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Green Mamas Tribe! - Page 4

post #61 of 101
3/18/09 at 10:10am
Hi all!

I am a green mom trying to live simply. I am a single mom so it's important that I do things like shop at thrift stores and reuse as much as I can. I am very conscious about lights and the powere we use. I use all non toxic natural cleaners. I have moved into a house with a yard that doesn't get much sunlight and that is driving me crazy. I have an organic garden for 12 years. I cc'd all of my kids and breastfed forever. Now, they are 16. 13. 10 and 8. It's nice to be here among mommies who care!

Dee
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post #62 of 101
3/18/09 at 12:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Buddhamom View Post
I love to freecycle! Even if your hotwater heater didn't work someone would have most likely taken it for the scrap metal content. People can use the most unusual things so I post everything.
You never know what people will want. I have had some pretty unusual things go on Freecycle!

The next big "green" thing I want to do around my house is put up a clothes line. I used to just hang things out on my deck, but it was rotten and we tore it down, so I have no place to hang things. There is this weird metal thing (hard to explain) outside where the deck was. I am hoping to utilize it somehow with a clothes line. It is SO incredibly dry here ALL THE TIME that it just makes sense to hang things out. They dry in no time.

I'm also trying to "reclaim" water. I have a big jug sitting on my counter that I've been putting water in. Last night I steamed broccoli, and I put the rest of the water from the steamer in it. Anytime the kids have leftover water that they haven't drank, I try to remember to throw it in there. It might not turn out to be much, but it'll water my herbs at least.
post #63 of 101
3/18/09 at 5:43pm
your plants will love leftover steamer water!

i am now a Freecycle moderator! (like i don;t already have enough to do around here)

--janis
post #64 of 101
3/20/09 at 11:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jrabbit View Post
your plants will love leftover steamer water!
I hope so! Very cool about being a Freecycle moderator, btw.

Does anyone bring their own containers to restaurants? There is this one restaurant very close to our house that we love to go to. It is a locally owned Thai food restaurant with out of this world food! We ALWAYS have leftovers though, and their "doggie bags" are styrofoam containers. Next time we go, providing I remember ahead of time, I am going to bring our own containers. I figure there are people who will think it's rude, but too bad! Anyone else do this? Have you gotten strange looks or comments?
post #65 of 101
3/24/09 at 6:30pm
Anyone ever have a canning party? I'm thinking of having some this season, but I'm still thinking about the logistics. Any btdt stories would be greatly appreciated!
post #66 of 101
3/25/09 at 1:58am
Thread Starter 
I wanna hear canning party stories too!! I'm planning some myself this season. Luckily I'll be in a community with some experienced canners; we're moving to an ecovillage. I'm so excited! Just in time for the growing season.
post #67 of 101
3/25/09 at 8:44pm
I doubt we'll have anythign that we can can this year - maybe next year. If I get there, I woudl love to try to set up a canning party around here!

Oh, and my lettuce and spinach sprouted, as well as four mystery plants from my worm bin. It think two are nectarine trees. Anyone know what I should do with them? They are so cute! I have no clue what the other two are.
post #68 of 101
3/28/09 at 1:02pm
Earth Hour tonight!

www.earthhour.org
post #69 of 101
3/28/09 at 1:14pm
That's cool about the plants sprouting from your worm bin! I had planned on planting sage this weekend, but my garden is covered in snow! So, unless it's really warm today (which is a possibility), no planting this weekend. Bummer. Oh well - the kids are on spring break next week, so they can always help.
post #70 of 101
3/28/09 at 1:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ColoradoMama View Post
That's cool about the plants sprouting from your worm bin! I had planned on planting sage this weekend, but my garden is covered in snow! So, unless it's really warm today (which is a possibility), no planting this weekend. Bummer. Oh well - the kids are on spring break next week, so they can always help.
I'm thinking of using some of my worm casings to sprout peas. It will be my first poop harvest! We're just raining here, but it is just too smushy in my yard to be outside. One of my projects this year is too address drainage. I will planting a rain garden and trying to convince DH we need a dry creek bed.
post #71 of 101
3/28/09 at 4:14pm
Around where we live, canning is very routine. It often works out that I can together with a friend, mom-in-law, sis-in-law, etc. to get a few batches of salsa or jam put away. My mom is coming out for a visit to see our little baby, but probably won't be able to get here until late August or early September. I said that would be just fine, we could do lots of canning at that point!!

Someone mentioned that they probably won't have anything to can this year. Even if you don't have a garden, it is sometimes worthwhile to can things yourself. You know exactly what is in your food. If there is a farmer's market nearby, you can usually find things very inexpensively in season - especially larger quantities. Things like salsa are so worth it! Of course, if you don't have all the canning stuff, it is a big investment at first. We found almost all our canning equipment through an auction sale for a very low price.

I was at a mom-to-mom swap this morning. I love getting new-to-us clothes for great prices, and know that they are going to be well used at our house, after they have already been enjoyed by another family...and then we'll pass them along to someone else after we're through.
post #72 of 101
3/31/09 at 10:42am

Green here too!

Nice to find a bunch of other green mamas!

We're making a huge effort to be green around here. Both DH and I work for an environmental charity so our office is pretty good at doing the basics and we've made adjustments at home to reduce the size of our footprint. A few of the changes have saved us money as well as being kinder to the earth. We're vegan and use cloth nappies, and are working on using the car less (our office just moved which means we can walk to work - yay!) and will start up composting again shortly (we have a green cone and it went slimy so we moved it).

We make a lot of food in the slow cooker and I'd be interested in canning. I remember my mum doing a lot of it when I was smaller. Will be nice to show DD how to live simply as she grows up.
post #73 of 101
3/31/09 at 5:33pm
yea! i'm glad this is still going! i love all three ideas-especially the topic of the month we all do.

i think this will help us stay motivated, and for some of us-me who are not so green with everything, i think it will teach a lot!

off-topic vent: my dh and i are very passionate about preserving our planet and energy sources and most of our extended family does not believe it matters!!!! its hard to believe even with the government now really placing emphasize on green matters!
post #74 of 101
3/31/09 at 9:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Carlyn View Post
Around where we live, canning is very routine. It often works out that I can together with a friend, mom-in-law, sis-in-law, etc. to get a few batches of salsa or jam put away. My mom is coming out for a visit to see our little baby, but probably won't be able to get here until late August or early September. I said that would be just fine, we could do lots of canning at that point!!
Can I ask about the logistics of canning with several people? How does that work out? I know it probably sounds silly, but I don't want to have a few people over, and then someone feel like they're getting slighted or doing more of the work or whatever. I'm probably being overly sensitive about it! (Hey, I'm preggo.) I'm really looking forward to canning though. I'd love to hear the things you can. Right now, the big ones on my list are tomato products (salsa, sauce, tomatoes), jams, fruits and pickles. I'm honestly nervous about the less acid-y things that require a pressure cooker, and I'm thinking since it's been so long since I canned anything that we'll keep it simple this year!
post #75 of 101
4/2/09 at 10:03pm
we have gotton pretty green over the years so are always looking for new things. A while ago my hubby watched a movie about how toxic (everything) shoes are - it was talking about greening industries but used the shoes as an example. he was really freaked out by what he saw. so our new ambition is to buy eco friendly shoes. we just got my daughter a sweet little pair of "simple" brand sneakers. I have to admit, as a woman, the shoes are a bit challenging for me. I want her to have all the sparkly, fancy shoes she wants. We are also trying not to buy used (which we do for most everything else) only on the shoes because they are the one thing you should always try to buy new for proper alignment and such of growing children's feet. So I let my hubby decide and bought the earth friendly shoes. (and am pretty grateful to have a hubby who is even more green than me)
post #76 of 101
4/4/09 at 12:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by talia rose View Post
. (and am pretty grateful to have a hubby who is even more green than me)
That's cool. My hubby is pretty darn "green," too. It has definitely been a process (well for both of us - but definitely for him!), but it's nice to have your SO on board!

We went to a local nursery and came home with two house plants today. I'm so excited about them! We got an aloe plant and a jasmine plant (we also got a rosemary plant, but that is for outside). I want to get more plants, but it's a start! The kids were really jazzed. They helped repot them, and we had a great discussion about indoor air quality. :
post #77 of 101
4/4/09 at 12:39am
getting the kids involved with the planting of the gardens (even indoor plants!) is so great. i love that michelle obama had schoolkids come break ground for their organic garden. the kids are our future and i have a feeling raising your own food is going to become very importasnt in their lifetimes.

here is a chart of houseplants that remove indoor toxins. http://organicgrace.com/node/260
post #78 of 101
4/4/09 at 1:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by talia rose View Post
here is a chart of houseplants that remove indoor toxins. http://organicgrace.com/node/260
Awesome. Thanks for posting that. My only concern is getting plants that aren't harmful if they're eaten. I never worried about that with my older kids, but the little one will put ANYTHING in his mouth! Then there's the very lovable, but not too smart cats! Great list - we almost bought a bamboo today, too.
post #79 of 101
4/4/09 at 7:54pm
it's a beautiful sunny spring day here in northern cal. i hung out the laundry first time this season and cooked in the solar oven!
(though in reality i am praying for much more rain or we will be in great trouble!)
post #80 of 101
4/4/09 at 8:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by talia rose View Post
it's a beautiful sunny spring day here in northern cal. i hung out the laundry first time this season and cooked in the solar oven!
(though in reality i am praying for much more rain or we will be in great trouble!)
It's snowing and COLD here! Please tell me about your solar oven. It's so cool you mentioned that because I have been thinking about that a lot lately. I'd like to do more research on them (it'll probably happen when I'm laid up with a newborn and a laptop!) What did you cook in it?

p.s. We need WAY more moisture than we've gotten, too, or we are also going to be in trouble.
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