Toilet Paper

This 'sticker' actually came from a campaign to use less paper towel, 

but it would certainly work with toilet paper as well!

Yesterday I read that we as Americans are addicted to fluffy toilet paper -- and fluffy toilet paper is bad for the environment. Yes, apparently it is the fiber taken from standing trees that help give toilet paper that plush feel, and most large manufacturers rely on them. The pulp from one standing eucalyptus tree (a commonly used tree) produces as many as 1,000 rolls of toilet tissue. Americans use and average of 23.6 rolls per capita a year. Hmmmm . . . that's a lot of standing trees.  (source: The New York Times by Leslie Kaufman)

I have to admit, in my pre-green days I was a big proponent of fluffy toilet tissue. It is more pleasant. But since reading Serve God, Save the Planet I have made a habit of buying 100% recycled toilet paper. That was until I saw a large package of 7th Generation for sale at Shaw's for $14.00 for 12 rolls. I'm sorry, but paying over $1 a roll is just too steep! If you are interested in conserving the earth's resources, know that when it comes to many 'green' or 'organic' things, whole foods is actually a better place to shop than your local grocery store -- at least in our area. At Whole Foods, it can cost half that. When you purchase less expensive toilet paper, you know the kind that's reminiscent of fine sandpaper, you are probably purchasing a higher percentage of recycled paper. Look at the label. After a few weeks, you get used to it. Hey, it's a step up from the outhouse days when leaves were used! Right?

As I've mentioned in previous posts, we don't even purchase paper towels. For messy jobs I use less-than-perfect kitchen towels, or rags. For everything else, we use the good old fashioned kitchen towel. 

We generally don't buy facial tissue either. But sometimes I'll have a box in our guest bathroom. I was considering taking my collection of hankies and placing them in a glass jar on the counter of our guest bathroom, with a 'dirty' basket under the vanity. You know, like in those really fancy-shmansy hotels where they supply real hand towels. How do you think that would go over?

The funny thing is, when you don't have disposables at the ready -- you end up making due and using less. So not only do you save the earth's resources, you save money when you don't have to purchase tissues or paper towels!

Not long ago, Crunchy Chicken posted a challenge to use washable rags instead of toilet paper. (Someone had suggested pieces of old t-shirts.) We haven't gone that far here, but it certainly would be one less thing to purchase! 

The Economy, The Spenders and Kale Soup

It's a quandary, isn't it? On the one hand, we have an economy coming to a screeching halt. Many people have lost their jobs, and I don't know about you, but Victor and I know several people personally whose jobs face the very real possibility of being cut. Americans have been living beyond their means for decades -- and that's unhealthy on so many levels, I could fill volumes lecturing about it. Finally, with the economic downturn, there are some signs that people are cutting back! And then you run into that other hand . . . companies are waiting on the edges of their seats -- hoping against hope that people start spending again. Ugh.

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The problem is that our economy has been built up, literally banking on people living off credit cards, home equity loans, and living in homes they can't afford for decades now. Forgive me, but it's not sustainable, it's not healthy, and it's not wise to hope that people regroup and continue to live beyond their means!

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This brings me to my next point. STOP! Stop spending beyond what you take in and make sure to give some, and save some. For many of us, there is a very real possibility that you could have a lower income, or no income. Now is not the time to go spending everything you have. When I drop Ripley off at school in the mornings, I am blown away (this is in Rhode Island mind you, where the unemployment rate is over 9%) at the line of cars waiting to get their coffee at Dunkin' Donuts. I'm sorry if I'm offending D&D owners right now, but this is such a simple way for people to save! And, bottled water, are people really still buying that stuff?? How about fake fingernails and manicures? Honestly.

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The sad fact of the matter is that our economy is over inflated beyond what it's citizens can actually support. I'm not an economist, and I'm not even gifted in math, but this is simple algebra that even I can handle. To be perfectly honest, I do hope that our economy shakes down to a realistic, sustainable level. The only other way to keep it at the level it was is for people to live beyond their means. I don't know what that shake down looks like, and I'm sure it's not pretty, but really -- ultimately, it would be best.

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It's certainly an issue that's on people's minds. When Ripley and I went to pick Benjamin up from school yesterday to take both boys to the dentist, we walked by two bus drivers talking. One bus driver, a woman in her 40's or so, was showing off a new pair of jeans proudly, twisting her hips around to show them off. Then the other bus driver exclaimed "I thought you weren't going to buy anything anymore!" "No!" the first bus driver corrected, "they were a gift!" The two ladies chuckled and patted each other on the shoulder in support. That made me happy. Really, this is what friends are for (back to that relationship thing I was talking about), supporting and encouraging each other. Holding each other accountable. Lifting each other up when we're struggling or have failed. That is the good and meaningful stuff in life.

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For us, we have looked over our budget again. Looking to see, if things were to get worse, what else we could cut, and what else we should cut now -- to save, just in case. Sadly, we decided that our "date night" had to go. It's a pretty big weekly expense, so instead, we will just go out together occasionally. I've also reduced our weekly budget for food, home and kitchen needs to $125, including the milk and cream we get from the milkman. Keep in mind that we have a lot of things stockpiled, so we won't be eating rice and beans exclusively just yet.

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One thing we are eating is kale from our garden. What an amazing plant! Here is what I picked yesterday for kale soup.

It's not that dark green, perky, plastic looking stuff you get from the grocery store, but HEY this kale has lived through several snow and ice storms. Here in Southeastern Massachusetts our snow usually doesn't stay long. We very commonly have rain in the winter -- the raw cold kind. So, although it's looking a little dilapidated, our kale is still holding it's own in our garden. Next year I'm going to plant a whole row of fall kale to last for as long as it will, through the winter. It really doesn't do a lot of growing, it just stays green -- and edible! How do we eat it, you ask?

Here's how:

Kale Soup:

• Drizzle olive oil all over the bottom of a large pot, medium low heat.
• Throw in 3-4 sliced onions and 4+ cloves of chopped garlic.
• Add 1 T salt (for large soup pot) and several shakes of red pepper flakes and/or Portuguese Red Pepper Sauce "Pimento de Malaguera Moida" about 1 T.
• Cook until translucent -- try not to brown.
• Add in a chicken breast (with bone), a pork chop (with bone), a ham hock, or some other type of broth that you have on hand like chicken (I wouldn't use beef broth from the store, too strong a flavor) -- if you have it. Otherwise just plain water will do.
• Fill up the pan with water -- but not so high that it bubbles over and splashes on your stove. Bring to a boil, then lower to a nice rolling boil. Cook until the meat is half way done, then . . .
• Add in about 4 peeled potatoes -- cut them in half if you want them to cook faster.
• When the meat is cooked - maybe 45 minutes?, pull the bones and meat out (they should pretty much be all in one piece). Discard the bones and reserve the meat, cutting it into small bite sized pieces.
• With a hand held blender (or transfer to blender) puree all of the potatoes, onions and garlic into a creamy looking broth.
• Don't forget the Portuguese Chourico pronounced "sure-eese" - of course I like the spicy variety. Chop into bite sized pieces. Add this at some point with the following ingredients. It's already cooked, but gives the broth and veggies a nice rich spicy flavor.
• Then, add in the remaining ingredients in order of slowest to cook - to - fastest to cook -- all pleasantly bite sized :) -- 2-3 carrots, 1-2 potatoes, about 4 large leaves of kale (spine and stem removed) chopped thinly, about a cup or so of macaroni elbows or break of spaghetti into 1" long pieces into the pot, and throw in your reserved meat.
• Taste, add more salt and pepper if necessary.
• That's it! Eat with crusty bread. Yumola.

Cold Frame Lessons and Woodstove Status

Let's talk about the good news first, shall we? The good news is, just the other night I had an arugula salad that I picked fresh from my garden in the wintertime. Fabulous! A little lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper -- yumola! Next year I think I will plant all arugula, kale and winter hardy lettuce (which seems to be doing just fine). I will also start my plants sooner. That is the good news. I am not discouraged. The plants are growing and happy and they require very little watering if any.

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Now for the lessons .... err, bad news.

First, Eliot Coleman in his book Four Season Harvest recommended not painting the frames simply to avoid maintenance. "Hey!" I said to myself, "I don't mind painting and sanding every year, plus it will preserve the wood longer." The lesson is: Listen to Eliot Coleman. It's not just a matter of yearly maintenance. The temperatures that the wood experiences day to day, night to night is so extreme that in spite of my hard and careful work -- the paint is chipping. Everywhere. Even the glazing -- old and new -- is peeling off. It's a mess. Sad. Maybe an oil, or a stain would be better. Eliot just leaves his -- as is.
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Here is my garden at the start of our last snow storm. Wisps of dried asparagus on the left side, broccoli on the far end (that finally called it a day and wilted), leeks and kale scattered throughout. In the foreground is where we planted our garlic. I put the wire fencing up because our dog was stomping through that area to short cut through to the front yard. Leeks are in the foreground, and although they look a little floppy here, they are doing just fine in the cold.

Here were the cold frames after the big storm we had just before Christmas.

Here is my progress as I was gently shoveling off the mounds of snow.

And then, alas, some glass fell into my mueslin greens. I'd put this pane upside down without thinking of the consequences. When the glazing fell off, the window was no longer being held onto the frame. Ordinarily this wouldn't be a big deal because of the wooden lip that the glass sits on. But, I put this frame on upside down. Ugh. I still have yet to fix this problem -- temporarily somehow. I think we may use Plexiglas glued or nailed to the top. For awhile I had cardboard covering the hole. Now I have a big piece of Styrofoam that came in some packaging laying on top and secured with large stones. We are expecting a lot of wind along with 4-8 inches of snow. Isn't this a sad sight?

On a brighter note, our wood stove is churning along nicely. We have our digital thermostats set to 60 degrees. I start the fire in the morning from the embers still burning from the night before (if everything went well) and get the temp up to a happy 68 degrees or even warmer. All from free wood in our back yard. Sometimes if I can't tolerate the morning cold I bring the temp up to 68 degrees with our furnace, then turn it back down and the wood stove just maintains the temp from there.
In any case, our first winter oil bill came and it was $156.13 for 71 gallons. For the same time period last year we used 97.4 gallons and using this year's prices we saved $57.81. I just called the oil guy to see if I could get the stats from my two previous bills (because I forgot to document them) and when he found out who I was he said "Hey! Your name came up the other day!" I told him that I'd bought a wood stove insert and he told the story of how he and his brother had been talking about whether or not to come by and fill up our tank -- wanting to be sure I didn't run out in the middle of winter. They decided that I probably didn't need any because the last time they were by I'd only taken 70 gallons -- he had remembered the exact amount -- and he'd seen smoke coming from the chimney and figured I'd gotten a wood stove. Isn't that funny?! I think you're doing pretty well when even the oil guy takes notice! Exciting!

Join in, Enter the Story

I saw this video when getting my morning laughs from April Showers. This video isn't about laughs, but rather a challenge to join into a different way of thinking about This Season. We celebrate Christmas, however, thanks to commercialism and bad choices of Christians across this country (including myself over the years) -- even people from other faiths have jumped into the buying frenzy. Several Blogs I read have commented on the importance of recreating our Holiday Season experience. What if we were to focus on spending time with friends and family, creating memories together --- whatever happened to Christmas Caroling? Hand making small thoughtful gifts together, giving them to friends and family as a token of our love for one another rather than a replacement of it. What would happen?

Here is a Thanksgiving Memory we made that you can stow-away for next year or create a different version for Christmas. (I think I may have gotten this idea from Martha Stewart.) Two years ago we made an updated version of the traditional Thanksgiving craft where children trace their hand and make a turkey out of it. Except with our new version we used real feathers, a red pipe cleaner for wattle (I had to look that up), a construction paper beak (ours admittedly look more like a chicken's), then make a Sculpy stand for each one and PRESTO -- you have your own personalized place cards. Here is my beautiful niece Rosalie modeling them. Surrounded by brothers and boy cousins, she is truly the princess of our family. Isn't she lovely?

Ways that we have saved

*Constantly being updated*

Over the past year we have tried to pair down our expenses in an effort to live wisely and simply. As it turns out, our timing couldn't have been better. Here are the things we've done:

1. Got rid of the "lawn guy" left over from when I was a single working mother.
2. Got rid of the cleaning lady left over from when I was a single working mother.
3. Got rid of cable.
4. Got rid of long distance phone service. (we use our cell phones for long distance)
5. We brew our morning coffee. It is a rare treat to buy coffee at a store of any kind. Think of all of those wasted cups we save! This is a huge savings. Just think: 2 cups a day at $2 each x 365 = $730 and let's face it, a lot of people buy more than one cup a day -- and $2 won't cover fancy coffee from places like Starbucks.
6. Victor pretty much always brings a lunch to work. Usually it is leftovers from the night before that I pack into a glass container when we do the dishes after dinner. $6 x 5 days a week = $30 x 52 weeks a year = $1560. See how it adds up?
7. Started air drying our clothes -- winter, summer, spring and fall (indoors and outdoors)
8. Turned our thermostats down to 66 degrees (during the months it's cold here) during the day and 55 degrees at night.
9. Put in a large garden in our back yard -- I'm in the midst of making cold frames to grow things in the cold months as well.
10. We are in the midst of chopping wood (we have tons of it in our large yard -- one large one got struck by lightening and we had to cut two down to give my garden more light) to help heat our house this winter -- we have oil heat and I'm petrified!
11. Put in a small orchard
12. Started composting -- free "fertilizer"!
13. Started driving our own trash / recyclables to the dump. With recycling and composting we generate one medium bag of trash every 2 weeks. One bag is $1.50 to bring to the dump. $1.50 x 26 weeks a year = $39 a year. When we had trash service it cost $35 a month x 12 months = $420 a year. Total savings: $381 a year.
14. Committed to using things that aren't disposable that you have to keep buying -- like paper towels (use dish clothes and towels) paper napkins (cloth napkins) swiffers & kitchen wipes (rags and elbow grease) ... you get the idea.
15. Cook from scratch. This is a HUGE savings, AND you will be eating better tasting food that is better for you.
16. Make things instead of buying things. The sky is the limit here. Make your own laundry and dishwasher soap. Knit mittens from left over yarn. Everything you do will have a big impact. The more you do, the better.
17. Use the library. Most have a network so that you can "order" books from cooperating libraries. There are few things you cannot find.
18. Buy used things from thrift stores. Less expensive and better for the environment. Great combo!
19. Eat less meat. Did you know that cows and pigs - their waste - causes more damage to the environment than our cars? It's the methane gas released into the air from the er .... poo. Supposedly if each family ate just one less MEAT MEAL we could dramatically effect our environment for the better. Anyway, that's the added bonus of eating less meat. Not only do you get to help the environment, you also get to save big time at the grocery store. Plus, let's face it, it's healthier to eat less meat. For the past month or two we've been eating a MEAT MEAL about once a week. Plus, if you have your own garden like I do, just eating all of the ripe veggies is enough to keep you busy and well fed!
20. Started to make our own laundry soap, dishwasher soap, glass cleaner and furniture polish. Link info here.
21. Make our own bread.
22. Bought a woodstove -- goodbye $600 oil bill!

How about you? Are you working on ways to save?

Clutter, Disposing of Disposables and Your Wake!

I'm de-cluttering my house! Two years ago I read Simplify Your Life: Get Organized and Stay That Way along with my sister-in-law Tanya -- and spoke about it at a Women's Breakfast at our church. It is a fabulous book, has very practical, realistic tools and is easy to implement. However, habits do have their way of breaking (why is it often the good ones?) and clutter has it's way of accumulating unless you go to battle against it from time to time. Isn't that the truth?! This has come up in my field of view like a banging drum set because Ripley has just started going to a Montessori school ... and if you've ever been inside one (see picture off the web below), you'll know why I've renewed my commitment against clutter. One of the premises is that children "work" best in a simple, tidy, organized environment -- who doesn't? Right? So, yesterday I went to my work against clutter in my home that's built up over the past two years. First: Toys. Broken toys. Toys you just have too many of. Toys that just don't work well. Toys our kids have grown out of. Chuck them. Recycle when possible. Salvation Army or hand down to friends, family or your church nursery those toys your child has grown out of. I literally collected three huge bags of stuff in those three categories. How about you? How is your clutter? Other areas of attack for me: "Junk" drawers / cabinet (I used to have none, now I have about four), Recipes!, Last Years school papers that I'd put aside to save (go through again - eliminate some more - then store neatly in the attic), Craft Room upstairs. My CLOSET!! (Think of the people who could use the clothes hanging unused in your closet. Send it to the Salvation Army. Or a consignment shop. Perfectly good clothing can be used by someone else. Talk about unsustainable, right?) How about you? What areas would you like to attack?

As you are going through your clutter and your home to organize and reconsider how it functions, consider examining your use of disposable anything. One blog I often check out issued a challenge to get rid of disposable items in your house. I love that idea! We can call it:

Disposing of Disposables Challenge!

Not only does doing away with disposables save the environment, it saves money and time at the grocery store! Here are some suggestions, send me your suggestions and I'll add them in! Let me know if you're committed too!

• Swiffers - Use old stained shirts and towels.
• Disposable Household Wipes and Dusters
• Take-Out Coffee Cups -- especially the Styrofoam ones!! Bring your own and have them fill it.
• Plastic Grocery Bags!
• "Disposable" tupperware and sippy cups -- invest in long lasting glass, plus glass won't leech chemicals into your food and drinks.
• Seemingly "disposable" plastic toys that people give as gifts at parties that break in less than 15 minutes. You know the kind, "Buy 100 for $2.00 ... Oooooo what a savings!"
• Bottled Water
• Sponges
• Kleenex -- use old fashioned hankies

Your WAKE. Committing to PEACE.

Another thing that has stuck with me all week is from Sunday Morning at church and a conversation with one of my girlfriends about PEACE in your home. Our Pastor, Dennis, asked the question "What wake do you leave when you go through a room?" Wake -- as in the mark that a boat makes in the water as it pushes through a body of water. What came to my mind immediately is that time zone at the end of your day when you're getting tired, the kids are getting tired and bickering, you're trying to prep dinner, ask your school aged kid(s) how their day was and make sure they are doing their homework, keep the young one out of the hair of the old one and entertained in some way -- and then your husband walks in. Not a wake of peace. Nope. More like the wake of a hurricane or an ocean liner. Committing to a non-disposable lifestyle is a lot easier for me that committing to peace. I like the idea of peace, but it sure it easy to get sucked into the chaos and join in the chorus "AAARRRRrrrrrggggghhhhhh!" Regardless, I'm committing to pursuing peace. This is all interconnected because organizing, simplifying and planning do help to create a peaceful home. Am I the only one? What's you're story?

Goodbye Cable

We are taking the plunge. Or, more accurately, we are removing ourselves from the vat of overpriced sludge. (ok, sludge doesn't exactly rhyme with plunge, but it's close) That is we are discontinuing our cable service. Yes, you heard us right, goodbye cable. We really don't watch that much television as it is. We enjoy the occasional Patriots or Red Sox game, but after that, it's pretty much all down hill. Between all of the violence (I'm sorry, Victor and I just can't handle watching C.S.I. or even Law and Order -- horrible things happening to people, why watch??), the low budget brain-numbing reality t.v., and the sensationalized news channels, we are done. We will keep our television for dvd's and the programming that comes to us for free - especially PBS. And that's it.

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My brother, Scott has many fun toys and creature comforts, but one thing he has never caved on is cable television. At first it was largely in protest to their monopoly - charging outrageous prices without competition. When I asked him about it last night at our Father's Day Family Night he said that now he also doesn't like having the temptation to burn up his time at home and "check out" (ie: turn into a tube-zombie). Growing up, we were never allowed much television. I can still hear my father shouting "Turn that thing off!" Today, when we go to our pediatrician, we are asked how much television our children watch. Our doctor is always pleasantly surprised when I answer that, if they watch any at all, they watch a 1/2 hour a day.

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When I start to consider how commercialism, consumption and big business have gotten so out of hand in our society -- turning off my television is my way of saying "I'm not filling my head with your lies!"

Dr. Bronner's All Purpose Soap

Consider using Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds. It's $10.99 for a 32 ounce bottle. It is condensed ... in the true sense of the word. You only use a teaspoon in a gallon of water. I've been using mine for months and I've hardly made a dent in it. I even made my own spray bottle mixture out of it - 1 to 1/2 teaspoon of the stuff and water. A boat-load cheaper than the $4.00 they want to charge you for something similar at Target. (Makes you realize why the companies started marketing them to us in the first place!) Dr. Bronner's is earth friendly, and cruelty-free. Plus, it won't make you feel like passing out from the fumes when you go to clean your shower! Some of that chemical stuff is nasty.

More Ideas on Saving

Click HERE to link to even more ideas I've written on saving!

Saving & Giving versus Consumption *Even More Added*

Whether you are saving to make ends meet, saving for emergencies, saving for retirement, or saving to give -- I want to write down some ideas I have. In a society that encourages consumption and waste without shame, I think it's worth considering that we don't have to "buy into" what THEY say that we need. Not only is it possible to cut back on a LOT, but you'll find that it also happens to be more GREEN. I'm going to keep adding to this as I have time, so keep checking back.

My thoughts and ideas:

Watch this Saturday Night Live Clip My Pastor played this during a recent sermon - it's hilarious! "Don't Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford" FABULOUS! Click here to watch the clip.

Don't use your credit card If you don't have the money for something ... don't buy it. It's tempting once you've "charged" not to pay the entire amount on your credit card bill - and then you have to pay interest. Plan savings into your monthly budget for unexpected expenses. Use the suggestions on this post to try and get to the point where you can afford it.

Read the book AFFLUENZA I just finished the book Affluenza - get it? The authors define Affluenza as "a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety, and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more." It's a great, thought provoking book. Makes you think about how we've gotten here as a society and about the choices you make regarding the things you choose to do with your money, your stuff, your life.

Watch this Video Clip This clip The Story of Stuff is great. It talks about our consumption, and the mathematics of what it means to our society. Keep watching because it touches on a variety of subject matters -- it's well worth watching until the end. It will give you a fresh perspective and make you think twice before buying something you don't need. Save.Save.Save.

Plant a GARDEN I learned recently that Victory Gardens were created in the 40's to releave the pressure that the war put on our food supply. Everyone contributed in ways from recycling to creating victory gardens to help our country and economy. I think we should create a NEW KIND of Victory Garden ... Victory from bland vegetables ... Victory from supporting conventional (non-organic) farming ... Victory from shipping our vegetables across the country - vegetables that were picked well before they are ripened and genetically engineered to "look ripe" even though they weren't propperly ripened ... Victory from spending money on something that we can do for ourselves more cheaply and with WAY better taste!

Recycle & Compost Save money (and the environment) by cutting down on how many plastic garbage bags you use. Together with recycling and composting we produce LESS THAN one tall kitchen garbage bag worth of trash a week. We used to fill one tall kitchen garbage bag A DAY! Wow. Big difference. Check out the story on my blog - click here.

Cut down on your Electrical Bill Switch to CFL bulbs, Air Dry your clothes, Connect your computer and t.v. stations to power strips in order to shut off all "phantom electricity" and making sure everything is off. Commit to turning off lights when you're out of the room. Turn off your outdoor lighting unless you're expecting guests. Entertain yourself in ways that don't involve electricity -- read a book, play a board game with your kids. Check out my electric bill testimony - click here

Create a Weekly Menu, Shopping List At the start of your week (whenever you plan for the oncoming week) plan what you will serve for breakfasts, lunches, and especially dinners. Write a shopping list -- and when you go shopping, stick to the list! This week a got money for grocery shopping out of the bank. I am keeping it in an envelope and when I spend money on groceries (or other weekly expenses) I record the amount I spent and what I spent it on, on the envelope. It's fun to try to spend less than you have in the envelope (I love games). Today, I was thinking -- how fun it would be if - at the end of the week - if I spend less than I'd allowed for, I can donate it to charity. How cool is that?! I'll keep you posted and let you know how this goes. We do waste a lot of food. How many times have you cleaned out your fridge of tons of veggies you never used before they "went bad"? Plan. Plan. Plan. Stick to your list. Save. Save. Save.

Stop buying "to go" coffee At $2-$4 dollars a cup, this is a ridiculous waste of money. I have been on this bandwagon myself, but since being home with my children I have improved. Since going on my recycling kick I've improved even more. I'd say I "treat" myself to a to-go coffee once every one to two weeks. However, there are tons of people who regularly buy coffee two times a day. Not only is it expensive, think of the waste. Dunkin Donuts and Honey Dew are particularly bad because they use Styrofoam cups. It's tough to find a town who will recycle Styrofoam. Talking about chemicals. Ugh. With the amount of money you will save by drinking quality home brewed coffee, you will be able to afford organic, fair trade, shade-grown coffee from the Coffee Exchange in Providence! At $9.99 a pound for some varieties (16oz) - Mocha Java is FABULOUS - , it's about "on par" with ON SALE Starbucks Coffee (NOT organic, fair trade or shade grown) at Stop and Shop for $7.99 for 12 oz. Think about it.

Use your local library Free books. Go to your local library and check out books for your children and for yourself on a regular basis. Not only are books a better bet than t.v. and video games, but they are free to use at the library, and don't feed the consumerism monster. TV - commercials VIDEO games - accessories and new games. Plus, books are great for your brain and increase your vocabulary.

Stop buying bottled water. Save well over $300 a year ... stop buying bottled water. ($300 is based on buying one case a week at Walmart ... if you cave and buy SINGLE bottles of water you could save a boat-load more than $300) When you get ready to leave your house, fill up your water bottle (please, no leaching plastic) with fresh water from your faucet. Bottled water has far fewer restrictions to pass than your household water. Did you know that? Research it. Not only will you be saving big bucks by drinking water from home, but you will save the planet BIG TIME! Thank you for recycling your used bottled water containers -- if you do, but just think, there is no need to be using up the energy used to create the chemically based plastic bottles in the first place.

Stop buying soda. Honestly. The stuff is horrible for you. If you drink the sugar based soda ... not only are you getting empty calories in the sugar, but have you ever taken a gander through the ingredients list? If you drink the DIET soda ... do you really want to put ingredients in your body that have been proven to cause cancer in mice? Why? Not only is it bad for you, there is an inexpensive GOOD FOR YOU alternative .... water. Save BIG TIME by choosing water from your home. And, you wont waste needless energy producing the plastic and aluminum cans used to contain the liquid. AND, you don't have to add needless piles of cans and bottles to the recycling pile ... or worse, landfill. Eeeek.

Start a compost bin. A compost bin is a bin that you put outside in your yard (there are all kinds of sizes). In it you put all of your vegetable scraps. You can also put paper towel rolls / t.p. rolls, tissue paper (used is fine), hair, coffee grounds, egg shells, paper bags, newspaper ... click here for more information ... In the end, you get free natural chemical free fertilizer for your yard and garden. Plus, you don't fill up your landfill with stuff that you can make good use out of. Cool! Alot of towns offer a discounted compost bin. If you live in the greater Providence / Attleboro area I know that Attleboro and Seekonk offer compost bins for $25 -- which is quite a deal! Even though I live in Rehoboth, Seekonk was very willing to sell me a bin for $25 along with a kitchen compost bucket. Check it out.

Stop buying Paper towels. Use good old fashioned rags. Not only are you USING old clothing like t-shirts, sheets, towels, that might be stained, torn, or too small rather than throwing them in the land fill -- but you aren't supporting the unnecessary cutting down of perfectly good trees. It's amazing to see that if you don't buy them, you realize you don't need them. Use dish towels, dish rags and good 'ole fashioned rags (for cleaning floors, etc.).

Stop buying Swiffers. Again, no need to buy anything except environmentally friendly soap. Get down on your knees, get some extra exercise, and clean the silly floor. We are under exercised, over maxed on our credit cards, and overloaded in our landfills -- Don't "buy on" to buying "tools" we don't need to make life easier. A rag and soap is simpler, cheaper, better for you and better for the environment.

Stop buying WINDEX. My parents have a house in Florida with LOTS of LARGE windows to take advantage of beautiful views they are blessed to be nearby. Do you know what they use? White Vinegar and Water. Not only is white vinegar very low in cost, it's natural and fine for the environment! Plus, who needs to handle chemicals when other options are cheaper -- and as far as I can tell work as well or better. What a racket. Put the Windex down.

Stop buying Sponges. Not only are the majority of sponges that people use unnatural requiring chemicals to produce -- and therefore pollute the environment (and let's not rob the ocean of natural sponges, please) but they collect germs. I use one dish cloth a day. At the end of the day, it goes into the wash with our clothes.

Buy WHOLE FOODS No, I don't mean the natural foods store. I mean, foods that aren't processed. Simple whole foods are better for you, have less packaging, and have a lower impact on the environment. The Providence Journal has been running a terrific series on saving money when buying food. One article discussed how immigrants often do a better job saving by cooking whole foods - simply because they are used to cooking simply, from scratch. For example -- there is nothing cheaper and simpler to make than rice and beans. It isn't difficult to cook simply, from scratch. Let's face it, we generally don't have time and energy to cook like Martha Stewart every night -- but that's not necessary to have a good whole foods meal that taste great and takes a small amount of time to whip up. When we "bought on" to packaged and prepared foods (such the novelty in the 60's and 70's) we lost the ART of cooking quickly, simply and cheaply. You should see my Portuguese in-laws whip up a simple chicken soup in no time. I'm not talking chicken soup with boxes of broth and pre-cooked packaged chicken ... I'm talking from a whole chicken. It DOESN'T TAKE LONG! A lost art ... worth learning. (I will get around to enclosing simple whole food recipes)

Stop CATALOGS. Take time, pick up the phone and call the 800 number for free and tell stores to "hold the catalog". You will be amazed, without allowing retailers to brainwash you that you NEED MORE STUFF with their slick photo shoots and advertisements how much you will ultimately save. Plus, you save trees and the environment. Also, other mailers can be stopped by going to this site, filling out the form and paying one dollar (which simply validates your information ... and let's face it, they make a dollar out of the deal) www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailinglist . To stop flyer's that typically come on Wednesday's in the mail including everything from Goodyear to ALL of your local grocery stores call Valassis at 1-800-437-0479 ... at least this is the number for southeastern Massachusetts.

Stop buying Dryer Sheets Stop drying your clothes in the dryer all together. We have cut down our electric bill dramatically by air drying our clothes. If you don't use a dryer, you don't need dryer sheets! Cool, eh?

I will be writing more, so please stay tuned!

Let me know if you have any ideas!

Thanks, Sandy