Monday, January 31, 2011

One more for January

Ok month one of January is down, done and over....well in less than 12 hours it will be. Now did I stick to becoming more green as a family. Maybe kinda in some ways. I have not had to buy hand soap yet this year...and I am thinking that I will not have to until some time in ohhhh 2020. Ok not really but having made so much from 1 bar of soap makes me feel a little greener. If nothing else it makes my wallet a little greener.

As for the homemade kombucha, it is about 2 days away from needing to be bottled, which I might add is green because of the natural carbonation in it you have to bottle it in bottles that were once used for soda bottles....yippy for re-using! This again add some green to my wallet!

And the kraut....yup it is done and perfect! I am going to start my next batch in a day or so, and in 2 days we are going to eat what I made on kraut dogs.....yummmo! No green unless you count the looks on my kiddos faces when I inform them of dinner that night hehehehehe.

I am now going to tackle the job of recycling. We are pretty good here, but I do admit that I am one to throw out the junk mail once in a while instead of walking into the garage to but it in the blue bins. I am going to figure out a way that makes it easier when it is sub zero temps to recycle the junk mail. I am thinking a box and use it to start the firs in the wood burning stove. Hmmmmm I'll figure that one out soon enough.

Oh! How could I forget? I think I have perfected my recipe for homemade laundry detergent. I found the right balance of soap and cleaners, and it is about 3 cents a load. My next big idea is going to figure out natural or at least homemade fabric softener....that does not smell like pickles....aka white vinegar. I will keep you posted when I find the time and energy to do that.

I scavenged the garage this past weekend and we found all the supplies to put the trim up around the front door.... good Lord it only took 3 years to get that up and I also found enough paint to give my bathroom a face lift! Both projects cost a grand total of 1 dollar! Yup 1 dollar spent on a new paint roller. Woohoo! I wish I had taken before pictures of the bathroom, but it is clean, and freshly painted and feels new!

So as for being green I am thinking January only held the promise of a greener wallet....not a bad thing at all. It makes us inch one inch closer to getting out to the country where I can cloth dipaer, homeschool, organically sustain our family the way my heart really really wants to.

So for February my goals to aim for are....
1- fabric softener
2- brew own beer? The kombucha and kraut were a success why not right?
3- Get my sling business up and going full force
4- learn to make my own wool and fleece soakers- I'll tell you more about this later too!
5- Map out my garden for 2011

Sunday, January 16, 2011

you want me to eat what?

You want me to eat whaaaaat? Said in my best minon voice. I have been researching the benefits on eating lacto fermented foods. What is that you ask.....think rotten but still safe to eat pretty much. Ok, ok not really but kinda.

I got into this book called Wild Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz. My fist adventure is going to be making sauerkraut. Amazingly enough all you do in theory is shred cabbage sprinkle with salt cram it into a jar cover the kraut inside the jar and cover the whole thing with a cloth and wait.... a while.

On that note I am also going to try my hand at kombucha. I hate hate hate paying $3.50 a bottle for it, and I could honestly drink a bottle a day. So there is a process of fermenting your own tea, adding a scoby...aka the stuff that makes it ferment, and sugar and you wait... again with the waiting. I am beginning to wonder if there is something to this way of life. That it takes time to grow and can and ferment your own food, with that time you actually get to know your life and the people in it. Seems pretty simple to me.

So I will post pics of my kraut journey and my kombucha journey and let you know how it all turns out.....in a while. But I recommend that book for cool ways to make your own stuff...and by stuff I mean fermented food that will help aid in digestion- think pro-biotics.

I'm off to shred the cabbage, the wonderful cabbage I'll rot...hehehe Wizard of OZ.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

green smoothies?

So I got a book out from the library on how to make green smoothies and how good they are for you. So today I took the plunge and tried one. I went with spinach, mango and apple juice. In the blender it went. Round and round it went and all of a sudden it looked like pond scum...only a littler brighter.

Good God what have I gotten myself into!? It looks like something from a science fiction movie...or at least a horror movie. So here I stand in the kitchen all alone cup in hand. And I might add it was a big 16 oz cup full of pond scum. I ponder this...do I plug my nose and chug.. like jumping into an ice cold pool with my nose plugged. Or do I take a micro sip...kinda like sticking a toe into said pool?

I am not a toe sticker, nor am I a nose plugger. So up to the lips it goes...once... twice...ok third time is the charm and I take a big ole swig! Swallow...breath...gag? NOPE! It turns out to be good, and not taste like pond scum, grass or even spinach for that matter! I will totally do it again.

Wait let me correct that, I will do it again and again, IF and see how BIG that if is... if it is not too much fiber for my poor body to handle. And a few hours later so far so good.

Now this health kick goes hand in hand with getting rid of my baby weight. So today I also zumba-ed and I tam thinking tomorrow I will be walking funny.....and hopefully it is just from the work out and not the green smoothie!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

2011.... the new green leaf

OK so I have been slacking on my blog, or maybe I have just been trying not to bore you to death. So it is a new year and I am turning over a new green leaf.

As you know I am a cloth diapering momma, and have actually drug a couple of my near and dear friends down the road with me. And on this journey I have discovered a whole new world of like minded friends, that are just a crunchy and green as me. And that there are a lot more people out there that are WAY more green than me.

So on that note I have decided that I am going to continue making my own cleaning supplies. I am going to continue to make my own laundry detergents. I am going to continue to buy organic when I can, and local even more. I am going to join a CSA and plant a huge garden to can and freeze my own stuff. I am also going to work on getting on a tight budget, and start chipping away at our debt...and we have a lot but that is another blog post all together. I am also down sizing the amount of stuff we have. I am aiming for a less is more kind of year.

That last one is going to be hard to convince my family to go for but fingers crossed it will work. And we will find our way back to the simple pleasures in life. And simple really is green!