Filed under: Parenting
Don’t forget, tomorrow (March 2) is our cloth diaper garage sale! 10:00, Vineyard Community Church, 36th and University. Bring your old diapers to sell, bring some money to get great deals on used diapers. Complete rules here: http://wallypop.net/DMCDgaragesalerules.html
written by Sara Janssen about a year ago but still very relevant.
It’s so fun to go grocery shopping when you have pretty bags to bring your food home in! My counter was brimming with color today…I just couldn’t help but take a photo. If you’ve never made the switch to cloth grocery bags…you’re missing out. But don’t stop at groceries! Bring them to every store!
My most recent find was cloth produce bags. Instead of using all of those flimsy plastic bags in the produce aisle, you can use these great organic bags.
My favorite places to get bags:
Reusable Bags
Ecobags
I prefer the bags with long handles. I think they are easier to carry…you can put them over your shoulder, or tie the handles in a knot and carry them like a traditional plastic bag. These bags stretch and can hold an amazing amount of food. They won’t break. Of course, you don’t have to get fancy string bags. Cloth tote bags from the thrift store work perfectly fine too! There are so many bags with company logos, event logos, etc. on them…you can snatch them up at any Goodwill.
Go cloth!
Filed under: Parenting
This was originally posted by Sara Janssen at her personal blog a few years back, but it’s one of my favorite of her posts. Sara can be found at Walk Slowly, Live Wildly, or at her Live Lightly Tour blog.
Tonight I spoke at our local chapter of Holistic Moms Network about “Parenting in a Commerical Culture”. We had a great turnout and a lively discussion about the challenges facing parents in a culture where advertisers are actively fighting for your child’s mind. Much of the conversation centered around television viewing and the merchandising of cartoon characters. It was clear that everyone felt the pressure to conform to mainstream culture, but that they were taking steps to push against it. I am very fortunate to have such mindful and intelligent mamas to bounce ideas off of and turn to for support.
Here are some action tips on this topic from the New American Dream*:
- Get rid of the TV.
- Expose kids to other media – surrealist films, conceptual art exhibits (carefully selected), gatherings of interesting adult friends with non-mainstream stories to tell.
- Remove the logos from clothes, theirs and yours. Talk with kids about why you’re doing this. Suggest to kids to design their own, personal logos.
- See a wonderful passage on commercialism and consumerism by Brian Swimme
- Parents who resist consumerism for themselves are the ones who teach their children to resist it.
- Teach children to be doers and creators rather than shoppers and buyers.
- Supply them with sidewalk chalk, old cardboard boxes and other makings of creative play.
- Grow your own food. Involve the kids. Teach your child of the connections within the natural world. Experience their beauty together. Talk about where things come from, who made them, what they are made of.
- Teach by example and conviction a set of values that allow kids to make their own choices.
- Teach kids empathy for others. Instead of buying toys, suggest they spend the money bringing some groceries to the local food bank.
*I used a handout from New American Dream that was full of great resources, websites, etc. They are a really neat grassroots organiziation on a mission. Check them out!
Just a note, there’s a new wellness clinic open in town, and I’m really excited about the things they offer. It’s called the Livewell Clinic. They offer such a wide variety of services, from food allergy testing to female health problems to pregnancy and labor support to well child visits. I think it will be an asset to our community!
I had a chance to meet the owners a few months ago and they are super people. I’m going to be making an appointment there in the near future to find out more about their services and I’ll definitely report back!!
Filed under: Waste
This was originally published by former Des Moines resident Sara Janssen on her blog Walk Slowly, Live Wildly. Sara is currently touring the country in her eco-friendly RV on the Live Lightly Tour.
I’ve been thinking about trash.
Moving to a small apartment with a small garbage can has made me very aware of what I throw away. Having to walk the garbage bag down 3 flights of stairs, then down another to the basement, out the back door…and a short walk to the alley makes me not want to make much trash! We usually fill up one small garbage bag a week…but even that seems like so much! I’m still trying to figure out where I could take my food scraps to reduce that even further. One of my goals during The Compact is to buy groceries/food with little to no packaging. This drastically reduces the amount of trash one produces. I’m amazed by how much trash we can throw away just by ordering take-out one night! Wow.
A movie that is closely related to this topic is “The Gleaners and I” (thanks Ali!). I just finished watching this quirky little French film about modern day gleaners and urban scavengers. It was incredibly interesting to me…I’ve always been curious about the lives of experienced dumpster divers and people who live completely off of the trash that others create. The movie goes far beyond that and delves into the world of found object art and into the lives of those making a difference in their neighborhoods. I can’t say enough about this movie…I think everyone should see it.
The Compact has me on the lookout for items that I can re-use or use in a different way. In my research about these things, I came across some fun Flickr groups dealing with this topic:
ReUSE Project
Tips for Recycling and Reusing
Junkin’
Trashion Nation
There are also some great sites dealing specifically with re-fashioning items of clothing:
Wardrobe Refashion
Wardrobe Refashion (Flickr)
Little Brown Dress ::: Recycling Project
And more sites discussing found object (trash) art:
Metroactive
Art from Trash
Books to check out:
Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash
Stuff: The Secret Lives of Everyday Things
Today, when you throw something away…ask yourself if it could be recycled, re-used, or given to someone who needs it (Freecycle!). In a disposable culture…it may feel weird at first, but it does the earth GOOD!
The Happy Cow has a nationwide directory of Vegetarian resources (restaurants, mostly). Here is the link to their Des Moines IA page.
I’ve been neglecting calling attention to the new listings in the directory, but I’ve added two in recent weeks…
Amanda Fust has started Simple Miracles Doula Service. 515-313-7279 or asrfust@yahoo.com
Sandi Hoover offers Prenatal Yoga classes, Blessingway Ceremonies, and Reiki. 202-2584 or shoover@myway.com
If you’re thinking about joining a CSA next year, now’s the time to start making those contacts and getting on the lists of the CSAs your’re interested in. Many people don’t start thinking about this until spring, but if you wait too long, you’ll miss out! Most area CSAs sell out of their shares by the time the first vegetables are harvested.
What’s so great about a CSA? Well, you get fresh produce that is typically grown without pesticide and other nasty stuff. It provides you with an excellent opportunity to eat seasonally – peas in the spring, squash in the fall, etc.
Some CSAs also have alliance with other area growers to provide you with eggs, meat, dairy, and berries, as well. (The CSA our family uses can provide us not only with delicious vegetables, but with eggs, as well.) You get to support a local farmer who is choosing to farm in a sustainable manner, and oftentimes, shareholders build a relationship with the farmer. Many CSAs have activities for shareholders throughout the year, and most CSAs welcome shareholders to visit the farm and check things out in person.
Some things to keep in mind with a CSA:
1) Check when the pick-ups are, and where, and put it on your calendar. It’s your responsibility to be there to pick up your food.
2) Most CSAs grow a variety of vegetables, some of which may be unfamiliar to you. Try them! Find out what they are (usually, the delivery will include a list of what’s in the box) and try a few recipes using the unfamiliar veggies. Just because it’s not peas, beans, or corn doesn’t mean you can’t eat it!
3) Plan ahead if you’re going to miss a delivery. Find out what your CSA’s policy is. You can usually choose to send someone else to get your delivery, which is what our family’s usually done when we go on vacation. Alternatively, you might be able to request that your CSA just divide your delivery up among the other shareholders that week, or donate your delivery to a needy family or shelter.
Looking for a CSA to join this year? Check out the list of references at Natural Living Des Moines.
Filed under: Think About It
written by Sara Janssen.
Buy Local
Where do you buy your stuff? What kind of companies do you support? Do you even care?
These are questions I’ve been asking myself lately. It’s brought to mind a blog I used to read. You can check it out here. Be warned…there is an expletive in the title of the website. I wish they didn’t do that, but they did. So if that offends you…just pretend it’s not there. Anyway…this person decided that they were going to stop supporting large chain grocery stores, instead only shopping at the local markets. It’s an interesting read. The experiment is over now…but you can still read about it there.
So, I’ve been wondering if I could do that. I always make a conscious effort to support my local organic grocer, New City Market, who is just a mile away from us. Even when the price is a little higher, I will still buy it at New City because I know them, I trust them, and I would much rather give them my money. If there are things I can’t get there, I go to the larger, but still locally owned Dahl’s, or Hy-Vee. I try to avoid SuperTarget…and I most certainly do not go to WalMart….blech. (I’m not judging anyone else for shopping there…I just want everyone to be AWARE of what they are all about. Be an informed shopper!).
However, up until now, I’ve been very loose on this. And lazy. I wanted what I wanted when I wanted it. But, I would like to do better. I would like to ONLY shop at locally owned stores. But not just for food…for everything. I’ve been giving this a lot of thought. For example…WHY do I NEED to go to SuperTarget for anything? What is there that I just couldn’t possibly purchase somewhere else? That place sucks the life out of me. I walk in there and want want want. And it’s always stuff I don’t need at all. But they make me think I NEED it. Everything is so pretty and bright and it all calls my name. I hate slick marketing, and yet I fall prey to it. So, I want to stop going.
In order to do this, I may have to change my menu and my habits just a bit…but not much. I will have to buy food that is in season, because, for the most part, New City carries what is either in season, or something that they can get pretty easily. Most of my groceries consist of bulk products (dry beans, rice, dried fruits, etc). And it’s all organic so it tends to be produced on a smaller farm (this is not always the case, however, so please know your organic farms). I just want to be aware of WHERE my food is coming from and also how many miles on the road it took some gas guzzling truck to get it there.
I would much rather eat an apple that came from Washington, instead of New Zealand. Or better yet, an apple orchard in Pella, IA. It’s a great day when I find those! Summer and farmer’s markets make this part easier. This can be tough if you love avocados and mangos, like I do. They usually come from Chili, Mexico, or another tropical location. However, I feel that when you buy those products organic, you ARE supporting the small local farmers in that country. If you read the tags, you can sometimes go to the website of the farm and see the cute farmer guys who make your mango.
For other goods such as clothing, housewares, jewelry, etc…I am still able to shop locally. We have several great shops close to us that have everything I need. It’s just a matter of making the decision. When I need a can of paint, do I want to support giant big boxmart…WalMart, Home Depot, Sam’s…or can I go to Ace Hardware or another local store? When I need new socks or a t-shirt, should I go to Target or instead go to Back Country Outfitters, where I can get organic and non-sweatshop clothing.
So…I CHALLENGE you to think about buying locally…and buying with a conscious. Know what the companies are all about…what do they support? Your money is POWER. Don’t give it to companies who don’t deserve your business! The main objection to this is usually cost (i.e. “my local grocer is too expensive…etc.). I know that if you plan better and budget better, it’s very easy to practice this. Also, don’t forget that when you shop at big box stores, you are not actually seeing the TRUE price of a product.
As we approach the Christmas season, think about giving locally made gifts…soaps, jewelry, candles, and other goods made by local artists. If you are in a place where there aren’t any options like that for you, check out Etsy (link below)…it’s like eBay for handmade stuff. It’s awesome.
Some great links:
Top 10 reasons to buy local
Local Harvest
An interesting blog on this topic
Etsy…handmade stuff
