Here's one of my secrets to financial solvency: I started my adult life with some money in the bank. Now, what kind of a tip is that?! Having money is not something a person can just decide to do! I'm just lucky! Well, yes, this isn't a money-management tip you can apply when you're already … Continue reading Starting with Something
thriftiness
Hand Towels for a Crowd
Here's a way to use washable cloth hand towels for a group too large and/or germy to share a towel hanging on a rack: Get a bunch of small cloth towels or terry washcloths. Stack the towels in a box or basket near the sink. Hang a laundry bag or place a laundry basket or hamper … Continue reading Hand Towels for a Crowd
Canned Fish Concepts
These are not exactly recipes, more like general "how to cook" ideas that work for me. I prefer ideas like this to specific recipes because they're easy to remember without digging out a recipe card. Our family is mostly vegetarian. We do like fish, but we live far from the ocean, where fish tends to be … Continue reading Canned Fish Concepts
Semi-disposable sippy cups
You might be surprised to see EnviroBecca touting the virtues of anything disposable. After all, I'm all about cloth diapers and hankies and reusable menstrual gear and real dishes even at picnics and just generally reusing everything! Notice I said semi-disposable. The sippy cups we prefer are lightweight polypropylene similar to those Gladware and Ziploc containers … Continue reading Semi-disposable sippy cups
Our pets protect us from identity theft!
Here's an idea that works for me this Earth Day: We have two pet gerbils. The conventional wisdom is that you're supposed to give your gerbils lots of wood-chips to nest in (I always want to say, "to munk in," but that's chipmunks, isn't it?) and you have to buy these wood-chips at the pet … Continue reading Our pets protect us from identity theft!
Pasta Prima Becca
It's Works-for-Me Wednesday, and as I enjoy the leftovers of a meal made out of leftovers from my church's Easter reception, I have to share this tip! At the end of a party, usually there are some random vegetables lying around on the veggies-and-dip tray. I have seen people throw these into the garbage!!! What … Continue reading Pasta Prima Becca
The Five-Part Furniture-Finding Plan
It's Works-for-Me Wednesday, so here's the system by which Daniel and I have furnished our home: When there's a piece of furniture you'd like to have, Wait for it to come along. When you can wait no longer, See what you can scrounge from what other people are discarding. Go to yard sales. Go to … Continue reading The Five-Part Furniture-Finding Plan
Tips from The Lightbulb Ninja
When I was about 12 years old, I became quite a stickler about shutting off unnecessary lights. Suddenly all the adult nagging and public-service announcements I'd ever heard got through to me (I can't recall why) and I began to see how amazingly wasteful it is to leave a bunch of extra lights on, just … Continue reading Tips from The Lightbulb Ninja
The Cheap Thrills of Thrifty Fashion
Last night, our three-year-old night owl conked out at 8:00!! Daniel and I did a little dance of glee and launched into an evening of companionable adult pursuits, which of course included sorting through our wardrobes, getting out the winter clothes and putting away the summer ones, and deciding the fate of unwanted garments. What? That's not … Continue reading The Cheap Thrills of Thrifty Fashion
What Do You Reuse?
This question was posted on a discussion board recently. Not only do I reuse many physical objects, but I can reuse the list I made for that discussion as an article on my own Website! I love reusing glass jars so much that my ravings on the subject got too long for this article and … Continue reading What Do You Reuse?
Supermarket Field Trip
My Girl Scout troop did this activity with Brownies earning the Penny Power Try-It and Daisies earning the Make the World a Better Place petal. It also would apply to several Junior badges that have an activity about caring for the needy, about nutrition, or about comparison shopping. Divide into teams of 3-5 girls and … Continue reading Supermarket Field Trip
Consumer Taste Test
This educational activity is suitable for school or any type of youth (or even adult) group; I did it with Girl Scouts. It is a great way to teach the principle that brand-name products aren't necessarily any different from less expensive store brands. Sometimes I add an activity to a Girl Scout badge, something that … Continue reading Consumer Taste Test
Girl Scout Troop Budgeting Process
This is one method for deciding how the troop will spend its money. I used it very successfully a few years ago with a Daisy/Brownie troop of 18 girls ages 5-9. Deciding how to spend the cookie sale profits is an activity for the Penny Power Try-It or Cookies Count badge. First, in a troop meeting, brainstorm … Continue reading Girl Scout Troop Budgeting Process
The Seven-Minute Stretch
It's amazing how just a few minutes of stretching can change everything. Just moving around a little bit for a little while gets the blood flowing through your muscles and brain, makes you more flexible, reminds you to breathe, lifts your mood, and makes the various motions of daily life easier and less likely to … Continue reading The Seven-Minute Stretch
Packing for a Picnic or Potluck: Reusable Gear!
Picnic/barbecue season is here, with mounds of disposable tableware: soggy paper, bendy plastic, skidgy foam, spoons that scratch our mouths and melt in our coffee, forks whose tines snap off, knives that won't cut anything, cups that are too cold or hot to hold without adding a layer of cardboard. Everybody's cup is identical, so we have to write our names on them. What convenience! What convenience? We've started bringing our own dishes, utensils, and napkins when we go to picnics and some potlucks.
Don’t forget the lemonade!
How come people don't serve lemonade more often? And why is it that, when people do serve lemonade, it's usually the fake kind made from a powder? Yeah, squeezing lemons is a lot of work. But lemon juice comes in a bottle! You can make lemonade with just bottled lemon juice, sugar, water, and maybe … Continue reading Don’t forget the lemonade!
Cloth Diapers
I always knew I would use cloth diapers on my baby. My parents and most of my extended family had, so I was used to the idea and saw it as a sensible choice financially and environmentally. Also, I had babysat for disposable-diapered babies and found their diapers hard to tolerate aesthetically; they just feel so … Continue reading Cloth Diapers
What to Do with Half-Eaten Fruit
Anyone who spends time with young children is familiar with this phenomenon: "I want an apple!" [eats four bites] "Let's save it to later. NO, Mama, don't eat it!! I will finish it next time." [next day] "I want a banana! No, not an apple, a banana. NO, Mama, don't eat my apple!! It's for … Continue reading What to Do with Half-Eaten Fruit
Tips for Expectant Parents
Disclaimer: This is one of those "This is what works for my family" type articles. We have only one child. All children are different. These are some ideas that have been useful to us that we hope will be helpful to other parents. My favorite online source of information about all things child-related is Mothering Magazine's huge array of … Continue reading Tips for Expectant Parents
Our Green Christmas Tree
"How to have an enviro-friendly Christmas" seems to be a hot topic in the media this year, so I won't bother with an extensive list. I'll just describe one idea that is, as far as I know, unique: We don't use a real tree as our Christmas tree, nor do we have one of those … Continue reading Our Green Christmas Tree
The Earthling's Handbook 