Reminder

Not that anybody reads this blog, because I haven't told anybody about it and a variety of other reasons (it does not suck, it does not suck, it does not suck) that I won't get into right now.

But it's Earth Hour tonight. Turn off all your electrical stuff (lights, television, computer) between 8 and 9 your local time tonight and find some good old-fashioned, wholesome ways (i.e. lots of sex) to have fun.

Awesome reasons for not driving

Spring has finally arrived and you really, really need to head to the mega-store for all sorts of supplies.

But bummer, you don't have the car.

The only thing left to do is hook the cart to your bike and head to the park. Don't forget a pretty substantial snack. You might be there for a while.

Friday recipes; or Fricipes

I can't get spring out of my head. A garden. The CSA. Salad at every meal.

I guess by spring, I actually mean food.

There's nothing better to me than fresh veggies prepared in all kinds of ways. It's my comfort food and there's no reason little kids won't love it as well.

So, in honor of spring, I'll make Friday's recipe days. I hope to include all my favorite dishes that are both healthy and delicious.

And to start, in honor of the spring that hasn't quite arrived, let's try an arugula pesto which is a little less expensive (and has a prettier, brighter green color) than it's basil counterpart.

1 clove garlic
1 bunch of arugula
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup walnuts (toasted pine nuts work as well)
1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese (fresh is best, but the other stuff works too)
1/4 cup of olive oil (the better the oil, the better your pesto)
Salt and pepper to taste

I just use the food processor to make light work of this dish. Process the garlic, followed by the nuts. (You can toast both if you're feeling fancy.) Add the arugula and cheese and drizzle oil as you process until the pesto is smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

If you're using this as a pizza topping (no kid in her right mind would say no to pesto pizza) just substitute tomato sauce for the pesto.

With pasta, I like to add a quarter cup of risotto cheese to give it a creamy texture. I find rotini pasta works best.

Oh my gosh... I am so hungry right now. Hey spring, where are you?

Laundry a go-go

Today, my new high efficiency, front-loading washing machine was delivered.

It was almost too much excitement for one day, proving once again how incredibly lame I am. I don't even like to do laundry (no, really, you ask) but this new piece of machinery, along with it's low-energy use and ability to actually clean my clothes rather just get them wet while I scrub them vigorously with a toothbrush, really has my blood pumping.

But I do have a bit of a dilemma. Turns out, you can't use any old laundry soap with these machine. Oh no. That would be too —oh, I don't know — common. Instead, I sent my husband to the store for HE (high efficiency for all you commoners out there) soap, which was $12 for 64 loads.

Are you kidding me? I just spent a year making my own soap for about $2 a month.

So I checked the Web and found high sudsing is the main culprit for messing with these new washers. Homemade soap does not do much sudsing. This site here does a good job of pondering this dilemma.

For now, I'll stick to the Tide we bought, but I'll return to this issue soon. I just think if we're going to make washers that save energy and money, we should save a little money.

Cheap Green Tip 10: Think small

Americans like their things big.

We have larger vehicles. We have super-sized closets that, no fibbing, are often larger than my childhood bedroom. We have bigger plates to accommodate our larger portions.

And we have big houses. In fact, the average home today is 40 percent larger than 35 years ago. More space to store all our crap. More space to escape the annoying habits of those living with us. More space to impress our friends.

But there's a lot to be said for a smaller house. You use less of everything to maintain them. Less furniture. Less energy. Less frilly knickknacks. It really makes you think twice before you buy a hall clock from Pottery Barn.

Smaller houses are often older houses, built closer to city centers. For me, that means my 1,600 square foot ranch (which includes a furnished basement) is just a mile from downtown. I can easily reach shopping, entertainment and services by bus or bike.

Plus, it's very green-hip and eco-fabulous to live fantastically in a small space. Chic, cozy and, though rarely mentioned, cost-effective.

Tip: If you live in a larger home, try closing off a few rooms you hardly use to save energy.

Cheap Green Tip 9: Grow your own

I kind of hate this tip. Mostly because I know that gardening does not come easy for many people (me, me and me) and it's actually kind of scary and expensive to get started.

But it's well worth it if you have the time and space. And if you don't, just grow some herbs in your kitchen to save money and the time it takes to scrape bits of gooey parsley off the bottom of your crisper drawer.


You might wonder, if I don't really garden, how in the hell am I supposed to write about how great it is? Well, because my family had a gardener and it was totally awesome. There's nothing in the world like fresh tomatoes on a hot August picnic. And there's nothing greater than opening one of your own jars of tomatoes long after the plants call it a season.

This summer, my family will again try to not have a failed garden. We stick with the easy stuff, tomatoes and peppers mostly. We have a place in the corner of our backyard that gets a lot of sun, although I've heard it's better to put a garden near the house in order to keep a better eye on it.

But sun trumps proximity.

We'll also attempt a small compost pile, mostly because I feel so awful anytime I throw carrot peels away. Those little bits of leftover produce apparently help create a pretty kickass soil.

Tip: If you just can't do it, either because you're a closed-in urbanite, you live on a rock or your thumb is as black as a Hummer-owner's heart, join a CSA. It's kind of expensive, mostly because often you have to pay upfront, but you get a big enough bounty each week to try your hand at freezing or canning for those veggie-lacking winter months.

Cheap Green Tip 8: Recycle

Technically, this isn't going to save you a ton of cash. I guess, if I were really stretching the term cheap, I could say you save on trash bag cash. Or maybe I could argue that by recycling your batteries and newspapers and furniture that you're keeping items in circulation and saving money for the planet.

Hmmm. Not working. Well. Just recycle, that's why.

Just because we know you're busy blah, blah, blah, half of all communities have curbside recycling. It's really just as easy as tossing your plastic bottles in a container separate from your trash can. In my community, we have bins set up throughout the city that allows me to recycle at my leisure, which I kind of like.


And what I've noticed? My family of four never uses more than a single trash can each week. And once you get rolling, you can focus your attention on reducing waste before you bring it home.

For instance, I've just stopped buying water. Those plastic bottles are really a burden on the landfills. And I buy products with less packaging, which in turn produces less waste.

Amazing how that works.

Tip: Visit Earth911 for all things recycling. They have ways you can recycle the basics (cans, bottles and paper) along with other items you might not have considered like electronics and pharmaceuticals, although I'm unsure as to why anybody would throw Vicodin down the drain.

Cheap Green Tip 7: Borrow

PBS has this great new ad. It shows all these things — a library, a school, the shoreline, beautiful landscapes.

After each, the screen says, "This belongs to you."

Really, I'm getting weepy right now just thinking of the ad. All those things, PBS included, DO belong to me.

Libraries, for instance, are great sources for all sorts of entertainment. Most libraries aren't limited to books. There are DVDs, music CDs, computer games and sometimes even toys. I could not afford to buy what I borrow every year from the library.

Don't forget to bring your own bag.

Speaking of bags, why not borrow instead of buy, if you're really into bags which I understand some people are. For a fee, almost anything can be rented. One company has a Netflix-like service for toys.

But really, the free stuff is the best stuff.

Take a walk to the city park and enjoy a picnic. Climb the playground equipment. Chase your kids. That land belongs to you, so you might as well use it.

Tip: Moms, lend out some of those giant maternity muumuus you're keeping, just in case. Your friends will give them back if the vasectomy doesn't hold. Same is true for the baby bath, cutie newborn duds and crib.

Cheap Green Tip 6: Switch to vingear

Once in a grocery store, I walked by a pretty, little co-ed musing over the vinegar selection.

"What's the difference," she asked her equally pretty boyfriend, "between balsamic vinegar and white vinegar?"

Well, one is used for cooking and the other for cleaning toilets. I left the young couple to mull over this quandary.

White vinegar is an amazing cleaner and can substitute for products from fabric softener to Windex. It's so inexpensive you'll think about treating yourself to some high quality red wine vinegar. Who am I kidding — I meant red wine.

But don't stop there. Regular household cleaners contribute to indoor pollution, which can be 2 to 5 times as high indoors. Scrub the bathtub with baking soda. Substitute lemon juice for bleach. Did you know you can make your own laundry detergent?

And with all these natural products, no risk of poisoning your family. Fill a spray bottle with 1/3 vinegar to 2/3 water, give the kids a rag and let them help with light cleaning. Internet recipes abound but here are a few of my favorites.

Tip: The biggest complaint about vinegar is the streaking. Help by wiping down the cleaned window/mirror with wadded up newspaper (that's a old-timey tip I got from my grandma) and never clean in direct sunlight.

Cheap Green Tip 5: Line dry

Hanging the laundry out to dry is one of the easiest, and best feeling, ways to go green. I honestly think the whole process of hanging clothes is the quintessential example of how being more eco-friendly really means getting back to basics.
And this, in turn, means saving money.

Line drying can save you $100 a year in utility bills (there are other great reasons to line dry at that link). Also, dryers are tough on clothes so line-drying helps them last a little longer.

Bonus for busy parents, line-dried clothes don’t wrinkle as much, which means you can leave them out until you’re ready to revisit the laundry. The same cannot be said about clothes left in the dryer.

Not all communities have this kind of romantic impression about clothes swaying in the breeze on a blue-skied spring afternoon while you're wearing a flowy white dress. In fact, many homeowners associations prohibit laundry lines.

If you’re an unlucky owner of a home in one of these evil lovely neighborhoods, you can always buy a simple wooden dryer rack. It’s a great, absolutely free humidifier in those super dry winter months. Or if you live in Arizona. Or you like moisture.

Tip: If you’re hanging a line outside, consider two levels. The lower level can hold kid clothes and they can help with the laundry.