Just read this little factoid about cars:
"According to the AAA, on average it costs almost one dollar to drive the typical car one mile. That's after factoring in the cost of the car/depreciation, gas, insurance, maintenance, repairs, parking, tolls, traffic tickets, etc. The average American spends almost 20% of their income on their cars, and spends about 20% of their work week sitting behind the wheel ... much of it to get to and from work, in order to earn that 20% of their income they need to pay for the trip!"
Mind you this is from thedailygreen.com, therefore I am not sure what their other sources are on the 20%'s, but even just the AAA info about it costing $1 per mile I thought was shocking. I WISH I could give up my car, dammit, but I have to have one. Frustrating!!
Friday, March 6, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Kid Clothes Hand-Me-Downs
I feel like buying new baby clothes is the biggest racket out there. Like everyone else, preparing for a new baby means preparing your home with supplies, supplies, supplies. With that comes the need to clothe said child appropriately across all 4 seasons, for a body that grows like no other time in it's life (outside the womb, that is). That calls for a lot of different sized clothes, in different weights and combinations. It is a daunting thing to try to amass such a wardrobe with little cash, and with an eye on the environment. Sure, there is an abundance of "organic" clothing on the market these days, but, as we have seen, a lot of it is very expensive. Sure, I can purchase organic cotton crib sheets for twice the price, but I already have a couple of crib sheets from Lincoln, and I am still going to take it home and wash it with my regular detergent. Let's be honest now.
So in the spirit of my cheap-n-green-ness, and at the heart of this blog, I am sticking with one of the 3 R's for baby clothes as much as possible: REUSE. Now I will admit, shopping for new baby clothes online and with my mother was SUPER fun and I LOVE LOVE LOVE all the frilly beautiful things we were able to score, but for the bulk of her clothing, we are relying on hand-me downs. This all started with my first child; a couple dear friends gave us TRASH BAGS FULL of their children's lightly used clothing. One loaned it all to us (a great idea and tradition; THANK YOU Liz!), another few people outright gave it to us (THANK YOU Missy & Justine!). There were some new clothes that never even got used through his infancy (did I mention how FAST babies grow??), so I was able to return them for other much needed supplies.
As he grew out of things, I was able to wash and label and store everything, and that whole wardrobe is being cycled through by another friend, to whom I was able to pass along just about the whole kit and caboodle. Now, with this baby, I still have Lincoln's old clothes coming back from that loan as a base to start, and in no way am I above dressing my little gal in blue. Great! Combine that with even MORE generous friends who were willing to part with their super cute pink clothes (THANK YOU Kate and Mel, you guys are incredible), and now we're talking. Sure, this is a "cheap" way to go about clothing a new baby, but it is also incredibly good for the earth. Anyone with kids knows that sometimes new baby clothes are puked or pooped on beyond recognition, and therefore rendered useless for another generation, but for the most part, when cared for, baby clothes get worn just a few times and then are too small. This makes for plenty of opportunity for clothes to be loved and cherished all over again.
If you can get your mind past using "used" baby clothes, do it! This is one of the single best traditions we are carrying on with this babe. And when she grows out of it all, it will be passed on yet again. :)
So in the spirit of my cheap-n-green-ness, and at the heart of this blog, I am sticking with one of the 3 R's for baby clothes as much as possible: REUSE. Now I will admit, shopping for new baby clothes online and with my mother was SUPER fun and I LOVE LOVE LOVE all the frilly beautiful things we were able to score, but for the bulk of her clothing, we are relying on hand-me downs. This all started with my first child; a couple dear friends gave us TRASH BAGS FULL of their children's lightly used clothing. One loaned it all to us (a great idea and tradition; THANK YOU Liz!), another few people outright gave it to us (THANK YOU Missy & Justine!). There were some new clothes that never even got used through his infancy (did I mention how FAST babies grow??), so I was able to return them for other much needed supplies.
As he grew out of things, I was able to wash and label and store everything, and that whole wardrobe is being cycled through by another friend, to whom I was able to pass along just about the whole kit and caboodle. Now, with this baby, I still have Lincoln's old clothes coming back from that loan as a base to start, and in no way am I above dressing my little gal in blue. Great! Combine that with even MORE generous friends who were willing to part with their super cute pink clothes (THANK YOU Kate and Mel, you guys are incredible), and now we're talking. Sure, this is a "cheap" way to go about clothing a new baby, but it is also incredibly good for the earth. Anyone with kids knows that sometimes new baby clothes are puked or pooped on beyond recognition, and therefore rendered useless for another generation, but for the most part, when cared for, baby clothes get worn just a few times and then are too small. This makes for plenty of opportunity for clothes to be loved and cherished all over again.
If you can get your mind past using "used" baby clothes, do it! This is one of the single best traditions we are carrying on with this babe. And when she grows out of it all, it will be passed on yet again. :)
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Good Article
http://www.thedailygreen.com/living-green/blogs/save-money/save-money-stimulus-460209
Some of it is a little tongue-in-cheek, but he's right! You could make some really decent changes for only $8...
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Christmas Update
OH! And I should also note that my sisters both consciously purchased some really lovely things for us for Christmas that fall in line with this blog. One got me and my husband our own Sigg canteens (which she swears she got on "crazy sale" which you KNOW I love to hear, hahaha).
The other got us 16 CFL's (we're set for LIFE!), as well as an all-wood European-made block set for our son.
Good shopping, guys!
The other got us 16 CFL's (we're set for LIFE!), as well as an all-wood European-made block set for our son.
Good shopping, guys!
Converting to Glass Bottles
For the new baby (coming in about 3 months... GULP) I decided to switch over to glass bottles. Of course, you recall that BRU took back my BPA-laden Avent bottles and give me the full new cost for them in exchange. However, this meant I was left without bottles for this new kiddoo.
Fast forward to now. Babycenter, the online parenting community where I have found a lot of great info and a lot of great friends, also has an online store. They will be closing that part of their site come January 6th, so lucky for me there are some good deals a-plenty (Bwhahahaha!!)
Anyway, in searching through their listed 70% off sale, I found something crazy and ridiculous. They were selling Evenflo 3-packs of glass bottles for way cheap: the 4 oz was $3.75 (I got 2, so 6 bottles), and the 8 oz was only $1.50 (I got 4; so 12 bottles of the 8oz)!! Also, the slow flow nipple 4-packs were $1.20 (I got 3). CRAZY! I am so psyched. It was clearly an error on their part, because both size bottles are now listed at $7.50.
Yeah. Gots me a steal (if you are interested, they still have the 6-packs for $6, which if you have tried to purchase glass bottles lately is reallllllly inexpensive. And if you spend $49 on that site for anything, you get free shipping with the code FREESHIP49).
In case you are curious, I do fully intend to breastfeed (hopefully for longer this time; only made it to 6 mo. with Lincoln). However, the need to work means I'll need to pump again, and send bottles to daycare. I feel so much better now that I have a full stock of bottles ready to go.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Update on compost bin
See you later, compost bin!!
Sorry I haven't posted in so long, but I have a good reason. For a full update on our crippling ice storm, check my other blog, Hooray for Baby.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
The Season of Expensiveness
Oh, what to do. Holiday giving is such a difficult time for those who are trying to be thrifty. I know that, when you think about it, the consumerism and waste that comes with Christmas time is a really, really, really bad thing. BUT... I LOVE CHRISTMAS!! I have such wonderful memories of warmth and family and love from my childhood. Being a parent now, I want my OWN kids to experience that joy and wonder. So within reason, and keeping my cheap-n-green goals in mind, I am plowing full steam ahead into this wintery wonderland that is Christmas. And trying to do it as responsibly as I can.
First, here is a GREAT article about green giving tips. And if charitable giving is the way to go, then I think that giving to your local arts or cultural non-profits are a GREAT way to use your financial power. Museums are going through this tough economic climate like everyone else, and our money means more now than ever. I plan on giving at least 1 membership this year to the museum I work for... and we offer GREEN memberships!! What an awesome idea. We also bought a membership for our family for Christmas to our local Science Center. I get in free anyway (as an employee of a partner museum), and my son is still under 3 so free all the time as well, so our only expense was an Individual membership for my husband. There are lots of fun toddler-esque things to do indoors, and in the winter time, the more of that we can get, the better. It has already paid for itself with our frequent visits.
Other than that, I have the toddler to buy for. I was able to snag a used train table off of Craigslist for cheap (god bless Craigslist for cheap/good stuff). Way to recycle a quality toy!! Other than that, I have *tried* to only purchase wood items in conjunction. Cyber Monday was very good to me. I found the best deal on a wooden train set at KB Toys. Now, I'll admit, the shipping part was not very green of me, but I felt using my spending power to purchase something NOT made out of hazardous plastics & chemicals outweighed that. Sure it will take gas and packaging to get it here, but I would have used gas to go buy it in-store, and my time is valuable. I guess that has to be my trade-off. It also came with a free wooden train station, and I found an inexpensive wooden toolkit as well, and it all included free shipping. Score! Found a wooden train whistle at the dollar store and BAM! DONE with the little man.
The toys:
If I find other tips/good sales, I will post them here, too.
First, here is a GREAT article about green giving tips. And if charitable giving is the way to go, then I think that giving to your local arts or cultural non-profits are a GREAT way to use your financial power. Museums are going through this tough economic climate like everyone else, and our money means more now than ever. I plan on giving at least 1 membership this year to the museum I work for... and we offer GREEN memberships!! What an awesome idea. We also bought a membership for our family for Christmas to our local Science Center. I get in free anyway (as an employee of a partner museum), and my son is still under 3 so free all the time as well, so our only expense was an Individual membership for my husband. There are lots of fun toddler-esque things to do indoors, and in the winter time, the more of that we can get, the better. It has already paid for itself with our frequent visits.
Other than that, I have the toddler to buy for. I was able to snag a used train table off of Craigslist for cheap (god bless Craigslist for cheap/good stuff). Way to recycle a quality toy!! Other than that, I have *tried* to only purchase wood items in conjunction. Cyber Monday was very good to me. I found the best deal on a wooden train set at KB Toys. Now, I'll admit, the shipping part was not very green of me, but I felt using my spending power to purchase something NOT made out of hazardous plastics & chemicals outweighed that. Sure it will take gas and packaging to get it here, but I would have used gas to go buy it in-store, and my time is valuable. I guess that has to be my trade-off. It also came with a free wooden train station, and I found an inexpensive wooden toolkit as well, and it all included free shipping. Score! Found a wooden train whistle at the dollar store and BAM! DONE with the little man.
The toys:
If I find other tips/good sales, I will post them here, too.
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