Paperback Swap

I signed up for Paperback Swap the other day. It is a free book club that members join; you list books you are willing to swap and for every book you mail to a fellow member, you get a credit to use for a "new" book for yourself. Just by signing up and registering 10 books you are willing to swap, you get 2 credits to spend. I ordered Losing Frank (recommended by a friend) and If I am Missing or Dead (I wanted to read but didn't want to buy). I just received an email that said the owner of If I am Missing or Dead mailed the book! I can't wait until I receive it; I also really want someone to request one of the books I offered to swap. Anyone interested in reading any of my titles?

What to do with all those clementine wooden boxes?

Ithaca really recycles; our taxes fund pretty awesome collection. The city provides bi-weekly curbside collection for recyclables from #1 through #7. They make it incredibly easy to recycle (that and the added disincentive of charging about $4 per garbage can placed at the curb). However, you cannot recycle the wooden crates that clementines (our favorite fruit right about now) are sold in. I have tried to no avail; so in an effort to reuse, I have been using all the crates as closet and drawer organizers. So far, it is working pretty well. I am concerned, however, that we either need to reduce the amount of clementines we consume or I am going to quickly be overwhelmed by clementine crates. Anyone have other ideas (please don't suggest art because we have done that already and are out of "display" shelving for said "artwork")?

Reuse Updates!

I have tried to be good about reusing items rather than buying new. Recently, I hosted a clothing exchange with eight of my close friends (no children allowed!). We each brought clothing (and wine) that we no longer wear. After some delicious food and wine, we got started sorting the loot by type (shoes, bottoms, tops, outerwear, bags, earring, scarves) and then we dug-in selecting items that we would like to add to our clothing collection! I was thrilled with the two items I found -- a lovely black cardigan and a grey sweater. Everyone left with a few items that they loved (one with an almost brand-new pair of Dansko maryjanes!) and the rest is being donated to the Women's Community Building! It was a great evening and I can't wait till kids night -- we are going to exchange children's clothing and toys!

Reuse -- Day 1

Today at Girl Scouts, I challenged all the girls to find a "sponsor" for their reading. Each girl will collect 5 cents for every book that they read. After a month, we will pool our collection and see how much we have. Later, we will decide where we will donate the money. Some ideas the girls had already include the SPCA, buying cans of food for the food bank, and the Family Reading Partnership to buy books for children who may not have any.

My small effort at reusing involved making collection containers. I brought one of my recycling bins to the meeting and asked each girl to choose one container that they could decorate and use as their collection container. Believe it or not, they were thrilled to pick through our old recycling (this totally makes sense because my own children love this activity as well!). Amazingly, this activity reduced my recycling for the week!!

One Small Change

Our family recently accepted a challenge posed by Hip Mountain Momma. Starting now and continuing through Earth Day, we will be making one change every month to become greener. Changes can be small or huge, but all that is asked is that you decide on something to make a positive green impact and follow through with it. If everyone makes 4 changes between January and April, this can have a huge effect. For more information, see One Small Change.

Our change for January is REUSE. We are doing so well with Recycling; but I hate seeing all the stuff that goes into the recycling bin. My thought is if we can find ways to redirect all that "stuff" we will further reduce our footprint. Check back in to monitor our progress throughout the month!

First on my long list of things to do "better"

I really don't mind cooking. The problem is that on the long list of to do's, cooking falls at the bottom. It doesn't help that dinner time is at night, when I am tired, and usually exhausted from a full day of activities (or nothingness depending on my mood). It is really all about desire. Do I desire to eat a good meal? Yes! Do I desire to read recipes searching for delicious foods? Yes! Do I desire to try new ingredients? Yes! Do I desire to cook a delicious recipe with new ingredients for the evening's meal? No. Unfortunately, my husband lacks desire too (only to cook; not that!)

So, what do I do? I buy good food at the store; I plan interesting meals; I sign up for a CSA share from the local farm. And then, we eat cereal, boxed mac n' cheese, bagels with cream cheese, oatmeal, salads, and other meals I can whip together in 10 minutes. This was acceptable when it was just the hubby and me. However, with two children, it is a bit embarrassing (read: pathetic).

So, once again, I tell myself I will do better. However, how does one make this time different than the last? I wish I had the answer. Accountability, hopefully, which is why I started this blog. There are so many things that I wish to do better than I do them right now. My hope is that by articulating and accounting all these desires for improvement, I might actually walk myself into an improved being!

So, tonight I made fettucini and for the girls I steamed broccoli. For hubby and I, I sauteed green onions, sausage, rainbow swiss chard, and balsamic vinegar. We sprinkled parmesean on the top. It was quite delicious. My friend came over with her daughter and we chatted while I washed, chopped, and prepared for cooking. It was a much more palatable approach to cooking.