More thoughts about the earth

Feeling encouraged by comments on the last post (m and I always feel encouraged by comments, period, right m?), I thought I'd add a few more things we do that I forgot about, and some more that I'm aspiring to.


*J.Lo rinses his razor in rubbing alcohol, a tip from clarkhoward, which extends the life of the razor... amazingly. Since Mach 3 razor replacements are tres expensivo, even if we buy them at Costco, this is a super-cool trick. It's the water and air that degrades a razor's sharpness, not the actual use, so rinsing in alcohol dries the razor quickly and completely. We have the alcohol in a little tupperware container, so we don't waste that, either.


*I did, after writing the last post, find a recipe for homemade granite cleaner, which I'm kind of excited about.

*Sometimes, I reuse foil, and every time I do, I think about my Grandma reusing foil, because that's just "what they did" in the Depression. I also will reuse ziploc bags if they're not dirty from the first use.

*When I say I buy certain things "as needed," I mean it. It takes a concerted effort to wait until we've really and truly have almost run out of something, as stockpiling is apparently in my blood.

*I'm seriously considering making my own Brita pitcher refills, as suggested by g. Or figuring out some way to refill our refigerator filter, because those bad boys are super-expensive, and I hate buying them just on principle.

*Someday, I might start using cloth napkins on a regular basis, and nix the paper ones.


*I'm getting better at (with, ahem, certain exceptions) getting the laundry clean, so fewer clothes are wasted. It's all about soaking. And frankly, regardless of the money factor, this recent revolution is kind of a relief. I hate it when I can't get a stain out, and I'm a pretty messy girl.


*I buy powdered Gatorade instead of the pre-made.

*We drink from 2-liter sodas instead of cans, even though it's much less exciting, and yes, the fizz does disappear after awhile.

I feel like there's more, but well, you get the picture for now.

resolve

And I'm not talking about carpet cleaner, although my mom says we can keep their carpet cleaner, which we borrow periodically to clean our one carpet that is a magnet for dog-hair-and-whatever, since they hardly have any carpets left to clean anymore. (It's all becoming hardwood.) Although, maybe that should be a resolution. All right. Here we go.

In the year 2008, I, pen, resolve to:

1. Make sure we clean the carpet more, using above-referenced carpet cleaner.

2. Loll about in the already-green pasture, i.e. ENJOY what we ALREADY have. I ruminated a bit on this idea previously, and I'm driven to really keep with it. Like, instead of buying any new movies this year, even if they're only $5.50, like at Target, or pre-viewed on Netflix, I should watch we already have. Because we have quite a collection and do not need more. Oh, and kids, we don't need anymore kids right now, for pete's sake. And when shopping, when "needing" anything new, I want to think through carefully and asess whether a) we really need it, b) we need it now or can we wait and ask for it for birthday/Christmas, or c) if we could just plain do without. Or maybe there's something we already have that's similar, or maybe we have the materials needed to make it. Or whatever. That sort of mindset, to back off from excess and waste, and move toward conservation, inventiveness, etc, is what I'm talking. And let's be honest, all this geeky, socially responsible, yawn-inducing talk is really all about:

3. Decreasing the debt. I want to end the year 2008 with LESS DEBT than 2007. I don't want more debt, I don't want the same amount of debt, I want LESS DEBT. Even if it's by a dollar. The high-interest mess gets tackled first. I want to do what it takes, in all the ways that I plausibly can.

4. Have a big yard sale. Not just for the money to go toward Resolution 3, because you can never really expect to make a whole lot--they're a total crapshoot, dependent on so many cosmic factors. But we just have a lot of clothes and VHS tapes and vacuum cleaners and other stuff we're simply done with that is all piling up in a designated Yard Sale Heap. It's in the corner of the guest bedroom, it's becoming quite the mountain, and I can't wait to see it gone. The air will be so much more lovely to breathe after crawling out from under that pile of bricks.

Lastly, I resolve to:

5. Revisit this post at year's end and blog about whether I actually pulled off these resolutions.

Oh, and on that note! Looking back at last year's Eve, where I pondered the notion of how one brings in the New Year: I ended that post imagining/hoping/predicting that 2007 would be "quiet and yet magical, filled with family and low-key good vibes" based on our evening of Harry Potter, one bottle of champagne, chicken parm, and a K.Lo. Did that come true? I don't know that I would call it low-key or quiet. In some ways it was. It was definitely filled with family and many good vibes. So let me not antagonize fate and sloppily approach the Eve of 2008. This year, I am spending New Year's Eve:

showered and flossed (very important)

marathoning Season 3 of The Office

playing Magnetix after K.Lo goes to bed

hoping to hell K.Lo actually goes to bed

drinking just a little rum and Coke

and...dinner.

I don't know what to do about dinner. We have no available, non-interest-based fundage sources to purchase a fun, festive holiday dinner, such as Chinese food. Or 7-layer burritos from Costco. We have some materials on hand. And I suppose, looking at Resolutions 2 and 3 that I need to work with it. Or do I save that for tomorrow. Gah. Frozen fish patties it is? Bleh. Must summon creative forces.

Happy New Year, everyone! Good luck with all your own resolutions, and enjoy the day.

restraint

I am. A bargain shopper. It is in my blood. Probably you know this about me already. I enjoy the commercial hunt and kill. So it is especially difficult for me two days after Christmas to go to a store like, say, TARGET, and resist even looking at all the holiday decor that is currently 50% off. Not so much ornaments, because I so don't need to buy myself those. But wrapping paper, probably that would come in handy. Or maybe a lovely red table runner or whatever. I would use these things. But I don't need these things. The thing is, I have already bought myself these things. I just need to pay for them now.

So, a brief note to self:

Dear pen,

Don't do it. Think of the interest charges. The children. How long it will take that item to rot in the landfill. Whatever you need to think to keep on walking, think it. The time is now.

xoxo and godspeed,
penelope