36.206-07:00

I was talking to someone I work with yesterday about how difficult it is for them to make meals, not that they didn't have time but that when they finished making them they didn't want to eat them right away, instead they wanted to rest afterwards for a few hours. This got me thinking about how we all have processes and everyone seems to adopt them in the same way that they observed someone else

Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00145004327456823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8806375202419458734.post-64055361622586342062011-01-24T13:50:00.001-07:002011-01-24T15:29:40.302-07:00

Recently while trying to figure out more ways to save some money in my monthly budget I came across an article talking about making my own laundry soap. Now, this isn't the first time I heard about it, my wife had mentioned it to me before but as I had not been researching I hadn't listened all that much. After reading the article I did some searching and found several recipes for the soap. At

Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00145004327456823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8806375202419458734.post-47310223689986693662011-01-20T13:15:00.001-07:002011-01-20T13:24:24.342-07:00

Sometimes you find things you like, other times you are given things you like. A couple months ago I was given a Solio Classic Solar Charger, I haven't used it as much as I like, but that is mostly because I'm a bit lazy, but thinking about it, this device is great! I have no idea what kind of money I save using it, but I do like the fact that it is doing something for me. This device charges an

Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00145004327456823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8806375202419458734.post-76884094375577349202011-01-20T12:01:00.000-07:002011-01-20T12:01:44.483-07:00

Most computers are given a life of about 3 to 6 years, at least that's what most companies want you to believe. 4 years is probably the longest warranty I see most companies offer, but 3 is a bit more common. Now, if you get a warranty or not is up to you and you can decide what it is worth to ensure the computer keeps running, for me it is more of a question of how much I just spent and would I

Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00145004327456823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8806375202419458734.post-9028218100896422242011-01-20T08:19:00.000-07:002011-01-20T08:19:49.815-07:00

I spent a lot of time working on my budget, I made sure I knew where the money was going and if it was a good thing that it went towards. One of the biggest drains I found on my budget was my cell phone service. The first thing I did with it was get rid of the data plan, I didn't really need it anyway, I had internet access almost anywhere I stopped anyway and because my e-mail service was

Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00145004327456823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8806375202419458734.post-63532915313612938272011-01-19T10:13:00.001-07:002011-01-19T12:30:34.076-07:00

Lunch, it's that tiny meal in the middle of your day. For some people this is an important meal, it means you get to take a break and eat something good that will help you get through the day. For others, well, it's optional and often skipped, kind of like breakfast. The only problem is, breakfast is important too, you really should be eating both. If I skip these meals in the day it adds

Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00145004327456823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8806375202419458734.post-42679213262388292702011-01-14T08:58:00.000-07:002011-01-14T08:58:13.318-07:00

How often is it that we won't make a change or try something new in our lives because we simply think we don't have time? The fact of the matter is, I'm betting we do have time, we just choose to use it for something else, and often I remember my time being used on pointless things, like video games and television shows. Now, I do still enjoy some time with these, but I also enjoy the time I take

Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00145004327456823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8806375202419458734.post-16525631227327719082011-01-14T08:31:00.001-07:002011-01-14T11:08:43.622-07:00

Back in October while I was working on my fictional blog I saw an ad talking about getting solar panels for no money down. My first thought, "Too good to be true, ignore it." However I was curious and wrote down the company name. I would have just clicked on the ad but that is forbidden, I am not supposed to click my own ads. Anyway, the company leases solar panels, which is how the no money

Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00145004327456823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8806375202419458734.post-42297043511865005572011-01-14T07:49:00.000-07:002011-01-14T07:49:06.781-07:00

So, one of the first things I did when I wanted to start making my life greener after getting a house was to replace the light bulbs. I went with the fluorescent bulbs, but did some research first. I wanted to be able to get the right ones without making it pointless to spend more. In my research I found that there are a couple different types of them, there are your normal ones and then there

Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00145004327456823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8806375202419458734.post-48231675280781382332011-01-13T11:35:00.000-07:002011-01-13T11:35:08.969-07:00

My daughter, poor little thing, cannot have dairy. At least not right now, we're hoping she grows out of it. Anyway, as such it was at first very difficult to figure out how to make some of the foods we commonly enjoy in a way that she can actually eat. One of the biggest were casseroles, most of the ones we made required some sort of creamed soup in it to give it the gravy that made it taste

Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00145004327456823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8806375202419458734.post-26520150628171640702011-01-13T06:52:00.000-07:002011-01-13T06:52:59.744-07:00

This may not be a surprise to most of you, but sleep is very important. In living a greener life you should make sure to get consistent, adequate sleep. When I say adequate, it means what your body needs, enough to be rested and not to run out of energy at the end of the day because you are tired. Consistency is important too in this statement, if you are always changing the time you go to bed

Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00145004327456823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8806375202419458734.post-85508234017254712172011-01-11T09:04:00.000-07:002011-01-11T09:04:41.106-07:00

To complement today's post, here is the recipe I came up with for tortilla shells, this recipe will work for whole wheat (preferred) or white. I find that the white is best for doing a sweat treat, I'll put the treat at the end of the recipe. Ingredients: 1 Cup Flour (Whole Wheat is best IMHO) 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder 1/4 teaspoon Salt 4.5 teaspoons Oil (Equivalent to 1.5 Tablespoons, I use

Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00145004327456823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8806375202419458734.post-85417011483285133272011-01-11T08:39:00.000-07:002011-01-11T08:39:31.820-07:00

We are raised in a world where if we do not get things when we want them then we are being wronged. It is so hard to do shopping online because once we place the order we must wait at least one day for it to arrive, or if we choose to save some more money we must wait a few days for it to get to our door. This is hard, especially when you want something. Unfortunately this is the direction that

Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00145004327456823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8806375202419458734.post-72583150052311483252011-01-10T12:53:00.000-07:002011-01-11T08:39:45.357-07:00

Two dangerous little words. "It's just..." can lead you to buy many things. So can the words "it's only". You have to pay attention to your language when you go out shopping. These words will quickly help you use up or go over on your budget. When I hear these words I like to repeat them back to the person, even if I'm the one who said them, reminding them that these are dangerous words. They had

Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00145004327456823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8806375202419458734.post-12498723874375355562011-01-08T13:27:00.000-07:002011-01-08T13:27:57.506-07:00

One of the most important things you can do to start the process of going green in all aspects of your life is to set up a budget. If you are not managing your money properly then any steps you would desire to take to improve your life would most likely be unsuccessful or not as beneficial as they should be. For me, setting up a budget involved creating a spreadsheet to write down my income and

Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00145004327456823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8806375202419458734.post-89478711956824564352011-01-06T12:07:00.000-07:002011-01-06T12:07:04.721-07:00

The purpose of this blog is for me to share my activities in going "green". There are various ways that I choose to go green, the first is that it is good for me, meaning it improves my health or makes me feel better personally. The next way I look at going green is for my wallet, the choices I make should not cost me an arm and a leg and I want my funds to go as far as I can make them. The last

Joshuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00145004327456823335noreply@blogger.com0