The same wristwatch has measured all my time as a mother.
thriftiness
An Earthling’s Guide to Loving Lentils
Lentils are nutritious, versatile, affordable, environmentally friendly, and shelf-stable!
Quick Lunch from Leftovers: Roasted Tomatoes and Crispy Garlic Kale
Throw together leftovers from different meals to create this quick, vegan lunch in a bowl!
Simple Soy-Ginger Salmon Bowl
Wild Alaskan salmon is one of the healthiest types of fish, with lots of omega-3 fatty acids to nourish your circulatory system and much less brain-damaging mercury than other seafood. Unlike farmed salmon, it's not a source of ocean pollution. Wild Alaskan salmon is widely available in convenient cans that provide 4 hearty servings for … Continue reading Simple Soy-Ginger Salmon Bowl
Single-use Plastic, Twenty Years Later
I'm about to go out and hang flyers inviting everyone to a Plastic-Free Potluck, and I'm taking the jar of thumbtacks from my desk drawer at home. This jar once held Vitamin C tablets from Revco, which used to be a drugstore chain here in Pittsburgh. Up the hill, where Pamela's diner is now--that used … Continue reading Single-use Plastic, Twenty Years Later
Mulch with Autumn Leaves, Bring a Beautiful Spring!
Last Saturday, I gathered leaves from the edges of my street and the public sidewalk and arranged them in my yard--about 80 pounds of free mulch! You can read all about this technique in my earlier article. Today, here in Pittsburgh, we have snow on the ground that fell on November 12. It's compacting my … Continue reading Mulch with Autumn Leaves, Bring a Beautiful Spring!
Zero-Waste Name Tags
Earlier this year, I joined a local campaign against single-use plastic, and it's been great working with like-minded, enthusiastic people and feeling so much hope about making the world a better place before it's too late! But there was one blind spot in the organizing of our first several meetings that just stunned me: On … Continue reading Zero-Waste Name Tags
Top 18 Articles of 2018
Like last year, this was a year in which The Earthling's Handbook drew more readers to the articles that have been here a long time (and therefore have been linked to more often, on other sites as well as in my own articles) than to new articles. The list of overall most-popular articles is so … Continue reading Top 18 Articles of 2018
Tomatillo Salsa and 3 Flavors of Roasted Tomatoes
It's been a great summer for tomatoes here in western Pennsylvania! Our CSA farm share brought us 27 tomatoes and 18 tomatillos last week, and 38 tomatoes two weeks ago. We expect to get more tomatoes today! We learned several years ago that roasting in seasoned oil makes tomatoes taste great, take up less space, … Continue reading Tomatillo Salsa and 3 Flavors of Roasted Tomatoes
Veggie Inundation Just Before Vacation? How to Cope.
I've explained how to use a box full of seasonal produce in a week when you're cooking at home. But what if you've received your CSA farm share, or a bountiful harvest from your garden, the night before you're going to leave on a week's vacation? What can you do with all those fresh vegetables?! … Continue reading Veggie Inundation Just Before Vacation? How to Cope.
Go Green in 2018: Can You Afford to Buy Greener Products?
Twenty years ago, I saw a catalog filled with practical household products that were better for the environment than the stuff we'd been using: laundry and dish and cleaning products made from plants and natural minerals, paper products made from recycled paper, tampons and cloth towels made from organic cotton. I was excited! But I'd … Continue reading Go Green in 2018: Can You Afford to Buy Greener Products?
How to Build a Gym in Your Hallway
This article by Daniel gives more detail about one of the space-saving ideas listed in Becca's article at Kitchen Stewardship: I’ve enjoyed rock climbing since I was pretty young, but these days I don’t actually get out to climb on rocks very often. I do tend to climb on stuff at the playground when I take … Continue reading How to Build a Gym in Your Hallway
Hummus and Vegetable Flatbread Sandwich: You deserve this lunch!
Whoever you are, reading this, you deserve a tasty, healthy, homemade lunch! This one is easy, inexpensive, and low in environmental impact, so there's no need to feel guilty about it. Perhaps you're not struggling with that and would like me to get on with telling you the recipe. Well, first I'm going to show … Continue reading Hummus and Vegetable Flatbread Sandwich: You deserve this lunch!
Would decluttering save you from buying a new appliance?
Life here on Earth presents an astonishing array of abundance. There's so much stuff that we can gather to fulfill not only our basic needs but also our more frivolous desires and, perhaps, our need to feel prepared for meeting future needs. Many years during Lent, I've given up some category of material things in … Continue reading Would decluttering save you from buying a new appliance?
Easy Costume for Dr. Seuss Day
It's Dr. Seuss's birthday! This is the day to enjoy reading a Dr. Seuss book, no matter how old you are. Stop by your local library and look for one you haven't read before! That's how we found Scrambled Eggs Super! (reviewed here). If you've never read I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew … Continue reading Easy Costume for Dr. Seuss Day
How to support Girl Scouts without buying cookies
It's Girl Scout Cookie time! I was a Girl Scout from second grade all the way through high school, I am a Lifetime Member, and I was a leader from 2002 to 2010. I've sold a few thousand boxes of Girl Scout Cookies. Girl Scouting is an important program that had a huge influence on … Continue reading How to support Girl Scouts without buying cookies
Autumn Leaves: FREE Mulch to Nourish Your Garden
Improve soil quality and prevent erosion without spending a cent! Just take a few minutes to collect this free resource from your neighborhood.
Can you eat carrots that look like THIS?!
In our 17 summers of buying a share in a community-sponsored agriculture farm, we've developed a 5-step plan for making good use of our weekly veggie crate--but our long-range planning still isn't perfect. When I put "carrots" on the shopping list in late summer, Daniel bought the 5-pound bag because it was the best value … Continue reading Can you eat carrots that look like THIS?!
The Dishwasher Ladybug
Many things in our home previously belonged to our relatives. I claimed many books, dishes, pieces of furniture, and framed artwork from my grandparents' homes after they died. Daniel's parents and grandparents have given us household items that they don't need anymore but that are still useful. Making use of these things in our home is a way … Continue reading The Dishwasher Ladybug
6 Ways to Unclog a Toilet without a Plunger or a Plumber [Infographic]
It happens to us all at some point: When we least expect it, our normally reliable toilet lets us down. A few flushes and a poke with the toilet brush often will be enough to get things moving again, but when that isn’t enough, here are some great suggestions to tackle the problem easily with … Continue reading 6 Ways to Unclog a Toilet without a Plunger or a Plumber [Infographic]
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