Bad mean green girl

First of all I am so very sorry for the lack of updates. There is no excuse except that I've been lazy.

So I'll start out with some quick updates. The garden is doing well and we are getting zucchini out of our ears. I've started a gardening journal with sketches, notes and such so I'll have a reminder of the lessons learned from year to year. This also will remind me where I've planted what in the past so I can make sure to rotate crops in the most beneficial way possible.

Here's a good tip that John's mom passed on to us that she learned from her farming family members. With tomatoes you need to pick off the suckers to ensure that your plant grows up instead of out. Here is an easy way to know which branches are suckers. Imagine the stalk of your tomato plant growing straight up, now there are branches that grow out at 90 degrees, these are true branches. Sometimes though there will be a small branch that grows at 45 degrees between the stem and the branch (see picture below by katiedL.), that is a sucker. As soon as you notice one just pinch it off at the base. If it has already grown to a decent size, don't worry about it because pinching it off at this point will just harm the plant. You continue to get the suckers until the first level of flowers. So if your plant starts to flower on the 3rd true stem up continue to get the suckers off the first two until they flower.

So there, a good little hint from a long line of farmers which they tend not to talk about in gardening books.

I'm also currently working on converting an old sump from John's lab into a gray water collection tank only using salvaged materials, but unfortunately left my camera at a restaurant yesterday (NOOOOO), and can't show you any images of the work in progress. Needless to say it's a little ghetto looking but should work just fine when finished.

Don't forget the oceans

Because of how we live it's often easy to forget about the oceans, despite the fact that water covers about 70% of the earth. John introduced me to the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Program a while back and I've been carrying around their seafood guide around ever since.

While at one of my local sushi dives last week I noticed that Atlantic Salmon was on the menu which was a little confusing since I live on the Pacific Coast. You know, that place where you can get all sorts of fish? Why on earth did they need to ship in farm raised Atlantic salmon when there were so many better alternatives? So, when I got home I sat down and wrote to the management.

Dear Management,

I have been a long time customer and love the Blue C experience. However, I was dismayed recently when I noticed that you had Atlantic Salmon on your menu. Farming practices for Atlantic Salmon are harmful to our oceans and the Environmental Defense Fund has issued a health advisory for farmed salmon due to high levels of PCBs and dioxins. Being in the Pacific Northwest we have access to fantastic alternatives to Atlantic Salmon which are both healthier for consumers and better for the environment. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch has great information on environmentally friendly seafood, as well as resources for restaurants. I hope you consider this information in future purchases of seafood.

Thanks from a concerned customer

and I actually got this e-mail in response the next day!

Courtney,

Great email and thanks for sending along the information. I'm going to ask our distributor about their source because you are correct this is something we need to be sensitive to. It's one of the reasons we carry Sockeye Salmon on the belt as well.

Interestingly we are in talks with a new supplier that we think people will be very excited about. It is a long process but at the end of it we hope to have a very clear map of where all of the seafood we serve originates on a consistent basis.

Thank you gain for reaching out to us. I appreciate it.

Best regards,

Steve Rosen
Co-Founder, Blue C Sushi

Woot! I've never had a company respond positively to my environmental requests before so I'm super excited. Yea for encouragement that someone out there IS listening and that maybe I can make a difference!

Urban Foraging (for flora not freeganing)

Thanks once again to the authors of the Urban Homesteader for turning me on to foraging for edible flora in my city. It's amazing the amount of food that is growing around you that will go to waste since no one expects to find their dinner growing by the road. Since starting I have found berries of all sorts, apples, pine nuts and some possibly edible mushrooms. (It probably doesn't need to be said but please don't eat mushrooms you find unless you have been taught by an expert since some species will ET YOUR FACE).

The berries have been frozen and/or made into syrups and jam. The apples aren't big or sweet enough to really eat but we're going to try our hand at making apple butter and canning it. (Can you guys guess what people will be getting for the holidays?) The pine nuts are a little harder. You have to get the really big cones before the nuts fall out. When you look inside you'll see hard black seeds covered in black gunk. You need to pry these seeds out and then crack them to get to the edible pine nuts inside. It's a lot of work but I got a decent haul out of just a few cones.

This Saturday I'm taking a plant ID class given by my lovely friend Seb and John and I are hoping to take some mushroom ID classes soon so we can actually eat some of our fungal finds.

What is really killing me about this is that back where I lived in Austin there were pecan trees everywhere. During the fall the sidewalks would be covered with uncracked fallen pecans and we would just step on them. >.< Now if I want pecans I have to pay out of my ears for them. So do me a favor Austin reader(s), come fall head over to Hyde Park and grab some pecans. They aren't hard to crack and can be stored in your freezer (or can be mailed to your loving Mean Green Girl winkwinknudgenudge).

I'll keep you guys updated as I learn more about edible flora and hopefully won't have any horror stories about getting my mushrooms mixed up.

Wasting food is not green (even if the mold is)

So John and I were having a problem that our fresh veggies and leftovers kept going bad in our fridge meaning we were wasting perfectly good food. Being my brilliant self ::stands in a victorious pose with super hero grin:: I devised a nice little system so this doesn't happen. Meet the board.



There are actually two parts to the board. The right size lists our produce so we don't forget about things until they are found rotting in the back of the drawer. The left side is for leftovers in plastic containers. Each container lid is numbered and the number, contents and date are written on the board.

This system also saves energy as we can see what is in the fridge without having to stand with the door open.

Book Review: The Urban Homestead, Your Guide to Self-sufficient Living in the Heart of the City

I don't remember how I stumbled across this book, but I'm glad I did. The Urban Homestead is a fantastic resource for anyone living in the city who wants good ideas on how to be a little greener.

The basis for the book is to show people that they can be much more self sufficient than previously thought possible while living in an urban environment. The topics range from gardening and urban forging to solar cooking and gray-water collection.

The thing about this book that most impressed me was that the authors didn't restrict themselves to readers who live in a house. Many of the projects can be used by apartment dwellers with few or no alterations. Though some, like raising chickens, should probably be reserved for those with a yard... unless you really want to piss off your neighbors. And if that is your goal then I recommend getting a rooster to keep your chickens well serviced. One of the projects that really caught my attention were the solar cookers and dehydrators. Currently I'm working on making a combo piece out of dumpster dive finds and will make a post with directions... once I get it all figured out.

The only draw back to this book is that due to length constraints much of the information is basic. However, the authors provided a fantastic appendix of resources where more advanced information can be found.

I give the Urban Homestead 5 out of 5 trees and highly recommend that people check out the authors' blog.

BYOT

Katya here, sharing a random thought I just had. If you're like me and never finish an entire meal at a restaurant, bring your own tupperware/reusable container for them to box it up in. This saves you from being responsible for a piece of greasy paperboard or some awful styrofoam, neither of which are recyclable in my area and probably aren't in yours either. Now if only I can remember to do this.

Get rid of bugs the cheap green way!

Katya here, making my debut post on the Mean Green Girl. Huzzah!

I live in an apartment so I have a bug problem. Some of the bugs are ok. The pillbugs are annoying to step on but otherwise harmless. The spiders are not poisonous and can live here as long as they stay out of my personal space. The ants and roaches are very unwelcome. But so is the bug spray man. He keeps telling me that the stuff he sprays is completely safe for me and the kitties, but then says he needs to know if I'm pregnant so he knows not to spray certain things. So I decided to tackle the problem myself.

First off, since I'm lazy, I double up. I took the vinegar/water cleaning solution mentioned in an earlier post and modified it. Most icky bugs (fleas, flies, spiders, ants etc) dont like peppermint oil. So I add essential peppermint oil to 1 part vinegar/3 parts water. I like to use 10 or 11 drops for every cup of cleaning solution. Now I have a fantastic all-purpose cleaner that is so safe I can even use it on the wooden cutting board. The peppermint oil helps dull the vinegar smell and the bugs dont like it, so they wont get into my kitchen. If I see an undesirable bug, I just grab my squirt bottle and attack them.

Another neat trick I learned is that ants hate cucumber peel. Every time I get a cucumber I save the peel. You can cut it into tiny pieces and put it into cracks where ants usually crawl in. This makes me really happy because I dont have to put anything extra on my shopping list.

I also read recently that roaches hate catnip. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm planning on making catnip sachets to put in cupboards. I've also heard that you can make a catnip tea, put it in a spray bottle and spray it into cracks or wherever your roaches are coming from. The kitties eagerly await the catnip spray.

Welcome

I wanted to let everyone know that I have invited Katya to be a writer for the Mean Green Girl. She started her journey around the same time I did and I feel that she will be an excellent source of information. So woot, a new author is added and my readership is cut in half.

Green PSA

So almost every green guide that I have read says that every few months you need to clean off the heat dispersion coils of your fridge. This is because the heat cannot escape as effectively when the coils are insulated with a nice thick layer of dust causing your fridge to work harder and use more electricity.

Well, I've been putting this off...for about a year...on a fridge that I have no idea when the coils were last cleaned. So Friday I busted out the vacuum, found the wedge attachment, grabbed a flashlight, pulled off the front grate and OH MY GOD, THOSE AREN'T DUST BUNNIES, THOSE ARE MONTY PYTHON KILLER DUST RABBITS!! ::Screams as face gets et.::

Yeah, it was a little nasty (a little nasty like the ocean is kinda damp). I couldn't see the coils for all of the dust. Poor fridge, because I was lazy it had to work so hard. So after much time laying on the kitchen floor shoving the vacuum around my coils are now mostly dust free. I am also now the proud owner of a number of fridge magnets that must have belonged to previous tenants.

So I'm begging you on behalf of your poor fridge, please pull the grate off the front and clean off the coils. It will run better and you will have the added benefit of a lower electricity bill.

Gardening

I can't believe how long it has been since I last updated the girl. I've been trying to figure out exactly where I want to go with this since it seems that everything I write about has been done better somewhere else. Oh well, I'll keep writing until you guys tell me to stop.

Who is she kidding? She'll still blather on until you guys hold her down and gag her with a dirty gym sock.

First and foremost, the experiment from the last post with the spray mixture to keep the critters from eating our plants was a failure. Something in it burned the leaves of our plants and most did not survive the combination of the spray and weeks of no sun. Oh well, this is all a learning experience and can only make us better gardeners in the future. I never realized what an amazing skill agriculture is and how difficult it is to master. That being said, I still believe that it's something everyone who has the ability should try.

As for good news, the stick fence seems to be keeping the cats from using my freshly turned beds as a bathroom so I'll mark that down as a success. I've also started lining all of my beds with 4-7" spikes made of broken sticks which has also kept the cats out of my beds that couldn't easily be fenced. Eventually I hope the kitties will realize that my garden is not their bathroom and will try out their owners' beds for size.

I've had a request for pictures so I went out today and took some, enjoy!



This is my herb garden which is located right outside of my front door. Not many of my herb seeds took off so it's still a little small, but I'm learning what can be grown up here. You can also see the sticks I use to keep the cats from pooping in my beds.



Here is my zucchini/spinach/fennel garden with my improvised stick fence. Okay, if you're wondering about my obsession with sticks it's because my landlord went a little overboard with pruning our trees and shrubs but just left the branches laying around. I'm glad I didn't put them in the yard waste bin because they have been sooo useful.



These are 5 of my 7 tomato plants. Yes, I'm a little nuts over tomatoes. I'm sad that it didn't show up in the picture but one of these guys was a volunteer that I guess came up from a seed in our compost. How fun! Also, more sticks combined with hemp twine to make home made cages.



These are bush beans and further back are three pepper plants. I have a few more pepper starts that should be ready for transplanting soon.... as soon as I find more space. Also, more cat deterrent sticks. Did I mention that the cats used ALL of my beds as bathrooms? Grrrrr.



To the left are my squash plants and to the right are salad greens and overwintered onions. You can also see to the far left my wonderful lavender plant. I'm so happy with how well lavender grows up here. The space behind the squash are reserved for my runner beans since I can use the fence to help with my trellising.



Finally, we have started turning the patch of grass that was at the bottom of our yard. Currently we have hop rhizomes for John's brewing and will also be putting in some more salad greens. Eventually I want to cultivate this entire area but it's a lot of hard work and I don't have tons of time. Also in the background you can see our sunken trashcan compost bin which has been so nice for making the garden grow.

Weekend Update, cleaning supplies and gardening

Well this past weekend involved some experimentation for John and I so it's now time for me to pass our findings on to you dear readers.

A number of our friends have been proclaiming the amazing cleaning powers of white vinegar. We hadn't started using it yet because we still had all of our old cleaning products which are taking up space under our sinks. However, since switching to doing all of our cleaning with rags "mopping" with harsh chemicals is less appealing since our faces are about a foot above the ground.

I made one bowl of 1:3 vinegar water mixture and it cleaned the bathroom mirror and sink, toilet, bathroom floor and kitchen floor all of which were pretty nasty. All I can say is that I'm converted. Not only did it not make my head hurt from the chemical smells, it cleaned really well. I was especially impressed that it got up the sticky gunk left behind from the slip prevention stuff on the bottom of our bathroom rug. It also cleaned the mirror well without leaving streaks behind.

I can't say how it would have worked on the kitchen counters and stove since John usually cleans that with dish water. I'll ask him to give it a try next time and will report our findings. Now I'm just stuck with what to do with all of my unused cleaning supplies. Ugh, I wish I could make my pre-change junk disappear.

On the gardening front we have been battling various pests including bugs, raccoons and the neighbor's cats. To keep the critters from biting off our tasty babies at the roots we made a mixture of vinegar, chili powder and biodegradable dish soap which was sprayed on the plants. To keep the cats from pooping in my freshly dug bed I made a 2-3 foot fence of branches (pictures available soon) that had been trimmed from various trees and bushes in our yard and then ran a length of twine at cat face height to discourage just pushing through.

Since most of the grazing and pooping goes on during the day while we are at work I will provide updates as to whether these measures work or not.

Improving the Girl

So I've been working on the Green Girl for a little over a month now and would like some feedback from my loyal readers (all of whom happen to be my good friends, I love you guys!).

What can I do to take this blog to the next level? I actually have a goal of having a readership outside of my circle of friends and even dream of having some recognition.

So this is where you come in. I want your constructive criticism.
What would make MGG more interesting to you? Are there other things I should talk about that are of interest to people? Anything I should leave out? What do the "good" blogs have that you find missing in mine?

Breaking news, organic gardening will not turn you into a damn dirty hippie

Well the garden is coming along nicely with tomatoes, beans, peppers, squash, herbs and salad greens. I'm hoping for a bountiful tomato harvest so I can work on canning my own salsa and pasta sauce to last me through the winter. We're also going to try our hand at freezing produce so we can have a greater variety of food during the long winter months. (Not that I mind potatoes, but really, they get OLD).

I'm really surprised that more people don't try gardening. It is rewarding to grow your own food and despite what many people say it's NOT that expensive. Okay, it can cost a lot if you don't plan ahead, but with a little advance work you can save a lot of money.

For example, if your soil isn't stellar start a compost pile/bin a year or so in advance using food and yard waste. There ya go, free soil conditioner plus it keeps all of that stuff out of the trash. What is that? "But Mean Green Girl, buying a compost bin is SO expensive." BAH, here's what you do. Get an inexpensive outdoor trash can with a lid (used if you can). I think the one we got was metal and 32 gallons or so. Take something hard and pointy and punch a series of holes in the bottom 1/3 of the can and on the base. Do not poke holes in the lid as this lets in too much water when it rains. Bury the can with 1/2 below the ground. Viola, an inexpensive DIY compost bin. Toss in a mixture of green (food waste) and brown (fibrous waste), stir occasionally, red worms are optional and you are good to go.

Instead of buying $6 a pop tomato cages get four thick sticks/stakes and some string. Notch the sticks to hold the string in place, stick them in the ground around the plant and wind the string in a square and across to form a support structure for your plants. Similar things can be made for pole beans, beans, etc.

Need a cold box (or any other home improvements for that matter)? Head to your local restore and grab an old window, some wood planks, hinges and a handle. Make a base with the wood big enough to grow your plants and make a lid out of the window. These look cool, reuse products and save money.

Also, always take the long view on the money you spend setting up your garden. Many things are a one time cost and will last for years (i.e. tools and boarders) and therefore will average out over time.

Green Wedding Ideas or Why the interweb sucks for good ideas

So after having a nightmare last night about the wedding, despite the fact that it's 15 months away (Eek, 15 is not a big number when I look at it written down), I sat down this morning to do some more research on how I can pull this off and be as green as possible. I have to say, some of the information I found was HORRIBLE.

I understand that green is the new black but many of these "environmentally friendly" tips only look good on the surface. In reality they are nearly as bad for the planet as whatever they are replacing. This is why I'm writing this, to get good information out there.

Lets start with flowers; even though this is something I plan on avoiding at my own wedding. A lot of sites encourage you to order organic flowers from various places which will happily ship overnight to you organically grown flowers. Wait.... ship, overnight? That probably means a plane ride, LOTS of gas and a ton of packaging. How is that green? A much better alternative is to check out local growers and see what is in season around the time of your wedding. My farmer's market always has at least one stand with flowers during the spring and summer which have the benefit of being organic, affordable, and don't come with all of the extra carbon from shipping. If you are having a fall or winter wedding really think about other alternatives to out of season flowers. Candles, locally grown gourds and other options make pretty decorations AND have the benefit of being truly green.

Invitations are another problem. John and I have decided to go the route of sending out e-invitations to most of our guests and reserving a few paper ones for close family members/friends who will want a keepsake. This saves energy since very little has to be produced and reduces gas from them being delivered. For the invitations we are sending I'm trying to find locally made paper (recycled or treeless if possible) and will hand make them myself. We are keeping our RSVPs online and will not have all of the extra junk that goes along with "traditional" invitations. Really, our thoughts on the matter are that people will probably want pictures to remember the event by more than an impersonal piece of paper.

Most importantly the best way to have any event be green is to follow the three Rs in order. Reuse, buy used or rent/borrow if you can and then give away what you don't need anymore for the next couple. Examples are buying dishes, flatware, cups and tablecloths from Goodwill, washing them up and then redonating. You get inexpensive items and don't create any waste and a good company gets business. Reduce, really modern weddings have gotten out of hand. Cut out everything you don't need and I guarantee that as long as people have a good time they won't notice. Recycle, buy disposables that are recyclable and donate non disposables via thrift stores, freecycle, or craigslist.

The snot rag wars

We'll start this off with a little video from the awesome MC Chris that I just KNOW was written about me.



So yeah, if you want to speak to my heart saying that you think seasonal allergies are sexy is a good start.

Seriously though, all nerdy references aside, I finally had to come to grips with the fact that I was using a TON of tissues. In fact, most days the only reason our custodian had to empty my trash can at all was because of the snot rags and thus something had to be done.

I tried to relieve my conscience by buying facial tissues made from recycled material but even those used energy to produce, package and ship and where then thrown away. So I took an old pair of cotton pajama bottoms I had gotten my senior year of high school which were worn beyond repair and made myself a nice set of handkerchiefs, a matching drawstring bag to hold them and then an extra bag for produce.

Overall I have to say that handkerchiefs aren't bad at all. No nasty slimy ick in my pockets or on my hands, no spreading of germs, NO PACKAGING!! My dad and grandfathers used them for years so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. One tends to last me all day though I carry around two and then I toss them in the bucket we have by the washer for our nastier dirties for my one hot wash of the week. Then they go back in the drawstring bag by the door so I remember to grab a clean one on my way out.

So here are instructions on making pajama bottom handkerchiefs with bags... okay, maybe just the bags since all I did for the snot rags was cut the legs into squares. For the bags I took the pants from the crotch up and cut them in half up the inseam. I sewed the side and bottom shut, and used the existing drawstring channel with one extra hole cut for my second output. There, so freaking simple a monkey could do it, though the monkey would probably fling poo at you in the process.

Tennis elbow vs tetanus

Okay, I admit it. The Mean Green Girl just hasn't felt like writing lately. But I don't want to lose my readers due to a lack of content so I'll just schlog through it and hopefully the muse will hit me again soon.

Readers? Oh you poor delusional soul.

::glares:: One of these days I will find you and then bang, zoom, straight to the moon!

Anyways, I thought I would get back to writing with a product review. Because I end up stapling 2-3 sheets of paper together quite often at work I decided to buy myself a staple free stapler. (This model to be exact.) Unfortunately I was unable to find a model that was made in the US but I was able to buy it at a local retailer located within walking distance of my office.

There are a number of reasons I dislike traditional staples. Mainly they are made mostly of virgin steel and are not collected for recycling due to their small size. There is also the getting stabbed in the thumb if they come lose or the ripping of pages when they don't want to come out. Basically, as far as I am concerned, staples and I are not friends and never will be.

So the way a staple free stapler works is it cuts out a notch in the paper and then threads it through a slit (as demonstrated here). I found that this model handles 2-3 sheets quite well and can do four though it doesn't always complete the threading action. The paper holds well for normal use but will fall apart if it gets flung around too much.

On the con side the design is not good for repetitive uses. I do budget work once a month which involves stapling about 400 sets of two pages and after using this for a full day my elbow is swollen and hurts like a grumble grumble grumble. Also it is very hard to tell where exactly the staple will go which sucks when you're having to deal with punched paper.

Overall, I think this is a good addition to any desk for periodic use though I wouldn't throw away the old traditional stapler. I give this three out of five trees.

Would someone please slap the government

"Hard-working American families are suffering from higher gasoline prices. John McCain calls on Congress to suspend the 18.4 cent federal gas tax and 24.4 cent diesel tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day. "

I sometimes think that maybe I shouldn't spend all day listening to the news as half the time I'm one step away from a screaming fit. NO NO NO, the idea of a gas tax holiday is NOT the answer. However, other people (including Barack Obama) have explained this much better than I so instead I'm going to write about how to reduce our demand on oil.

First and foremost we, as a nation, must get it through our big fat heads that we need to drive less. I've had it quoted at me that if people drive 10 fewer miles a week it would reduce their carbon emissions by 500 lbs a year. Now, I'm not saying that you should take that figure as gospel but 10 miles a week isn't much AND the equation is easy
Less driving = less gas used = less demand for fuel + less pollution + $$ saved
How can you do this? Walk, bike, ride the bus, carpool and combine trips. This isn't something everyone doesn't already know, but most are just too damn lazy to do it. Well get off your ass and do something if nothing else you'll have a little more money in your pocket for your other vices.

So since everyone already knows about that what else can you do?

Well buying local always works. The average American meal travels about 1,200 miles from where it is grown to your table which takes engergy, lots of it. So get to know your small local farmers especially the ones who use responsible farming practices. Not only will you get fantastic food you will be saving the family farm which has been a part of our nation's history from the get go. One way to do this is at local farmer's market (remember to bring some totes). These are so much fun and you get to meet the people who grow your food face to face which is so rewarding. You can also participate in a Community Sponsored Agriculture program (CSA). Each program is different but John and I get a box of produce every other week for $60 a month. The food is always very fresh and it makes us try things that we might have otherwise passed up. (I never knew fennel was sooo yummy).

Okay, this is it for the day. For some reason the writing juices aren't flowing. So sorry to my readers and I'll be back in force next time.

5 easy things to do

Happy earth day everyone! This morning I was listening to NPR and one respondent to the show wrote in to complain that she was tired of feeling guilty for not being "green enough" in her daily life because she was "too busy". Bullshit. Do you have to be perfect? No! Do you have to live a trash free organic tofu eating life? NO! (Tough don't knock organic tofu until you've had some that John cooked)

You wanna know a dirty little secret? Probably the best thing you could do for the environment is DON'T CONSUME SO FREAKING MUCH! Seriously, that's it. Think about the things you use and buy. Do you really need it? Can you get it used? More durable? Do you really need that giant house that will take tons of energy to heat/cool? Do you need a huge SUV for your 3 person household? The population of the world is growing though the planet is not. We in the west have been taught that we are entitled to whatever we want whether we need it or not, myself included. Once you start thinking about these things its amazing how your world view changes.
So, thinking is not hard, we've evolved these amazing brains. Use them!

On that note, today I'm going to share some really easy things that you can do in your every day life, things that are so easy there really is no excuse not to do them. Also, please feel free to share your secrets to using less.

1) Ditch disposables at lunch. Even biodegradable "plastic"wear take energy to produce and ship and really only work in a compost environment. I just have two sets of reusable utensils and two cloth napkins in my desk drawer at work. Once I'm done eating I wash off the silverware dry it off with the napkin and then back into the desk with it. I can usually get 3-5 good uses out of a napkin unless I have soup for lunch, but that's just because I'm messy.

2) Just say no to paper towels. If you work in an office it is easy to keep a small hand towel at your desk (I hang mine from my chair's armrest). It takes a while to get used to leaving the bathroom with wet hands but even if you only remember 50% of the time, that's a lot fewer paper towels over a year.

3) Reuse, reuse, reuse! Don't Throw It Out: Recycle, Renew and Reuse to Make Things Last has a lot of really good ideas on giving new life to old objects. Turn old clothes into rags, which can then be used to replace paper towels. Nice bottles can be reused to store bulk liquids. Prescription bottles, which cannot be recycled, can be donated to local animal shelters for reuse.

4) Plastic bags blow so take totes with you when shopping. This takes a while to get used to but once you get in the habit the benefits really rack up. Some stores offer a discounts for people who bring their own bags, they hold more than disposable bags and are more comfortable to carry. If you buy dry bulk foods reuse the plastic bags especially since those bags usually aren't recyclable.

5) Raise your voice. Share your ideas on living greener with others, communicate with your representatives about your feelings on government policy, call people out when they need it, protest. Don't be passive, don't worry about offending people. This is important and people have to realize that. Bad Religion said it best "Our evolution didn't hinge on passivity so raise your voice".

Better late than never

So it turns out that I actually have readers. WHEEE! Of course this means that I actually should start, you know, writing. >.>

That being said here is my review of the Seattle Green Festival which took place weekend before last.

We actually got to the festival pretty late on Sunday since I was not having a good day. I feel like I still got a really good feel for the convention despite being unable to hear any of the speakers. Next year my goal is to go for both days (maybe as press if my blog gets big enough hopehope).

The goodness started at the registration desk. John and I had free tickets from being delegates at the Democratic Convention, but Green Festival had partnered with Better World Books to offer a discount for people who donated their used books. I'm a big fan of Better World Books and like what they are trying to do. While at the convention I got a chance to talk to one of their representatives about some suggestions I had and they were excited to hear what I had to say, especially when I mentioned that I was getting my master's in library science. I got the guy's card with his e-mail address and will hopefully have many more productive conversations with this company.

The first set of exhibits was for Seattle Climate Action NOW. Most were programs that I already knew about but the information was FANTASTIC for beginners. (Oh heck, even the queen of green learned a thing or two but I'll never admit that again.) I did find out about the Way to go Seattle program which encourages people to drive less by offering incentives for good behavior. Well, one of those rewards is for selling a car so your household has more drivers than vehicles so hopefully I'll be able to take advantage of that.

Once we got into the main area we were assaulted by every kind of eco friendly business imaginable. There was everything from green toys, organic food and beer (w00t beer), to natural fiber wedding dresses. I met lots of great people who really care about the planet and got a bunch of samples which I'll be reviewing here as they get used. Overall this was an amazing experience and helped me to realize that what I'm doing here IS important and that I'm not the only one who cares. So check out the Green Festival website and see if it's coming to a city near you. I guarantee that you won't be disappointed.

Sometimes it's easy to forget

It's so easy to get caught up in the bad, in the despair that I sometimes forget why I'm doing this. Thanks Discovery Channel.

Despair

Today I despaired while folding socks. I happened to notice that many pairs are way past their prime, filled with holes and ready to be reborn into their next existence as... something. I decided a while back that I wouldn't be buying any new clothes except underwear and socks, and those I would buy sustainably made. That's when it hit me. This overwhelming sense of scale hit me. Here I was worrying about buying ecologically friendly socks when the world is going to shit. There are people being held without trial for fighting for what they believe. Our government is encouraging its people to participate rampant consumption at such a horrible rate that I can only believe that they think the end times are coming so fuck all. We are at war so we can obtain more oil when instead we should be investing that money in finding alternatives to petroleum.

And what am I doing? I write a blog that no one reads telling people little creative ways they can be less bad. And in the end will that help? Will it make a difference? Does anything I do matter at all?

I could be so happy living my life like it is. Becoming a librarian, teaching myself and others to live simpler, less wasteful lives, but there is this deep guilt that it isn't enough. I feel like I should quit my life and somehow make a real difference. Become a single crusader like Gandhi or MLK, scream at the top of my lungs until people start paying attention to the world around them instead of just marching along in their own little lives totally unaware of their surroundings.

Even then, though, could I actually make a change or is everyone so accustomed to their consumerist lifestyles that nothing short of a worldwide disaster would change them? I know people who don't see, who laugh off my concerns as eccentric, and in a way I envy them. I wonder what it's like not to feel like you have to save the world. But once you look around you can't close your eyes again. You can't watch the videos of how animals are treated and go back to eating factory farmed meat. You can't empathize with normal Iraqies who just want their lives back and then go back to using petroleum products like they will never run out.

I just don't know what I can do to actually make a difference except to just keep trying, to lead by example and to talk and talk and talk until someone listens. But even then will that be enough?

I am not your personal carbon offset

I really feel like I should post something about how awesome it is that I sold my car and that we are now a one vehicle family, but really it's not that big of a deal. John and I sat down and tried to think of a time in the past year that we actually needed both cars and couldn't think of a single one. So yeah, we're down to one car with the eventual goal of no cars and a flexcar account for those times we really need a vehicle.

However, what has really been getting my goat lately is the patronizing attitude people direct towards my attempts at being as green as possible.

Oh look at the silly hippie printing on the back of things. Isn't that cute? I'm so glad she's doing that kind of stuff so I feel better about being a lazy slob.

Well I'm here to set the record straight, I am not your personal carbon offset. Don't you DARE feel okay about not being part of the answer because I work so hard. I don't do this so you can feel good. I do this because I FUCKING CARE. I work hard to make a difference because I don't see that there is any other way, kind of like if I saw a woman being raped I wouldn't see continuing on to the grocery store as being an option.

We as a culture have a tendency to view everything as someone else's problem. Well you know what? The welfare of the planet is EVERYONE'S PROBLEM. We ALL live here, our future generations will live here and if you can't bring yourself to care about your neighbors at least attempt to care about the future of your children.

This blog is my way of sharing with the world all of the ways I have found to live a slightly greener life. I'm not asking that everyone go as far as I do, though it's NOT hard and is VERY rewarding, I'm just asking you to THINK about how you live and maybe take some small steps. Before you know it those small steps turn into bounding leaps and then you are running through the trees.

Plastic bags blow, disposables suck!

Do you know what pisses me off? The fact that you appear to have no readers? Well yes, but besides that. Pretty much everything? I mean your blogs name IS Mean Green Girl.

Smartass.

But seriously, I get really pissed off every time I see a new disposable product out that replaces a perfectly serviceable reusable product. For example, while taking my car, which I am selling, to the car wash yesterday (Brown Bear Car Wash, which is a much greener alternative to hand washing your car) John pointed out a billboard for a new disposable razor replacing one with heads that you changed out. Okay people, lets have a little reality check. Do you know what those little disposable things are made out of? Plastic. Do you know what plastic is made out of? Petroleum.

That's right kiddies all of your little disposable plastic bits are made out of non-biodegradable petroleum products and I don't know if I missed the memo but last I remembered this was a non-renewable resource that we are currently at war to get more of. So just taking that into consideration (and ignoring the fact that creating more trash then before is bad) shouldn't we be trying to find alternatives that use less and NOT more petroleum? DUH

So Miss Smartypants, what do you suggest you ask. Well, there are lots of alternatives to your average disposable razor. You can always get a name brand razor with replaceable heads or an electric razor (and if you ever find one of these that works well let me know). Both options are a bit expensive so I recommend the preserve recycled razor. John and I have been using these for about half a year now and have been really impressed. The handles are made of 100% recycled plastic and are themselves recyclable. The heads are replaceable, are really affordable and last for a long time. Overall I give these 4 out of 5 trees with a deduction that the heads still have to eventually be thrown away.

It's a nice day for a green wedding

A little less than two months ago my long time boyfriend proposed which started my quest to have an awesome yet green wedding. As has been stated in other blogs I found that there wasn't much information on having a green AND inexpensive wedding. Most of the stuff out there is greener alternatives to traditional wedding junk which just isn't my style. Because of this I've had to get creative and while I doubt we'll manage a 100% eco friendly wedding I'm going to do everything I can to get as close as possible.

1) The wedding dress: I'm still not positive what I'm going to do about my dress. I am thinking about sewing my own with some pretty unbleached linen I have, but that is just so daunting. I'm just not sure I'm skilled enough to produce the kind of garment that I would want to wear on my wedding day. The other alternative is to buy a used dress and then sell it again. Supposedly there are also dress rental services but the wedding is out of town so it would probably get pretty expensive renting it for the entire time I'd be gone.

2) The location: I'm really fortunate to know people affiliated with an organization back home that owns about 100 acres that they are willing to rent out. The idea is to have an outdoor wedding and reception and then afterwards have a camp out/party. The only problem with the land is that it's about 45 min away from the city. One of the things we will be asking for in our registry is for people to offer their cars for carpools. We may also think about renting a van for the people who won't be staying the night so there is less driving.

3) The catering: And by catering I mean us cooking a lot of locally grown/raised food and asking friends to help out with some potluck stuff. Instead of using disposable dishes I had the idea of hitting up local Goodwills and talking to the managers about offering a bulk discount on plates, cutlery and glasses that we would then wash and donate back the next day. I'm also making cloth napkins out of fabric I find at thrift stores with a bit of embroidery that the guests can take home with them as favors.

Work work work

One of the great things about working in the public sector is that it tends to embrace environmental measures faster than most large companies. The University of Washington has a number of really fantastic programs including all sorts of recycling, composting and discount bus passes for employees. Now, don't get my wrong; I LOVE the U for doing this, but really, what kind of green girl would I be if I didn't go further? And I have to say, I've been pleased at my co-workers willingness, nay in some cases eagerness, to go the extra steps to waste less.

Here are some of the easy to implement things we've started doing around the office for those of you looking for ideas.

1. Technology is freaking brilliant, use it. Seriously, drag your co-workers kicking and screaming into the 21st century. If they want something faxed ask if it can be scanned and e-mailed instead. I would put down money that unless it's an official signature the answer will be yes. Woot- now the person on the receiving end doesn't have any extra paper unless they choose to print the document out themselves.

2. Print on the back of used paper. I work in an office where lots and lots of drafts of things are printed for editing. Because of this we keep the printer stocked with used paper and have plain white paper on the side for official documents. I do the supply ordering for our department and have noticed a significant reduction in the amount of paper I order since we started this. Thus not only are we saving trees but we're also saving money (always a good thing to tell your boss when trying to make changes) AND have reduced our carbon footprint by having fewer deliveries.

3. Reuse post-it notes. Being the office grunt I get lots and lots of post-its from people asking me to do things. Before I would toss the notes in the recycling as soon as I was done, but then I noticed the crazy number that would fall out of my desk's bin. Usually there is only a line or two on a full sized sheet, often written in pencil so now I have a post-it dispenser on my desk with reusable paper and haven't opened a new pack in months.

Oh yeah, if people start worrying about your office's image with printing on the back of things remind them that green is in. Every time I give someone a reused piece of paper I just let them know that we are trying to waste as little as possible and have had a 100% positive response.

Mean Green Greeting

I've been putting off starting this blog for a while. In the beginning it was because I couldn't think of a pithy name. Then it was because I was embarrassed that my writing style wasn't as thoughtful and intelligent as my blogging friends. Well, screw it. This is important so I'm just going to have to sit down and write and you are just going to have to deal with my less than elegant style.

I really started this journey about a year ago when I moved with John from Austin, Texas to Seattle, Washington. We were basically dissatisfied with the directions our lives were taking (read that as nowhere) and needed a change. We then got rid of like 80% of what we owned, packed the rest into our two little cars and drove up here.

I was amazed at how liberating it was to go through my stuff and get rid of things (except for my books, that was not fun) and at how much stuff I had accumulated over the years that I really didn't need. This also made me think differently about buying things used at Goodwill since we donated A LOT of nice stuff.

After we got up here I've been constantly moving forward in my quest to reduce my impact on the environment. This blog will be a resource for what I have discovered, my experiences, product reviews, project ideas and anything else I can think of to help other people take the step towards living a greener life.