Growing Up Green

Bring it on!

2009-08-26T20:45:00.000-07:00

We got the loan approval paperwork in the mail today, and we are paying the homeowner's insurance tomorrow. Friday we close on the house.

We are not moving until the first, but get ready for a slew of photos and a rundown of what's been going on.

And now, I have to pack.

A year in the life...

2009-08-13T05:43:00.000-07:00

A little less than a year ago I stopped writing completely. A lot of things have happened in the past year, and a lot of it I couldn't write about without either compromising relationships or upsetting myself. So I just stopped talking about it.

This time last year Jesse and I had just started our house hunt. We were excited, nervous, and having a lot of fun with the process. In September and October we were outbid on two houses, and had to cancel a contract on a third due to undisclosed information. I should have seen that red flag, but we blithely continued on as if we were in for a great year.

Two weeks after Evan's first birthday Jesse lost his job. He lost his job on a day that I had met him at his work for lunch, and talked to his boss for at least twenty minutes about anything and everything. We have yet to step back inside that building.

To add insult to injury we spent the following 10 weeks fighting for unemployment benefits. In the end we won our appeal because the company's lawyers were too lazy to show up.

Jesse didn't go back to work until the end of February. Energized and ready to find a house, we got a foreclosure under contract relatively quickly, only to find out three weeks later that the basement flooded during rainstorms. Luckily for us we were under an inspection period at the time, due to repairs being made to the plumbing of the house.

Between March and April we suffered through looking at house after house. We were outbid twice, and I started to wake up every morning unable to face the day. In May we got a pre-foreclosure under contract, and spent nine weeks waiting on the seller's bank to approve the sale. After nine weeks they came back asking us for more money. We walked away.

Can you blame us for closing ranks and keeping quiet? Who wants to hear about this day after day? (Thank you to those of you who listened to my rants. I love you.)

Finally, during the last week of July, we were outbid on a house again. I looked at Jesse and started to cry. All told, in the past year we have probably walked through 60 - 75 houses. We decided to consider townhouses as an option, something our realtor did not think was right for us. He talked us into going through one more round of houses.

Thank god for him.

That last day we saw four houses. The first three were not what we were looking for, and on the way to the last house Jesse and I talked about how we could adapt to townhouse living after a year of having access to a backyard and privacy (sort of).

When we pulled into the driveway of the last house, there was a glimmer of hope. We walked in the front door ... and I know this is cheesy but Jesse and I both reacted the same way.

"Where do we sign?"

We close in fifteen days.

We have so many plans, so many things to look forward to. Financially this recession has not been terrible for us, we were lucky. Emotionally, however, this has been the worst year we have been through as a couple.

We are ready to start over, and be a family in our own house.

If you gotta party...

2008-10-22T08:39:00.000-07:00

For Evan's first birthday party we tried to keep things as minimal as possible, using dishes that weren't disposable and buying as much of the food locally as we could. Thank goodness for the farm stand!

We spend a month gathering up party supplies, because I'd rather spend $10 here and there for a month or two than buy everything at once and have a heart attack. Our party theme was Chicago Bears, so there was a lot of navy blue and orange floating around.

Jesse had originally wanted to buy this party set at Target, but each set was $25 and we needed two (they were $1 a place setting).

I said no, and was going to purchase the standard paper plates because I couldn't justify that kind of expense for one time use plates. They went on clearance about a week later and Jesse bought them at half price. I was upset until I saw that every piece of that set (except the napkins) is recycleable.

We put a sign on our garbage can to tell our guests this, and every single one of them put their plate, cup, and fork in the recycling bin! It was a huge success, and I didn't have to feel bad about serving a buffet to 25 people and then throwing away their garbage because I was too lazy to do that many dishes.

Another month already?

2008-10-15T08:40:00.000-07:00

As the holidays loom closer, and my access to a computer is lessened (see here), posting gets more and more challenging.

But today we bring you an idea for something you were most likely going to buy anyway!

Locally grown pumpkins are the greenest way to go for Halloween jack o'lanterns. Since the only fuel used in transporting them is the gas in your own car on the way to the farmstand, these leave the smallest footprint behind. Plus, local farms are more likely to cut back on pesticides and other common farming chemicals.

We bought our pumpkins at Stade's Farm, which focuses on bringing fresh, healthily grown produce to our area. We enjoy their produce from May to October each year, and I have to say, you can tell the difference!

Up for consideration...

2008-09-18T17:30:00.000-07:00

I have wanted to switch Evan to cloth diapers for months, but since we're living with my parents I figured it wouldn't be a great idea.

I just found out Target is carrying BumGenius diapers, which are made to work just like a disposable diaper. They have the velcro tabs and everything! Since Jesse gets his discount I can get them there way cheaper than anywhere else, and I'm soooo tempted.

Hopefully we'll be in our own place soon and I can try them out!

So, it turns out that blogging is really hard whilst house hunting

2008-09-05T08:51:00.000-07:00

It's not that I've forgotten about posting here... it's more that I haven't even had time to take a shower in peace for the last four weeks.

However, I do want to share a tidbit with you today! So cheer up!

Jesse and I are starting to look for paint. This is both exciting and terrifying. Exciting because hey! we get to choose our own decor! Terrifying because hey! painting is a LOT of work!

Anyhow, we did some homework, and we found that HomeDepot's paint brand, Behr, is ALL low VOC paint, which is awesome. They also carry a paint called FreshAire that is completely VOC free. It is $10 more a gallon than the Behr paint, but it's worth it to us, especially since we will be painting an entire house.

I'll update the paint thing as soon as we choose colors and get to work. I'm sure you'll want to know how the paint performs.

Oh my God I love this soap

2008-08-06T20:14:00.000-07:00

Product number two on my list of potentially awesome thing is this soap by Kiss My Face. I have been using it to wash my face in the morning and my skin is AMAZING, especially considering I'm in that horrible PMS phase where you break out and eat chocolate four times a day.

I have oily skin and this cleanses gently while not stripping all the moisture out of my face. I'd imagine it'd be great on your body as well, but I'm a loofah kind of girl.

I have to admit I bought four bars of this because it was on clearance at Target.

It's not crazy expensive as a full sized bar, but you can also purchase a bucket of trial sizes to make sure you like things before you commit to a full sized purchase, which I really like.

They're packaged in just recyclable paper, which is also pretty awesome.

Smelling Green!

2008-08-02T20:35:00.001-07:00

Last week in a fit of insane consumerism (also known as OH MY GOD WHY DOES EVERYTHING IN THE BATHROOM RUN OUT AT ONCE!?) I purchased a number of things that keep us clean and presentable while also minimizing our impact on the planet. This week I'll be featuring each one, along with what I think of how it performs.

First up, this deodorant. Jesse complained that his smelled like a hospital, I think it smells fine. I have to say, it actually works quite well. It doesn't contain aluminum, nor is it animal tested. If you click on the "ingredients" tab on the right, not only does the site tell you what's in each scent, but where it came from. Nothing on the list came from petroleum based sources, nor was it made in a lab.

I find that pretty cool.

Also, I'd rather smell like lavender than what some of the other leading brands offer (Smooth Cashmere was one, and I can't figure out what that's supposed to smell like - a sweater?). Men's deodorant is even worse.. smelling some of the Axe scents in particular is enough to make me gag.

Greener Baby

2008-07-23T08:28:00.000-07:00

Method makes this amazing line of baby products that are all natural and are not tested on animals. I bought the diaper rash cream for Evan since he tends to be sensitive to fragrances. It's an amazing product, it clears up any hint of diaper rash or redness in a flash.

It is a little expensive, costing $6.99 at Target, but I've had one container for almost four months now and it's not even half empty. I bought a second one to keep in the diaper bag full time, I love it that much.

There is also a bath soap, a lotion, and for older kids there's body wash, shampoo, and bubble bath.

Another Quickie

2008-07-19T20:31:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I'm being a cheap date this week. Sorry!

Just wanted to share this website with you. There are a ton of great resources and links here!

Low Impact Living

Trials & Tribulations

2008-07-13T19:32:00.000-07:00

Today being my only day off in the past week, it was high time to do all of my housework. Unfortunately for Jesse, this meant he had to help.

He is not really on board with the all natural cleaners, and spent the entire morning complaining about the vinegar smell as I disinfected and dusted furniture. My response to this was selective hearing, which I think might have irritated him a bit. I need to find a mixture that isn't so strong but still does the job, I think.

Jesse was nice enough to clean the bathroom for me, which I appreciated. He did a really great job, but used every single cleaner I've been trying to avoid. Including the "disposable" toilet brush thingy, which makes me crazy because people have been cleaning toilets just fine for over a hundred years with a normal toilet bowl brush!

As soon as we move into our own house there will be some major changes in what we clean with! I can't wait to see his face when he has to clean a bathroom with all natural cleaners.

I blame this post on the sick baby

2008-07-09T10:49:00.000-07:00

The past few days have been full of poop - and consequently that's all I can think about.

A friend of mine recently asked me what we used to pick up after our dogs when we lived in the apartment. We used a (supposedly) biodegradable plastic baggie that was scented so that the smell wouldn't be quite so offensive. Nice, I suppose, but I got to thinking that putting poop in plastic is rather silly. It's supposed to decompose, that's the whole point. Encapsulating it in plastic only ensures that by the time mother nature gets around to it, we humans won't be here to be bothered by it.

If I had to do it over again, I'd probably just pick it up in paper towel or newspaper and drop it into the dumpster sans baggie. My friend's initial reaction to this suggestion was along the lines of "EW GROSS!" When I pointed out that the apartment complex dumpsters were emptied several times a week and people put WAY more disgusting stuff in them, she realized I might be onto something.

Also, you could probably flush it, if you have a smaller dog and don't mind carrying the poop inside. The downside here would be explaining to your neighbors why you're bringing poop inside.

Quickie

2008-07-07T18:21:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note today!

Try using vinegar and water for cleaning more than just windows! It works REALLY well on grease and fingerprints on countertops, sinks, and doorknobs. It's also a natural disinfectant, and is less harsh than bleach!

Try about 1 cup of vinegar in a spray bottle of water (you can add lemon juice or lime juice to cut the smell if it bothers you) and have some fun!

For some other DIY household cleaners, go here.

I haven't tried all of these yet, but as I do I'll keep you posted.

I still hate the bubbles up my nose

2008-07-01T19:09:00.000-07:00

It's been a few days since I started drinking my pop from 2 liter bottles, and it really hasn't bothered me that much. It's a little annoying to have to wait for the carbonation to settle down when I pour it, but I can deal with it.

Jesse is stoutly refusing to convert. It's going to take some serious convincing (as in no more Jack Daniels until you switch) to get him moving.

Green Organization

2008-06-28T18:07:00.000-07:00

Being organized at home has never been one of our strong suits, both as a couple and as individuals. I tend to be a little better than Jesse, but I think that has more to do with my gender than anything else. Jesse's desk is actually reasonably clean in this photo, only because I happened to clean up the pop cans yesterday so I could take the recycling out.

I find my lack of organization at home ironic because at work I'm hyper organized. If my workspace becomes cluttered or jumbled it makes me crazy. At home I can handle it.

Unfortunately, I had to organize our papers and whatnot so that I know where everything is when we meet with the mortgage guy later this month. This process was sort of fun, but only because I found these:

Everything there is made from at least 70% recycled paper, and it's pretty, too! Our old file box had filing folders in it, but I had been using and reusing them for probably 5-6 years and they were becoming so ratty that I couldn't take it anymore. At least I recycled them.

I was also extremely excited to find these Post-it notes, which are made from recycled paper! I love that the colors aren't OH MY GOD LOOK AT ME neon. In fact the deep rich orange looks nice against the white of my desk.

Here is what our work space looks like now, although keep in mind that it won't stay this neat for long. At least I know that our important files are neat and ready to go when we need them!

Drinking Green

2008-06-27T20:51:00.000-07:00

This week I'm going to try buying my pop (or SODA, as some oddball parts of the nation call it) in two liter bottles instead of the 12 pack of cans.

Yes, we recycle, but it still costs energy to recycle. I figure lessening the amount I'm sending to be recycled helps, even if it's just a little bit.

The challenge to this is that Jesse doesn't want to drink pop from a glass. Personally I think this is related to the chugging of said drink (they make wide mouth pop cans for a reason), but he claims it's because the pop goes flat too fast.

I'll try to keep you updated on this process throughout the coming week, and we'll see who wins the battle.

Green Media

2008-06-23T19:42:00.000-07:00

We have vampires living in our house. In fact, several of them I don't think we could live without. I know that Jesse, in particular, would probably die from asphyxiation if I took them away.

I'm talking about our electronics. The plasma TV, both of our PC's, the DirecTV boxes, the Playstation and Wii (yes, he's spoiled). Even when turned off, they're really in standby mode, and they're sucking electricity right out of the wall. According to this study (link is in the article), approximately 13% of the average American household's electricity use is due to these "vampire" devices.

Even your cell phone charger sucks power when it's not charging your phone!

Jesse and I are tackling this one by plugging our energy suckers into power strips, which we're keeping turned off if we're not using the devices. So far our PC's, the bedroom TV, and paper shredder all set up. The entertainment center is going to take some tweaking, but it should be set up this weekend.

Now the hard part: remembering to turn them OFF!

Nursing Green

2008-06-21T12:40:00.000-07:00

This weekend I'm weaning Evan, which so far has been extremely uncomfortable - for me at least. Evan doesn't seem to care one way or the other, as long as he gets his bottle.

When Evan was a newborn and we were still getting the hang of the whole nursing thing I used disposable nursing pads to deal with embarrassing leakage issues. Nothing more lovely than having little wet circles on your shirt at work! I probably went through two or three large boxes before my body got the rhythm of feedings and I didn't need them anymore.

Now that I have to wait for my supply to go away, I've decided these are much more practical:

They are machine washable, but I have a feeling I may have to hand wash them since there's only six in a box. They are also extremely economical, since a box of 30 disposable ones costs around $4.99, and these were $2.49. Instead of spending five bucks every 15 days (since you use two at a time), I'm spending $2.50 once!

More importantly, they aren't going to end up in a landfill somewhere. When I'm done with them they're going into storage with the clothes that don't fit Evan anymore, to await the arrival of our next baby in a few years.

Going green is pretty easy sometimes!

Genesis

2008-06-19T21:08:00.000-07:00

When I was pregnant I knew what kind of parents we would be. We weren't going to be super strict or insanely lenient. We had no intention of over-analyzing the day to day of being parents, we just knew that somehow it would get done. The first week Evan was home we went through a whole package of diapers, a box of wipes, and probably 3 rolls of paper towels. And that's just what I can remember off hand.

Over the past eight months we've slowly been coming to the realization that we need to start focusing on how we can raise our kids while respecting our surroundings and leaving as little a footprint as possible. In turn I hope they are able to absorb that respect from us, and continue to practice it as they grow older.

Is it easier to pretend that things aren't getting bad? Of course. Is it easier as parents to just grab a Clorox wipe and toss the mess? You bet. Is it responsible? No! Our generation has the mindset that everything is disposable, nothing old is worth keeping, and what we throw away just disappears without a trace.

Starting this week we're taking baby steps towards becoming more conscious of these things, and hopefully as our family grows we'll all learn to leave things the way we found them. This space is meant to share our ideas, get some input from others, and document what we do to keep us honest!