Missy's Homestead: Small Changes to be Green

I have now been away from my little homestead for...um...four months now.  It has not been easy and I miss my family and my little outdoor space.

I have been trying to save money while I am away but I am also trying my best to continue to be a good steward of our earth.  I think that often times when we are traveling or out of our element we can tend to drop our expectations about recycling and reusing.  I am trying my absolute best to not drop my abilities to recycle or help to keep trash out of the landfills.

1.  Recycling all my plastic bags.  At home I always have ziplock bags.  And I don't usually reuse them.  So since I have been here I have been trying my best to change those habits.  I realized that I could save money and plastic by trying to clean out the ziplocks and reusing them a few times.  I rise them out with soap and let them air dry in the dish rack.  If they are not reusable for food I have still been cleaning them out and then using them for poop bags for my dog.  I have also started to try and reuse the produce bags that I get that the grocery store.  instead of ripping them open when I get home I carefully take out the food and then use them for poop bags or to take a sandwhich to work in.    The more I am able to reuse a bag the less plastic ends up in our landfills.

My little travel bottles I have been using to travel with
and replace with soaps etc. from larger containers.  

2.  Reusing my plastic travel size bottles over and over again.  I have a ton of those small shampoo bottles from stays in hotels etc.  Since I have been on the go so much I try to rinse those out and save them.  Anytime I go somewhere I try to refill those with the stuff that I already have.  This way I am not always throwing away tiny plastic bottles but also saving money by not going out and buying the travel size  everytime I want to go somewhere.

I love the way this place makes recycling items so organized
and clear about what goes where.

3.  The building that I am staying in for work has a really confusing recycling program and I am not totally convince that everything is being properly recycled.   Recently I noticed that the place where I am working has a very clear and well marked recycling system in their office.  I have started to bring a few items at a time over there so I know that I am properly recycling my glass and plastic bottles.  Granted under my sink gets a little full since I don't want to bring all the bottles there in one trip but each day I bring a bottle or two to recycle and I feel good knowing that my waste is being properly recycled.

What small things do you do in order to help keep trash out of landfills?  I would love to hear about them and even try to incorporate them into my life.

Until next Time,

Consume More, Buy Less, Reuse.

Missy

Missy's Homestead: Indoor Garden Ideas

I love indoor plants.  In every place I have lived I have always had a collection of them.  Even if you don't have an outdoor space you can have  a green garden like environment.   

Indoor plants not only provide great decoration but they help to recycled the air and remove carbon dioxide, create a cheery environment that helps relieve stress and anxiety and in some cases can help remove pesky insects!!  Personally I love succulents, as you all know, but there are a few other varieties that I highly recommend if you are looking to spruce up your indoor space.  Some of my favorite indoor plants include but are not limited too:

1.  The Christmas Cactus - A great indoor cactus/succulent type plant that typically produces beautifully colored flowers during Thanksgiving/Christmas time.  

My Christmas Cactus from my Mother-in-Law

It is often in a larger bush cluster and can be easily rerooted if parts of the plant breaks apart.  They last a very long time and look great indoors.  My mother in law has several that belonged to her grandmother.  Recently she collected leaves that broke off and rooted them in water for my sister-in-law and myself.  We now both have a great cluster of christmas cactus that lives in our house.

2.  Croton - These plants are super hearty and last a long time.  They have beautifully colored leaves and add great color to any indoor garden.  

They also grow fairly rapidly, especially if you continually transplant them to a larger container.  I bought one of these plants when it was super small at like a deli in nyc

and now it is super big!  However, I don't have this one anymore because when I was gone to europe my friend was watching it for me and fell in love with it.  She kept it.

My Croton Plant in my old NYC Apartment

 3.  Sundew - My newest edition to my home garden.  I have always been obsessed with carnivores plants but have never owned one.  Greg bought me one a few weeks ago and it now lives on my windowsill so it can get a lot of light.

Canivorous plants, when taken care of properly, can last for many many years.  The larger pitcher plant varieties sell for a lot of money when properly taken care of.  

These plants not only provide something beautiful to look at but they also help to keep pesky insects from flying around your house.  

My New Sundew

At the Height of my NYC Indoor Garden

My old Orchid.
I gave it away to a friend when I left NYC.  She still has it.

4.  Ivy - I love all varieties of indoor ivy. They are easy to maintain and don't need a ton of water.  The other thing I love about ivy is you can train it to go anyway you want it. It can spread out and look like several plants. 

5.  Orchids - These classic indoor plants bring beauty and greener to a room like no other plant.  They also can last a very long time when properly cared for.  People often get frustrated with orchids because they can be

very temperamentally when it comes to grown back.  Sometimes it just takes a little care and patients to keep these gals alive.  I once had an orchid that wouldn't grow again after it the flowers died after i bought it.  I continued to water the leaves and on day i broke the pot and it started growing back like the next day!  All i needed to do what get it into a larger container!

Missy's Homestead: The Best of Intentions

I have always wanted to donate blood.  It is a pretty simple procedure and it seems like a great way to give back.  It doesn't cost you anything but a little bit of time and you are helping to fulfill a great need. The American Red Cross is always advertising that they need blood donors, and that you can make a difference in someone's life just by donating your blood to their cause.  My grandfather has been donating blood for as long as I can remember.  He did it for like, no joke, 50 years.  Now in his later life he cannot give blood because of the medication he is on, but it has always been his way of giving to charity.  I went a few times with him as a kid and it always fascinated me.

Even though I have always wanted to do this, I haven't really gone out of my way to fulfill this desire.  Life and errands just always seem to be in the way.  I have actively tried to give blood twice now and both times have come up empty.  The first time I tried to donate was early in high school.  Because I was under the age of 18 I had to be a certain weight and at the time I did not qualify.  The second time I tried to give blood was this last Wednesday.  I am staying in downtown Hartford, CT and at the capital they were having a blood drive.  I was walking the dog when I saw it.  I said to myself, "Why don't I go take the dog back and go give blood, I have time this morning before work."  I took the dog back home and ran back to the blood drive.  They were not yet ready to start so I sat around and waited.   Still enough time to donate, get ready for work and get to work on time.  They finally opened up and I filled out all the paperwork and was reading over the info.  Half way through I realized that I hadn't eaten any breakfast that morning and had only downed a cup of coffee.  They highly discourage giving blood on an empty stomach so I walked back up to the sign in and told them I would be right back.  I ran across the park and quickly ate a banana and some yogurt and downed some more water.  Okay still enough time to donate, get ready for work and get to work on time.  When I finally got back things had already started to back up and since I didn't have an appointment everyone there was ahead of me.  I waited an hour or so and by the time I was going to be called there wouldn't be time for me to give blood and get to work on time.  I had to politely tell them that I had to leave.  .

So this is my quest this month.  Give blood.  We will see how I do.  I have found several blood drives in and around the area where I am currently staying so hopefully I can get this done.  Wish me luck.

Okay more to come and until that time, Consumer More, Buy Less, Try to give Blood.

Missy

Missy's Homestead: Consume More, Buy "New" Less

My motto the last year or so has been Consume More, Buy Less.   I realized a few weeks ago that maybe I have not explained what exactly that means.  To me Consume More, Buy Less means doing your best to use products that are already in existence and Buying "NEW" things as little as possible.  This way you consume products that have already been around, therefor helping to keep products out of the waste and saving money in the process.  Now I know there are certain products you have to buy new.  I get that, there is nothing wrong with buying new.  But by buying used or recycled material you can help this world that we are living in and help your pocketbook.

I am very happy to say that in recent months my family has done me proud by working hard to get items used.   Both my brother and brother-in-law are and will be new fathers.  We all know that starting a family can be very expensive and both of them have been doing their best to save money in order to help provide the best for their new babies.  I have been amazed at the amount of baby items that each of them have gotten gentle used for their new babies.  Both of them got great gliders off of craigslist and between them they have gotten dressers, baby bouncers, cribs, diaper bags, baby gates and The list goes on.   Way to go brothers!!!

Another great way to Consume more and Buy "New" Less is by getting clothing used. (I have talked extensively about my love of thrift stores!) Yesterday I was in the bathroom and realized that me entire wardrobe (besides my undergarments and socks) were purchased at a thrift store.  I gave myself a  little mental high-five.  Way to go Missy!  I think my whole outfit cost me like15 bucks.  I have also been trying my best to take some of my clothing to the consignment shop.  If they like my cloths then they give me money towards buying items from their store.  So far I have saved about $40 by selling gently used items.  Now always buying used cloths is not always possible but anytime we can do our part to keep items out of the waste I think we are being good stewards of the earth. And that my friends is all we can do.  Treat our earth as Eco-friendly as possible.  We want it to be around for a very long time.

Do you have things that you buy used?  Let me know.

Remember Consume More, Buy NEW Less.

Cheers!
Missy