There's a lot of great information in this post and I encourage you to read through it ... however, if you don't have the time right now, you might find the following quick links helpful:
Last week was reader's choice ... everyone was encouraged to pick their own challenge based on the season which they are currently entering. From re-purposing materials into gorgeous accessories to cleaning portable fans to vertical gardening to blocking cool air with curtains ... we saw a bit of everything. In my house we took on preserving food. Yep, we managed our first-ever canning experience. It wasn't nearly as hard as I imagined it to be, it is cost effective, we know exactly what went into each jar, the vegetables were purchased from local farms and we now have a pantry full of lovely, canned tomatoes. I'm feeling proud!
The Honor Society are those people who help us spread the "green" word by writing an article about our challenges and/or leaving pertinent comments. Here's what they had to say:
Alicia accepted the challenge and shared this: "I had read your earlier post and was so glad to see that we already do a lot of things that were on the list. We always keep the pressure in our tires checked and keep our vents free from obstacles. We have a garage and always park our car in it. That way when we get in it in the Summer it is never real hot and never real cold in the Winter. We love opening the blinds and getting all of that "free" warmth during the day and we just got a new energy efficient fridge so it seals really well but even with our old one we kept the coils vacuumed. It really does make a huge difference! We reverse our ceiling fans, bring our plants indoors, cover all of our outside spigots and preserve lots of fruits, veggies and herbs. We are just getting ready to go through our Summer clothes and will soon be checking all of the windows to see if they need extra caulk. There are more from the list we need to check and will be doing those before it turns real cols.Doing any of the things on this list will help but doing as many as you can will make a huge difference!!"
Argentum Vulgaris doesn't live like most of us. He does without closets, ceiling fans and air filters ... he doesn't have a lawn nor does he use a leaf-blower. He did, however, find something on the list which he could do. Can you guess what it is? Find out HERE.
Kris has already done many of the tasks on our list. But there's one which she's never done ... and one which she resists. Curious? Find out in this POST.
Janet Botes, in the southern tip of Africa, is moving into spring. Here's what she plans to do:
"1. Spring clean with more earth-friendly cleansers. In South Africa we've got some great options available from the Ethical Co-Op (www.ethical.org.za). I already use a dishwashing liquid by EarthSap and Bloublommetjieskloof, and both are great...
2. Clean out closets and drawers and donate usable items to The Haven Night Shelter in Napier Street, Cape Town.
3. Grow more vegetables and herbs in pots at home and in my studio. And also plan, build and grow a vertical garden, something I've been wanting to do and never make time for.
4. Walk or cycle instead of drive as much as possible, and also using the MyCiti bus and train if I have to travel further than my feet can carry me.
5. Dry our clothes outside rather than use the dryer, this means planning better and washing on sunny days!"
Even though we try to stop catalogs and advertisements from sneaking into our homes ... some slip through. La Alicia is putting that junk mail to good use by creating these LOVELIES.
Ann included our CTWW banner in this POST about travel.
Mrs. Green needs a new patio door. Until she gets one, she's going to "make do". Can you guess how? Here's a hint ... the name of her article is Making a difference with curtains.
We had a couple more updates on our SWOT analysis from last week:
In Green Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats Clare takes a hard, honest look at her efforts. She has a lot of strengths so one would not expect to see many weaknesses, opportunities or threats. But Clare is one of those "Greenies" who digs deep to help the earth and has found some areas to focus on. Check them out ... you might be surprised.
Cat's SWOT analysis was interesting ... in it she discusses whether or not a pet is a "weakness". What do you think? Find her thoughts in this ARTICLE.
Our Twitter friends participated this week. Here are their thoughts:
From @pinkladyapril
- we bled our radiators & made sure there's nothing blocking the heat. Slow cooker had it's first outing last night too
- sorted & packed away all my summer clothes & switched to the Autumn weight duvet. The jumpers & fluffy socks are out!
From @givetreegifts
- How to Reuse Old Clothes: http://www.wikihow.com/Reuse-Old-Clothes
- Recycled Crafts to Turn Old Clothes into New Items: http://www.squidoo.com/Reuse-Recycle-Old-Clothes
- Make Or Save Money By Reusing Old Clothes: http://frugaldad.com/2011/09/19/make-or-save-money-by-reusing-old-clothes/
- 37 Reuses For Old Clothes: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/09/green-cleaning-37-reuses_n_165129.html
- Ten Ways to Reuse Old Clothing: http://www.reuserecycle.net/old-clothing.php
- Clever Re-use & Upcycles: http://pinterest.com/loobalee/clever-re-use-upcycles/
- Check out this cool find via @KatGoesTweet ! An antique copper heater reincarnated as a lamp. Awesome upcycle! http://www.etsy.com/listing/110257340/repurposed-lamp-copper-lamp-upcycled
From @anitaadamsnc
- My eco-savings today...was NO driving! :)
The #CTWW Gang are those folks who share our challenges on twitter using the hashtag #CTWW. If you're a Twitter member, I highly recommend following them ... they have a lot of great things to say. Let's meet them:
My Final Thoughts:
As we have moved from challenge to challenge, I've realized that we are all motivated in different ways and we are at different places on our green path. The beauty of these activities is that, if one activity doesn't get us moving, perhaps another one will. So we keep moving forward, trying different things and discussing outcomes. By simply trying a challenge, we improve. In my mind, that's what it's all about!
Thanks, everyone! If you wrote an article, I have Stumbled, Tweeted, Facebooked and posted it on Google +. You can help spread the "green" word by using the share feature at the bottom of this post.
This Week's Challenge:
This week we're going to combine several suggestions. EcoGrrl and Green Gal both suggested that eating out involves a lot of waste. Katie offered this photo as a suggested challenge:
This week prepare and enjoy at least one vegan meal at home. Try to use locally grown, seasonal foods and utilize cooking methods which are Eco-friendly (the right sized pot for the burner being used, crock-pots, table top appliances like toaster ovens, etc.). Serve your meal in reuseable plates and utensils ... and avoid any waste associated with the meal.
Or ...
If you'll be eating out this week, choose at least one vegan meal AND focus on being as Eco-friendly as possible. For example, choose a restaurant which uses real plates and utensils (versus establishments which use single-use, disposable items ... yep, that leaves out fast food). Consider bringing your own utensils. Accept only the water which you'll actually drink. Try to order foods which are local and in season. And if you're feeling very ambitious, do a little research and choose a restaurant which employes sustainable operating methods.
If you'll be eating out this week, choose at least one vegan meal AND focus on being as Eco-friendly as possible. For example, choose a restaurant which uses real plates and utensils (versus establishments which use single-use, disposable items ... yep, that leaves out fast food). Consider bringing your own utensils. Accept only the water which you'll actually drink. Try to order foods which are local and in season. And if you're feeling very ambitious, do a little research and choose a restaurant which employes sustainable operating methods.
And then ...
Once you've chosen an option above, plan to enjoy your meal at a time when you can fully appreciate it. Don't eat on the run or without thinking about it. Make time for this meal. Pay attention to the taste of the food and how it looks and smells. Savor each bite. In other words ... "Eat like you give a $%#@".
Once you've chosen an option above, plan to enjoy your meal at a time when you can fully appreciate it. Don't eat on the run or without thinking about it. Make time for this meal. Pay attention to the taste of the food and how it looks and smells. Savor each bite. In other words ... "Eat like you give a $%#@".
Are you up for this challenge? Oh yeah ... I know that you are!
Don't forget ... if you think that any of our challenges can be improved, you are welcome to "Up The Ante" by asking us to do better than the stated activity.
If you have a challenge idea, please send it to me HERE. I keep all ideas and will get to each and every one.
Just add the banner below to your blog by
copying the code & pasting it into your site!
As always ...
WE'RE CHANGING THE WORLD ... ONE CHALLENGE AT A TIME!
Ahh this literally coincides PERFECTLY with a date I have planned next week to cook with a friend. And I'm so glad you were inspired to make this week's challenge about eating in :-)
ReplyDeleteHeck yeah! I'm blessed to be in Portland where it doesn't take a whole lot of effort to eat vegan. Even though I'm an omnivore overall, I end up eating veg or vegan the majority of the time, as I consider meat a treat, not a necessity.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite places to go out to casually here is Laughing Planet - it's a great chain with tons of vegan options (the cuban bowl is my favorite), AND best of all, the way they do business, from start to finish - is phenomenal (http://laughingplanetcafe.com/values/materials-ingredients/)
Oh and Prasad, it'd kill ya it's so awesome and creative and tasty - http://prasadcuisine.squarespace.com/storage/Prasad%20Cafe%20Menu%208.02.12%20pdf.pdf
You'll have to come to PDX on a Blog-expedition and I'll show you around!
Have followed up with the results of our curtain making adventures! http://littlegreenblog.com/blog/family-news-blog/the-greens-new-thermal-curtains/ This challenge is scheduled for Friday, after I've actually figured out what I'll eat :)
ReplyDeleteI was already planning on baking some delicious organic almond meal peanut butter vegan cookies in my tabletop convection toaster oven so I can definitely ace this challenge! These will be more of a snack or complement to a meal. Finding new ways to use the byproduct of making almond milk ha been interesting so I'll share what I come up with. Any suggestions? Almond meal scrub? :) Last week I also had a surplus of lemon basil in my grower so vegan lemon basil potato salad was in order. It was delicious so it must be repeated!
ReplyDeleteCTWW is up and running on:
ReplyDeletehttp://ecocrap.wordpress.com/2012/10/03/change-the-world-wednesday-3rd-oct/
Mostly it's about failure...
AV
This was surprisingly hard! We eat meat perhaps once a week, but there seems to be a lot of dairy around our house, between the raw milk & kefir, the eggs and all the cheeses.
ReplyDeleteBuy today I finally managed it: made a roasted-tomato salsa and a baba ganouch, all veggies from the CSA farm. Phew.
Oh I like this challenge!! I cooked a spaghetti squash then I took tomatoes and basil from our garden added some sauteed onions and made a great sauce to put over the squash. All we had to add was a side salad and our meal was complete. The next night I made some homemade veggie broth then added tomatoes, basil, parsley,marjoram, and peppers from the garden. Then I added chick peas, spinach, green peas, onions and a little salt and pepper. We had a wonderful vegetable soup that was so tasty! For the next meal I used a recipe that I saw Ina Garten from the Barefoot Contessa cooking show make. It is a wonderful roasted potato salad with herbs. I used her recipe with just a little tweaking. I roasted the potatoes then added fresh herbs from the garden along with diced onions and red and yellow peppers. She used mayonnaise and mustard for the dressing. I used Tofutti and my own mustard blend that I make. Then just added salt and pepper to taste We had this with fried eggplant from the garden and some zucchini BBQ. I saw how to make this BBQ on several blogs and was amazed at how awesome it tastes. I know I got carried away a little on this challenge but I challenge myself every week to come up with tasty vegan meals. So I was just already in gear dor this challenge.
ReplyDeleteI love a challenge that encourages me to eat better! Slipping out of the habits of a lifetime (Meat, Potatoes, Extra Starch, Overcooked Vegetables) got me outside of an Easy Quick Veggie Meal
ReplyDelete