tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89512301784800008342024-11-01T03:35:12.548-07:00AFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10721761223551620287noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8951230178480000834.post-54177632598628501342008-06-01T21:19:00.000-07:002008-06-01T22:12:03.992-07:00

I've been experimenting with some homemade household and personal care products and thought I'd review the results thus far.Liquid Laundry Soap: While making this soap my husband said he felt like he was living a page out of "Little House on the Prairie." But so far, it seems to work just fine. I tried it out on diapers first, because, well, that seemed like a good test of cleaning power. They

AFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10721761223551620287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8951230178480000834.post-23298427466975162662008-05-31T12:41:00.000-07:002008-06-01T21:18:47.667-07:00

May has been a little tough, not for any significant external reason, but mainly due to my own lack of resolve. I have an unfortunate habit of failing to follow through with ideas and projects, and I am determined not to let that happen with respect to my simpler living goals. I don't think of living more simply as a thing I am doing, but as a way of being.So what went wrong this month? For one

AFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10721761223551620287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8951230178480000834.post-66197550756410103612008-05-13T15:41:00.000-07:002008-05-13T20:53:26.680-07:00

(Remember when The Simpsons used to be really funny? Don't get the reference? That's okay, just play along.)There's just so much to say about toys: most kids have too many, a lot of them are worthless junk, they often lack value or promote icky messages (see my aside below); the list goes on and on. And then, to top things off, they're full of TOXINS! C'mon, now, these are products designed for

AFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10721761223551620287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8951230178480000834.post-32716638039929945862008-05-10T19:51:00.000-07:002008-05-13T15:48:31.761-07:00

Those of us with kids, especially young ones, know how quickly the toys pile up. They overflow into every room of the house and the yard; we toss the less-favored or over-sized ones into the garage. Then a birthday comes along, or Christmas, and the piles expand.If kids are showered with mountains of presents at every gift-giving opportunity, how can we fault them for expecting more, more, more?

AFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10721761223551620287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8951230178480000834.post-41767308698930902642008-05-03T21:52:00.000-07:002008-05-11T22:20:27.118-07:00

...till he made a little garden.My last attempt at a vegetable garden was about 14 years ago, and it was pretty comical. My general lack of planning and maintenance resulted in dozens of un-thinned, stunted carrots; five zucchini plants which produced more squash than we could have eaten in a year; broccoli that went to seed before I got around to harvesting it; you get the idea. Not exactly

AFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10721761223551620287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8951230178480000834.post-17666747970201406512008-05-02T15:57:00.000-07:002008-05-03T21:52:41.659-07:00

At the end of March I decided to cut back on my car use during the month of April. I allowed myself use of the car one day a week (on Thursdays) and every other Monday to accommodate regular engagements that would be difficult to get to via bus, bike, or feet.I'd say I earned a B- overall. On average, I ended up driving one additional day a week. The usual reason was time: too far to walk and/or

AFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10721761223551620287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8951230178480000834.post-61132351468819104732008-04-26T22:11:00.000-07:002008-04-26T22:53:05.972-07:00

April has been a pretty frugal month, with few purchases other than consumables (food, personal hygiene products, gas). A handful of other small items — a birthday gift, a shovel for my garden — but that's about it. And for good reason: some large and unavoidable expenses in late March ate up most of our April income before we even had it. By mid-April, we were really scraping the

AFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10721761223551620287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8951230178480000834.post-60122245638980316762008-04-14T21:53:00.000-07:002008-04-15T09:14:52.654-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I decided to try relying less on my car and more on my feet and public transportation (read about my rationale here). Now almost halfway through the month, I thought I'd evaluate my progress...and I've actually done pretty well.Week 1: Used the car two out of five weekdays, rode the bus, walked about 6-7 miles. Primary lessons learned: 1)Full-size stroller + public transit =

AFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10721761223551620287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8951230178480000834.post-86215830940981190242008-04-07T20:21:00.000-07:002008-04-08T14:21:49.834-07:00

In my last post I mentioned feeling "on call" with respect to my freelance work. This feeling, I realized, creeps into my non-work life as well: to be unreachable in this era of instant communication is considered, it seems, to be at least undesirable, and perhaps even rude. I find this situation to be a major obstacle to simplification.[Dear friends and family, please do not interpret the

AFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10721761223551620287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8951230178480000834.post-45654974467601005762008-04-06T16:12:00.000-07:002008-04-06T22:13:01.794-07:00

The advantages of freelancing: I don't have to follow a set schedule; I don't have to take jobs that I don't want or can't manage; I am my own boss; I can charge what I want and get to keep all of the money I earn (minus the what I get to share with the IRS, of course, though there are some tax benefits).The reality of freelancing: I work all hours (evenings and weekends); I feel compelled to

AFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10721761223551620287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8951230178480000834.post-4154364820502805662008-04-02T14:56:00.000-07:002008-04-06T21:56:55.525-07:00

Well, not really. But the beast is out of the living room, and I'm amazed at how different the space feels without the big black altar in the corner. The room seems more open, warmer, quieter — even though the TV was usually off. Once the TV corner, now a reading nook.And talk about out of sight, out of mind...my husband asked me last night if a certain, um, reality singing competition was

AFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10721761223551620287noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8951230178480000834.post-47742781571393957232008-03-31T08:17:00.000-07:002008-04-06T21:55:12.147-07:00

So, we've reduced grocery expenses considerably, we've cut way back on eating out, we're more conservative with our household energy use...in other words, the easy stuff. Have you hugged your car today? But what about that BIG energy consumer sitting in the driveway, you know, the one that accounts for our largest debt (after our mortgage)? Ah yes, the car. We recently acquired a second car, and,

AFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10721761223551620287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8951230178480000834.post-2567963435052379552008-03-28T09:26:00.000-07:002008-04-06T21:56:07.038-07:00

Two loaves of freshly baked honey wheat bread are cooling in the kitchen, filling the house with a warm, homey smell. Bread is one of the many things that I've routinely tossed into my grocery cart without thinking twice. It's convenient, relatively cheap — why would I invest the time and effort to make my own? I love to bake, especially when the end product is quickly realized (cookies, brownies

AFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10721761223551620287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8951230178480000834.post-9271978050254698152008-03-27T10:12:00.000-07:002008-03-31T10:02:41.501-07:00

I hate to admit it, but I am an American stereotype: I'm squarely middle class; I live in the suburbs;At least I don't live here. I have two cars, 2 cats, one child; my husband is a white-collar professional and I work part-time from home while caring for my daughter full-time. All of my basic needs are met. Below the surface, things are more complicated. While I've always been good at managing

AFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10721761223551620287noreply@blogger.com0