Recent Comments

1. Use your LOAF at the shops (Local, Organic, Animal-Friendly and Fair Trade) - 17 Mar 2006

   We shop the weekly farmers markets during the season. Some of our markets run into December! We don our backpacks and purposely park at least a mile away from our favorite market. this gives us a chance to walk and we avoid any crowds. We frequent the co-op in our neighborhood often. It’s about a 20 walk from our place. We love chocolate and now only buy organic fair trade varieties. Costs more but then we eat less and appreciate it more. We also buy only organic, fair trade, shade grown coffee. We are also lucky to have access to manufacturer and store coupons in our area for some of our favorite natural products. We utilize the bulk section of most stores. Grains, beans, lentils, peanut butter, soy sauce, herbs and spices, even vinegars, oils, honey and shampoo can be bottled up in containers we bring from home.

   Menu planning has been a big help to our shopping list and to our budget. We roughly sketch out the meals we would like that week based on what we already have in stock. We have started the custom of setting aside one day to cook ahead meals for dinners and lunches. With two of us chopping and mixing, etc. it goes fast and we fill our freezer with home cooking – not processed junk.

   If we go out to eat we never think of choosing e a chain franchise. In Seattle, there is no need. We are surrounded by delicious food from all over the world.

   In reagard to non-food purchases, we also avoid the big chain hardware stores and have given up on Wal-Mart years ago and just recently quit Target cold turkey.

2. Go Local - Join A Food Cooperative - 17 Mar 2006

   We love our local food co-op. Madison Market in Seattle, Washington, USA. We bring our own bags and our own containers for the bulk items. We find we frequent the big grocery stores less and less. Admittedly, we could not afford to buy everything at the co-op all the time. But we run in every week and now only use the grocery stores for some select items a couple times a month.

3. Stop Taking Plastic Bags From Shops - 17 Mar 2006

   We love this idea. When we do our shopping on foot we have our backpacks on and also carry our jute bag and a couple canvas bags. We even have a beautiful woven basket that goes to the farmers market and even the grocery store with us. We re-use plastic bags from produce and take our own containers to the food co-op for our bulk items.

4. Choose to have one meat-free day a week in your home - 17 Mar 2006

   We have made a concerted effort on this in our household. In fact, we have turned the tables. We now usually have only one meat day a week, sometimes two. It’s hard to pass on fish at times. We really love it. Living in Seattle there is so much of it to chose from. If we do roast a chicken, it’s organic and free range. It also serves as several meals and makes stock for soup (in turn, making several meals).

5. Recycle Your Greetings Cards - 17 Mar 2006

   We recycle just about everything we can. Cards make good shopping lists, bookmarks, packing labels, and gift tags, etc. This year we sent an e-card with a personal photo to all family and friends and only sent about a dozen actual cards (down from about 60 last year!).

6. Compost Your Leftovers - 17 Mar 2006

   We compost all of our veggie and fruit scraps every day. We have a garden in our yard and we can’t let all that good material get thrown away. We also pay for a yard waste bin for larger stuff. And there are some veggie “scraps” that get saved in the freezer for making stock.

7. Switch off and unplug appliances and chargers - 17 Mar 2006

   We recently started doing this with our cell phone chargers. We need to start doing it with lamps and tv/stereo, etc.

8. Turn Off The Tap When Brushing Your Teeth - 17 Mar 2006

   This we do. We also recently installed a water saver shower head. We take much shorter showers too.

9. Switch off and unplug appliances and chargers - 20 Mar 2006

   So this is an action. I’m learning how to use this site, sorry.

10. Take A Mug To Work - don't use plastic - 20 Mar 2006

    In an effort to save moeny and cardboard coffee cups, we’ve stopped going out every morning for lattes. The cost was enormous. Before we stopped going out for the coffee, we did purchase plastic travel coffee cups in the small size of our usual drinks (a “short” – 8 oz. latte). So now we have coffee at home in the morning and if we do treat ourselves to the coffee elsewhere we take the reusable cups.