Whole Living on a Budget

The Life and Lessons of Dorothy Day

2018-02-11T20:40:00.000-05:00

"The greatest challenge of the day is: how to bring about a revolution of the heart, a revolution which has to start with each one of us?"

-Dorothy Day

Living green and according to your values day in and day out is a tough task. For some inspiration, I'm highlighting the life of Dorothy Day, a women who spoke and lived for her values, including human rights, peace, and compassion. Dorothy Day's writings and life has been a big inspiration to me for the last four or five years and she is someone I think everyone should know about.

Day's Early Years

Dorothy Day was born in Brooklyn in 1897, but spent most of her childhood in Chicago. She eventually returned to New York as an adult. Day spent her young adult years as a journalist and activist for Communist ideology. Although she had a spiritual side, Communist teachings convinced her to suppress this yearning for a period of her life.

As a liberal activist, Day picketed for labor and women's causes (and was arrested on numerous occasions for it), wrote for many leftist publications including the Masses, and lived a life verging on wild, with many lovers, one illegal abortion, and many nights spent drinking and talking politics with others throughout New York City.

Dorothy Day thought she had found an ideal life in her late 20s, living with Forster Batterham, her husband by common law marriage. Batterham was an introverted biologist as well as an ardent atheist and anarchist. Day and Batterham lived a simple, peaceful life together for several years in their sea-side home near New York.

However, the birth of their daughter, Tamar Theresa, in 1926 sparked the beginning of Day's life as a devout Catholic with the help of a nun who lived nearby. Even though it was tremendously difficult for her, Day eventually left her husband when he would not allow Tamar to be baptised into the Roman Catholic Church. She went on to live as a single mother, writing for income, and growing spiritually in Catholicism for many years.

The Rise of the Catholic Worker
During this new period of her life, Dorothy Day struggled to reconcile her radical roots with her new-found spirituality. Most of the radical activists of the day were atheist, and most of the Catholics seemed to be blind to many of the world's injustices.

At age 35, Day prayed for a God-sent way to use her talents within the church for the workers and the poor. The next day an aging French peasant showed up at her door. This Catholic radical was Peter Maurin and he brought Day new ideas about how Catholicism and social activism could come together and bring about a better world.

With Maurin's vision and Day's talents, the two began a new newspaper called the Catholic Worker. This non-profit publication covered their ideas on spirituality, peace, and the worker's movements of the time. The circulation soon reached 150,000 and was read by a wide range of people throughout North America.

Not long later, Day and Maurin took the commands of Jesus into action by creating a House of Hospitality in the slums of New York that provided food, shelter, and compassion to the poor during an economically devastating era. Together with the house of hospitality and the newspaper, this movement became a forefront in the journey of racial justice, active non-violence, and the practice of the works of mercy mentioned in the New Testament.

Over the years, the movement grew, with nearly 100 Catholic Worker Houses at any one time, as well as a few communes with the same ideals. Although most are Catholic, religious diversity is accepted, and some are even based on different religions including Quaker and Buddhist.

Day's Legacy

By her death in 1980, Dorothy Day had spent over 50 years living in voluntary poverty, putting her life and heart into an active devotion for the gospel and while making real positive change for what Jesus would call, "the least of these." The movement she began is still flourishing and continuing her work. In addition, the Vatican began the process of considering her for sainthood in 2000.

Love is the Measure

Other than the belief that your life should speak your truth, I've learned countless lessons from the writings and life of Dorothy Day:

-Some of the best saints were really good sinners too. It was true of St Francis and Buddha as much as with Dorothy Day...it's just not easy to find that deep spiritual insight until you make it to the darkest corners of the human soul.

That doesn't mean to just go nuts with the veniality, but to search for truth and do it on your own terms. When it's real to you because you found it yourself, you can move mountains.

-Poverty can't stop you if you have faith. The Catholic Worker Movement started with nothing. They never had a fundraiser. They never were sponsored by big rich fellows. But they grew and inspired and changed countless lives.

Pray, visualize, do that stuff "The Secret" tells you to do, whatever, just believe in your purpose enough and the cosmos will make a way no matter how little you have to begin with.

-A child is one of the most precious gifts. Honestly, I wasn't interested in having my own children until I ready Dorothy Day's account of her daughter's birth. She made me realize how beautiful child birth is and how lucky I am to be a women who can bring a baby into the world.

Her quick conversion to what seemed to be her true calling came with pregnancy and showed me how powerful a new life can be for anyone.

-Change is a struggle. Enjoy the ride. Day was jailed several times, lived in poverty, and had to deal with all kinds of difficult people on a daily basis. Instead of getting weary and giving up, she got weary, wrote and learned from it, and went on. Until the day of her death, she was still working for reform and following what she believed God called her to do.

-Weird little street dudes can change your life forever. Well I don't know if this is very true for most people, but I still like to believe so.

-Love isn't easy. Work at it anyway. Day once wrote, "Love must be tried and tested and proved. It must be tried as though by fire, and fire burns."

When you feel defeated and overwhelmed it's the last thing you feel like doing. But only through love, through compassion and empathy, will anything worthwhile ever come about. So love till it hurts and then love some more. Eventually it will be your ever-burning torch you can light the world with.

My Search for Affordable and Green Hair Removal Products for Women

2015-02-11T11:19:00.002-05:00

During my quest to live a more sustainable life, I have slowly changed the products I use in my household. One that I was struggling with for a while was hair removal. Up until recently, I was still using those disposal razors. I know, not cool. I just didn't know where to start.All the options were overwhelming. However, I finally bit the bullet and started exploring the options.

One of the alternatives to disposable razors that I tried was the safety razor. This is basically the old fashioned razor that your parents or grandparents probably used. It is a handle attached to a razor head. You put a disposable razor blade into the head and close it. The only thing you have to throw away is the tiny razor blade. And you can possibly recycle it as well. Even more: they are CHEAP.

After reading a little about it, I cut to the chase and bought one. I did a quick search on Amazon and found a well rated safety razor.

When the safety razor arrived, I was nervous at first. After all, there are reasons that most people have given these things up, right? After trying it out, I'm not sure what those reasons may be! The razor worked well, and I didn't experience any more cuts than I normally do (I'm a bit clumsy!). I was hooked and have been using safety razors since.

However, there are some other green choice out there that I began considering. One was waxing. I tried this in my youth without much success. It ended up bleeding a lot. So that was out of the question for me.

But I had never tried epilating. My green hair removal search introduced me to this hair removal method. It is done with a mechanical hair removal machine that grabs multiple hairs at once and pulls them out by the root. It looked painful but promising. After all, I really hate shaving. I wouldn't mind a little pain if I could stop shaving my legs EVERY day.

It took a little more research before I bought my first epilator. They are more expensive than safety razors, so I wanted to make sure I didn't waste my money on a dud. After finally finding what I thought was the best epilator for women, I ordered and waited.

My first use was pretty painful, but not as bad as waxing, as far as I remember. After a few uses, I felt more competent and was getting good results. The pain also became manageable, especially after trying a few tricks.

Now my eco-friendly hair removal routine consists of shaving my underarms daily with my trusty safety razor (I just can't bring myself to epilate there!) and epilating everything else about once a week or so using the best epilator for body hair. I love the ease of this routine. It also has saved me so much money. And of course, I have less guilt.

Recycle Your Cell Phone for Cash

2014-02-11T20:37:00.000-05:00

I recently posted about how I want to recycle everything down to items like cell phones. Today Tori at Paid Opportunities wrote about Simply Sellular, a company that will pay you for your old cell phone. They will even send you a postage-paid envelope, making it super simple and easy to recycle your unwanted phone while making a few bucks.

I don't have a need to get rid of my ghetto cell phone yet, but when I do, I'm gonna give this a try!

Do you know of any good resources for recycling items that can't usually be throw into the recycle bin such as unwearable shoes or old computers? I would love to hear about similar programs.

Save Time and Money: Eat With the Seasons

2008-04-06T17:33:00.010-04:00

Eating well and eco-friendly inexpensively can be a huge task, especially when you're just beginning the journey. The best bet seems to be growing your own food. But if you've never touched a seed and your thumbs are all shades except green, feeding yourself from gardening probably isn't going to be your first step on the path of eating healthy for cheap. You're going to have to find your healthy, sustainable food somewhere else.

Unfortunately, if you're new to budgeting or bargain shopping, the idea of thumbing through store ads, clipping coupons, and store hopping can be overwhelming as well. It takes a bit of organization, time, and patience. A weird, money-saving obsession helps too. But what if you don't have that passion and you're not ready to cultivate it? Do you still have a chance of saving money while buying quality food?

In short, yes. Although it is best to diversify your money saving methods of obtaining healthy food, the first and simplest step is to eat seasonally. Not only will you save money, but you'll be eating better.

Seasonal Food is:

-Better for you. It's generally fresher, tastier and packed with more nutrition than food transported in from far away or grown in less than optimal, natural conditions. For example, studies have shown that spinach harvested in Summer has a much higher vitamin C content than spinach harvested in Winter.

-Better for our Mother Earth. Since seasonal food tends to be local food, it takes less energy and produces less CO2 emissions than its out of season counterparts.

-Better for your budget. Buying food when it's in season almost guarantees the best price without having to worry about sales. In all truth, it's usually the season that determines the sales. For instance, I love blueberries with a passion. But in the Winter, they stay off my grocery list as they cost outrageously high in Winter. However, when July comes around, they are something I can indulge in.

-Romantic and fun. Eating by the seasons is like living in a French movie or a centuries-old book. You can be a Celtic villager celebrating a harvest or a mountain woman relishing the rhubarb she just got to make a pie for her twenty kids. It's just cool, man.

-Easy. Just take a little time to learn a seasonal food chart and plan your meals and grocery list accordingly.

Luckily, thanks to the continue growth of the Local and Slow Food Movements, there are many great resources available for those looking to eat by the seasons. The Food Network offers a general guide to Seasonal Fruits and Vegetables on their website. To find information specific to the region you live in, try a google search or look for the websites of Farmer's Markets in your area.

As far as recipes, RecipeZaar offers over 25,000 marked as seasonal. There is also some great books on the subject which are usually easy to find at most libraries and book stores. Local Flavors by Deborah Madison marks the top of my favorites list, with over 400 pages of local and seasonal food information, recipes, and gorgeous photographs,written by a well-established writer and vegetarian chef.

Transitioning to Cloth Diapers

2008-03-09T11:49:00.011-04:00

I always thought I would use cloth diapers when I had children. Scientifically, I don't think it has been completely proved that using cloth diapers is better for the environment than disposal. But it just makes ecological sense to stop filling landfills with plastic diapers. Plus, it saves a lot of money over time and keeps those synthetic chemicals off baby's skin.

However, when I was pregnant and preparing for Alarik's arrival I was just completely overwhelmed with the whole thing. I have never known anyone who uses cloth diapers and, frankly, I just didn't know where to start. Google searches just made it more overwhelming. There are literally thousands of different kinds out there!

My mom took initiative when I told her my goal to use cloth diapers and bought me a six pack of Kushies Basic Diapers with a diaper wrap. I decided I would try those out when Alarik was born and see how it went before I bought anymore. I also was planning to quit my job a week before my due date so I could experiment with sewing my own.

Unfortunately, illness kept me in the hospital for two and half months and when I was released, I wasn't well enough to mess around with cloth diapers so Alarik has been using disposables since birth. However, this week I decided to pull the Kushies out of storage and give them a try. Luckily they still fit him, although they probably wont' for very long.

I had bought some cheap store brand diapers and they were giving Alarik a diaper rash. One day of wearing the cloth diapers cleared it up without any creams. They do leak a lot more than disposables though. Alarik seems to fill them up with urine every five minutes! Perhaps if I had the Kushies Ultra or some other thicker diaper, it would go better.

With only six diapers and no money to invest in more, we can't use cloth exclusively right now. I have tried the much cheaper Chinese prefolds, but diaper changes are already a battle and adding pins to the equations won't work too well. Plus, I'm sure I'll have the leak problem even worse with those.

So right now, we are switching the cloth diapers in and out with disposables. And I'm really glad I finally took the plunge and started this. It's defiantly not as hard as it sounds and my baby's skin likes it better this way. Plus, I'm slowly reducing the amount of diapers that are being thrown out. Hopefully soon we will be able to purchase some more cloth diapers and use them all the time!
Green companies function in ways that are profitable while still helping to solve environmental and social problems. Green companies accomplish these aims in a variety of ways, including reducing pollution, recycling and limiting waste, using alternative fuels and renewable energy sources, adopting fair trade practices, donating profits to social and environmental causes, and offering workers healthy and just work environments.

Choosing green companies over other choices is a way to change the world. In a capitalist society, a dollar spent on a green company is essentially a vote for a greener society.

10 Easy Ways to Save Money by Reducing Waste in Your Home

2008-03-06T13:19:00.020-05:00

In contemplating ways to save money, I began to think about ways I have reduced some of the waste our household produces. I have to say that I'm pretty lazy, so some of these actions took years before they become consistent habits. But in the long run, all the effort is worth it when I think about all the destruction our modern lifestyles do to the Earth. And all this stuff really is pretty easy and saves me loads of money in the long run.

Here are 10 easy ways to save money, listed by each item I have reduced or eliminated from consuming:

-Plastic baggies. I find that using tupperware or mason jars to store or freeze food in works just as well and is easier to clean. I especially like using mason jars of varying sizes because they're pretty cheap, and I don't have to worry about plastic leaching into foods.

-Paper towels. The only time in my adult life that I have purchased paper towels was the day before I went into the hospital for TTP, and the illness was causing neurological problems. I just don't see a point in them when you can use washable cloth towels.

-New Clothing. My thrift-store only attitude began during my emo/punk rock phases of youth. But after searching relentlessly through Salvation Army and Goodwill stores for attractive clothing that fits well, I have come to prefer Plato's Closet for most of my clothing purchases (except for undergarments and socks). They have name-brand clothes like American Eagle, but they're second hand which makes them affordable and saves me from directly supporting evil corporations.

One day I would like to make all my own clothes from durable, organic materials, but that is probably a long way off.

-Videos and DVDs. We usually rent from the public library or from a kiosk in Kroger for $1. Most movies aren't good enough to watch more than once. And this reduces a lot of potential clutter in our home.

-Commerical Cleaners. I clean everything (except for laundry) with white vinegar, baking soda, or dish soap. When I can, I buy these items in bulk. It's very affordable, cuts lots of waste for packaging, and keeps my baby safe from toxic chemicals.

-Fabric softener. White vinegar works well as a fabric softener, although it does leave a lingering scent. Much of the time I don't use any fabric softener at all. I'm not sure if that is good or bad for clothes, but I'm weary of all those chemicals.

Here are a few other ways I try to prevent waste:

-Reusing plastic grocery bags for small trash cans. I'm torn as to whether this is very positive as I should be using reusable cloth bags at the store anyway, but we do reuse our plastic grocery bags as trash bags so they get a second life. I plan to work on eliminating this all together in the future by not having any trash that isn't recycled and remembering my cloth bags when I go shopping.

-Reusing bath towels. In our home, we use the same bath towel for our self for a week straight. Perhaps that grosses you out, but it saves a lot of laundry washing, folding, and energy...and I like it.

-Having a single family car. With only one car, we force ourselves to rethink certain trips, walk more, and to not rely on an automobile so much. And we save loads by not paying insurance, maintenance, and all the other costs a second car would incur.

-Buying loose leaf tea in bulk instead of tea bags. This doesn't save bunches of waste, but every bit helps. This is also a way to make organic tea affordable.

Although those are the easiest ways to save money by reducing waste that I have found, here are some other ways on how to save money and greening my life further:

-Recycle and compost every single item I want to throw out. I want to try to include everything even things like old shoes and cell phones by finding places that will take those.

-Have at least 50 percent of all the groceries we buy come with no packaging. I'll do this by purchasing in bulk from natural foods coops (bringing in my own containers) and buying produce from local growers.

-Use clothe diapers exclusively.

-Hang dry at least some of our clothing.

-Get myself organized so I can make only one shopping trip a week, eliminating unnecessary car usage.

-Use those cloth bags when I shop! Every single time.

I do have a long way to go, but the biggest challenge is to just get my life more in order and work all this into my lifestyle. It is a journey, and I take baby steps most of the time, but I enjoy practicing ways to save money and I'll make in to my destination!

Here's a good blog post on the topic of what a sustainable life should look like: Enough Already!

Get Kids to Drink More Water

2008-03-01T14:07:00.009-05:00

Personally, I'm pretty hardcore about drinking water, and I want my son to be the same. Drinking water is a crucial element of good health, but it's a habit hard to aquire in our culture.

That's why it's super important to try to make drinking water a part our children's lives so it will become a habit that will stay with them. My son is just an infant, so his primary drink is formula (I am unable to breastfeed due to medical reasons), but I'm trying to get him into the habit of drinking water by providing it in his sippy cup throughout the day. I also have him drink it while I feed him solid foods.

Some people think it's acceptable to give young children, even infants, soda. I'm going to get on my high horse and say that it's absolutely not okay to do so. Soda is full of sugar (and not just any sugar, high fructose corn syrup!), caffiene, and a bunch of other crap that is terrible for young teeth and young bodies.

Beyond that, giving your child any flavored drink on a regular basis is setting him up for thinking that everything he drinks should be flavored. This will mean more work to keep him on a healthy diet when he's older. You'll also be setting yourself up for higher grocery bills to sooth his desire for flavored drinks when he could be consuming mostly water.

If you're already in this situation, I know from experience that you're not doomed. My siblings and I were raised in the same household, drinking and loving soda from a young age. Although I have a small addiction to soda, my drink of choice is water. And my teenage sister is the same way due to my overzealous water preaching. Now as far as my 13 year old brother...he may be doomed!

One thing I have found that works for kids (including my 9-year-old nephew) who hate water is Propel Vitamin Enhanced powder packets. These flavored packets are added to water and make them taste good. They also add some vitamins to the water, and with a suger content of 2 grams per serving, they are aren't a bad substitute for plain ol' water if your kid drinks it happily.

Getting Clear Skin: Simplicity is Best

2008-02-29T21:11:00.014-05:00

I truly believe that I wrecked some terrible havoc on my poor skin in high school when I tried to scrub it squeaky clean everyday with store-bought acne cleansers. I had mild blemishes that started at the beginning of puberty, but I helped to make them worse by obsessively washing my face several times a day with harsh, irritating chemicals.

Frustrated that nothing worked, I finally went to a dermatologist when I was just a few weeks shy of 18. I was prescribed Rentin-A and oral antibiotics. After using both as directed for several months, my acne had not improved but my skin was extra dry and with a constant burning sensation.

I decided to discontinue the use of the drugs and soon after my face turned into a war-zone like I never would have imagined. And oh, how unfair it seemed! All I had wanted to do was get rid of an the occasional small pimple and some nearly-invisible blackheads, and I ended up with cystic acne invading my face during the first months of my freshman year of college. What a way to set myself up for some good college memories!

Desperate to get rid of the monsters, I resorted to internet searches and started a lot of research. I read that certain diets could bring about beautiful, clear skin. Unfortunately, at that time I didn't have the will-power to eat the radical all-organic-raw-funky-food diets that I read about. So I settled for some Kiss My Face Citrus cleanser and a new resolution: stop obsessing about my face and give it a break!

For the next year, I washed my face in the evening with the cleanser and rinsed well. In the mornings I just took a clean, wet wash cloth and gently wiped the oil from my face. I followed with an organic brand of a facial sunscreen moisturizer. That's it. No soaps. No exfoiliating masks. No drugs. It took some time, but the huge zits went away and my face cleared up. I still had the occasional blemish due to my menstrual cycle and wacked-out hormones, but that's it.

Now, post-adolescence, acne has become one of my last concerns. My hormones have learned to behave somehow (finally!). I keep clear skin almost all of the time with only a regimin of water cleansing followed by organic olive oil as a moisturizer and a facial sunscreen when I go out.

Every person is different, and so is everyone's skin. But my long journey in this battle has made me sold on the idea that simple and natural is the best bet. If you haven't gone this route, it's always worth a try.

Women Changing the World: The Barefoot Solar Engineers

2008-02-28T10:26:00.007-05:00

My mother-in-law just asked me to explain to our friend how Vent-flow bottles work. My mouth dropped as I thought about it. I had no answer. So I am so technically-challenged I can't even figure out a baby bottle, but luckily there are brighter and more inspiring women out there.

The Barefoot College in Tilonia, Rajasthan, India provides training in applied technology to encourage sustainable development in rural communties accross the globe. Women from undeveloped, rural areas have become a important element to this progress. Many are taking the first steps to bringing green energy to their communities and opening up new opportunties for the inhabitants. These women take a few months to study at the college, learn solar engineering, and then return home to lead development.

"When I return, I shall make my village a well planned place....The inhabitants of my island will be very happy because they will profit from the availability of electricity to carry out activities at night; our children will be able to review their school notes in the evening after classes, women and fishermen can continue to smoke their fish at any time they need to. In that way, we shall live like the whites in Marseille."

-Francoise Douhou of Mbwape village in Cameroon, Africa

For more information, visit http://www.barefootcollege.org/.

Hate Changed My Life for the Better

2008-02-27T23:18:00.010-05:00

I'm not an old lady yet, but I've been a few places and taken some misturns that have eventually led to a little insight. And one thing I've learned? Having some hate in my heart has made some things better for me. Of course, hate for sentient beings is just setting you up for bad karma, but hate - in general - is a natural human emotion so why not use it for some good?

I confess, I'm so very happy that I hate:

1. TV. I thought television was uncool and bad for me many years before it was something I could happily avoid. But today, even though I'm living in a house with cable and lots of people who watch it, I have no desire to. I can proudly say that I want to kill my television just as much as the average Culture Jammer.

This is my plan to add years to my life. Every second in front of the set is really just dead time...and I'm saving that for after my funeral.

2. Driving. With some love for walking mixed in, of course. For instance, I would much rather park in the very farthest end of a parking lot and walk than even attempt to drive in the over-crowded, pedestrian filled area toward the front.

The world is so beautiful in slow motion, fresh air in your face and feet on the ground. It's good for the body and saves in gas money too.

3. Meat. Yep, PETA got me when I was 15: young and impressionable. I'm no longer a vegetarian, but meat still grosses me out and I'm glad. Although not all of it is as evil as I once thought, the majority of it is inhumane, unsustainable, and bad for me. And when I'm not watching my diet closely, not eating meat is usually the best bet so I'm lucky it's what my subconscious chooses to do.

4. Dead end jobs. If I didn't hate them so much, I wouldn't try to get anything else out of myself. I wouldn't push myself, I wouldn't try to be frugal to avoid working as many hours at them, I wouldn't look into new income-making ventures. And if I didn't do that stuff, life would just be dull. I would be depressed. And my mom would give me more lectures.

5. The GAP (and similar places). Oh my goodness, this hatred has saved me so much money over the years. I can't tell you when it first came about, but I just hate clothing companies that charge you $50 for some cheap garment made in a sweatshop for two dollars. Yes, I still think their stuff is cute, but I refuse to pay any company that much money to exploit people in other countries.

So there are some of my positive hatreds. Now if only I could get some hate going for Diet Pepsi....

Kroger Jumps on the Cheap Prescription Bandwagon

2008-02-06T19:59:00.002-05:00

I've posted before about how you purchase low-cost prescription medications from Meijer and Wal-mart. Now many Kroger Pharmacies are offering over 300 generic prescription drugs for only $4. You can read more about it at http://www.kroger.com/generic. Hopefully many more pharmacies will be following suite soon.

Green Your Life With Your Tax Refund - Part Two

2008-02-06T16:58:00.001-05:00

Last week I introduced three things you can purchase with your tax refund check to get you on your way to a more sustainable lifestyle. If none of those suggestions struck a chord, I'll be adding more each week to give you more ideas.

This week: How about growing a small kitchen garden?

With some extra money, now all you need is a little time and work and you'll soon be having fresh organic food right from your backyard or porch. The easiest method I know of is square foot gardening. Here's what you'll need:

-boards of untreated lumber
-scraps of wood or small rocks for a grid
-organic potting soil and compost
-deck screws
-seeds of the plants you want to grow and eat (Seed Savers Exchange has some super cool heirloom seeds)
-some gardening gloves are good too

1) Pick an area that gets about 6-8 hours of sunshine daily, away from trees and shrubs and close to your home for convenience. Make sure it is an area that doesn't puddle after rain.

2) Use the boards to build a 4' x 4' box. Alternate corners and used the deck screws to keep it together.

3) Fill the box with a mixture of potting soil and compost.

4) Use the extra wood or rocks to make a grid of 16 square foot boxes on the top of the soil. This helps keep everything organized and easy to take care of.

5) Plant the seeds in the soil according the package directions. Check out CompanionPlanting.net to see which plants go best next to each other.

6) Take care of your garden. Water and weed as necessary.

7) Harvest, enjoy, and replant!

"But the greatest change we need to make is from consumption to production, even if on a small scale, in our own gardens. If only 10% of us do this, there is enough for everyone. Hence the futility of revolutionaries who have no gardens, who depend on the very system they attack, and who produce words and bullets, not food and shelter. It sometimes seems that we are caught, all of us on earth, in a conscious or unconscious conspiracy to keep ourselves helpless. And yet it is people who produce all the needs of other people, and together we can survive. We ourselves can cure all the famine, all the injustice, and all the stupidity of the world. We can do it by understanding the way natural systems work, by careful forestry and gardening, by contemplation and by taking care of the earth."

-Bill Mollison

How to Recognize Conventionally Grown, Organic and GM

2008-01-31T09:31:00.001-05:00

In the Ideal Bite email I recieved yesterday, they shared that there is a simple way to tell if your produce from the Grocery store is conventional, organic, or genetically modified.

Just look at the sticker on the produce:

-A four-digit number means it's conventionally grown.
-A five-digit number beginning with 9 means it's organic.
-A five-digit number beginning with 8 means it's GM.

Dude, I never knew that. Now I'm going to look when I'm at the grocery store next time.

If you want updates on similar Green info and topics, subscribe to Ideal Bite to get daily emails sent to your inbox Monday through Friday.

Green Your Life With Your Tax Refund - Part One

2008-01-30T13:09:00.002-05:00

It's tax time again. If you don't owe Uncle Sam and you can claim credits too, this is a happy time for you. With some extra cash at your disposale, you have an opportunity to ramp up sustainability in your lifestyle. Here are a few of my top picks on how to spend Tax Refunds to Green your life:

Buy a share of Community Supported Agriculture! A new farming season is upon us, and it's the best time to purchase a food subscription of from a local farm. I've mentioned Community Supported Agriculture a few times in this blog, so you probably already know that I'm a big fan.

What is Community Supported Agriculture? It is a way for you and me (the folks who don't farm) to buy a share of a whole year of produce from a local farmer upfront. When growing season is at it's peak (usually late April through October), you will get a weekly or monthly basket of fresh farm goods including produce and often even milk, eggs, cheese, meat or flowers, depending on the farm.

Prices vary and from my experience a share can cost anywhere from around $100 for a small weekly vegetable basket to up to $500 or more for organic meats. To find a CSA farm, visit LocalHarvest.

Get a Bike! Remember how fun an afternoon bike ride used to be when you were a kid? It can still be fun...if you take it slow and build your stamina up again.

Bikes are the most efficient form of transportation in exisentence and a safe, low-impact way to exercise. Plus, with the cost of gas prices steadily up to $3/gallon or more, using a bike for small trips here and there will save you some big bucks in the long run.

Buy a Moped! Okay, so the bike thing didn't turn you on. If you're too lazy to bike (like I am these days), a moped is a nice alternative.

First of all, it will save you tons of money if you use it for most of the trips you would normally use an automobile for. Most mopeds get around 120 miles to the gallon! That is crazy wonderful for saving gas money and lowering your environmental footprint. Just as nice: in most states you don't have to buy auto insurance to drive a moped, so no more insurance payments.

The price for a new moped starts around $700. To be even more eco-friendly (and frugal), look for a used one in a local classifieds ad or on Ebay.

Free Publications Mailed to Your Door

2008-01-28T21:00:00.002-05:00

The Federal Citizen Information Center has lots of publications on a variety of topics available for free. Visit the Free Publications Page Feature Releases page to learn more about the availiable publications on Healthy Living, Saving on Loans and Credit Card, GreenScaping, Transfats and more. Once you order the publications you want, expect about 3-4 weeks for them to arrive at your door.

Zen Parenting: Walking Meditation With Baby

2008-01-27T20:30:00.001-05:00

Here's something simple I do (and you can too) to sneak some Buddhist practice into a busy life with a youngin' and it will help reduce anxiety too!

Either carry baby in your arms or in a sling and began a walk in a clear path through your home or outside in a safe area. Focus on your breath and begin to calm.

After a few moments syncronize your breath with your steps. I usually breath in for two steps and breath out in two more steps. I try to keep my breaths natural, but in rhythm. Just walk leisurely like this, focusing on your breath and connecting with baby for as long as you like.

I have a bad back so I can only do it for about ten minutes or so at a time. Yet even with this short time span, I end feeling refreshed and calm with a sleeping angel in my arms.

I end by putting him in his bed very gently then holding my hands on his head and body softly while doing a very short loving kindness mediation, generating love, peace, and appreciation to him and my Source (God).

Charity Work for the Lazy: Feed the Hungry With a Click of Your Mouse

2008-01-22T20:07:00.001-05:00

Awww, friend. You have a good heart but no time or money to really help the down and out? We all have our excuses for not doing some more good in the world, but if you have a computer and internet access, you have no excuse to not direct your browser to the Hunger Site everyday. With one click, you can donate 1.1 cups of food to the hungry...no strings attached. The food is bought by the advertisers on the site. All that is needed is traffic to keep it going. So please visit now, and everyday, and help feed the empty bellies of the world.

In addition, if you visit the site, look to the top and see the other similar projects. With just a few more clicks you can do even more like help provide mammograms to women who can't afford them and help save the rain forest. Who knew becoming a philanthropist was so frickin simple!

CheapCycle and FreeCycle: My Favorite Method to Buy/Sell/Give/Obtain

2008-01-19T21:07:00.001-05:00

Last night I took about five minutes to make a post on my local CheapCycle Yahoo! Group. Today I made $200 in about five more minutes when a guy showed up and took a quick look and handed over cash for some used appliances and furniture that I needed to get rid of for a coming move. Dude, that was easy.

CheapCycle is collection of Yahoo! Groups that help people recycle items by buying and selling them to each other locally...and for cheap. I've been using it for nearly three years to purchase and sell all kinds of stuff from a sewing machine to clothe diapers. It's completely free, which means a lot more ads than the newspaper classifieds and a good chance of finding what you need or want. To get in on the super cool action, just log into your Yahoo! account (or sign up for one free), then go to the CheapCycle master list website and find the closest group to your geographical location. Click on the Join this Group! button on the Group website and from there you'll get an email explaining the rest.

Another similar network that I love is FreeCycle. This one is even better because everything is free. You can find your local group on the main FreeCycle website and join through Yahoo! the same as you do with CheapCycle.

The central purpose behind both of these movements is sustainability and helps everyone put the "reduce, reuse, recycle" motto into action. They use the power of the internet to connect people together so more things can be reused and recycled while keeping lots of good stuff out of landfills. Beyond that, they offer you the chance to obtain what you need at a great price (or free!) and get rid of what you don't need while getting you more in touch with your local community and other people.

How to Ensure the Safety of Second-Hand Items

2008-01-17T18:02:00.001-05:00

You might have thought that the cheap one-year old air purifier you saw on Craigslist today was a great deal, but what if it could be a fire hazard? Or what about that great baby carrier they have at the children's consignment store downtown? It may be one that has been recalled due to falls that have fractured the skulls of babies. I don't want to create a post about fear, but it is true that there are a lot of products out there that have some hidden dangers that might not be apparent at first. And that is another reason to choose to buy second hand items. Not only is it a more sustainable practice than buying a new product, there is also a lot more information out there about older products since they have already been used by plenty of consumers. The first place to start on your research should be a look into Product Safety Recalls.

For instance, you want to buy a used vehicle you found in the classifieds. If you look up the year, make and model on this page of Recalls.gov you can see if there have been any recalls on it. From searching this website, I discovered that a used vehicle I onced had was recalled for a possible leak in the fuel system at the throttle body injection fuel feed pipe connection. I have no idea what that means, but according to the website that leakage could result in an underhood fire and my ass turning to ashes. So I'm sure glad I don't have that car anymore, but wouldn't it have been nice to have known that before I bought it?

Another good resource for Product Safety Recalls is the Federal Citizen Information Center. This website provides a guide to understanding recalls, lists recent product safety recalls, and allows you to sign up to be notified by email with updates. So if you keep on top of things, you may even be able to realize that the cute little Christmas figurine at your neighbor's garage sale is one of those that Home Depot recalled for lead paint. And you can save yourself that $.05 you would have paid for it and tell your neighbor to get his kid checked for lead poisoning. Fun stuff, huh?!

Frugal Living from the Oklahoma City Catholic Worker

2008-01-09T22:38:00.002-05:00

Robert Waldrop is defiantly one of my idols. He has been the central force behind the Oklahoma City Catholic Worker for years, has brought a local food movement to central Oklahoma, and taught me innumerable things about social justice as well as sustainable and frugal living. His website, Better Times: the Webzine!, has a wonderful variety of resources to help everyone live better on a small budget. I highly recommend visiting the site and venturing through it thoroughly, but here are some good links to get you started:

Saving Money on Energy in Winter
Making Your Own Snacks
Make Your Own Baby Wipes
Cloth Diapers: Best for Baby
Family Food Security

Getting Into Permaculture

2008-01-07T22:56:00.001-05:00

Permaculture is a term first coined by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in the 1970s. It is a contraction of the words "permanent" and "agriculture" and refers to the use and design of land in a sustainable manner, modeled after nature. For anyone who is interested in living a more green lifestyle, Permaculture is a valuable subject to learn and practice.

Here is a good YouTube video that gives a little introduction to the topic. There are lots of good videos on the subject on the internet, and I'll be posting some more soon.

Spider Plants for Inexpensive Air Purification

2008-01-05T11:06:00.001-05:00

When I first moved to Kentucky, I was living in a old apartment with synthetic everything and a freeway right outside my bedroom window. Being overwhelmed with the poor indoor air quality and too broke to buy an electic air purifier, I purchased my first spider plant. Three years later, after many moves and lots of neglect, my first spider plant is still with me and a companion to several more that I have aquired that clean my air and add a touch of nature to my home.

Why did I choose spider plants (Chlorophytum comosum)? Well first, they are cheap and easy to find. Second, in my experience, they low-maintenance and nearly impossible to kill. While I was attending Massage School, working full time, and dating the crazy person who became my husband, I was basically never home. So my spider plants were extremely neglected, left in a fairly dark house and almost never watered. And they might have looked pretty ugly for a while, but they are alive and flourishing today. But the best reason for owning a spider plant is that there are numerous studies that prove that they contribute to good indoor air quality. Not only do they eliminate carbon dioxide like all plants, but they remove other toxins including benzene, formaldehyde, trichlorethylene...and that's important if you're aiming for a healthy home.

Now if the spider plant isn't your style, there are other house plants that filter indoor air as well. The list includes (with links to wikipedia):

English Ivy (Hedera helix)
Golden pothos or Devil's ivy (Scindapsus aures or Epipremnum aureum)
Peace lily (Spathiphyllum 'Mauna Loa')
Chinese evergreen (Aglaonema modestum)
Bamboo palm or reed palm (Chamaedorea sefritzii)
Snake plant or mother-in-law's tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata 'Laurentii')
Heartleaf philodendron (Philodendron oxycardium, syn. Philodendron cordatum)
Selloum philodendron (Philodendron bipinnatifidum, syn. Philodendron selloum)
Elephant ear philodendron (Philodendron domesticum)
Red-edged dracaena (Dracaena marginata)
Cornstalk dracaena (Dracaena fragans 'Massangeana')
Janet Craig dracaena (Dracaena deremensis 'Janet Craig')
Warneck dracaena (Dracaena deremensis 'Warneckii')
Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamina)
Gerbera Daisy or Barberton daisy (Gerbera jamesonii)
Pot Mum or Florist's Chrysanthemum (Chrysantheium morifolium)
Rubber Plant (Ficus elastica)

NASA recommends 15-18 plants to purify the air of an 1800 square foot home. So go out and get some and relish in the green foilage and clean air.

Sprouting Beans: A Cheap, Fresh, Healthy Addition to your Kitchen

2008-01-03T20:16:00.001-05:00

Whole Living in the Ghetto

2008-01-03T15:07:00.001-05:00

Ten reasons the ghetto is not a bad place to be if you're aiming for a progressive lifestyle:

Public Transportation. Lack of money usually means lack of a personal automobile. So most predominately low-income neighboorhoods have great access to the public transit options of the city. Beyond that, there tends to be a bit less traffic and a lot more people on foot or bike.

Brown Spaces. These are lots abandoned by owners and the city. They are a beautiful opportunity to create community gardens or other community development projects.

Second Hand Stores are Easy to Find. And second hand is as green as it comes and often much hipper than new crap.

Mom and Pop Businesses are Everywhere. In the city I live in, the 'hood is the only place that chain stores haven't overrun. It makes it a really nice and refreshing place to be despite other negatives that might be there. And if you live in such an area, it is absolutely simple to keep your money within the community and boycott big faceless corportations for the most part.

Energy Efficient Habitat for Humanity Homes. Habitat has begun in the last few years to build with green features including passive-solar design, beefed up insulation, solar-heated hot water tanks, and energy star appliances. The ghetto isn't such a ghetto anymore.

Lively Churches. If you want a spiritual experience, this is the place to go. Great music, passionate preachers, and miraculous healings abound and may just save your soul.

Old School Architechure and Design. Every ghetto I've ever seen has been in older parts of cities, where streets are warmer and the buildings have more character because they came about in a less commercialized time.

Catholic Worker Houses of Hospitality. These are awesome places where people live in community and practice the works of mercy. They usually consist of activists with progressive views who work for environmental and leftist causes locally.

Cool and Interesting People. If you don't know what I'm talking about, take a walk (preferrably in the daylight) and see for yourself.

Cheap Rent. With the money you save, you can buy a share of community supported agriculture and eat fresh, local food all year long.

Lentil Burritos

2007-12-22T10:05:00.001-05:00

This is easy, cheap, healthy, and tasty!

For the inside:
Mix 2 cups of cooked lentils with a pre-packaged taco seasoning. Cook according to the instructions on the package as though you were cooking ground beef.

Here is how to make the tortillas:
2 cups flour (stone ground whole-wheat is best)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup cold water

Combine the flour and salt, then cut in the shortening. Add water, mix until just combined. Next, divide the mixture into 10 balls and roll out flat on a working space. Add the inside filling into each tortillas, roll-up into burritos, transfer to a baking sheet, and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.