Filed under: Conservation
More and more we are hearing the slogan “Buy Local.” As a hometown girl, and as an ex local “Mom & Pop” business owner, I try very hard to find what I need in my local community. Not only does this help the local economy, the little guy, but also the personal connection makes me feel wonderful. For instance, I was sitting in a café in a nearby town having lunch with my son and his girlfriend, the place wasn’t extremely crowded, but I thought I heard someone say my name, of course I realized there are other Joann’s in the world, so I paid no attention. Then once again, I hear my name as if I was called upon. Low and behold, this was my pharmacist, my local, Mom & Pop guy, not some big ole chain. After our little conversation, I turned my head, began eating my (locally grown) salad, and smiled at my son and said “I love this,” and his response, “I know you do Mom.” I love, I cherish the personalization supporting local businesses give me.
A few weeks before Christmas, I went to drop off some gifts I had purchased at the Salvation Army for the toy drive. I have an elderly Aunt & Uncle, both born and raised right here in this little town, every day from Thanksgiving until Christmas, they are at the Salvation Army counting the monies that were collected from the kettles. Of course I can never reach these two at home during this time, and of course there is no answering machine, cell phone or email that either of them will take part in, so I figured I would stop, help count some money and visit. So I did. Afterwards I walked to the public Library, picked up a book, then made it over to my pharmacy to pick up some prescriptions. We had a nice conversation about how the café was that we both visited that day, and about some local stuff and whatever else came up. Another local lady came in, dropped off some goodies for the staff, and kidded around. When I left, it was not the normal distant, “Have a nice day,” It was that personal “Good bye, see you soon.” What a great feeling. When I got home, I stopped for a moment and realized how, yes how great this makes me feel.
Later on that day, I went to a rather small grocery store, a national chain. The entire time the cashier did not say one word to me, she was talking to another employee. After I took my receipt, I said to the girl, “Do you realize you did not say one word to me through the entire transaction.” Her response was, “Yes but I looked at you.”
. Buying locally gets you so much more than the product you set out to purchase. It gives you the feeling of being more than just a consumer. The feeling of knowing that people can be personal and friendly and even if it is just a simple smile and a hello, that eye-to-eye contact means so much. For some part of that day, I felt warm and fuzzy inside. And I would like to thank those people who make it personal. Not just some cold transaction. But for giving me that warm fuzzy feeling, that I believe we all need once in a while, and if you can get that every time you go out to purchase something, consider yourself one of the luckiest people around.
We had a family BBQ, and I am happy to report that we came very close to zero waste. How?? Instead of paper plates and cups we used REAL dishes!! I actually pulled out the china that I got as a wedding gift; we used it once in the past 27 years. When my 25 year old son saw it on the counter top and asked “Where did this come from?” I was convinced that even though this is not a fancy schmancy event, (which is when the special china comes out right?) this was perfect, so what if one piece breaks? Make mosiacs!!! Better to use it now, then some day dig it out of the box, barely used and give it away.
How did we do it? For the plates, we added the china to our everyday dishes. Since we had steak, I broke out the steak knives. For cold drinks, anything that came in a bottle like beer, gets recycled, we had some home brewed beer, so that is an even better way to recycle the bottles. For all the other drinks, iced tea, soda etc ,I pulled out the mason, pickle, salsa, and peanut butter jars, which we use as our daily glasses. Straws….bamboo of course. For hot drinks, the coffee cups from the kitchen cabinet, added to the china coffee cups. Since I only have a 12 cup coffee maker, I used some old thermos’ I had (either family hand me downs or tag sale finds) to serve the coffee out of.
For our cutlery I had purchased forks and spoons made out of potato starch, which you can throw in the compost, but you can also run them through the dishwasher, so you can re use them plenty of times, and then when you can’t any more….to the worms! Napkins-cloth, I use old t shirts and cut them with pinking shears.
When it was time for dessert I had to stop and think for a second, the cookies we made, easy to serve, but the fruit salad, hmmmm…then I opened up my cabinet and AH HA!!…yogurt cups!!! I was wondering what I was going to do with them 
The food waste gets composted, the chicken bones I froze and will make stock out of. So the only thing we had to throw out was the packaging from the meats, which included styrofroam, which really gets my goat. I am mad at myself for even buying it, but what are you going to do?
As far as clean up, when we have a gathering, we usually end up in the kitchen, so clean up really isn’t so bad. Everyone helps, and cleaning is hardly noticed with all the socializing.
Almost Zero waste!! Ahh someday maybe….
ZERO!!
I have wanted a tumbling compost bin for some time now. John had planned on building one for me awhile ago, but too many things have gotten in the way. So while he was at work, and all of my (4) sons where off to wherever 20 something’s go off to, I decided I was going build this thing…now!! After scouting the internet and getting a few ideas from different composters, I had a plan in this little mind of mine, and set off on my mission. Now, of course in my Just Jo fashion, I had to use stuff that was around the house, I’ll be gosh darned if I am going to go buy something when I have so many resources right here.
I gathered up my material:
- An old garbage can
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Some 2 by 4’s
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A metal pipe
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Clamps
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Bungee cords
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Screws
So…..I dug the holes….the ground of course is extremely wet because of all the freaking rain……I slipped on my BIG BUTT, fell into the mud and IN the hole. So after I picked myself up and brushed myself off, I dug the holes, buried in the 2×4’s, got out John’s power tools…(I have never used any power tools before) ..I used some big kind of saw, proceeded to saw the 2×4’s down, because of course they were too high…I know I should have done this before I buried them…but I never do anything the right way……anyway…I screwed on the clamps for the pole……..drilled holes in the can for drainage and also to put the pole through and
TA DA!!!!!
…we now have a tumbling compost bin!!!!!
I use the bungee cords to hold the top on when we turn it.
Who knows how long this will last, I know it’s primitive, but I did it by myself and am darn proud of it!
We are all aware of the 3 R’s “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.” But what impact do these three really have on our planet. Now I am certainly no expert on anything, I just try to use some common sense to get through life. So when Friday comes and the recycling truck arrives in my neighborhood, most of the time they fly right passed my house. Why? Does she NOT recycle? No, that is not the case at all. The thing is, we rarely have a full bin to put out to the curb.
Why you may ask? Because of the first two “R”’s Yup, REDUCE & REUSE! I am not going to lie to you and tell you that it’s easy, it’s not. Every purchase, every choice just needs to be thought out. Yes, it can be time consuming, but for me, the benefits for all of us are worth my time. When you really think about it, the amount of waste that goes into packaging some products is ridiculous.
Once in the supermarket I saw A potato, YES A SINGLE POTATO 
wrapped in plastic, with directions on how to cook in a microwave.
How crazy is that? ….OR… What a brilliant idea?
What a profit the store must be making and think of the convenience for the consumer. Now, think of the packaging, for that one little spud, why? Why does there have to be unnecessary waste created? Where is it going to go? Into the landfill? Or maybe like my municipality and incinerated and the toxins released into the atmosphere for all of us to breath in…all that energy for a convenient meal.
This is just one example of why reducing and reusing is so important to me. Can’t we buy that potato without the plastic wrapped around it? Better yet, let’s buy that potato from our local farmer! Then we save the fuel it may have taken to be transported, perhaps from a different state or country to get to the market, and the fuel it took to make the packaging to wrap the potato, and the satisfaction of knowing who grew it and how it was grown.
More and more people are using re usable grocery bags…YEAH!!!! But let’s do more.
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Let’s find a way to refill our containers.
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Let’s buy only what we need. How many times do we throw out something because it’s gone bad, we most likely bought it on sale, so it was worth it right?
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Let’s designate a cup
at the office for coffee or tea instead of using Styrofoam or paper. Mmmm think of how much better it will taste.
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Let’s use both sides of the paper, & use email for communications and especially for office memos and only print when absolutely necessary.
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Let’s purchase items that will be used more than one time.
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Let’s use refillable containers for water.
”But I recycle my plastic water bottles!” Yes I am sure you do, but recycling uses resources that we could be saving as well.
I am not saying recycling is bad. But if we cut down on the amount of packaging, and we buy things in re usable containers and actually re use them, we will save precious water, fuel, land, and our planet for future generations.
This says it all for me!
If I should die before I wake
All my bone and sinew take
And put me in the compost pile
To decompose me for a while
Worms, water, sun will have their way
Returning me to common clay
All that I am will feed the trees
And little fishies in the seas
So when radishes and corn you munch
You may be having me for lunch
And then excrete me with a grin
Chuckling “There she goes again.”
– Lee Hayes, folksinger
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Two of my worst addictions are chewing gum and drinking out of plastic straws. So I gave up the gum fairly easily….but for some reason I can’t give up using straws…..It just seems like I drink more water when I have a straw. I tried using the hollow spaghetti (Bucatini)..it worked, but gets mushy pretty quickly…then I decided to look for the “matte” straws…pretty pricey..so I stumbled across the bamboo straws…..they can get expensive, but I was lucky enough to find them at a decent price!! yeee haaa!! No more plastic straws for me……
So while putzing around on facebook I find the group….
“No Plastic Straws (Plastic Straws are For Suckers)” and this story that I think is wonderful!……
What would happen if everyone who ordered a drink politely added “And no plastic straw, please!” ?
What would happen is this… That straw, that was unwrapped from a paper wrapper that straw, that was made from gas that straw, that was going to end up in your drink for just a moment-so that you could grab it, give your drink a swirl, then pull it out and toss it aside where it would lay that straw would no longer be needed. And with millions of people demanding ” No Plastic Straws, Please!”- Slowly perhaps, but with your help they will- and the rails will carry merrymakers seeking a day’s thrill down on the Gulf Coast. And those ships from faraway lands And the trucks that rumbled from the docks at the port- well, we’ll change over to wagons and make it a sport: ox-racing! And the forests will return- soon you shall see- And the air will blow cleaner, and the waters will run pure And all this will happen from this one simple cure. And is that not reason to celebrate? check them out!http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=65358216643
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Filed under: Rain Barrel | Tags: enviroment, green, off grid, rain barrels, re use, Water
After 27 years of marriage, my husband finally gets the gift giving right! For Valentines Day, which to me is just another Hallmark Holiday, but if you get a great gift, the occasion doesn’t matter. He made me two rain barrels. Now some girls would prefer diamonds, flowers or even chocolate, and rain barrels could be grounds for divorce. But not this gal. I couldn’t be happier with my rain barrels. The fact that he made them (out of plain old rubber garbage cans) instead of just buying them is even better!
So now we have two rain barrels collecting all the water off of our roof. After the first rain they were full! So I started thinking, I need to make room for more water. Hmmm not having more barrels, and not having a garden to water for another 3 months at least, I started to think, “What could we use this water for now?” So I decided, why can’t we flush the toilets with them? Well, guess what? We can, and we do.
Now I am not going to tell you that my family is happy about this, but they are cooperating. I have turned the water going to the toilets off. We have a few large buckets, we “fetch” the water from the barrels outside, bring them to the bathrooms, and when it’s that time to flush, we are saving gallons! Ahhh what a great feeling!
To add to the water saving, while showering one day, I decided, hhhmm why couldn’t we capture that water and use it to flush. Guess what, we can, and we do!! When I explain this to people, they think, eeww your bath water is being re used. Uhmm yea, to flush!! I don’t think we need sparkling water for this.
Okay, my family is really not happy with the bath water thing, but they’ll survive.
I realize in the 21st century we shouldn’t have to “fetch” our own water for flushing. But then again, why can’t we? What is wrong with some good old fashioned manual labor? After all why do you think Jack & Jill went up that hill?
Some day my aspirations to live off the grid will come true, and this is just one way of preparing my family for that day!
A rain barrel can and is as simple as a trash can catching the water from the gutters off a roof. Since we are just starting this adventure, our materials are quite basic.
How to build a Home Made Rain Barrel:
1) Purchase, dig up, haul out, in some way obtain a barrel.
John used a 33 gal trash can. The 55 gallon drums would be great, but I am finding them hard to obtain. I have gotten one 55 gallon and one 30 gallon, which he will make a rotating compost bin out of next.
2) Cut a hole in the top to accommodate the downspout from the gutter.
Optional:
3) Purchase a hose bib from the hardware store, use ½ “rubber washer with silicone and some plastic nuts (from an old faucet).
4) Drill a hole in the side, put the washer & the hose bib with some silicone
from the outside in through the hole, take plastic nut screw from inside.
Since our garden will be downhill the water will be able to flow easily.
To “fetch” the water for now, we are just scooping it through the lid.
Flushing:
While showering we close the damper so the water is collected in the tub. After showering we fill the buckets up with the bath water. It takes almost 2 gallons to flush our particular toilet.
We leave the tank uncovered for now, until we find a fancier way of doing this. After the flush, just use the bath water to refill the tank. I have placed an old shower curtain liner on the floor in case the water drips out while pouring.
I realize this is not fancy, in some way this is why I like it.
It is a simple, inexpensive way to save water, money and to lessen the impact we are making on our earth. And honestly, it does not take up that much time.
“Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink,”
Let’s hope this never happens!
Jo
**PLEASE NOTE: If you have small children NEVER leave containers uncovered.**
Filed under: Composting, Gardening | Tags: Composting, enviroment, green, worms
I must admit, up until a few months ago, I wasn’t composting for the winter. It bothered me so much every time the coffee grinds, eggshells, fruit scraps etc would go into the garbage, ultimately into the landfill. Then in my naive way I decided to look into composting indoors. Now, many might think, “where has she been?”, but for this ‘want to be country bumpkin,’ I had no clue. I consider myself an environmental NUT; I can’t throw anything away, I make things out of potential garbage, buy local almost all the time, won’t even enter the “W*#!art” store, and drive my family, friends and coworkers crazy!!
So I found VERMICOMPOSTING!!! Ah what a wonderful thing! As Wikipedia explains it: “Vermicompost is richer in many nutrients than compost produced by other composting methods. It is also rich in microbial life which helps break down nutrients already present in the soil into plant-available forms. Unlike other compost, worm castings also contain worm mucus which keeps nutrients from washing away with the first watering and holds moisture better than plain soil.”
Tea anyone?
Of course you can buy worm bins, made especially for this purpose, but I don’t buy anything made for a specific purpose, if I can help it.
And so, today after making an apple pie for my family, looking at all the apple cores, 
and not wanting to overwork the worms, I have decided to put all the scraps into the food processor. Of course why stop with the apple cores, there are banana peels, eggshells, onion skins, grape stems and so much more. So now EVEN THE WORMS ARE SPOILED!! Having their food ground up for them, to make their life easier!
After all, it is for the good of all. The worms are producing tea and castings and when it is time to start the garden I will have plenty of fertilizer, and everyone in my life will have beautiful, delicious veggies!
Well, I guess I’ll go spoil myself and have a piece of warm apple pie, and a cup of………coffee.
I have dedicated myself to the idea that not everything that is headed to the landfill is just useless junk; in fact I have found that almost everything can indeed be repurposed. With that in mind the products I create were once destined for the landfill.
With a little imagination, some ingenuity, and lots of elbow grease I have created these usable items.
Repurposed with a Purpose and more…..
Here’s just a few…..
Made from material that would otherwise be thrown away. We tie – dyed it, and I embroidered. Voila! A beautiful bag with a message. Or a message bag looking beautiful.
A pair of pants and an unwanted neck tie.
These two bags were made from swatches of discarded interior designer sample books.
This one is every body’s favorite. After feeding my hounds I just couldn’t bear to throw this perfectly useable material out!
More to come…..
Remember to Reduce, Reuse & Recycle!
Please feel free to email -heyjustjo@gmail.com
