Make Your Own Diaper Pail

If you make the decision we did to use cloth diapers and/or cloth wipes, here's another simple way to reduce waste.

It's a Boy!

Pictures and some interesting info after the jump.

House Wife?! (& Sneak Peak)

Yep. Yesterday was my very last day of work! And with just over 2 weeks until my due date, I couldn't be happier. My employer was cool with me bringing the baby to work with me, and I appreciate that. But Stevie and I decided that at home would be the best place for me and the baby. So now I'm home-free, or should a I say home-bound?

Kitchen Improv - Vegetarian Fajita Mix

Another improv recipe...

DIY Dog Bed

We were sorting through our clothing in an effort to downsize, and some of our unwanted stuff was not nice enough to donate to the local thrift stores as we usually would. I've also been using every excuse I can to practice sewing now that I finally tried out my old Singer. During my most recent sewing fix, I made a dog bed for my terrier using old clothing.

Kitchen Improv - Stuffed Sweet Peppers

Got some leftover sweet peppers and Italian cheeses from recipes used earlier in the week? I did, and I needed to use them up before they were wasted. This is a fine example of the "kitchen improv" we do at least once a week.

Hand Wash, Hang Dry

What first began as a "crazy idea" that I found very interesting soon turned out to be the second largest cut to our monthly utility bill we have ever accomplished (first was heating/cooling habits). This method of clothes washing uses minimal electricity, minimal water, and wastes little to no water. We also have no washer or dryer to ever maintain or repair. For the past year, we have been doing the wash by hand, though not exactly the old fashioned washboard way that you might imagine.

Bed Building Time!

We recently purchased a small park home (about 223 sq. ft.) and are in the process of fixing it up. It came only insulated, wired, partially plumbed (there's a toilet installed), and with a screened in porch, which adds another 81 sq. ft., but it needs flooring, the rest of the plumbing, and some finishing touches.
Because of the tiny square footage, we decided to build a loft bed so that space under the bed can be utilized better. Read on for how we did it.

Child Bearing and Rearing

Our baby is not due until December 6th, so this post may be a little preemptive. However, once the baby comes I may not have much time to blog. So I want to go ahead and discuss some choices we have made regarding pregnancy, birth, and early parenting and why we have made them.

Home Made Futon Mattress

We recently built our own loft bed to save space in our new place (more to come on that later) and since it is high off the ground, we couldn't use our old straw mattress. It's heavy and requires fluffing every couple weeks and sometimes flipping, and that just didn't seem feasible with the mattress being between 4 and 5 feet off the floor.

Of course we didn't want to buy a new mattress, and then again we didn't want a used one. We also needed a firm mattress because we like it that way, it's better for your back, and we plan to co-sleep with our baby (firmer mattresses are safer for babies). All of this led me to decide on making our own futon type mattress. This way, we could decide just how firm and thick we wanted it and also we'd know exactly what materials were used in it. Read on for pictures and brief instructions.

Our Wedding

It's been a while - pregnancy has its distractions - but today I thought I would share how we managed to have a nice, simple wedding without borrowing any money, or even being under any financial stress!

Entertainment

Sustainability doesn't mean constant work or that you never get to have fun. There are also plenty of ways to have a blast on a tight budget. Rather than eating out, you can have some friends or family over and all cook a nice dinner together. And instead of going to the matinee, take turns hosting movie nights with friends with pizza and popcorn. There are tons of things to do if you just think a little outside the box.

Home Made Cleaners

You can save a lot of money and reduce the amount of bad chemicals your family is exposed to by making your own cleaning solutions at home. It's really easy and many say that they work as well or better than commercial cleaners. With the following simple recipes, you will have virtually everything you need to keep your home spic and span.

Birthdays and Holidays, All Those Gift Days

In the same spirit of Buy Nothing Christmas, I am posting on my birthday to let you know that birthdays and holidays do not equate to lavish gifts wrapped or bagged in the appropriate season's paper. In fact, for us, celebrations do not entail purchased gifts at all, but deeper, more meaningful expressions of appreciation for loved ones.

Affordable Organic Mattress Alternative

If you've ever looked at options for mattresses that don't off-gas harmful chemicals (as conventional mattresses do) you've found that they are outrageously expensive, nearly $300 for a baby crib mattress. Organic latex mattresses are even more expensive. But last year I found an interesting alternative.

Housing

Where you live is important, but should not be a financial burden. It should be affordable for you so that your housing is not a negative in your life. There are a lot of options for saving money on housing and I hope that you take the time to explore some of them.

Food

There is hardly a necessity in life more intimate than your food. It's what you eat, it's what sustains you. It provides you with energy to do work and nutrients to stay healthy. But we have become estranged from the food that we so depend on. Working on a farm, I find that many people do not even know how to identify staple vegetables when they are still in the ground. People are even becoming unfamiliar with how to prepare specific vegetables or what parts of them are to be eaten. Many Americans will sadly take whatever is handed to them over the counter at a fast food joint and put it into their bodies without having knowledge of what it is that they are actually consuming. So what can we do to reverse this process?

Consumerism

You've heard it a thousand times, "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle," but you may not have considered the applications of the motto. Modifying purchasing, usage and disposal practices is a great first step to sustainability. Today I will cover some very basic things that you should try to keep in mind (if you aren't already) about consumerism in general and reducing, reusing and recycling.

Expectations

If you are new to sustainability, you might not know what to expect. There are some concerns you can be relieved of and some adjustments you should be prepared for.