No Impact Week Challenge!

    Today is the first day of Sustainable Heights No Impact Week Challenge. Each day you are asked to make a specific change or examine the way you do things. I have accepted this challenge, mainly out of curiosity. My family works hard to lessen our impact in many ways. Every year we add new changes, resolutions and reassess what is going right or wrong with our efforts to be less of a burden on the environment/natural resources and to be less beholden to a consumer lifestyle. Over the past few years it has been harder to find new ways to meet those goals, so I thought this would be a good way to discover some missed opportunities. Also, with eight people now in the house, our consumption has gone up and I have less control on how much waste is generated and resources used. I figured this challenge could shake things up for me and get me motivated again.
     Today's challenge deals with consumption. Let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of Annie Leonard's "Story of Stuff". If you haven't watched this short film, please do so. It really inspired me in so many ways. I look at all my purchases differently now. I try to avoid cheap, convenient and disposable and look for quality, reusable and classic. I have been able to avoid buying cleaning products in general by using baking soda, vinegar, tea tree oil and castille soap.
     My toiletry budget has significantly decreased since I started imposing certain restrictions. I look for things that are natural. I need to be able to look at the ingredients and easily recognize them. I look for toiletries that serve multiple uses. Lastly, I look for as little packaging as possible, and easily recycled containers (especially glass). So this has led me to create most of my own products. We use homemade deodorant made from coconut oil, baking soda, corn starch and a little essential oil. We use a bar of castile soap to wash our bodies and our hair. It rinses out so easily and lathers like a champ. I moisturize with coconut oil for my face and I made a lotion bar with coconut oil, beeswax and cocoa butter for the rest of me. When I started researching how to make my own hair pomade, I found that my lotion bar can double as pomade. Boo-yah! Yet another multi-use product.  The cocoa butter also makes a great lip balm. The cool thing is that these items can be purchased fairly inexpensively, some from a regular grocery store and they are quick and easy to make. There were tons of recipes out there, some were complicated and needed a bunch of expensive hard-to-find ingredients. But with more research and a little experimentation, I figured out how to make the things we need cheaply, easily and more naturally.
    Today's challenge was an easy one for me as I rarely look to buy new. I first "shop at home" for things I need, which is much more successful than I thought it would be, maybe because I am a pack rat?! If that doesn't work, then I hit the loop-- freecycle, Craig's list, thrift stores and garage/rummage sales. I will also admit to being unable to pass anything usable on a tree lawn. During my apartment years I did my share of dumpster diving.
     Unfortunately, I have not written a blog on how my daughter and I created her wedding with almost nothing disposable, almost everything second-hand and found ways to keep the decorations out of the land fill. One day, I will finally write that one up. But, I did write about using old clothes and jewelry to create her bouquet. I invite you to check it out and I challenge you to find a way to use something old to create something new and exciting, I guarantee it will become addictive!

     So, what can I take away from today's challenge? I am trying to buy more locally when I do buy new, if that is possible. I will try to get people to give me gift lists for birthdays and Christmas so I will give them something they want and will use. If not, I will try to gift "experiences" where they are appropriate. I will continue to maintain and mend things that I have so they last longer. I will continue to buy things with less plastic and mechanized parts that can break down (ie. a reel mower vs. a power mower, a percolator vs. a coffeemaker). Also, I will continue to try to use second hand supplies for my craft projects.

   
    Day one was an easy one for me (but they won't all be): I don't shop often, I shop second hand when I do, I utilize the Heights public library as often as humanly possible rather than buy materials I may only want to use once, I make most of my cleaning and beauty supplies. Is there room to improve? Yes!  We all probably tend to have weak moments when we use shopping as a way to provide retail therapy. Even shopping second hand can be problematic if you buy things you probably won't use (But it was SUCH a good deal!) and don't leave them for someone that will use them (and junk up your house, making you feel depressed which makes you want to shop for something new to cheer you up, etc... and so on). I anticipate that some of the other challenges are going to be much harder for me and I know I have some homework to complete before I start a few of them.  Here's to the start of the challenge, I'm warmed up and ready to go!


Fun idea for Consumption Day:
Replace shopping with fun things like a family photo shoot at the local park!  Get to know how to use the camera you have better while enjoying some fun time with friends or family in a beautiful, FREE setting.

Apple Picking 2011

     Apple picking is one of my favorite traditions for our family. I think I lke it better than Christmas even. There is no prep, no gift purchasing, just good old fun and delicious treats. We go to Burnham Orchards each year, which includes a visit to the bakery for apple fritters, slushies made from peach or apple cider, kettle corn popped in a gigantic kettle that looks like it should be filled with molten metal, not sweet and salty popcorn wonderfulness. We feed goats, admire bees and chat it up with the Grandfather-type guy that collects the money out in the orchard. We picnic and eat apples like it is our job. This year it was hot, in the 80's, which was strange, but nice because the sky was blue, blue, blue.

We participated in an ancient and mystical ritual  devoted to the worship of Sugar.

the Hoffamily enjoy the orchard

Apparently eating apples can lead to glowing ears and other appendages.

A more serious tribute to the star of the day, the lowly apple.

we like to tease him about this by asking him why he was naked at the orchard. He accuses us of "mocking him", and he will not be mocked.

a short hike down to the river

Ole Farmer Bangsy

There were indeed donuts. With orange fosting.

Feeding of the goats, a family tradition continues

My keebler elves.

We always manage to smooch a little. the fresh air brings it out  of us

Even my two girls got in on the apple action

We stopped off for a bite to eat and some ice cream, because at this point, why the hell not?!? We acted like idiots that had never been out in public before and managed to have a fine old time of it.

We managed to also fit in a whole "turning one" photoshoot with the Divine Miss O.

Ain't she the sweetest little Pumpkin in the patch?

All in all, it was a great outing this year. Now it is time for making applesauce and perhaps a pie. Such  wonderful things, apples are.

10 good things

1. Getting outside with my hands in the dirt because the sun is finally shining.
2. A crock pot of marinara sauce that made every room in the house smell good.
3. A kiss from my Husband that went on a little longer than the usual welcome home kiss.
4. Decent enough news from a Doctor's visit.
5. Rescuing a piece of furniture, selling it and parlaying it into funding for a visit to a rummage sale. I LOVE rummage sales.
6. Chocolate Rootbeer cake.
7. Squishy little kid butts and chubby baby thighs.
8. Birthday wish lists.
9. Creamed honey
10. This one is soooooo special to me: We were looking up pictures of Astroboy, because Wolf has picked that for his Halloween costume. But, you can't get an Astroboy wig anywhere, so we had to look at pics so we could fashion our own wig ("fashion your own wig", Why does that phrase please me so?) So, Matt and Wolf and I are scrolling through images when there is a picture of a very well-built gentleman wearing a speedo and a large cat's head. Wolf reaches over and gently, and silently, covers my eyes. He apparently felt that was not something that his Mommy should have to see. It was such a sweet gesture and the first time I have ever been protected by a son. I am in love. But, the next morning, Vlad woke me up with a question--" Do you have a foreskin?" "Not on me" I replied as I put the pillow over my head and tried to pretend to be asleep until a decent hour of the morning. Ah, life with little boys...

I'm thinking about stuff

:: enjoying a few warm days still. I love rainy weather if it is warm rain.

:: ecstatic that my Mom will be in town in less than a month.

Mi Madre es su Madre, or something like that...

:: feeling  a little overwhelmed as I try to adapt to all the scheduling changes in our household. I am completely a creature of habit. Would that make me Nunzilla? Creature of habit, Nunzilla, get it?

:: harvesting basil and green peppers still. And ants still. argggggh.

:: wanting to go bra shopping. La ti da. Fancy.

:: enjoying eating seeds, seeds, seeds. Can't get enough of them! Especially weird little chia seeds.

:: riding MLK Blvd. through the cultural gardens every Monday to get to Wolf's music class at the Cleveland Music School Settlement. I love that drive especially now that the gardens have been getting spruced up.

:: holding  onto dreams of actually completing a pair of knitted socks. I started knitting a pair in April, I think, and after throwing away some early attempts, I am 1/6th of the way done. Ugh.

:: thinking I would love to soak in a hot spring, which I have never done. Preferably in Japan, but that might be pushing it!

:: grateful for my husband. He is my #1 partner in crime.

Not literally my partner in crime, maybe my partner in well-meaning, spirited hijinx.

:: anticipating the astronomical doctor and dentist bills in our near future. Totally worth it to go in for a tune-up though. Just wish it was more like other businesses where you could get an estimate and compare costs and service before committing to things. It always amazes me that it is all so confusing, even though I work in the industry. It must be terrible for people that really have no understanding of what their bills say.

:: itching to get creative. If I could find an extra few hours somewhere, I could really get sewing and like hide my house under a giant slipcover! With ric-rac!

:: wishing for a supremely cute vintage tear drop trailer. I can barely control myself when I see one.

I want to eat some weird jello mold and deviled eggs and then pop in for a little seista!

:: wondering if I will get my freezer emptied out to make room for home-made applesauce galore!!! Apple-picking with the Hoffbros is one of my favorite things all year. Would you believe it ranks higher than Christmas for me?!

Burnham Orchard photo circa 2010

:: hoping for more fun days spent with my daughter and grand-pumpkin! It is almost time for a first birthday which means bearing witness to a first tasting of buttercream. It's like a tribal rite of passage. Will she like it, adore it, GASP, hate it?!?!

Here is the dynamic duo!

:: remembering when Jassy was on t.v. when she was little, maybe 7 yrs.old. She was on "Brain Drain" and she was sooooooo cute.

::Imagining what it would have been like to meet my Gma-in-love, Edna. Whenever I spend time at the home of my Mom-in-love, which I was lucky enough to do today, I can't help but feel like I know her just a little bit because her memory is so lovingly kept alive by her daughter.

My sweet little pixie husband with Grandpa Charlie and Grandma Edna

what's up in our house...

****It is the 9th anniversary for Ma and Pa Hoff!  We are amazed by how fast the time has gone and how much our love has grown!  I was sooooooooo in love on our wedding day, I surely never imagined that I could actually fall more deeply in love, but yet here we are, still making googly eyes at each other.

Well, actually we are imitating carp, but very lovingly. We do those sorts of things. Publicly, apparently.

*****I got this great new toy at Educator's Market and Toy store. I am using it as a fun way to get Wolf to make some basic math worksheets, as he loathes math facts. This has helped take some of the "BORRRR-ing!" out of it. It was only a buck!

A die in a die!  

******I can not get enough of this...

p.s. my food photog is the worst.  Not even '70's cookbook bad, just fugly.

Homemade wheat and flax bread toasted with half peanut-half almond butter with sunflower seeds and chia seeds. That sounds as stupid as one of those complicated Starbuck's orders, but I swear I am just not that fancy. But this is crunchy and creamy and sweet and salty and...o.k., it is a tad complex. 

*****We went to the Early Settler's Music Celebration at the Rocky River Nature Center with a short hike to the Frostville Museum. They had all kinds of activities and displays related to Pioneer and Native american ways of life.  The boys got to see a cannon fire, saw a log with a two-man saw, make clay pinch pots, write with a quill, dye yarn, taste honey and cornbread baked over an open fire. 

The sawing took forever, so the 'rents had to assist

They watched apple butter being made and cider being pressed and sampled it more times than they probably should have. They listened to music and tried out square dancing.  It was a great tie-in for the pioneer education we have been doing in homeschooling. BTW, I am loving the series from Little House for kiddos of the younger variety, My First Little House.  The kids love the short stories and have a better time absorbing them than from the regular Little House books.  The illustrations are nice too. I cried reading the one where they leave the Big Woods of Wisconsin for the prairie. I am total moosh inside.

**** Tonight we will attempt a "date" for our anniversary.  Nothing too far-fetched, just dinner.  We will see how it goes, as our track record is not good. Past events include restaurants being closed, shoes that hobbled me, getting too drunk to drive on ONE margarita and having to spend too long in a drug store searching for products with names that made us giggle and then sobering up on ice cream... well that actually was pretty good, so you never know!