Posted in Uncategorized on April 30, 2008 | 2 Comments »
It’s a gorgeous day here in Denver. Currently 76 degrees, with all the signs of spring — despite a forecast of snow later this week.
The tulips are coming into their glory.
The crabapple tree is just wrapping its flowers up; soon they’ll rain down into the yard.
The baby apple trees are covered with blooms.
Even the cherry [...]
Posted in Environment, Fun, Travel, carbon, energy, tagged vacation, Travel, carbon offsets, flying, public transit on April 29, 2008 | 10 Comments »
This year, I’m taking a vacation.
Well, to be honest, I’m taking a few.
I know flying isn’t low impact, by any means, and until last week, I hadn’t been in a plane since May 2004. However, I hadn’t seen my dad in a year and a half, and he lives a 14-hour drive away. Little Cheap [...]
Posted in DIY, Dealbusters, Eating, Green Living, Home, Saving, food, thrift, tagged baked chips, make your own, tortilla chips on April 28, 2008 | 8 Comments »
This Monday series checks out whether something that sounds like a good deal — or takes a bit of extra work — is a good deal. We’ll look at cost and benefit — with everything filtered through my individual experience. Please chime in with your take.
I’m hooked on nachos. I love tortilla chips, in general. [...]
Posted in DIY, Deals, Environment, Green Living, Home, Saving, Shopping, money, recycling, thrift, waste, tagged beans, dimmer switch, money, paying more, recession, recycling, Saving, spending on April 25, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Here are three four great articles I stumbled across this week.
This blog post examines the reasons we pay more than we have to, from many perspectives. It’s no crime to pay more — but it is a wise idea to make that decision consciously, rather than falling into constant overspending.
This article isn’t a compendium of [...]
Posted in Buy Nothing Challenge, Children, Home, Saving, Shopping, Travel, money, thrift, tagged air travel, buying, consumerism, field trip, planning on April 24, 2008 | 1 Comment »
It’s nearly the end of April and I’m still hanging in there with my attempt at Buy Nothing month.
I missed the Sunday confession because I was out of town, but last week I bought … uh … plane tickets. But this is the previously planned graduation-celebration trip.
Other than that, I didn’t buy much. We visited [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on April 23, 2008 | 1 Comment »
We haven’t had a deal of the week in some time, so here are a couple of money-saving tips.
I just heard an anecdote from someone who bought a pricey item at Bed, Bath & Beyond — at a time when she didn’t have one of their ubiquitous coupons with her. The store associate told her [...]
Posted in Children, Environment, Garden, Green Living, Home, crafts, food, paper, recycling, thrift, waste, tagged earth day, Garden, growing, newspaper pots, planting, seeds on April 22, 2008 | 2 Comments »
Happy Earth Day! It was a gorgeous day here in Denver.
I helped with a project this afternoon for my daughter’s Daisy Scout troop, planting bean seeds in newspaper pots.
If you haven’t ever made these seedling pots, they are a great way to start seeds. They recycle newspaper, which adds a carbon (dry) aspect to your [...]
Posted in Buy Nothing Challenge, Shopping, money, tagged Shopping, brain drain on April 18, 2008 | 3 Comments »
Here’s another great reason to avoid shopping:
New research shows that too many consumer choices can have deleterious effects on your health. … The more purchasing choices the participants had made during the day at the mall, the less likely the participants were able to solve simple arithmetic problems.
I know I for one have had that [...]
Posted in Environment, Fun, Home, energy, tagged entertainment, poll, tv, tv turnoff on April 17, 2008 | 5 Comments »
Next week is TV Turnoff Week! You are challenged to make it all week without the boob tube. For an excellent rundown, see Verda Vivo’s blog on Ten Ways to Unplug Yourself.
Now, come clean:
Poll: How much TV do you watch?
Statistically average-8 hours/day
An hour a night for favorite shows
Sports junky - all day, all weekend
It’s my [...]
Posted in Environment, Green Living, Home, Saving, carbon, energy, thrift, tagged National Hang Out Your Laundry Day on April 16, 2008 | No Comments »
This Saturday, April 19, is National Hang Out Your Laundry Day.
I’ve written on this site several times about the benefits of hanging out laundry:
Dealing with hanging laundry in winter.
Top money-savers of 2007.
And hanging out our laundry as a big conservation move.
And here’s a great rundown from another blog that I stumbled across, inspiring [...]
