Resale Heaven - Shopping SGF Style

Fellow SGF-ers I have shopped. It has been 16 months since my last clothing purchase...

Until I actually looked at the blog archives, I had no idea it had been that long. But I'm not one for clothes shopping as

1. I don't like spending money,
2. Buying food is WAY more fun than buying clothes
3. I have a tendency to get frustrated when nothing fits quite right - of course, part of this may be that I shop second hand so it's a bit of an treasure hunt to find what you're looking for ...

But as I've been biking more and more, including to places where at the end of the bike ride I need to look decent enough to do a presentation on local food, I've been in need of finding some clothes (particularly pants) that look good and are bike worthy.

Jackpot (you may need to click on the photo to get a better view)!

My first stop was the Hospice Thrift Shop where I found

1. That gorgeous red sweater ($6), and
2. The 3/4 sleeve blouse ($3)

They don't just have great clothes, though, they have a little bit of everything. It was a great store, so if you're local be sure to check it out, not to mention it's in support of a great charity!

My next stop was to Resale Trends, another used clothing store not far from the Hospice Thrift Shop. The owner is a really nice lady from Denmark. She noticed I was wearing a bike helmet and she was telling me all about biking in Denmark. Soon we were talking about recycling, enjoying good food, and I (of course) invited her to the farmers' market on Saturday (always the local food salesman...)

Anyway, back to clothes. I really hit the jackpot here! I found

1. A pair of long kaki pants that roll up and button into capris ($5.50) and PERFECT for biking
2. A pair of tan capris ($4) - also PERFECT for biking
3. A denim sleeveless blouse ($5) - looked good with the pants....?

Both pants fit like they were made for me and because they're capri style, they won't get tied up or greased up in my bike chain, AND I'll still look good (ok, decent - there's not much I can do about helmet head) when I get where I'm going.

What an awesome and hugely successful trip and all for about $25. Cha-ching!

A Handmade Holiday

I know, I know. It's only October and I'm going to talk about holiday shopping. But hey, if Kroger is allowed to have their Christmas decorations out already, I'm allowed to bring up the holidays. Especially because we do things a little different here at SGF - or at least we have for the last few years. And since I'm signed up for Crunchy Chicken's "Buy Hand for the Holiday" Challenge, it doesn't hurt to think ahead a little bit.

Now, we don't do a lot of gifts for the holidays themselves, but somehow in addition to Christmas in December, it seems half our family members were born in November and December, so we have umpteen birthdays to celebrate as well. But just because it's that time of year, doesn't mean you need to break the bank celebrating, right? Here are some great ideas for unique (and frugal) gifts this season:

DIY Gifts

• Baked goods - I did oogles of cookies last year and they were a huge hit. But don't limit yourself there. Do you have a yeast bread or sweet bread recipe that everyone loves? Or perhaps fudge, homemade cocoa, or granola? I save up those plastic salad containers I get from restaurants and use them to give away cookies. Or how about empty jelly or peanut butter jars to give away granola or cocoa?
• Canned goods - Homemade jams, pickles, and salsas tend to be a big hit with family and friends too. Not to mention, my family is just beside themselves when I give them something I canned ("YOU did this?"). Trust me, people are impressed and who can beat a gift that tastes great?
• Crafts - I crochet. Not well, but I crochet. That's a couple of my handmade baby blankets in the photo as well as a scarf I did for my niece. If you have a talent, USE IT! And don't forget the local library should have a selection of books to help fuel your ideas.

Other Mindful Presents (that you don't have to make yourself)

Ok. So you don't want to make everything yourself, but there a ton of great (and frugal) options out there, so you don't have to be a superhero to have a simple-green-frugal holiday.

• Farmers' Market - check out your local farmers' market. Ours has a a huge selection of gift options - anything from canned jams, salsas, honey, and baked goods to soaps, lotions, stained glass art, metalwork, jewelry, and pottery (the dolls and soap in the photos are from our market). And just think - you're supporting the local economy, your local farmer/artist, and giving a truly unique gift.
• Etsy - I've only used Etsy a few times, but it's a great place to find handmade items from around the country. I've bought both cloth bags and bags for steeping tea from Organic Needle. I gave one of the tea bags to my mom who just loves it. You just never know what you'll find.

Cards

Last year was the first year we started making our own holiday cards. Seriously, most people set them out for a few short weeks and then they get tossed. What a waste! So I save up old cards, colored paper that finds it way to us in the form of junk mail, and anything else I can get my hands on (like old calendars) and make my own greeting and holiday cards. You don't have to get fancy and buy a bunch of supplies. I just save and recycle as much material as I can. Have fun with it. And if you have kids, let them join in the fun. For more on making your own cards, see posts here and here.

Seriously, "Buying Hand for the Holidays" is the way to go. Not only can it be a frugal option, but it's also an opportunity to support your local community, share quality time with the kids, and all while offering a wonderful gift to your loved ones. I know you're still trying to figure out what Jr. will be wearing for Halloween, but take it from me and Kroger (I still can't believe the Christmas decorations are up already), the holidays are just around the corner and with a little planning, a sharp eye, and a cookie sheet, you can make this year the best Simple-Green-Frugal holiday ever.

So, there must be a million other ideas out there for simple-green-frugal handmade gifts. What have you done in years past?

To join in on the "Buy Hand for the Holiday" Challenge, visit Crunchy Chicken's challenge post and leave your name in the comment section.

My (not so) secret addiction...

Ok. I admit it. I'm completely addicted to the "honor paperback" section at the library. Dave laughed at me when I came home last week with a dozen mysteries. Little does he know (ok, he probably knows now) that I came home yesterday with another 18 (that's my sweet ride there, as I load up books at the library). Of course, that's on top of the 10 books I already had on the shelf from library trips months ago... Sheesh, girl. Get a grip!

But what can I say? It's my perfect storm of Simple-Green-Frugal. I love to read (especially mysteries), I hate deadlines, and I avoid spending money like the plague. So when the library has an entire section of paperbacks (about half of them mysteries) with no return date (thus the "honor" side of it), how can they expect me to resist? They're begging me to take them, really.

Of course, I feel like a complete piggy sitting on all these books when someone else could be enjoying them. And they do make it back to the library eventually...

So to help ease the guilt of my addiction, I'm making a vow right now: I WILL NOT TAKE OUT ANY MORE HONOR PAPERBACKS UNTIL I'VE READ EVERY LAST ONE OF THE ONES I'M HOARDING IN MY HOUSE. Of course, I said that last time. But I mean it this time! Yeah! No more. Um, yeah...

So what's your secret (or not so secret) addiction? Come on. Don't be shy. I won't tell anyone :)

Barter

In the past few months, a wonderful new world has opened up to me: bartering!

That's right, it's the age old tradition of exchanging goods and services between individuals instead of money and it's alive and well in Bryan-College Station. 

Now until recently, I didn't realize I had much to barter with (or have the confidence to offer what I had to barter), but my time has come. I hope to eventually have enough veggies in the back yard to barter with and to give away to friends and loved ones, but for now, my greatest bartering chip is my homemade, organic, partially-local, honey whole-wheat bread. And for those of you who have tried this recipe, you know it kicks butt! We're talking seriously awesome bread here!

Well, in the past, I've exchanged bread for stewed tomatoes, but most recently, it's bread for fruits and bread for whole wheat flour. Who needs money? Ok. We still need money, but honestly, this bartering stuff is super cool! And I'm hoping to do more of it as my garden grows.

So tell me. Have you ever bartered goods or services? What were they? I hear there's a German community in Spain that barters for everything (replacing their need for money entirely). Have you ever lived in (or visited) such a community?

Buying in Bulk - Simple, Green, and Frugal

Often, buying in bulk can be the economical way to go. I've been buying local brown rice out of Houston directly from RiceSelect for less than what I can buy it in the store. And the wheat berries? Well, you can't beat less than $10 for a 50# bag (not open to the public unfortunately, I just happened to get a really awesome deal from a local farm!)

But more than anything what I LOVE about buying in bulk is the lack of packaging. Strangely enough, as I've talked to two of the local markets who provide bulk goods, it's rare that people take advantage of this benefit. Rather than bring their own containers, they just use the ultra-thin plastic bags provided at the bulk counter. This shocked me, actually, because many of the things in the bulk bins aren't that much cheaper or are actually more expensive (because they are organic) than the package versions. I suppose people could be buying these bulk items just because they are organic and not available in a package, but truly they are missing out on one of the greatest benefits of buying in bulk.

Now, I know. I know. That means you have to actually remember to bring your containers, right? But it's no more effort than remembering to bring your cloth grocery totes or your wallet. Just leave them out where you'll remember them or when you write the item on your grocery list, pop an appropriate container in your grocery tote so there's no need to remember.

Now stores have different procedures for bringing your own containers. Our local natural food store is pretty small and it's not a big deal for me to bring in tupperware containers and have the clerks measure tare weight when I first come in and then subtract this weight off when I check out. For the larger natural grocery store, however, this is less feasible. So in the larger store, I tend to bring containers (my own Ziplocks or cloth bags) which won't add much to the weight of my bulk item (since I'll be paying for the container weight also). 

Even easier (and super frugal), there's no reason to spend a lot of money on reusable bags. Grab some ziplocks that you can rewash time and time again or make your own bags. I made these using an old pillowcase. I just cut it in four pieces, then sewed up the sides with a needle and thread (trust me I have NO sewing skills so this is as basic as you get and WAY easy!). A piece of twine to tie the top and I'm ready for the grocery. Shown here are black beans, raw pecans, dried mango, and dried dates. Snack time has come with no extra plastic packaging required!

Now, maybe I'm the odd ball hippie chick making my own cloth bags, so for those of you who would like to go a little more classy, talk to your local grocery about providing cloth bags and canisters in their bulk section. Not only can the store make extra money off the sale of these items, but the tare weight can be stored at the register and automatically taken off when you use the store's bulk containers. I'm working now with one of our local stores, encouraging them to do this very thing. 

So, check out the bulk bins in a grocery or natural food store near you and don't forget to bring your own containers for some bonus green living. It's frugal, it's easy, and Mother Earth will thank you for it!

Cutting back

The town where I live is slow to grow. That tends to mean we're not on the cutting edge of any cultural revolution (the green and local movements are just now becoming popular) but right now, slow is a wonderful thing. We haven't been hit quite as hard by the recession, the increased costs of goods, or the extensive mortgage defaults. 

We're lucky, but that doesn't mean we're completely unaffected. Companies are closing, people are losing their jobs, a few are losing their homes, and anyone who works for the state is seeing their retirement die a long slow death. I know a few mothers whose kids (some of whom also have kids) are moving home until they get back on their feet. Even my father is making plans to prep his 100 acre farm so that if anything happened to any of us kids, we could live off his land. 

Fortunately, Dave and I are usually on the same page when it comes to money and we don't spend much of it. We're VERY frugal people and our personalities are such that we prefer a minimalist lifestyle to the clutter of owning "stuff." By simplifying our lives over the years, we've come into this recession owning our house and our one car outright (aka we pretty much only pay utilities, insurance, and food), and it was this dedication to simplicity that made it possible for me to quit my job last August without huge financial repercussions.

Of course, that doesn't mean that I'm not always on the look out for ways to continually cut back - especially now that we're living on just one income. Every month, I pour over our monthly purchases looking for things we might need to rethink the next time around. Food purchases are now scrutinized closely, we downsized our cellular phone service, and are looking at cheaper prices on internet service as well. 

We've made quite a few other changes throughout the years - things like  using our library instead of buying books, movies, magazine and newspapers; never window shopping; becoming a one-car family (the difference in working full vs part time for me) and biking/walking/busing as much as possible; learning to cook from scratch, grow our own food, and make our own household cleaners; cutting the cable; shopping second hand; eating smart - less meat, dairy, and processed food, and more dried beans, lentils, rice, and pasta; getting creative with our spare time (attending free festivals and fairs, volunteering, reading, watching our favorite tv shows on-line for free; hanging out with the neighbors in the front yard); gifting differently by making our own greeting cards and even some of our own gifts (baked goods, crocheted blankets and scarves)... 

Of course, like anything else, cutting back demands that we be mindful. I'm not talking about saving money by shopping in your cheap big-box store - that usually just means more "stuff."As you cut back on all this "stuff" in your life, things you find you don't really need, you'll have the opportunity to spend more discriminately on the things you do - for instance, buying from local producers which contributes to the health of your local economy and buying things that will last a lifetime, not wear out just as the 1-year warranty expires. When we talk about where and how we spend in addition to how much we spend, we can make a difference in our pocketbooks, in our communities, and for our environment. 

Most importantly, however, remember that cutting back doesn't mean denying the things we love. It's about restructuring and refocusing so that we have time and money to put towards the things that make us happy - more time to spend with loved ones and less stress over how we'll ever get those bills paid. It's about more life and less distraction.

So let's hear from you. Have you always been frugal? How has the economy made you rethink your expenses? What creative things have you been doing to cut back?

Going Green - The high school edition

This week, I met with the Community Liaison for one of our local high schools. She contacted me to help them "get the whole green mentality in our high school." Now I may not know a whole lot about high schools these days (I mean, it has been about 17 years since I set foot in one), but I have learned a thing or two in the last few years about making changes in our daily life. So I steered my advice down that road. So how exactly do we go about greening our high schools? Here is my take...

I fully believe that we as humans put our energies toward the things in which we are personally invested. Want a greener high school campus? Put the kids in charge.

Gather a group of interested students and have a teacher or administrator act as mentor. Let the students lead the group. Have them identify ways in which they would like to see the school improve its environmental footprint. Let them spread the word and recruit friends into the effort.

Have the students start by writing a mission statement for what they'd like to achieve with the group; name it. Then get those ideas rolling. Some suggestions might be:

• Food - compost food waste from kitchen, recycle food packaging, start a school garden and use the harvest to supplement the school kitchen and/or donate to the local mission or food bank.
• Trash - determine what is recyclable in our area, provide proper receptacles within easy reach, create a sign campaign to encourage recycling, work with city programs as well as Terracycle for more information on ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
• Air Quality - establish a no-idling zone in front of school.
• Energy - change bulbs to CFLs, turn off/unplug equipment, lights, and monitors when not in use.
• Water - install low flow aerators on sinks and low flow shower heads in locker rooms.

Most importantly, I felt, was to concentrate on education/outreach...

• Education/Outreach - Start an environmental movie or book club. Visit local sustainable farms. Visit the local landfill, recycling, and composting facility. Discuss current events like our new landfill, actions by the EPA/FDA/Congress, Earth Day, gas price increases, etc. Invite speakers from the community to come and talk to the group.

Let the students, as they learn more about the problems facing us, decide where they feel they can make a difference. And don't forget to contact the local paper and TV news station as you achieve your goals. There's no reinforcement like being recognized by the entire community (and what better way to get the parents behind it than to have their kids recognized publicly for their wonderful efforts). 

Most importantly, however, go slowly. Have the group select one or two initiatives a year. Just like the rest of us, if we try to do it all at once, we get overwhelmed and are more likely to give up. But if we take it step by step, educating ourselves along the way, we become empowered by our successes and inspired to do great things.

So what about everyone out there? What green initiatives have you seen in your schools? I'd love to pass along more ideas to our local community liaison...

Staying toasty the Simple-Green-Frugal way

Earlier this month, when we received our gas bill, I totally freaked. We went from $21 last month to $52 this month! Surely this must be a mistake. But no, there was no mistake. The difference? Heating the house. That did it. We cranked the thermostat down really low (I'm not sure it has gone off in the weeks since) and braced ourselves for some colder indoor temps. 

This is probably a bit easier for Dave than it is for me. I get cold easily and can't seem to warm myself up without some serious intervention of direct heat (a nice cup of tea works well). During the day, I've been layering clothes, snuggling under blankets (Kelsey likes to snuggle under the blanket with me), taking walks, and sipping that nice warm tea. But bedtime? Well, that's a whole other matter. 

We've never been big on heating the whole house at night when it's just the two of us using one room all night long. So at least this thermal intervention wasn't without trial. We attacked the nighttime with two a two pronged approach - the one that works for Dave and the one that works for Heather.

Intervention #1 - The heated blanket. Why heat up the whole house when you can simply heat the bed? Some people get nervous at the thought of an electric blanket, having visions of waking up on fire. Not me. If I catch fire, at least I die warm. Gotta stay positive, right? No really, the electric blanket never really scared me, so it's a fabulous, very frugal solution to staying nice and toasty in the cold nighttime hours (yep, it gets pretty cold even way down here in Texas).

Intervention #2 - The heating pad. While the electric blanket is great, it doesn't take much to warm Dave up. And to be honest, the temperature setting at which he's most comfortable, I can't even feel the heat. Enter the heating pad. This little gem also plugs in (I must be a fireman's worst nightmare) right next to the bed and is placed underneath me so that I have the heat coming from below (the heating pad) and above (the electric blanket). This definitely does the trick. Then if I wake up at night and feel a little chilled, I just whip that heating pad on and within seconds, I'm warm and right back to sleep. (BTW, that's the temperature in our bedroom when we got up Tuesday morning, but we were toasty warm in the bed for sure!)

If you have children, or others in the house, heating the entire house may be your best bet, but keeping it local/only in the rooms you are using at night is a definitely a simple-green-frugal way to go. This time, I'm looking forward to our heating bill. Come on, gas company. Show me what you got!

P.S. If you're still freezing your tushie off during the day, bake! No one needs to know you spent your day in a lawn chair in front of the oven...

Getting in the spirit - Baking cookies

The homemade holiday cards had been mailed, the local gifts had been purchased and delivered, and all that was left was the SGF Cookie Express...

I'm not much of a cook, but I do enjoy baking from time to time. The hardest part about baking is not eating it all myself. Let's just say I can get carried away. So the holidays are the perfect season to get all that baking out of my system, then give it all away (Dave has been drooling at the thought of all these cookies, just waiting to get his hands on the leftovers). 

So, yeah, I've pretty much gotten this whole baking thing out of my system as I've made about 30 dozen cookies over the last week. I don't think I want to see another cookie until next year. Ok. Maybe not that long...

Here's what went in our cookie gift trays this year:

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies - This is a real favorite among friends and family. I never tell anyone there's no flour until after they've eaten one and I swear no one can tell (and they always ask for the recipe). One of the best cookie recipes ever, I think. I've made them with smooth peanut butter and chocolate chips, and also with chunky peanut butter and no chocolate chips. They are fabulous either way.

Oatmeal Cookies - A very classic cookie and super easy to make. Everyone loves oatmeal cookies, no? And if you like, you can always add nuts, chocolate chips, or dried fruit. I made these without any extras and they're very good!

Black and Whites - This was my first run at this recipe. I discovered it in one of my favorite mystery series, Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swenson Mysteries. These are fun books about a woman who owns her own bakery (The Cookie Jar) and in her spare time, of course, she solves mysteries. Not only is there always a fun mystery, but the books are chock full of dessert recipes. Right. So back to the cookies. This was a definite winner. The cookies are gorgeous and super tasty!

Pecan Chews - Another new recipe from a Joanne Fluke book. My step-mom LOVES pecans, so this was one of two recipes I made for her. So far, I've heard nothing but good reports. If you like pecans, this is definitely the cookie for you!

Chocolate Covered Cherry Delights - This is the final recipe I took out of a Joanne Fluke book, but it's just as good. This is another I made with my step-mother in mind. She loves chocolate covered cherries, so when I saw this recipe, I decided to give it a shot. It was by far the most complicated of the cookies - it definitely takes a bit more time than a simple drop cookie - but it was wonderful. And it's fruit right? That totally counts as health food.

Cinnamon Pecans - I received some homemade cinnamon pecans last year and they were so good, I decided to try a recipe myself. It was a super easy recipe and I used local pecans.

We ended up handing out 11 trays of cookies (the "trays" were re-purposed plastic salad containers from my favorite burrito restaurant - go green!), and as I mentioned yesterday, I took a full tupperware container of cookies out to the farmers market on Saturday to share with my extended farmer-family. Between me and John (the coffee vendor), we were the hit of the market!

It took some work (I spent about 4 days baking), but it was definitely the frugal option. As I said, we handed out 11 individual gifts and one large tray at the farmers market for about $60 in supplies. Deliveries put a smile on quite a few faces and we had a blast taking them to each house. It has truly been a wonderful holiday season so far!

Well, this was the third and final post for the "Getting in the Spirit" series this holiday season. This was the first year we made our own cards, we found some wonderful local gifts to give to our parents, and Dave finally has his hands on some of those cookies. There's just one more holiday delivery to make. California, here we come!

Getting in the spirit - Making holiday cards

Despite the turkey-day leftovers in the fridge (my Dad brought us some goodies from their feast), there's no question of what comes next. I mean, mere hours after we've stuffed our faces with dressing, we're aching to work off those extra calories by mowing each other down in Walmart (at 4AM) for those Christmas sales. But then, who am I kidding. Our Kroger store has been decorating for Christmas since before Halloween. Yeah, that's messed up. Regardless, there's something about that last piece of Thanksgiving pie that screams "Let's get our Christmas on!"

Well, I don't exactly do much shopping (no Black Friday sales for me) and we no longer even have a Christmas tree, but I love the holidays for all the gorgeous lights. I love walking around the neighborhood oohing and aahhing at all the twinkling reds and greens, the icicle-like sparkles hanging from roofs (we don't exactly get real ice and snow often here in Central Texas so lights is about the extent of it, as you can imagine). 

Over the last few years, although we enjoy the season, we've tried to tone things down and reduce our holiday consumption. Last Christmas, we decided that we were done with commercial holiday cards. Granted, I was buying them from a charity so at least the money was going towards a good cause, but we decided it was silly to pay money for something when so much usable paper goes to waste. 

It was January of 2008 that I began making my own greeting cards (birthday, anniversary, thank you, etc) and this will be the first year we send out homemade holiday cards. I'm guessing we'll have a few relatives snicker about how cheap we are, but the truth of the matter is it's not just about saving money - it's about recycling, being creative, and having fun. Over the last 12 months, I've saved up the greeting cards we've received, colored paper and magazine advertisements from the mail, recycled paper from the office, discarded calendars, and bought a few inexpensive supplies on eBay. With very little money and a little time I have put together a whole cabinet of card-making supplies. 

Every once in awhile when I'm feeling particularly creative, I spread everything out on the floor (it's important to make sure the cats are asleep when you do this), and start mixing and matching pictures and colors. I have a blast doing it and when it's all said and done all the cards I've made are unique. Now, if you've looked at some of the homemade cards on-line, you can go all out and make fancy cards, but rather than buy a bunch of supplies, I prefer the simplicity of recycling used paper into something beautiful again. I'm not saying anyone would ever pay money for them, but I hope that when people receive them, they appreciate the love and thought in which they were made. 

Of course, we don't have kids. Those of you who do have a perfect opportunity to allow your children to make the cards. Wouldn't grandma and grandpa actually PREFER something the kids made? Why not! Pull out the crayons, the paints, maybe some stickers and let them have a blast. You can always insert a family photo before you slip it into one of those legal-size envelopes (we all have boxes of them sitting around don't we) and ship it off. Have fun with it. Be creative.

All our cards were made, signed and addressed by the end of the holiday weekend. It was fun looking back at the unique cards, and deciding who would receive each one; and of course, there's also the satisfaction that we rescued all that paper from the trash for one last hurrah (go green!). 

Stay tuned as I move on to phase II and III of the holiday season:  gifts and cookies, doing it all Simple-Green-Frugal style!

Tea time

I'm not what you'd call a big spender. Unless it's food related, I really hate shopping and in the end would rather see the money in the old savings account than in "stuff" that clutters the house. Most people who visit our home politely describe us as minimalists. So when I buy something and recommend it, it's not fluff.

Many of you also may know that I'm a big tea drinker. Raspberry tea, mint tea, and green tea were my favorites for years. I had one of each every day for a total of 3 large mugs of tea a day. Even in the summer, the warmth of the liquid filling my system just made me feel better. It's a calming, peaceful time for me, this tea sipping.

But somewhere along the way, between cutting costs and buying local, I decided to switch my tea to local. For a long time, I purchased weekly bags of sage and mint from our farmers market. Then I started raising it myself on the back porch. Talk about local!  Not only did I know where my herbs were coming from, but it was amazing how many paper sleeves I was no longer going through - I noticed all the sleeves one time when I was sifting through our recycling - yikes! Tea has definitely become simple, green, and frugal.

Of course, once I was steeping my own herbs, I needed something to contain them and had purchased a $1 tea ball from our grocery store. Sometimes it falls apart while steeping. It's not the best tea ball in the world, but it works - well, most of the time. But months ago when Organic Needle, who hand-makes the produce bags I use for grocery shopping, asked for guinea pigs (or test piggies) to try her tea bags and critique them for final stage changes. I signed up to be one of the test piggies, but alas, my name didn't make the drawing. 

But last week, my patience paid off and her organic cotton tea bags were released to the market. As you can see from the picture, they're beautifully made, and knowing my mom (who is also a tea drinker) might get a kick out of one, I purchased a second to mail to her for her birthday. Good thing my Mom doesn't read my blog or I'd have ruined the surprise (bad Mom for not reading, but I'll let it pass this time).

But pretty isn't everything. I tried it out first thing Monday morning and it worked beautifully. I put a few leaves of mint and a few of sage into the bag, pinched it closed with the little nut, and allowed the leaves to steep. When I was finished, I just emptied the contents into our compost, rinsed the bag clean, and hung it up to dry. Easy, cheesy!

Thanks Organic Needle for making another wonderful product! If anyone is interested in the tea bags or her produce bags, check her out on Etsy here. In the meantime, I do believe it's time for tea. Ta ta!

Entertainment the SGF-way

I realized on Monday that it has been one month since my last day at work. Wow! Has it really been that long? I feel like I should have accomplished something in that time, but the truth of the matter is that I'm supposed to be resting and healing. 

I do need to keep up a mild exercise routine, which I tend to do during the morning hours when I have the most energy and the least amount of pain. This pretty much consists of biking errands around town.

After lunch things generally go downhill and on "good" days, I can rest on the couch; "bad" days mean I pretty much end up in bed. Truth be told, I spend a lot of time laying around and it drives me crazy. 

I know many of you are ready to run me over with your car and/or have a few choice words flying my way at this point. So many of you are overwhelmed and would love to "struggle" to lay around all afternoon, but it's true. I don't "rest" easily (you could say I'm rest-less after being sick for so long). So keeping my mind occupied when my body is not has been interesting. But the combination of being cheap (I mean frugal) and having so much down time, has meant I've found some new sources of entertainment... FREE sources of entertainment. 

• Library - of course every one knows about the library. Books, newly released movies, magazines, newspapers, audio recordings... all kinds of goodies can be found at the library (and don't forget, if your library doesn't have it, get it through the Interlibrary Load program). At least one of my morning rides each week is to visit our local stacks. Sure, I check out the latest green reads, but my favorite section is "Mystery." I'm a complete mystery fanatic, and the goofier the better. I don't need a bunch of blood and gore, I want suspense, but laughter all in the same book. One of my favorite series is about a Mennonite B&B owner turned sleuth (yeah, it's as strange as it sounds). You can't read 5 pages into one of those books without laughing. Just one problem - I can read a book a day, if I'm not otherwise occupied and eventually, the books start running together. So as much as I absolutely adore reading, it can't be my only outlet.

Last December, when we cancelled our cable, we said goodbye to all the crap on TV. It's amazing what we were paying each month vs. how much we were actually enjoying. It's all reality shows these days and frankly, watching people lie, cheat, and manipulate to get ahead just doesn't do it for me. But there were a few shows that Dave and I really enjoy; and having cancelled cable meant we had to look for other ways to access them. There are a few choices like iTunes subscriptions and renting full seasons from Blockbuster or Netflix when the DVDs are released, but again, I'm cheap (I mean frugal) and I always go for the freebie when possible. Here's what we came up with:

• Hulu - Hulu.com is fabulous! They have full-length movies and TV shows, both old and new. I've enjoyed several old movies, the "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" series, as well as all the brand new episodes of Jon Stewart's "Daily Show" and Stephen Colbert's "The Colbert Report." Need a news fix? Subscribe to and watch the "NBC Nightly News." Need a good laugh? We enjoy all the new episodes of "Eureka" from the SciFi Channel. Did I mention it's free? No expensive cable or dish required! 
• Network websites (NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX) - For shows that don't end up on Hulu, check out the network website. It seems like all the popular shows are viewable the next day on-line (I provided links to each of the network full-episode sites above). Right, so time for my confession. Well, I became complete obsessed with "Alias" a few years back when I was in France. Then when "Lost" came out, by the same creator, I decided that I didn't want to get hooked on another TV show when what I really wanted was to kill cable and save some money. Eventually we killed the cable/dish and I never really thought about it again until I quit my job. "Lost" is now four seasons in with two to go, and well, I was curious to see what all the hype was and it turns out ABC made all four seasons available on their website. So I watched an episode, then two episodes, then the next thing I knew I had watched all four seasons within a few weeks. I'm so addicted, but it was SO free! (Now you know what I've been doing with all this time off work.)

Of course, now that summer is drawing to a close and cooler temps are on their way, I'll be able to spend more time outside in my chair on the front porch (I love peoplewatching). But we all have sick days, rainy days, or you never know, maybe a hurricane rips through town. So when you're all alone and can't quite get the old bod to move, just remember, you don't need a bookstore for a copy of that much anticipated new release and you certainly don't need cable to get your favorite shows. Take the Simple-Green-Frugal route - curl up on the couch with a nice cup of tea and a good library book or your laptop and enjoy some fabulous FREE fun. 

Shopping at Grandma's

Yeah, you read that right. I didn't go shopping WITH Grandma. I went shopping AT Grandma's. Actually, let me start at the beginning.

One of the things I've been doing now that I'm no longer at work is making my way through the house for a nice healthy purge. We do this routinely, so there's never enough for a garage sale, but we routinely make donations to places like Pheobe's Home (women's shelter) and Goodwill. A little here and a little there, hopefully, adds us to something they can use; not to mention we keep the clutter down in our own home while helping someone else. 

I gave a few things away to friends, put a few things up on eBay, and got everything else ready to donate. About that time, during a visit to my grandmother, I mentioned that I'd be making a donation run soon and asked if she had anything she wanted me to take for her. She said she did, but only if I would look through it first to see if I could use any of it. My grandma is so sweet. She's always trying to give me stuff, but 1) it's rare I need anything; and 2) although we're similar in size, let's just say our sense of style is just a little different (I'm pretty much a t-shirt kind of girl). 

She put together two humongous bags of clothes, shoes, and a purse; and I made sure to bring the car for my next visit. I brought everything home with me and into the house and, as promised, I sorted through each item to see if there was anything I could use. I could tell from the look on Dave's face that he was as doubtful as I was. By the end of the second bag, I had pulled about 2 dozen items and made my way to the bedroom to prepare for the first official Grandma's Designs Fashion Show. 

Dave and I nixed a few of the items, but truth be told, and as you can see in the picture up top, I ended up with two sweaters, a blouse, a cotton top, and a pair of walking sandals (my favorite was the cotton top shown here). I was shocked! And of course, this is my grandma we're talking about here, so everything is in excellent shape!

Who needs to go shopping (which as some of you know from posts here and here, I hate)? Way to go Grandma!

Shopping revisited

Earlier this month, I posted about my reluctant, but fairly successful shopping trip. I had been able to pick up much of what my meager wardrobe was lacking, but I wanted to get those last few clothing needs out of the way before I chickened out on the whole idea of shopping and slipped into complete avoidance (which could last for years). 

Last Friday, I left a little earlier than usual for the dairy pick-up, drove into the parking lot of a different resale shop, and took a deep breath as I walked in the door, signaling my arrival with the tinkle of little bells. Geez! Between this trip and the last one, I'm amazed at the quantity of second hand clothes on the racks! Not to mention that most of this is really good quality, name-brand stuff. And of course I've only been in two of about a dozen clothing re-sale shops in town. Who needs the mall, I was thinking? Yet, a very full arm load of shirts and a dressing room later, I managed to come up with only one top - this long-sleeve, American Eagle Outfitters shirt for those occasions when I'm required to play dress up. I suppose it doesn't look like much in the picture, but it looks cute on with a white tank top underneath... oh, and I only paid $8 for it. I've never bought from any of their stores, but their website shows similar shirts retailing for $40. Um, I'll take my gently used $8 shirt thanks...

To meet some of my other shopping needs, I totally cheated. Having found the most wonderful, most comfortable shorts in my last shopping adventure, I decided to hit eBay to see what I could find. After an intense search, I was able to find the exact same shorts, in the exact same size, in different colors. Sweet! That's my kind of shopping!

That leaves me will still needing a couple of tops, but at least I won't be running around half naked or anything. My clothing needs are met for now (and hopefully the next few years). And who knows, I might run into a little something next time I drop by Goodwill, where I'm hoping to unload that miniature christmas tree that's still hanging out in our garage...

Souvenirs - Simple green frugal style

Well, it turns out we ARE taking a mini vacation this summer - just a weekend really. Hubby's Mom will be visiting her family in Arkansas and we're going to take a drive up and visit with her and her family while she's there. It'll be a quick trip (driving up on a Friday and returning on a Monday), but it's better than nothing and we're both in need of some serious time away from work - not just physical since we can both work from home as needed, but rather a mental break. Hopefully, this will get us through until later this year when a more serious trip is planned.  

Starting to think about taking a trip, though, made me reminiscence of some wondeful past adventures. Up until I got sick a couple years ago, I had spend a good part of my adult life (since 1999 anyway) planning and going on vacations - England, France, Greece, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, China, Canada, Spain, even Liechtenstein - many of those multiple times! And after quite a few trips of lugging really heavy suitcases around, I finally figured out, it's way more fun to travel light. My last one-month trip to France/England was done with a carry-on size suitcase (and I didn't miss a thing)!

Of course, limiting your space isn't just about what to bring, it's about what you can bring home. So I've also become pretty picky about souvenirs. I've brought home all kinds of unique goodies, but really, my favorite souvenirs are some of the cheapest and easiest to find, not to mention that they don't take up much room and are a constant reminder of wonderful days gone by. What are these treasures? Magnets and post cards, of course! The magnets I try to buy wherever I go and as you can see from the photo, I have quite a collection going!  I love that it's a constant reminder of all the life I've lived so far - all those amazing adventures! The postcards I buy, write a note to my dog on the back, and mail home. I know it sounds silly and I've been teased many a time, but it's always fun to get home, watch the post cards trickle in, and relive those moments at the cafe in Siena, the view from the top tier of the Eiffel Tower, people watching in Rome, walking down to the bakery each morning in Prades for a fresh loaf...

Hmm. Is my passport up to date?

So how do you travel? Are you a heavy packer (I need 10 pairs of shoes, just in case), or a light packer (the ones on my feet are just fine, thanks)? Other ideas for simple, green, or frugal, yet memorable souvenirs? 

The 3-R's

We all know about the 3 R's of consumption: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Well, it turns out, in my house, there is a second version specifically for clothes: Repair, Repair, Replace. Ok so that's really only two, but in my case it's more like: Repair, Repair, Repair, Repair, Repair, Repair, Run around half naked, (ok fine!) Replace.

The thing is I've come to completely detest shopping. Well, that's not true. Tell me we're going to the farmers market or the grocery and I'll hop right up and go with you. Tell me we need clothes, and I'll crawl under the nearest piece of furniture like my dog when it's time for her bath. First of all, I'm lucky if I can find something I like, then of course it has to actually fit. Right. Like that's going to happen.

But it was getting to be about that time. I've repaired, repaired, repaired and some of my things are literally holding on by a thread. That's the latest repair in my favorite jean shorts (photo above - yeah, I know, I'm quite the seamstress. I think it's time to buy new thread colors, no?). I also have patches in both butt cheeks of my favorite jeans and my pjs look like the result of WWII bombing raid (thankfully, my hubby isn't turned off by the whole refugee look). 

Regardless, my store-free days were obviously numbered. The other of my favorite pairs of shorts (pictured here) have been repaired at least six times (let's play a game - how many of the repairs can you see in this photo?) Anyway, last Thursday, they split on me right across the butt cheek - yep, while I was in public with no spare clothes within a 20 minute bike ride (thankfully I had a sweatshirt to wrap around my waist). I brought them home deciding to fix them (with lovely black thread) and only wear them around the house. Besides, they've gotten so thin that if you hold them up to the light, they are translucent - probably shouldn't be worn in public anymore anyway. Washed and repaired, I wore them to bed on Friday night as jammy bottoms. The next morning I got up to go to the bathroom. I don't know about you, but when I sleep, my clothes get all bunched up on me. So when I stood, I gently adjusted my shorts so that they wouldn't find a permanent home in my butt crack and R-I-P! Ugh. Ok. So it's time. 

Thankfully, I live in a college town where there are tons of second hand shops. Of course, that doesn't make it any easier to find clothes that fit, but it helps with the fact that I'm cheap (ooh, I mean frugal), as well as I feel good having taken part in reusing someone's un-wanteds (green). Once I had decided that a shopping trip must be made, I perused my closet to make sure there wasn't anything else I needed. If we're going to do this, let's do it all at once, if possible. I decided that I was looking for 2 pairs of jeans, 2 pairs of shorts, some pj's and 2 tops that could be worn to occasions where I had to dress up (dressing up being no t-shirt).

We decided Sunday was the day. After a nice lunch date with my hubby, we set out for one of the two second-hand shops I had selected. Nervously, I approached the first. Dave, good hubby that he is, drove me there and waited patiently while I heaped clothes onto the hook on the dressing room door. Too big... too small... too ugly (do people actually wear this stuff?)... too pink... too low-cut... too I'm not even sure what this is... Wait... Ok, here's something. 

We went through this process half a dozen times until finally, I'd managed to find 2 pairs of really comfortable jeans ($10 for one; $15 for the other), a nice white sweater that will go with either jeans or my dress pants ($8), and a pair of sweat-shorts ($4) and a terry cloth top ($8) that can be worn for pjs or bumming-around in public. I couldn't find a single pair of shorts, and I could still use another top and maybe a second pj-like outfit, but for under $50, I got all this stuff that I like and that is pretty comfortable. Oh, and we only spent one hour in the store. Pshew! As we got to the car, we made a quick decision to go ahead and try to the second place just to see what they had, but alas, they were closed.

When I arrived home, I went straight to my closet and pulled out those tan shorts and the WW-II-bombing-raid-esque pajama bottoms. The shorts I could do little with and I expelled a little whimper as they fell to the bottom of the trash. I stared at my jammy bottoms for a good five minutes, scissors in hand. Could I really do this? They'd make great dust rags. In the end, I did the deed and they are now awaiting those 2 special days a year that I feel motivated to dust (yeah, unfortunately, I'm not kidding on that one).

There are still a few things I need so we'll probably have to make a trip another day, but when it was all said and done, it wasn't so bad. I lived through it and have some nice things as a result. So, anyone else out there hate shopping? How far have you gone in repairing your clothes before you finally break down and buy new/almost new ones?

Simple, frugal gifts - baby blankets

The year 2002 was a tough year for me. By the time it was over, I'd had 3 biopsies, the flu (which lasted about 6 weeks), and two surgeries.  Let's not do THAT again!  But a week before the surgery to repair my left knee, a young woman from work (I was at Georgia Tech in Atlanta at the time) visited me at my home to teach me how to crochet (I was in need of something to do with my hands so I didn't go crazy not being able to walk - I'm just not a good sick person. Sitting still just isn't in the genes).  

That two hour session amounts to my entire crocheting education (in other words, I can do one stitch, but after 6 years, I'm really good at it!) Over those 6 years, I've completed more than 20 blankets, each one of them unique. I've given a blanket to all but one of my nieces and nephews when they were born (my oldest niece was born long before 2002) for a total of 16 blankets. Then, as friends have married and had children, I've made one for each of their little ones. My friends and family pretty much know what I'm bringing to their baby showers. No surprises there, but at least they can be surprised by color and width of the stripes which make each and every one different (that's the most recent one above).

My favorite homemade blanket story is of my niece Bella (that's Bella in the photo with her little sister Mari). She's the eldest child of my step-brother, Ken. Bella cannot be parted with the blanket I gave her when she was born.  My brother and sister-in-law have been known to take it, still wet, from the dryer after she's woken up from a nap to find it missing. They routinely send photos of their two kids and inevitably, the blanket will be there, right at her side. It always brings a smile to my face to know she loves it so much. 

Now, I don't have any phenomenal skill or anything (it's just the one stitch over and over and over) and heaven knows it takes me a month of evenings to complete one blanket, but in the end, it's really simple, it's a frugal gift ($15-25 depending on the type of yarn I buy, whether it's on sale, etc.) and each Mom-to-be seems to be delighted with a gift in which I put so much time and love. It's worth every stitch. 

The sound of silence

Ahh. Do you hear it? That's the sound of silence. It's been 6 months since we cancelled our dish/cable subscription.  Six months of quiet, relaxing evenings. Six months without mindless chatter in the background. Six months without commercials telling us we're not good enough, pretty enough, or happy enough. So have we missed it? Um, that would be a no.

Over the last few years, Dave and I have been working not only on reducing our consumption, but also on eliminating or reducing bills (a little money in the old retirement account might be useful one of these days). Last December, after tossing the idea back and forth for several months, we finally had enough of TV. Is there really anything on anyway? Well, is there enough on to justify spending $55-60 a month? We decided, no. Besides, there are so many other viewing  options:

• We both have laptops with DVD players in them so we can rent or borrow movies when we feel like watching something (you can even rent full seasons of TV shows through Netflix, Blockbuster, or the local library system)
• If you visit the network websites you can watch most of your weekly shows on-line for free. 
• iTunes has tons of shows available for download by episode or for the season (you have to pay for them, but at least then you actually own them).
• iTunes also has lots of podcasts (some just audio, but others video) that include the national nightly news
• Go to the movies

Or, in those previosly TV-filled hours, we now play games, do puzzles, read books, take walks, play with our three "kids," snuggle, talk to friends and family, meditate, sit on the porch and wave at neighbors...  

What I love most about the change is not that we are saving more than $600 a year, it's that we've created "white space" in our lives - beautiful, peaceful, unmarked, open blocks of time with no pressure, no demands, no worry, no noise, no violence, and no commentary. That sound of silence is a very beautiful thing.

Going green - It's more than light bulbs

Our local news station ran an article and news clip yesterday about a gentleman in town who was "going green and saving green."  The article described "going green" as the latest fad, but that in a time when prices are rising, this fad could be a way to save a little money.  The article goes on to talk all about changing light bulbs, the possibility of installing solar panels, and ends with four links about going green (all of which are energy/bulb related).

All this is fine and good, but is this really what all of mainstream America thinks of "Going Green?" This is just a fad, not a new way of life? That when the economy is better, we can go back to being wasteful and irresponsible with resources? That all we need to do is change a few light bulbs and we will have single-handedly saved the Earth? I'm glad that most people have accepted that it's important to do something, but is this all the further the message has gone?

I'm glad these kinds of articles are hitting our papers, but I guess I find this disturbing for two reasons:

First, this CAN'T just be a fad. It MUST become a new way of life. It's like the women's or civil rights movements - once we realized we'd done wrong, we began to change our errant ways. "Going green" is no different.  I believe being "green" is about

• Not wasting resources just because we can
• Getting back in touch with the fact that we are part of nature and not masters of it
  
• Realizing that we as humans are taking more than our share of the Earth's resources (a lot more) and taking steps to correct it
• Acknowledging that we (the inhabitants of Planet Earth) are all the same (we all want to be happy, we all want our needs to be met) and that other people, plants and animal's needs for earth, air, water, food, etc. are just as important as mine - so SHARE, dang-it!
• Connecting with the things that make us happy on a fundamental level (no, that's not more stuff - not even more "green" stuff) like relationships, community, health, peace, etc.

Second, why do we keep hearing about light bulbs when there are so many other SUPER EASY ways to be green? Here are some things that we've done at our house (certainly not exhaustive):

• Park the car as often as possible - bus, bike, walk around town
• Eat organic
• Eat local
• Eat whole, non-processed foods
• Adjust the thermostat in the house just a few degrees (especially when we're gone during the day)
• Use an electric blanket on cold winter nights instead of heating the entire house
• Recycle, recycle, recycle!
• Refuse to buy items that don't come in packaging that is recyclable within our area
• Shop second hand 
• Think before we buy - do we really NEED this or can we do without, make it ourselves, or borrow it?
• Borrow books and movies instead of buying new
• Buy local gifts or give baked goods, time, or other homemade goods (I crochet blankets for all our nieces and nephew's births)
• If we have to use paper goods, choose recycled (toilet paper, paper towels, etc)
• Reuse computer paper at work for scratch pads
• No Plastic Bags! We carry our own cloth bags. I follow the AMEX moto - don't leave home without it
• Take my own water bottle, cloth napkin, silverware, and to-go container to any restaurant that uses disposable items
• Use cloth napkins/wash clothes instead of paper towels and tissues
• Take navy showers
• Adjusted our toilet valve to use less water
• Wash our clothes in cold instead of hot water
• Eat lower on the food chain/eat meat less often
• Make our own food from scratch - breads, yogurt, soups, tea, cookies, ice cream, etc
• Compost (we have our trash down to 1 kitchen size bag every 6 weeks!)
• Reuse paper to make our own greeting cards
• Pack my lunch for work instead of eating out
• Donate or sell (Craigslist, eBay, garage sales, etc) unwanted items so they don't get trashed - we try to find someone else who can give them a good home

And there are so many more things we'd like to try, like putting out a clothesline, starting our own garden, making our own butter, continuing to prune unnecessary consumption and expenses from our lives, etc. What else? I know there must be hundreds of easy ideas out there; small steps towards "going green." What other things are people doing out there?

I tend to be on the shy side so my philosophy has been fairly Buddhist in nature - rather than proselytize the green movement, I just do my thing and talk about it when someone approaches me and asks. How do you get the word out? What do we need to do to let people know that "going green" is here to stay; that it's more than just light bulbs?

P.S. Ok. I'm feeling better now. That article just got to me...

Getting creative - Making my own greeting cards

Last fall, we got a thank you note from a friend.  He had made it himself using an old map for the exterior and a "thank you" ink stamp.  I loved it, not only because he had made it, but because it meant that this peice of paper was re-used before it was recycled or worse - tossed. He was being thoughtful not only to us, but to the environment as well. 

Later on in early winter as I was writing out all our holiday cards, I got thinking about that thank you card. Between birthdays, anniversaries, mother's day, fathers's day, christmas, etc (keep in mind Dave and I have 23 neices and nephews between us), we were purchasing more than 100 cards each year (I won't even go into how much that costs, you can imagine). And we're not talking gifts or stamps - just cards. Cards that people look at once or twice, say "that's nice," put on the shelf for a couple days, and toss. There's just something wrong with that.

Now, I'm no artist or anything, but I was thinking I could probably do this myself. So in December and January, I hunted deals on eBay and Craigslist for used card making supplies. My total investment?  I spent $25 for things like glue, stamp pad, message stamps, and some paper punches (retail would have been closer to $100). 

I still have a stack of cards in a drawer so we continue to mail some commercially-made cards while we have them (actually this works out nicely so that I can build my supply of homemade ones), but I immediately began to hoard all the freebie resources I could find:

• colored paper and envelopes that come through the mail
• calendars - Dave came home last week with 4 old calendars full of pictures from which I made some gorgeous cards
  
• recycle bin goodies - I dig through the recycle bins at work looking for discarded colored paper (as discreetly as possible - the people there think I'm weird enough as it is)
  
• old maps
• catalogs or pictures from magazines
• used wrapping paper (yep, there was a reason I unwrapped my gifts annoyingly slow)
• torn gift bags (for when you too embarrassed to use them one last time)
• stickers (we keep getting free disney stickers in the mail - not sure why, but I can sure use them!)

I now have a cabinet full of this stuff!  So anytime I need to send cards out (like Mother's day this past weekend), I just whip something up. Sometimes, it's just a simple, "Happy Birthday." Other times, I get a little creative with the poems (I get this from my dad. I've always loved writing silly poems and limericks) - whatever inspires me at the moment. 

Hopefully, our families think it's sweet that we take the time to make something homemade and aren't rolling their eyes at how cheap we are.  Even so, each card is made with love and we hope it is received that way.  I just feel good having a bit of a creative outlet, not to mention giving that junk mail a chance to redeem itself.  It's amazingly simple, totally green, and completely frugal.

P.S. If you have little ones, have them make cards (a little child labor never hurt anyone, right?). Everyone loves cards from kids!