What An Amazing Year!!!

I've spent some time reflecting on my Twelve Green Months so here you go....

In January I abstained from meat, dairy, sugar, caffeine, and alcohol.  It was the hardest month by far but I felt the most accomplished once I completed it.  I know I won't ever do something like this for 30 days again but I am planning on starting out 2013 with a 7 day cleanse.  I think it is a great way to start the new year.

February was spend no money month with the exception of bills, food, and other necessities.  It was very humbling to realize how many things we spend money on that we really don't need.  I continue to pursue a minimalist lifestyle and would love to do a month like this again next year.

March and April were start a garden and compost months.  We tried but they were both a bust.  I know my husband wants to give it another try so these will be his projects next year. 

In May we only ate food that was local or organic.  Thanks to this month, I am now a regular at our local farmer's market.

In August I drastically reduced the amount of paper towels I use and started recycling.  This month made the most impact on my daily routine and on the amount of our waste going to the dump.

I made my own household cleaners in September and I am still loving them!  I do want to make a few more things when I have the time including my own soap, toothpaste, and air freshener.

In November I tried to make all our Christmas gifts by hand but was overwhelmed.  I was able to make a few and they were truly appreciated.   Next year, with better planning, I do want to do this again. 

This month I have been meditating every day anywhere between 5 and 20 minutes.  I am such a busy person and this act has encouraged me to slow down in a positive way.

With regard to my resolutions for next year, I think I am going to take a break and just be.  That being said, meditating everyday might be a great resolution for 2013 :)

I hope your year has been as good as mine and thanks for following me on this adventure!!

Kristen

Everyday

I am meditating anywhere form 5 to 20 minutes daily.  It isn't too hard to fit into my schedule unless I wait until the evening.  Some days are more difficult when it comes to "turning off" my mind but I am enjoying it.

I am going to spend the next few weeks left of 2012 reflecting on this amazing year and the challenges I did each month.  I'll let you know which were my favorite, the hardest, and those in which I learned the most and plan to continue.

Wherever You Go There You Are

Wherever You Go There You Are is Jon Kabat-Zinn's book on mindfulness meditation.  I have owned this book for over 10 years but have never finished it.  Not because it is not a good book but because I get jazzed up about meditating, do it for a week and then forget to take the time everyday.  So my goal this month, along with meditating every day, is to read this book in it's entirety.

The Final Month!!!

I can't believe it is already December!  What a crazy amazing year this has been.  I plan to spend the month meditating and reflecting on my monthly adventures.
I will admit that I totally forgot to start meditating yesterday.  But I got lucky this morning because our church sermon was "Buddhist for the Holidays" which couldn't have been more appropriate for my month of meditation.  It was a great jump start to being mindful and grateful. 

Bookmarks Done

This picture makes them look like a Fourth of July theme but they look much better in person.

  We also started the wine cork trivet we are making for my parents.  Needless to say, Christmas present crafting will continue into December.  I have decided that I am not going to make presents for the kids.  I don't have the time to make something cool enough for them to like.
See you next month!

Things Are Happening

The bookmarks are taking longer than expected but will be done soon.  I will probably wait to post a picture of them until I give them out.  I've also made some wine cork coasters that turned out a lot better than expected.  They key is getting your husband to cut the corks for you :)

 Here is the link.

Getting My Craft On

Only two months left of this year.  CRAZY!!  November has started off nicely with my husband getting a new job :)  So, now that I can focus on other things, I am ready to get my craft on.

The plan this month is to make all of the Christmas presents we are giving to family and friends.  I am adding a stipulation that I can buy something from Craigslist or Goodwill if I am desperate.  I hope to share ideas and pictures of some of the gifts but will keep some a surprise.  My best friend this month will be Pinterest.  If you haven't checked it out yet, you should.

But first is my annual book club craft.  Each year I make everyone a bookmark with a list of all the books we read that year.  It is fun to look back on since this is our 5th year!  I am excited this year because I have a theme to work around...The Night Circus.  If you haven't read it, you should.

Change of Plans

Things have been so crazy that I haven’t had time to blog in the past few weeks. My husband got laid off, I became his personal secretary and my in-laws were in town for five days. I have finally started to relax this weekend. The “no TV and reduced computer time” this month have both worked out nicely with our new lifestyle. During the week, my husband is working from home to find a new job so the computer is occupied most of the day and we spend time in the evenings doing job hunting stuff.

I don't have the energy or time to say much else right now...see you in November!

I Miss You John!

So, what have I been up to??  I was out of town for three days this weekend and had limited access to the internet so that was good.  I’ve read two books, listed some backpacks on Craigslist and put a pendant up for auction on eBay.  I am very excited about the eBay listing as I have been meaning to do it for years. 

The internet still calls to me a lot during the day.  I have urges to check my e-mail or just sit at the computer and surf blogs, Facebook, etc.  I am hoping I think about it less frequently as the month goes on. 

 As for TV, I have finally stopped dreaming about the characters in Parenthood.  I don’t really miss watching television but it is an adjustment because my husband and I used to watch a show and eat dinner after the kids were in bed at least two nights a week.  We do plan on watching a little of the Vice Pres debate tomorrow night so that should be fun :)    If I could pick a show to watch right now it would probably be The Daily Show.  I love John Stewart and watching it with Dennis is fun because we pause it a lot and have great conversations.

Disconnected

I love being so disconnected!!  I actually feel lighter.  I’ve already finished a book, mended a pair of shorts, and caught up on a ton of little things I’ve been meaning to do around the house. 

I am also realizing what a blessing it is that I don’t have a smartphone.  I’ve always had it in the back of my mind that I might want one but I am currently too cheap.  And I can’t imagine how much time I would spend on the internet if I had access to it all the time.  This article puts things into perspective:

 http://www.redmondpie.com/buying-a-subsidized-iphone-5-with-a-two-year-contract-can-cost-more-than-1800-infographic/

That’s $1808.76 minimum with a two year contract and 301 hours spent using it for a year.  Alternatively, I have my old fashioned phone that costs me around $1000 for two years and zero hours of my precious time :)

Screen Time Crackdown

The average American watches between 4 and 5 hours of television a day.  Think of all the other things we could be doing with our lives and the real people we could be making connections with!  Compared to most people, I don't watch much TV.  I watch 30 minutes 2 nights during the weekdays and 1/1/2 hours on Friday and Saturday nights.  This was until I found the show Parenthood.  I recently started streaming at least one episode a night and have added an extra 6-8 hours a week watching this show alone!!!  So this month couldn't have come at a better time!  I am looking forward to making a clean break and devoting my time to more rewarding endeavors.  

 
I have also decided that I am going to cut down on my computer screen time.  I waste way too much time on Facebook, following blogs, and checking my e-mail.  I am a stay at home mom for crying out loud, I don't need to check my e-mail 20 times a day.  Old Navy's big sale that was the same as last week can wait! 

Initially, my plan was to have the entire family give up TV.  This has since been revised.  I decided that I want to live, so my kids will still get some TV time each day but we plan to cut back.  The kids usually watch less than an hour of TV and get 20 minutes of other screen time each day during the week.  This is less than the 2 hour recommended limit so I feel pretty good about that.We have, however, gotten in the habit of letting them watch one of their shows after dinner every night while we clean up the kitchen.  The plan is to cut out the after dinner show at least two times a week. 

All of this being said, when I was planning this month I failed to take into consideration that the presidential election is next month so I will allow myself to watch one debate and 30 minutes of election coverage each week. As for my husband, he says I am on my own with this one (but he will end up watching less because we often watch shows together). 

So, how do I plan to spend my time??
- Sell jewelry on e-bay (I've been meaning to do this for over a year)
- Make some homemade greeting cards
- Start researching what Christmas gifts we are going to make next month
- Read for fun
- Read at least one of the parenting books I have lying around the house

Laundry Detergent & Glass Cleaner

LAUNDRY DETERGENT

I made some laundry detergent but I haven't used it yet.  I have about 2 loads left of my old stuff that I want to use up first.  I will let you know how well it works.

 

1 c Borax
1 c Washing Soda
1 bar of grated soap

 

Grate soap, add other stuff, and stir a lot.  One tbsp per load or two for heavily soiled loads.

GLASS CLEANER
I also made some glass cleaner that works great!  I found the same recipe on several different sites.

1/4 c white vinegar
1/4 c rubbing alcohol
1 tbsp corn starch
2 c water

Shake before you use it because the cornstarch settles. 


 It was really fun making my own cleaners this month and it will save me a lot of money in the long run.  There are other cleaners I want to make but I plan to do that as I run out of the stuff I have.  I've got to go watch TV now so I will see you in October :)

All-Purpose

The actual making of household cleaners has taken no time at all but finding the recipes I want to use has been really time consuming. There are at least 100 recipes for homemade All-Purpose cleaner on the internet and each one is different.  I have been searching for days!  I finally just picked one that I had all the ingredients for, used it tonight, and it worked great :)

3 tbsp vinegar
1/2 tsp washing soda
1/2 tsp castile soap
2 cups hot water
4 drops of tea tree oil (I added this myself)

Put it in a spray bottle but watch out for fizzies.

Perfect Timing

We ran out of dishwasher soap last week so it was the perfect time to make my own.  It was so easy that I can't believe I've been paying for those fancy Cascade Action Pacs.  I have always felt that they left a chemical smell on my dishes and I have to rinse out my water bottle before I use it or it tastes like soap.  I found a ton of recipes on the internet that contained various amounts of the following ingredients so I just picked one.

1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda
1/2 cup Kosher Salt
1/2 cup Citric Acid

Mix together in a container.  Use 1 tablespoon per load.

This stuff works great and I feel much better about it my kids eating off dishes without chemicals.  The citric acid does make it a little clumpy but we just shake it before using it each time and it isn't a big deal. Also, I am using up the rinse aid we have but as soon as that is gone, I am going to use vinegar instead.

Bathroom Cleaner

I actually made this a few months ago when I ran out of bathtub and toilet bowl cleaner.  It has worked great and I love that it doesn't smell so chemically!  Here is the recipie:

- 2/3 Cup baking soda
- 1/2 Cup Castile soap
- 2 Tablespoons vinegar
- 1/2 Cup water
- A few drops of Tea Tree oil

It is really thick and bubbly so I put it in a squirt bottle like they recommended.

September Already!?!

This month I am going to make some of my own household cleaning products and maybe a few beauty products too.

Here are some of the cleaning products I currently use. Many of them are "environmentally safe" but they still have chemicals that are unnecessary.  I hope to replace most of these with homemade ones :)

Here is a list of what I would like to make:

Toilet/Tub Cleaner
Dishwasher Detergent
Rinseaid
Dish Soap
Laundry Detergent
Glass Cleaner
All Purpose Cleaner
Air Freshener
Wood Polish

Let the detoxing begin!

That Was Easy!

 This month was super productive!  I started with a list of five action items and completed all of them:

 1) Find a place nearby to recycle our glass (our curbside recycling doesn't take it )
This took care of itself!  The secretary from my neighborhood district called me back yesterday and said that they just wrote up a new contract with Allied Waste and it is going to include single stream recycling!  I was prepared to attend board meetings and get signatures but this is much easier :)

2) Create a better system for recycling paper around the house
I am recycling so much more paper than I used to.  Having a place to put it in the 'office' has made a big difference.

3) Use less Ziploc bags
I've been using my reusies and stacking containers everyday!  I've saved a ton of Ziploc bags.

4) Attempt to reduce the amount of junk mail we get everyday
I finally finished calling all of the catalogs to get off their mailing lists.  There were a few tough ones at the end where I had to be transferred a few times but now it will be easier to keep up with. 

5) Use less paper towels
Switching to cloth towels was so much easier than expected. I used to change out the paper towel roll  at least every three days and now I've had the same one up there for over a week :)

 The only recycling I didn't think to include but have since thought about is hazardous waste and e-waste.  I've gathered them up in the garage and will take them to a place soon.

Glass

The only thing I have left on my list this month is glass recycling.  I found an old trash can sitting around that I have designated the glass bin in the garage.  I haven't found a place near me that recycles glass so I've come up with a few alternatives for now.  We see my parents every few weeks and they have offered to take it to their house and I have a lot of friends who have offered their bins as well.  Another option is to take it to Whole Foods when we are down that way.

I've asked friends who live in neighborhoods just around the corner from me and they all seem to have glass recycling, mostly single stream recycling, so I don't see why my neighborhood can't do it too.  I talked to the waste company we use and they outsource the recycling (to a company who are under contract).  So it seems that my neighborhood would have to switch trash collection companies if we want glass recycling.  I don't know if it is even possible with all the contracts and bureaucracy but I have the number to the head honcho. I've called a couple of times but haven't heard back from him yet.  My kids start school in a few weeks so I'll have more time to bother him then :)

Rainbow of Napkins

I bought some cheap cloth napkins at Target.  The kids love the colors and don't fight over them...double success!

And my husband hung this cheap towel bar from Walmart behind the door in our laundry room.  I think it would be pointless to use a new cloth each meal and end up washing 3 or more a day.  So after I am done, I rinse them out and hang them to dry for the next meal. 

Ridiculous

I am embarrassed to say that on many days I use about 7 paper towels per meal.  Ridiculous, really.  In my attempt to cut way back on this number, I bought a set of 10 microfiber cloths.  They suggest that you assign specific colors to certain jobs around the house, which is a pretty good idea.

  I will let you know how this goes.  For something like this to work for me, I need a system and a place to let them dry throughout the day.  My house is fairly small, minimalist, clean and I don't like things cluttering my space.  It is also my instinct to reach for paper towels so I am going to have to consciously make the switch. In addition, I plan to buy some cloth napkins which will help save paper towels too since I gave up paper napkins a few months ago.

Bye Bye Sandwich Bags

I got my ReUsies in the mail yesterday!!  I had a Groupon so it was a great deal.  The kids love them, they are cute, and this will be a huge help cutting down on my Ziploc bag usage.

 I also got a hold of some Nude Food Movers...love the name!  They are great for carrying snacks that have the potential to be squished or things like yogurt, hummus, etc.  I got two snack tubes, one pink and one blue.  Each has three separate containers that screw together.

Wasted Paper

These are the catalogs I have received in the mail since December (I recycled duplicates) and I'm surprised that there are so few.  But my goal is to get zero so the plan is to call each company and request to be taken off their mailing list.  James Avery is nice enough to have an unsubscribe e-mail on the back of their catalog which makes it really easy to quit.  As for the others, I've been calling at least one company a day so I should be catalog-free in no time :)

I decided that if I am going to recycle more paper, I need a system.We have a very small house so we've got the computer and desk in our bedroom next to the dresser.  I've suckered my husband into giving up one of his little drawers so I can have a convenient place to put paper for recycling :)  Once the drawer is full, I can take it to the recycle bin in the garage.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!!!

This month my focus is recycling and using less:
1) Find a place nearby to recycle our glass (our curbside recycling doesn't take it )
2) Create a better system for recycling paper around the house
3) Use less Ziploc bags
4) Attempt to reduce the amount of junkmail we get everday
5) Use less papertowels

A few months ago I bought a Groupon for some reusable snack bags.  I am ordering them tonight!

Beach

I can't believe July is just about over!  I've been really bad about blogging this month but being out of town for two weeks with limited internet connection made it tough.  I have to say that it has been a nice break.  When I started this blog I was focused on the challenges each month but I am realizing that blogging about it all is a challenge in itself.

As for exercise, I had some rough allergies that put me down for two days.  Last week I was at the beach with my family and I  have to be honest and tell you that I skipped two days where I was healthy and could have done something.  I drank lots of beer and and wine instead.  I'm not too upset about it.

 Overall I think I did pretty well this month.  I learned ways to fit in exercise when I normally wouldn't have, it just took motivation.  There are, however, going to be times when sickness gets in the way and it is most important to rest.  There are also going to be days when I just don't feel like it.  As long as I am exercising most days, I feel pretty good.

Running on the beach!

Bug

 Working out every day was pretty easy and uneventful until yesterday.  I caught a stomach bug and was couched all day with fever and puke.  Needless to say I didn't exercise.  But I am feeling 100% better today and spent an hour mowing and edging the front and back lawns.  It was a sweaty workout! 

My husband and son got the bug today and took a nap together while I mowed :)

Lincoln State Park, Indiana

We headed to Indiana last week for some time with my husband's family.  It was definitely tough to want to exercise and the record breaking heat didn't help.  I did, however, do something every day :) 

Day 1- Yoga video
Day 2- Run 30 minutes
Day 3- Turbo Fire HIIT (I borrowed this from my sister-in-law and it was great)
Day 4- Run 30 minutes
Day 5- Hike to fire tower
Day 6- Yoga video
Day 7- Yoga video
Day 8- Run HIIT

HIIT (just in case you are wondering) is High Intensity Interval Training where you intersperse short high intense anaerobic activity with recovery periods.  And it looks like my yoga videos have become my fall back when I don't feel like doing anything else.  I forgot how much I enjoy yoga.

Here are some pictures of our hike to the fire tower.

 

Let's Get Physical

It is time to exercise!  I plan to workout at least 30 minutes everyday this month.  I like to exercise so I was thinking this wouldn't be too difficult but I am traveling a lot this month and EVERYDAY is a big commitment.  But, that said, I am sure I will be able to do it.  I would like to try some activities I haven't participated in for a while like swimming, biking and yoga but I also want to get out of my comfort zone and try Zumba.
I bought this resistance band to help when I'm out of town and I'll take along some exercise videos too.  

 Who is going to join me this month?  Come on, this one is easy :)

Water

I don't feel that I've done as much about saving water as I have electricity this month.  I am now more aware of how my water bill is calculated and I try to run the water less when I am brushing my teeth or rinsing dishes.  And Dennis and I timed each other showering the other day.  Dennis got 2 minutes 25 seconds and I got 4 minutes.  BUT I shaved my armpits and legs so that's really good. 

I'm pretty much done for this month and am looking forward to some exercise.  See you in July!

Kill A Watt

We got this Kill A Watt electricity usage monitor which calculates how many kilowatt-hours our appliances are using.

Not counting large appliances, the most energy sucking outlet is our living room entertainment center that has the TV, computer, receiver, and Wii plugged into it.
Most days the center is on for 4 hours, in sleep mode for 11 hours and off for 9 hours.  This costs $84 a year.  If we have it on for 4 hours, off for 11 hours and unplugged at night, it will cost $67 a year.  That's a savings of $17 a year.

The second is my computer in the bedroom.
Most days I turn it on when I wake up and leave it on for 14 hours and turn it off at night.  This costs $41 a year.  If I only turn it on for 3 hours a day and unplug it at night it will only cost $11 a year.  That's a savings of $30 a year.  And it saves me from checking my e-mail, etc. all day.

So if we do just these two things, we will save $47 a year!  This combined with keeping our thermostat a degree or two higher when we are not home (since I stay at home, I keep it at 78 all day) should be an easy and free start to being more energy efficient.

No Electricity....Sort Of

Sunday was no electricity day at our house!  I thought it would be a good experience to help us appreciate something we take for granted a hundred times a day.  We didn't go crazy and turn off the a/c (I did turn it up 2 degrees) or unplug the fridge but we kept the lights off, no dishwasher, no washing machine, no TV, no computers, etc.
I thought we would get more natural light in the kitchen so cooking (on our gas stove that I know uses some electricity) was difficult and my sweet husband washed all the dishes by hand.  This is why we went to dinner at Chuys :)  We sat outside to take advantage of the natural light and enjoyed someone else cooking and doing dishes for us.  The kids were a little bent out of shape in the morning when we didn't turn on the lights but candles made everything OK.  We went swimming and played in the backyard so they wouldn't miss their TV shows. 

For me it was a huge awakening as to how much time I spend checking e-mail, stalking Facebook, drooling at recipes on Pinterest, etc.  It was a little disturbing as to how many times during the day I had the urge to hop on the computer.  So I've decided that I am going to keep my computer off unless I am working on something specific and only allow myself a designated block of time each day to check e-mail, read blogs, facebook, etc. This will save electricity as well as wasted time :)
In the evenings I usually piddle on the computer and read while my husband plays his video games.  Last night we got to enjoy each others company and we were in bed by 9:00.  We plan to spend more time disconnected in the evenings.

I Love Graphs!!!

I spent some time on the phone with the electric company yesterday and the lady I spoke to was so excited to talk to me about conserving energy.  We have Pedernales Electric and they have 'MyUse Energy Reports' that track the cost and kwh we use every day.  They even include the high and low temperatures for the day on the graph.  I am a total dork and find this super exciting.

This is the graph from our last billing cycle.  I was curious about some of the peaks and valleys so I looked back on my calendar to see what could have caused them.

4/25 - This huge peak was more than likely caused by laundry.  My in-laws left town the day before and I am sure I was doing lots of laundry the next day.
4/28 - We were out of town.
5/8 - There was a cold front that day so my guess is that the air conditioner didn't have to run.

We have already replaced 90% of the bulbs in our house with CFLs and are just waiting for the others to burn out because they are dimable and will cost a lot and all of our kitchen appliances are energy star efficient. I wash all of our laundry in cold water except for our sheets which I do in hot once a week. Our washer and dryer are not great but we don't have the money to replace them right now. So areas we have for improvement are the air conditioner temperature and electric devices around the house.  We bought a Kill A Watt detector which will tell us how much electricity the devices around the house are sucking, so that should be fun.  We are also going to work on our daughter turning off lights as she leaves a room.

Water and Electricity

My goal this month is to find ways for our family to conserve water and electricity.  I looked at last year's bills and our August/September bill was highest for both water and electricity.

I've already been busy at work talking to the City of Austin about our water bill.  I wanted to find out how they calculate our wastewater usage and found some really important information that I wish I would have known several months ago.  They track your water usage for three months in the winter (ours was from Nov. 19 - Feb. 19) and take the average amount of water your household used during that time and charge you that amount for wastewater for the rest of the year.  And they charge a lot more for wastewater than they do for water.

Water:
1st 2000 gallons is $1.17 per 1000 gallons
Over 2000 gallons is $3.08 per 1000 gallons

Wastewater:
1st 2000 gallons is $3.79 per 1000 gallons
Over 2000 gallons is $8.38 per 1000 gallons

So, I plan on finding ways to save water around the home year round but when it comes time for our next wastewater calculation period, I am going to be super conservative.  You may want to stay away because showers will be in short supply!

Love Local

This month was a pretty easy one.  I almost wish I had made it harder and only ate local food but then I thought back to January and am glad I didn't :)  As long as I made it to the farmer's market every week, we had a bountiful supply of great food to eat.  My grocery budget was definitely higher this month but it was because I bought a fancy chicken, fancy shrimp, prepared Indian food, and lots of gluten free cookies.  I plan to continue shopping at the farmer's market every Saturday we are in town because you can't beat the fresh produce.  I will also continue to buy most of our fruits and veggies organic as they are also easy to find at our HEB just down the road.  We are blessed to live in Austin, TX where local "stuff" is plentiful!

I don't have any pictures to post this time so you get a picture of my kids at a local park (Zilker) getting ready to ride the Zilker Zephyr :)

 

See you next month for some utility savings!

Jester King Brewery

 Some friends and I toured Jester King Brewery this weekend.  It's a local brewery Southwest of Austin and they have some unique beers.  We had such a good time tasting and hanging out that we skipped the tour.

 Us girls :)

 Cheers!

 The brewery.

Dennis was sick and couldn't go so we plan to do some more local brewery tours soon!

Pesto and Juice

Things are going well.  I think I made this month too easy by being able to eat local or organic food but I'm not going to complain.  I am really enjoying the Farmer's Market and know how to get in and out with what I need pretty quick.  I got a giant bunch of basil for $2 this week and made some homemade pesto.

And I used it as the sauce on our gluten free pizza crust.  So good!!

Another way we've been enjoying local veggies is by juicing them.  We got our juicer a couple weeks ago and have fallen in love with green juice.  I usually put cucumber, celery, green apples, kale, romaine lettuce, and half a lemon. It does take time each morning but it is totally worth it. 

Green yumminess!