January 25th, 2009 by Tisha

Let’s examine the damage:

1.  Frozen Raspberries: $2.69
2.  Dried Fruit (Dates): $5.14
3.  Frozen Spinach: $2.99
4.  Frozen Sweet Potatoes: $2.99
5.  Carrots: $1.79
6.  Blackberries: $3.45

TOTAL = $19.05

1.  Canned Tuna: $1.79×5 = $8.95
2.  Eggs: $3.65
3.  Almond Butter (Processed Food): $5.49
4.  Bulk Kidney Beans: $3.74
5.  Bulk Black Beans: $2.20
6.  Walnuts: $5.49

TOTAL = $29.52

1.  English Muffins (Processed Food – pack of 6): $3.59×2 = $7.18
2.  Crackers (Processed Food) $3.85×2 = $7.70

TOTAL = $14.88

1.  Yogurt (Processed Food): $3.25
2.  Cheese (Processed Food): $4.58

TOTAL = $7.83

1.  Butter: $3.99
2.  Almond Oil: $5.69
3.  Olive Oil: $5.49

TOTAL = $15.17

1.  Shampoo: $10.99
2.  Conditioner: $10.99
3.  Soap: $4.99
4.  Face Wash: $9.99

TOTAL = $36.96

Grand Total: $123.41

Now some ideas that I am formulating as I examine my now empty pocket-book, is that I may be able to save enough money from MAKING my own: bread, yogurt, cheese, and beans (i.e. buying in bulk, and cooking myself), to justify the time spent on such tasks.  We will see.

cost, costs, Food, grocery bill, total

January 20th, 2009 by Tisha

While I was attempting to gather information on my piles of sorted paper products, it came to my attention, as has in the past, this problem of definition of PLASTICS.  When I took my delectable Amy’s Frozen Dinner out of its cardboard package, I thought to myself, “Self, what in the world do you do with this plastic?”  What type of plastic is it?  Can I combine it with the other plastics that I will have to haul up to Colorado Springs (since there is currently NO plastic recycling in Pueblo, a town of over 150,000 people)?

So, onto our next area of research, plastics.  The types SEEM to be:

1.  Super-thin plastic wrap (i.e. Saran Wrap)
2.  Relatively-thin plastic wrap (i.e. what frozen TV dinners come wrapped in)
3.  Thin plastics (i.e. the lids of Starbucks coffee cups)
4.  Numbers 1 and 2 plastics (i.e. water bottles)
5.  Higher numbers of plastics (i.e.  Tubs of yogurt/ice cream/BubbleYum bubble gum buckets)
6.  Even higher numbers of plastics – the really hard stuff (i.e. Polycarbonate bottles, and three-gallon paint buckets)

Let us move towards defining all of these different plastics and seeking some solution, locally and nationally, to can keep them out of our oceans and out of landfills.

My sickening inspiration for this plastic journey?

Toxic Series

plastic, recycle, Recycling

January 17th, 2009 by Tisha

Let’s create our grocery list:

FRUITS/VEGGIES

1.  Frozen Raspberries
2.  Dried Cranberries
3.  Frozen Spinach
4.  Canned Green Beans
5.  Bananas
6.  Frozen Sweet Potatoes
7.  Carrots
8.  Blackberries

PROTEIN

1.  Canned Tuna
2.  Eggs|
3.  Almond Butter (Processed Food)
4.  Canned Kidney Beans
5.  Canned Black BeansWalnuts

GRAINS

1.  English Muffins (Processed Food)
2.  Crackers (Processed Food)

DAIRY

1.  Yogurt (Processed Food)
2.  Cheese (Processed Food)

FATS

1.  Butter
2.  Almond Oil
3.  Olive Oil

BEAUTY

1.  Shampoo
2.  Conditioner
3.  Soap
4.  Face Wash

Food, groceries, grocery list, list

January 10th, 2009 by Tisha

We have four different types of paper sitting in front of us on the kitchen table.  I have fallen off of the Sustainability Wagon for some period of time (asking for forgiveness each time I placed an envelope or magazine in the trash can), and am now remembering why I fell off.  And why so many people never get on the Sustainability Wagon in the first place.

There is:

1. Glossy Magazine-Like Paper
2. Paper that things like BILLS are printed on (and once in awhile checks)
3. Paper with plastic in it – like envelopes (that in theory you mail back with money in them)
4. Newspaper

Questions that I will attempt to answer in the next couple of days.

1. Can all of this paper be in the same batch to be recycled?
2. If so or if not, what are the specifications?
3. Depending on those specifications, where can I recycle these where I am at (Pueblo, Colorado).
4. Where are other systems that are in place that are more effective than the system to which I have access?

We will revisit this soon, and we will look at other goods that should be (could be) recycled.

January 10th, 2009 by Tisha

Like I said in the initial rant for Sustainability, I am going all the way this time folks.  For YEARS I have collected my natural grocery store receipts in high hopes that one day I would compile this data and be able to show people that you CAN eat natural/organic and save money at the same time.

Now that I am putting myself on an actual budget, I can really test that optimistic theory, because to be honest, I do not know if it is really possible or not.

There are several constraints I am going to put on myself for both financial and nutritional reasons.  Those are as follows:

1. Every week, I must purchase enough fruits and vegetables to be able to be consuming eight portions of fruits and vegetables every day, and that these eight portions must come from the RAINBOW of Produce (thank you for the chart Dr. Davis, N.D.): Red, Dark Green, Yellow and Light Green, Orange, and Purple.
2. I must limit my processed foods to 5 items per week.
3. I must source produce locally whenever possible.
4. I must source meat and protein sources locally (minus fish and legumes).

With that, I will also be keeping track of the natural beauty products that I use, including: Make-up, Face Wash, Body Soaps, Shampoos & Conditioners, and miscellaneous paraphernalia that I (and many others) use to attempt to make ourselves feel pretty (and I stop there as to not digress).  And I will also be keeping track of the various supplements that I take, i.e. Vitamins, Minerals, and Herbs.

So with that, I will start anew.  Today is a Sunday, a perfect day for grocery shopping.

budget, diet, finances, financial, Food, healthy, natural, nutrition

January 5th, 2009 by Tom

I was sitting here one my lunch break at work trying to think of a groundbreaking subject for my first blog.  It is a surprisingly high pressure moment for me.  My first thought was to write a blog comparing coal and nuclear power plants.  Then I thought I could find out how much coal you burn by leaving something like a light bulb or computer on for a year.  That is when it hit me; I’ll write about solar grasshoppers.

I am sure you are wondering what I am talking about.  One of my favorite websites, Think Geek, has a solar powered “frightened grasshopper” toy for sale.

I think it would make a great educational toy for a child.  What a great way to get someone [of any age] interested in solar energy!  I am buying two of them today, one for my niece and one for my nephew.  I will be out of town for the next month so I may not be able to give them their solar grasshoppers until April but when I do I will update you on their reactions.

January 3rd, 2009 by Tisha

Today is the day that I will officially start this quest to be what I want to be and advance into what I preach, as a publisher and as an annoying friend and family member. I preach about this term, “sustainability.”

Today is as good as any day because my very dear friend Jess is helping me along my way of becoming technologically savvy (HA). And there are little voices in my head now screaming every time that I buy something and throw something away. (Please note that these voices have existed for some time, but for some reason they have gotten incredibly loud over the past couple of weeks. Call it fate, hope, more alcohol consumption, or the universal consciousness, I am not sure which quite yet.)

Jess, Kimberly, Tiffany and myself are young professional women roaming what we call planet Earth, trying to make money in our chosen career paths, while being socially and environmentally responsible.

And somewhere very deep in my soul, I feel like our words and our experience will somehow play a part in helping us all deal with this incredibly fruitful, but downright difficult adventure. This quest, this path, this walk of being a young professional and being responsible (all while being healthy, saving money, making money, taking care of business, taking care of loved ones, taking care of ones we do not love so much and feel some obligation to take care of, and making our own organic alcoholic beverages – sorry guys, had to throw that one in there), can be rough.

We would like to share in the hopes of making it less so.

And thus, let the journey begin.

goals, resources, sustainable living, sustainable thinking