We sign tomorrow

We got a great 3 bedroom 1 bath in a sweet neighborhood.

Today we rented a 10 X 10 storage space and you know what we are not going to fill it up. Public Storage says that is 100 sq ft and it should be enough for a 1 or 2 bedroom apartment.

Yeah!!!

I can't believe how much we parted with. I feel so richly blessed to start again fresh in a new city.

Sidewalks
dogs
kids
schools
playgrounds
libraries
zoos
bungalows
coffee shops

I've missed you big city.

Plastic shampoo

I really have been looking more at the plastic we use.

Shampoo does come in plastic bottles. It's just one of those things you know.

I guess you could buy a big bulk container of shampoo. I have to use more expensive shampoos because my scalp (heck all of my skin) is really sensitive. I'm on vacation and the store here has big plastic containers of shampoo and you just pump what you want into a small reuseable bottle. But, I bet your local store or a salon store could get you those large bottles. The fill your own is cool though isn't it?

I know I use way less shampoo and NO conditioner since I cut all my hair off, but I realize a lot of women are not comfortable with that.

I did buy applesauce in a glass container instead of plastic this week. I would say it's probably more enviromentally friendly to just buy the apples. Speaking of which I hate those dumb little stickers they put on the apples, but I'm not so sure I like the tattoothing they are coming up with now.

Inspections and Plastic Popcorn

Well, our house has been inspected and now we are haggling.
It's strange to haggle in this day and age of America buy what you can for the best price.

It's hard to not be offended by their opinions.
...to be embarassed by the stuff we never got to work on.
We had so many plans for this little house
and now we let them go.

Plasticseems so easy to run away from.
I've been pretty good about using my fabric bags.
But, still today I read that article and they poked at the microwave popcorn.
I didn't have a microwave for years,
but I bought my husband one for his birthday when we moved here.
After a while the popcorn seeped in.

Could microwave popcorn really be evil?

My sister and her husband bought a huge TV to play their video games on and watch horror flicks.
They got a free popcorn maker as part of the deal.
A REAL popcorn maker on wheels that you can roll around and charge money for.

We did Jiffy Pop for a snack today.
My kids have never seen Jiffy Pop.

I'm having a hard time finding a non-plastic option for popcorn.
I've read you can microwave popcorn in a brown paper lunch bag.

I'm thinking one of those hang cranked contraptions might work.

Really I think we should eliminate the kitchen and just eat fruits and veggies. My husband won't go for it though.

She is coming tonight

The realtor is coming with papers to sign.
Last night my dh started to grieve.

The loss of his own personal
garage
hot tub
yard.

But, then he started to talk to the boys.

We have things we need to give up.
But, in exchange we gain opportunities
that far outweigh the life we have here.

We aren't happy here at all.
We have been trying to fix it.

All those fixes have failed and they are eating away
at our foundations.

So, tonight we move on. We start this journey.
We will sell our home.
We will sell our couches,
the kitchen table,
the big roll top desk,
the beds,
the bookshelves,
the pantry storage...

The computer drains me of time

I tend to leave it on all the time and the excuse is because when I get a moment
I work on homework.

Well the 14th is my last day of school.
It is, also, the last day I leave my computer on all day.

I'm forcing myself to get up earlier in the morning.
If I want computer time I will do it then.

I have relationships to build.
Children to raise.
Food to make.
Walks to take.

I love research.
This computer sucks me in.
I don't need to know everything.

How to buy Green Groceries, Improve your shopping trip, and get a smaller, trimmer you....

So, I cannot promise you will loose weight.

A discussion prompted some thinking about how and why we shop. Here are a few suggestions I came up with. Do you have any suggestions for making a "green" grocery trip.

These are the tips that have allowed me to do the things like buy more organic or a new cloth bag. I have revamped my relationship with food and my shopping cart.

Give yourself a wholesome and good connection to your food so you can make good choices when you eat and shop.

1. Actually eating what we make. If I make soup then we eat it all. Sometimes I even freeze a portion or two before I serve it. I like mason jars for that.

2. Have a leftover day to do the above. Do this the day before you plan to shop if you shop once a week. Clean out the whole fridge, too. Take everything out and scrub it up a bit. Reshelf all your goodies. Freeze anything you don't think you will eat. Chop up that half of onion in the bottom bin and freeze it. You will feel better about what you have and you might get inspired, so you don't get wasteful at the store.

3. If you can buy from bulk bins than only buy what you need. If you need 1 cup of flour or only one meals worth of falafel than buy just that.

4. Make a menu or a list of meals and snacks family members want this week. If I'm craving something I will often stick it on the grocery list. If I want homemade pizza I'll put it on the list. When I get ready to go to the store I can just write down the ingredients we need.

We turned down the heat

I turned off the radiant heater.
I turned down the thermostat 8-10 degrees.
I put an extra blanket on our bed.
We all put on more clothing.
Yesterday I wore yoga pants under my jeans and I was so comfortable.
I even wore them to my ceramics class and I wasn't cold.

I'm always cold.
I totally forgot how I always wore long johns when I was younger. I guess I must have grown out of them when I first got pregnant and got rid of them.

Next year everyone is getting 2 pairs of long johns, maybe 3, and some kind of warm slippers for house wear.

It's really not so bad. I'm so embarrassed how much our gas bill has been. What a waste?

The simple list

We (as in husband and I) talked some more today.
We talked about energy assistance and food stamps.
We talked about getting off of food stamps.
We got enough money to pay all our bills and catch up.

My husband has decided to not focus on making money, but focus on his tithe instead.
I've never thought about it like that...boy he is creative.

So, I scrounged up a little notebook from around the house and started a simplifying list.

On that list is to get off of foodstamps.
1. To accomplish that I'm going to keep better track of the prices I spend.
I want to see if I can save any money buying in bulk from Azure Standard.
I know it would help us because we wouldn't be in the grocery store as much.
2. My dh plans to put up the greenhouse this spring, so we can try and start a salsa house. We eat a lot of salsa and if we could grow all the stuff year round we could probably save a bundle, plus it would be tasty. Not sure how well that would work in Washington though.
3. My dh wants chickens for eggs since my mom is not getting more after this last bunch passes away since she is planning to sell her house. Well, their house =)
4. I would like to come up with some outlines of meals we eat each month and a shopping list. Maybe then I would see what we would benefit from buying in bulk first. I can go to Costco with my mom, too. So, that helps because they have more and more good stuff there that I can eat.

This is just part of our loose plan. It's amazing really. My husband and I are growing so close. It brings tears to my eyes to see it all working.