Archive for the 'Living Well' Category

Carnival of Modern Home Dwelling Day Five: Green Living

Published by Sarah Bray on May 19, 2008 in Carnival of Modern Home Dwelling and Living Well. 4 Comments

For those of you who still haven’t checked out Jen’s work at Bliss Home Goods, here’s another reminder. She’s recently added some more cool stuff to her Etsy shop, such as these awesome pillow covers (the whale’s my favorite, you see). Tremendous thanks go to her and all of our other carnival sponsors!

Green living. Sometime’s I just get SO excited about it. And not for the reasons you might think, necessarily. I mean, somebody’s got to shout a big hooray at the person who decided that mowing your grass less is better for the environment. And taking fewer showers! Washing your jeans less often! It’s like a free pass to Lazy Town. I’m so there.

But really, there are people out there who have much nobler aspirations than I for being green. And today we salute them. Here are some of the best entries we received on the topic.

Annika from Through the Looking Glass has written a wonderfully informed post on cloth diapering that will have you wondering why you don’t do it (or thankful that you do!). The photo is linked to another post of hers on diapering, and she has a bunch more on the topic. (And a note to those with a penchant for the mild and subdued, Annika’s hilarious writing style can get a bit spicy…but she wouldn’t be Annika without it!)

The folks over at Lifehacker are full of great ideas on how we can re-use disposable stuff. Don’t forget to read through the comments, too — there’s a great conversation going on about that very thing.

 

 

 

Jennifer Chait from Tree Hugging Family has put together an inspiring list of 100 ideas to make your family greener. Aside from the obvious (I’ve heard non-toxic finger paints work well), I think she’s covered just about everything.

 

 

 

Thinking of buying clothing made with bamboo fabric for its “green” properties? Victoria Everman presents a well-thought-out article outlining the pros and cons.

 

 

 

 

Sara from Walk Slowly, Live Wildly (and the famous Live Lightly Tour…and Happy Foody…and a host of other interesting things) always writes with such heart and authenticity, and I just can’t help but love her. I bet you will too, especially after reading this post on going against the American Dream and choosing an alternative lifestyle.

 

Being Green Can Mean Dirty Business. Alison from Green Me encourages us to eschew our 2-ply lifestyle and take one for the environment. I don’t know if my husband will EVER agree to this kind of sacrifice!

Recycling Is an Old Art. Randi from I Have to Say reminds us that we’re not the first generation to be concerned about the environment (though I must say…we are probably the first to use our concern to defend building giant “green” mansions and spending thousands on couture stuff in the name of green-ness!)

Stocking Up for Our Future. Rebekah from Rebekah’s Thots shares her thoughts about the worldwide food crisis and what she and her family are going to do about it. She points to Jennifer Barry’s article “Food Shock” as an informational resource on the topic.

Add a Little “Green Stuff” to Your Coffee. Melissa Moog from SparkPlugging and Itsabelly is an expert on environmentally-friendly practices. Find out how how your morning cuppa can be a toast to the planet every morning.

Thanks everyone for your thought-provoking entries! They are all fabulous, but the winner for the Green Living category is…

Jennifer Chait for 100 Ideas for Your Green Family. Congratulations, Jennifer! Please shoot me an email at sarahjoy AT todayshomemaker DOT com so I can send your prize package!

Tomorrow’s carnival is going to be an exciting one for sure as we cover Interior Design. See you then!

Living Well: Five ways to live on “green” time

Published by Sarah Bray on May 2, 2008 in Living Well. 8 Comments

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to be eco-friendly. It seems there’s always two sides of the coin to everything. Organic farming is better for us, but not necessarily for the environment (as far as land usage goes). Flourescent bulbs take less energy, but contain mercury. Ethanol and other bio-fuels are not mined from the earth, but they still require a huge production process and might leave a just as huge a footprint as other fuels.

Since my mind is spinning from so much conflicting information, I’m taking my thought process another direction today. I’m finding a deep need to “green” up my time.

What does that mean? Time is a finite resource, just as this planet is, and I want to make sure that I’m not wasting it away on things that might be “easy” or provide immediate pleasure but do not contribute to my (or my family’s) ultimate health and happiness. In other words, some of the best things in life take the most work, and I’m not going to sit here doing the easy thing while those opportunities are passing me up. So here are some things I’m going to work on:

  1. Get up when the sun does.
    Not only can we save electricity by going to bed earlier and utilizing as much of the sun’s light as possible, but getting up early has lots of other benefits, as well. I have always been a night owl, but I secretly long to be an early bird. At my ripe old age of 25, I’ve already given up hope of the possibility. But I truly believe that it’s the one thing that would change my life. At least I believe that now. At 6am, I don’t believe it one bit.
  2. Have friends over at least once a week.
    Believe it or not, I am not automatically a people person. But research has shown that all other factors being the same, people who maintain good relationships outside of their families live longer (and happier) lives. In fact, my pastor shared with us a study that suggested that it’s healthier to eat a Twinkie with friends than broccoli alone (In moderation, people…don’t go setting up nightly Twinkie binge dates with your friends. I know that’s what you’re thinking.)
  3. Limit computer/tv time.
    Egads, why am I listing all of these things that I have such trouble with! I would much rather list the things that I’m already doing, such as “Read 200 blog entries a day” or “Convince neighbors that pajama-wearing is the height of fashion in France.” But limiting “virtual” time automatically makes it easier to fit in actually living your real life. The struggle comes when you’re so in love with your computer that you just can’t imagine real life being any better. (Thanks a lot, Mac.) I think there must be a 12-step program for that. Call me if you find one. We’ll go together.
  4. Paint/garden/dance/create.
    Americans are consumers in every sense of the word. Even when we have down time, we’re consuming. We gobble up media like it was essential to life. We inhale articles on “How to do this” and “How to do that” but we never actually DO them. Sadly, information overload does not enrich our lives [pdf]. But it’s much easier to consume than to create. Fight consumerism! Make a gourmet meal. Plant a container garden. Learn how to sew. Creating is ultimately much more fulfilling than consuming, even though it’s the harder thing.
  5. Give, give, give.
    Sometimes there is so much information out there about war and poverty that we think we couldn’t make a difference even if we DID have an extra heap of cash lying around. But giving isn’t just good for the person who receives…it’s actually good for the giver, too. But you already knew that. What you might NOT know is that we don’t just need to give to the poor and needy. We also need to give to our friends and people who we come in contact with regularly. Give a card. Give a hug. Give a phone call. As a last resort, give an email. If you stay mindful of opportunities to give, you will open your life up to more joy than you might have thought possible.

So that’s my list for living on green time. I’m thinking of posting it on my inspiration board just to remind me of what my “good life” would look like. What does yours look like?