Instead of the Dishes » Around the House
tree stump
“‘Well,’ said the tree, straightening herself up as much as she could, ‘well, an old stump is good for sitting and resting. Come, Boy, sit down. Sit down and rest.’ And the boy did. And the tree was happy.” ~ Shel Silverstein, The Giving Tree … Read entire article »
Filed under: Around the House, Around the Town, Go Green
Theres a Word for That: kWh
In honor of Earth Day, my TWT posts will center on energy and “green” concepts this month. kWh stands for Kilowatt Hour, which is the measure of energy used by your electric company to figure your bill. A kilowatt hour is equivalent to using 1000 watts of electricity in one hour. You can figure how many kilowatt hours an electrical appliance uses by multiplying its wattage by the amount of time you are using it, and dividing by 1000. So, for example, (caution! english major doing math here!) if you have a 100 watt light bulb in your lamp, and you have the lamp on for one hour, you use 0.1 kWh of electricity. If you keep that same lamp on for 10 hours, you’ve used 1 kWh. You can use this … Read entire article »
Filed under: Around the House, Go Green, Spending Less, There's a Word for That
Local Food and Cloth Diapers
In January, I posted about the One Small Change project. This is my February report. In January, I pledged to start feeding my family more local food. Turns out that January is not the most ideal time of year to make such a change. No farmers markets open, not much being grown locally, and my family was out of town nearly half the month. I did sign up for the Basket a Month (BAM) program through … Read entire article »
Filed under: Around the House, Around the Town, Go Green, Health, Health & Fitness, Homemaking
Tis the Season…For Catalogs
Check your mailbox. I bet they’re in there. Catalogs. This time a year, it seems some companies start sending a new catalog once a week. I know I get tons of catalogs for companies I’ve never purchased anything from. Others I’m familiar with, but I still don’t need a paper catalog when the internet is right at my finger tips. So, this evening I sat down with the most recent stack of catalogs that were … Read entire article »
Filed under: Around the House, Go Green
Blog Action Day: Climate Change for Families
I’m excited to be taking part in my first mass-blogging event. Today is Blog Action Day, and this year’s theme is Climate Change. Being a former science center administrator, I know first hand that discussions on climate change can start to feel overwhelming really quickly. That’s doubly true when you’re five and you don’t even know what the word “climate” means. Throw into the mix that many families have different beliefs, religiously based or otherwise, about climate change and what we should or shouldn’t be doing, and you’ve got a hot spot. No matter your background, your age, or your beliefs, the bottom line is that we need to take care of our Earth, since, at the moment, it’s the only human-friendly environment around. The numbers don’t lie, and they do … Read entire article »
Filed under: Around the House, Go Green, Spending Less
Ode to My Clothesline
I love my clothesline. You know, clothesline? A string between two poles in your backyard with clips on it? Your grandmother probably has one. It’s totally making a comeback. In fact, I was surprised when the topic came up among the moms on the playground a few weeks ago, and several moms professed their love for outdoor laundering. Some people imagine that hanging clothes out on a line to dry them is a lot of extra … Read entire article »
Filed under: Around the House, Go Green, Homemaking, Spending Less
Grab My Button!
