The school year is starting soon. Instead of rushing to buy everything on the school supply list, I carefully looked through my closets and storage bins. We already have 80% of what is on the required school supply list. We also remembered to keep the colored plastic folders (at the end of the school year) so we are going to be able to use them again. I also have my kids use the same schoolbags. We have been using the same school bags for two years now. There is a lifetime guarantee on them (and they are looking pretty sturdy).
We do buy some new clothes each year (usually at least two size larger than needed so there is room to grow). We always give away clothes that our children have outgrown. We usually have our children use hand me down (second hand) sports equipment that are given to us from family members and/or friends.
The following are my top ten water conservation tips:
- Rinse your fruits and vegetables over a 25 gallon bucket (using the hose outdoors), so you can use the reclaimed water to water your garden
- Use the same cup or bottle for all of your beverages throughout the day so you don't need to rinse the cup over and over again.
- Take luke warm showers (hot showers dry up your skin and you wind up wasting a lot of water waiting for the water to warm up).
- Replace or repair all leaky faucets as soon as possible.
- Have a cup of water in the bathroom for rinsing your mouth after brushing your teeth. Never let the water run while you are brushing your teeth.
- Never buy bottled water. Use a water filter and bring your water bottle with you. I grab my water bottle with my keys on my way out the door, so I won't forget.
-Use smaller plates and cups. They take less water to clean and you won't overeat as well.
-After you cook your pasta and/or vegetables in boiling water, let the water cool down and use the water for your garden and plants.
-Use less laundry detergent than recommended by the manufacturer, pre-treat dirty spots (if needed) and you can avoid the second rinse option on your washer.
-Clean your stove and/or oven as soon as possible after you're finished cooking so food stains do not dry up and settle in. Therefore, you will use less detergents and water to remove. Dried up food stains take three times more water to remove than a simple wipe down after cooking.
In addition to outdoor gardening, I enjoy caring for household plants. However, like most people, I don't have time to care for high maintenance plants so I've completed some research and decided to purchase some Bromeliad plants. Bromeliad plants are low maintenance plants.
Scientific studies suggest bromeliads can help improve indoor air-quality as you sleep. In the photosynthetic process, most common indoor plants remove carbon dioxide while emitting oxygen and water vapors during the day. But research indicates that bromeliads behave differently during the day / night cycle, releasing oxygen and removing air pollutants at night. With modern insulation in most homes, studies have shown that the amount of pollutants indoors is greater than twice the amount of outdoor pollutants. Besides keeping some windows open (which is uncomfortable during the summer), the next best thing is to ensure that you have indoor plants that serve as natural air purifiers for your home.
We planted our organic garden this year with tomato plants (cherry and beefsteak), pepper, basil, oregano and eggplants. Depending on how well the plants thrive, we plan to add additional plants over the course of the summer.
We learned that natural mulch helps deter weeds. There has been plenty of late afternoon rain showers so the plants are growing nicely. Within the next two to three weeks we should start seeing the fruits of our labor.
In the meantime, our garbage has been reduced in half! We compost most of our leftover fruits and vegetables. The compost sales person was right, there is no foul decaying odor. In fact, there isn't any odor at all. We are looking forward to our organic soil in time for early fall planting season.
I completed the Tobacco half marathon this morning. It was my second half marathon. It was really humid. I was completely drenched by the end of the race and it was a personal record so I am very happy overall. I am already looking into my next half marathon event (most probably in the early fall). The tobacco half marathon is a very popular race, everyone was lined up by 6:30am at the starting line (for a 7am start). It's great that all finishers' get a medal for half and full marathons because if you've ran or walk the distance, you've definitely earned the medal.
I didn't train as much for this race but most probably am physically stronger and mentally more prepared than the last one. I just wished I started racing earlier in life!
In the meantime, I am looking forward to begin my training for my first triathlon (early fall). I have about six months to prepare for it. A year ago, I couldn't complete a 5k without stopping and walking by mile 2, now I am training for my first triathlon. Anyone can train for a race, as long as you dedicate the time to practice.
In about 12 hours, I will be running the Tobacco half marathon (my second half marathon). I am very excited because I have been looking forward to running another half marathon. My husband will be a pacer for the race so this is the first half marathon which we are running together. The proceeds of the half marathon goes to the Triangle Rails to Trails Conservancy and the Wake County Parks and Recreation. We love the American Tobacco Trail and quite possibly decided to move to North Carolina because of the trails and parks here.
The weather is suppose to be about 50 degrees tomorrow. We picked up our packets at the Embassy Suite hotel / race expo location. There were a number of great deals there (50% off a number of designer running shoes). In training for the half marathon, I have ran a 2-3 miles with my son a few times, pushing my daughter in a jogging stroller. It is great to run with kids because they are not conscious of the pace or any arbitrary goal. The pure joy of running is all that they care about.
My son hopes to run a 5k before the end of this year. I hope to pass my love of eco-friendly living and a number of other passions to my children; it is great to see them embrace these passions as their own.
February is Heart Health Month. The number one cause of death for women is cardiovascular disease in the United States. It is recommended by most health experts that individuals should take at least 10,000 steps per day to remain healthy. New studies have shown that even this may not be enough to ward off heart disease.
In addition to training for my second half marathon, my goal is to complete my first sprint triathlon by the end of this year. Training, working full time and caring for kids sometimes (if not always) make meal planning a challenge. So far, we have managed to cook most of our meals during the week. We simply plan at least two days ahead what our meal options are. Initially, it was rather funny for my family to start thinking of meals ahead of time, but it reduces a great amount of stress when you know what your kids will eat in a few hours as oppose to scrambling to cook a meal with cranky hungry kids hovering over you as you cook. As part of this months' heart healthy theme, we are celebrating Valentine's Day by making our own organic pink lemonade (with strawberries, grapes, lemon and water). We are also planning to make our own valentine's day cards. We use recycled red construction paper and cut/glue images from print advertisements onto our homemade cards. Here is an example of one of our homemade valentines (using an image from a print ad).
You can use print advertisements (Sunday editions tend to contain the most print ads) for many other holiday celebrations as well (Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.).
As part of my overall eco-friendly healthy living goal, I've decided to reduce our family consumption of meat by 25%. Going completely vegetarian was not an option (meeting a lot of resistance), so we figure we will compromise. I am able to achieve my goal by active meat reduction. For example, instead of cooking everything from the pre-packaged container, I make a conscious decision to only cook 3/4th of the chicken breasts and placing the rest in another storage container. That way, we are consuming less meat and I compensate by adding fresh organic tomatoes (since we love tomatoes) to almost every dish. So far, it's been a successful month. The kids don't even notice having less meat portions (thank goodness). I have officially stopped eating beef for almost nine years! It's been so long. I don't miss eating steak (the first 3 months were tough) at all. Maybe by year end, we can reduce our meat consumption in half! I noticed we are saving more money on our grocery bills as well. Fresh vegetables and seasonal fruits are usually priced less than meat.
So instead of considering being a vegetarian vs. not, you have other options and might want to consider overall meat consumption reduction. Bon appetite.
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