Discounted cloth diapers

As you might remember from my baby registry post, one of the items I was most hoping to receive from my registry was cloth diapers. Ask and you shall receive. Several friends gifted me with them at my baby shower, and my friend Katy even demonstrated, much to the intrigue of all present, how these Bum Genius 4.0 diapers work. (People like my mother, who cloth diapered us old-school style, giant diaper pins and all, were especially amazed -- these are not your mom's cloth diapers.)

So, I was really happy when Katy told me the other day about her friend's shop that specializes in cloth diapers and related accessories (in addition to other green-baby products). Right now we have 10 cloth diapers to work with, and I feel like we should at least double that amount so we only have to launder the diapers every other day, as opposed to having the washing machine running non-stop in our house.

The store is called The Cloth Nook, and right now you can get 20% off all orders as well as free shipping. I guess this comes in perfect time, in case you were planning to buy someone you love this highly practical gift for the holidays (but probably the only person in the world who would appreciate such a gesture would be yours truly).

Because I believe the owner is (sadly) closing her store, not all diaper colors and closures are available, but I was able to snag five Bum Genius 4.0 snap closure diapers each at 20% off, and I basically never see these diapers on sale. Now we'll have on hand 15 cloth diapers in a variety of colors (2 clementine, 2 twilight, 1 moonbeam, 1 zinnia, 3 blossom, 3 butternut, 2 sweet, 1 bubble). I still want to get 5 more diapers, the ribbit and the grasshopper ones, because they seem ideal for our daughter's future wardrobe as I am partial to green in all things in general (including Kermit the Frog, whom I am excited to see in his new movie).

Now, back to baking. Have a happy Thanksgiving!

Anti-bug juice: Skin So Soft

Today's short post is brought to you from my steamy office where temps are up to 88 degrees, thanks to the fact that our AC is disconnected. Of course, the reason our AC is disconnected is a good one: our concrete patio is being poured as I write this! So, I'll be thrilled when we not only have an awesome new patio to enjoy, but also when we have some temperature control in our home. This is one item from the summer bucket list!

So, I'll be making my way back downstairs in front of the fan in approximately 5 minutes before I melt, but I thought I would share this simple product appreciation post.

During the late spring I started thinking about bug spray and how I would rather not spray myself with true bug spray in an effort to avoid unnecessary chemicals, especially during pregnancy. I remembered back in the day when my Aunt Sandra was an Avon lady and she would give me Skin So Soft (I was 8) and tell me it's also a perfect bug repellent. Back then I didn't particularly care, but the lesson stuck. This also appears to be a lesson many ladies have learned from their southern female relatives, and I definitely have plenty of southern females in my family.

So when I passed the little Avon kiosk at our mall in early June I knew I needed to buy a bottle of the original spray formula. I'm so glad I did. So far this summer I have not gotten any bug bites (knock on wood). This is apparently quite a feat given the supposed fact that pregnant skin is more sensitive and more likely to appeal to bugs. For $6 it has been worth it.

A greener sponge

I know a bunch of you are probably grossed out by the idea of sponges, thinking they're yucky because they get dirty and smelly. This is true, which is why I was pleased to discover these...

They're the four-pack of the Quickie Green Cleaning Microfiber Kitchen Sponges. I bought these about six months ago, and so far they have lived up to their promise of being durable even after quite a few rounds in the washing machine. They're not made for scrubbing pots. Instead I use them for wiping down the kitchen counter tops, and when I'm cleaning our bathrooms one usually travels with me to each bathroom sink and counter top in the house. At $4.99 for the four pack at the grocery store, this has been a worthwhile investment.

Neutrogena Naturals purifying pore scrub

I was pretty excited a few months ago when I saw a coupon for a new line of natural beauty products from Neutrogena. This company's products have consistently been my favorite drugstore brand since I was a teenager, and I was really excited to find another product with fewer harsh chemicals. I've been using a natural body wash for several years, I switched to a zero-sulfate shampoo a year and a half ago, so a healthier face wash was the next logical step.

Of course, I still consider it a bit of a gamble waiting to see whether or not a green beauty alternative is actually as good as the chemical-laden stuff. I am happy to report that this Neutrogena Naturals Purifying Pore Scrub is as good, if not better than, the Neutrogena acne wash I used in the past. (Yes, I will take acne to my grave, let me tell you.) The fun part I've discovered is that my skin doesn't care if I am using an acne wash or not, I will still break out, so why add more unnecessary chemicals to the mix and why not just let nature run its course?

The bottle claims that this product contains no "harsh chemical sulfates, parabens, petrochemicals, dyes, phthalates." The product is also not tested on animals.

Besides these great features, I really like the pleasing smell of the face wash. It must be the jojoba oil. Whatever it is, it's refreshing during that 6 a.m. shower. It's also reassuring to feel those tiny exfoliating beads -- it at least feels like something's working!

Finally, the price is right. A tube of this face wash lasts me three months and costs $6.99 at Ulta. You can often find coupons for this line of products in Sunday circulars (or wait for a buy one, get one 50% off deal at Ulta as I did this weekend).

Recently I've been thinking a lot about how much I spend on beauty products, and as I finish compiling my results I'll share them with you in an upcoming post. In the meantime, thank God it's June!

Jeans victory, clock defeat

First, the bad news. 
A year ago I blogged about a wonderful new alarm clock I ordered from Hong Kong. This little green gadget is nearly perfect. But there's one small engineering defect that has officially made me groan at least five times in the past year and most recently on Friday morning.

The problem rests in the back of the clock.

If you look closely, (besides seeing dust) you'll notice that the on/off button is right next to the reset button. Every morning after I finally make my way out of bed I turn off the clock. If I didn't turn off the clock, it would defeat its entire purpose as a green product. But about once every two months or so I lose my edge and accidentally press the wrong button, which is inevitably the reset button. This is especially annoying because once I press the reset button there's no going back, and this clock takes a solid five minutes to program because it contains so many pieces of data. Definitely flawed engineering!

Now, on a happier note...
As we were packing for Mexico a week and a half ago I noticed that my beloved Citizens of Humanity Dita Petite Bootcut jeans had a massive hole in the crotch/butt region. Not only did I blog about these jeans days after I bought them, but I also saved the receipt in my long-term receipt file so I knew I bought them in mid-March 2010. I bought the jeans at Nordstrom, so I had a good feeling this would work out well in the end (pun intended).

Today I experienced the joys of Nordstrom customer service. I simply brought my jeans and receipt to the check out counter, explained that I bought the jeans less than a year ago and expected them to withstand less than a year of wear and tear. The girl said she would gladly take them back if I had my receipt. While she was issuing my refund, she said that sometimes the jeans simply don't hold up if they're washed and dried too often. Looking back, I only washed those jeans a handful of times because I really only wore them once a week max and basically never wore them over the summer, my prime time for casual dresses, skirts and shorts.

Overall, I appreciated the no-questions-asked approach to taking back my expensive purchase that in my mind was obviously defective (I may have a big butt, but it is not that big). I did try on a slightly different pair of Citizens petite jeans and they fit perfectly, so today I basically broke even. Bottom line (pun intended again): I love Citizens jeans because they fit me perfectly, and I hope this pair will out last the previous one.

Two more feel-good Sunday thoughts:
1) In today's 60-degree weather I was thrilled to see buds prominently visible on trees. That just makes me happy.

2) A-la my friend Lindsay's experience, I also planted an amaryllis bulb this winter (my first one ever thanks to a gift from my friend Zoe) and it is in full double-flowering bloom. Such a nice treat after about six weeks of TLC.

Hope everyone's gearing up for a good week!

How to spot-clean carpet

It looks like dog-shedding season and dog-vomit season in our house have intersected. First it was last week, when Doc threw up at 3 a.m. and my killer reflexes caused me to bolt up in bed, groaning and annoyed. Then it was this morning at 5:30, right after Maxwell ate breakfast and threw up not once, not twice, but a solid SIX TIMES in a row. If I didn't know my dogs, I would think there was something terribly wrong with them. But, they occasionally throw up, kind of like cats and babies. Even our vet sees no cause for alarm.

So, I monitor the little guys and what they put in their mouths, and I come up with a plan for cleaning up the mess.

Back in my not-so-green days I would use Spot Shot for cleaning carpet stains. In my experience, it really does work well, and I was happy when, a couple years ago, I could buy some non-toxic Spot Shot (and a double-bonus for the non-aerosol bottle). But then I decided, people have been cleaning carpets way before Spot Shot entered the picture, and Spot Shot doesn't last long and it's pricey (when you have two big, pukey dogs).

I'm happy to announce I've found a solution!

This rag, this measuring cup, and this book have become a bit of an institution in our house.

Here's the procedure (slightly adapted from Cheryl Mendelson's Home Comforts)

1. Mix together a solution of half mild detergent and half lukewarm water. (I used my homemade laundry detergent; the point here is to use a non-bleach detergent.)
2. Blot the stain using the detergent solution and a rag. DO NOT rub the solution farther into the carpet.
3. Mix together a solution of one-third white vinegar and two-thirds water.
4. Blot the stain using the white vinegar solution.
5. If you're still not satisfied after you give the area time to dry, try sponging the area with clean water.

Gas meters: Ask and you shall receive

Remember back in the spring when we got hit by the worst gas bill in history coupled by the worst customer service experience ever? Hyperbole aside, I was pretty annoyed, and because my gas company refused to do much to proactively fix the meter-reading problem to avoid future difficulties, I started reading my own gas meter and double checking the company's numbers.

Fast forward to Saturday, when I come home from a super successful Target clothes shopping experience, only to find this on our door:

That's right, a man from Washington Gas wanted to install a little device on our meter so that our meter could be read electronically (read: accurate every time!). Fortunately, his truck was still parked across the street from our house when I saw the note, so Matt and I went into super stalker mode and tracked him down in the neighborhood and brought him back to our house. He installed this little device:

The slightly-larger-than-before little plastic case around the meter may not be much, but if it means never getting a really expensive bill and hugely inaccurate meter reading again, I will take it!

Also, it was like our lucky week in the world of utilities, because on Monday someone from the power company stopped by and installed this little gray box above our AC unit outside:

Every few months our electricity company sends us a notice telling us we can go green by, you know, paying more every month for our power. You know I love to be green when within reason, but the budget is tight and I can't exactly pay more for roughly the same service. So, when I got a flyer in the mail encouraging me to sign up for a Smart Cooling Rewards program that saves me money and is a green initiative, I was on board. Specifically, this little device will turn off our AC during the peak hours (from roughly 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.) during peak days of service. Seeing as we set our AC to 78 during the day, I figure we won't be missing much since our AC doesn't have to come on often. Additionally, by participating we get refunded $40 every year, and we become part of a system that encourages further green practices. Win, win.

Now, if only we'll have as much success at tonight's HOA meeting! Wish me luck! Details to follow...

How to de-tarnish brass

This weekend, despite my general rage regarding some of the bogus violations we received from our latest HOA inspection, I decided to tackle what seemed like the smallest and most necessary project: de-tarnish our brass door hardware. Last weekend I successfully de-tarnished our brass outdoor light fixture (imagine it looking almost black, and me nursing it back to health).

For some reason, though, the door hardware tarnish is out of control.

Warning: don't be mistaken; this is not a "small" project. Many hours later, my labor is complete.

I've never de-tarnished brass before, so I looked up some helpful how-to's in Home Comforts, a book my buddy Sam thoughtfully sent me when I started this blog. This book is great, and it has helped me in several areas already, which I'll highlight in later posts.

Home Comforts told me to:

1) mix equal parts white flour and salt (I used table salt) with enough white vinegar to make a paste. (Oh, white vinegar, is there anything you can't do?)

2) Apply the paste to your brass surface and let it sit for an hour.

3) Remove the paste using a rag, and you should notice that the brownish tint has been replaced by a rose tint that can then be polished using standard metal polish.

There unfortunately does not appear to be a good non-chemical metal polish out there. If you know of a home remedy, I'd love to hear about it! So, I purchased 8 ounces of Brasso at Home Depot for $3.49.

Our outdoor light fixture only required one coating of the homemade paste before it was de-tarnished, but this door hardware was especially stubborn and required two applications.

Here's the hardware before

And a close-up for purposes of comparison

Here's how the hardware looks when covered in the paste

Here's the hardware after one application of the paste

And all clean, many, many hours of polishing later

The before-and-after close up

And here's the stupid thing I did: I failed to cover the lock when I was applying the paste the first time. So, the paste hardened inside the lock, and then we couldn't get our keys in the lock. Tired and running out of options and needing to lock our door and needing to get some items at Home Depot anyway, I asked a Home Depot employee what he thought I should do. Get a tiny file? Just buy a new lock? He said, to my surprise, take a hair pin and some WD-40, and that should do the trick. Genius! He was completely right, and I was fairly stupid.

Why didn't I just buy a new light fixture and new door hardware, or spray paint them black, and call it a day? Well, two reasons:

1) to be as green as possible, I generally try to operate under the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality, and in this case both items are fine and fully functioning

and

2) apparently the only acceptable finish for light fixtures and door hardware in our neighborhood is brass, so spray painting was out. Add that to the Draconian list.

The Brasso directions recommend polishing brass once every three months. So that I never have to spend a Sunday afternoon polishing brass again, I am going to get in the habit of maintaining these brass finishes once every three months on the same day I change our air filter.

DIY daily shower cleaner

Back in February, when I wrote about how I use Method Daily Shower Cleaner and was looking for an alternative, reader Samantha suggested using a DIY daily shower cleaner of vinegar, water and tea tree oil.

Last month I finally ran out of my Method cleaner refill, so I bought another spray bottle (not the Home Depot brand spray bottle, which I've noticed stop working after about a week) and got to work. I tried half vinegar, half water, but I thought the solution was too vinegary even after adding some drops of tea tree oil.

You can find tea tree oil in the organic section of your grocery store (along with other essential oils). Yes, they can be pricey, but they last a long time because you only need a couple drops to create a fresh smell.

Then I read on another blog, and now I forget where that was, that another lady uses about 1/3 vinegar, 2/3 water, because over time she's discovered that a little vinegar can go a long way.

I have to say, I agree, and I used her solution. Over the last month, my shower has stayed just as clean as it did when I was using the Method cleaner. Plus, a DIY solution is always cheaper and has fewer chemicals, and you know that's something I care about.

Another DIY cleaning product victory!

(In case you're wondering, most of our cleaning products are now DIY. Two I have not given up are our wood floor cleaner and our liquid dishwasher detergent, and I'll write more about those soon!)

BPA update

In her comment on my post on Wednesday regarding the book Slow Death by Rubber Duck, reader Mrs. B reminded us of the concern regarding BPA in plastic baby bottles. I'm glad she brought this up. Much of the BPA chapter in Slow Death by Rubber Duck focuses on BPA in children's items, baby bottles in particular. In fact, the authors successfully lobbied the Canadian government (both authors are Canadian) to ban children's items containing BPA.

Two years ago, when problems with BPA were really entering the national spotlight, I got rid of our BPA water bottles and upgraded to Sigg bottles. Of course, then about a year later Sigg announced a voluntary trade-in of its water bottles that may (or may not) be lined with BPA.

The couple that drinks out of Sigg bottles together stays together.

Thinking more about BPA got me thinking about my Oxo Pop Canisters that I love so much. These containers are made of hard plastic, so yesterday I flipped them over to find the number label. I suspected #7 plastic, the kind known for containing BPA, and I was right. But, I was pleasantly surprised to read underneath the #7 (found inside the recycling symbol) the word "other" and then below that the letters BPA crossed out inside a circle. No BPA! Hooray!

Can you spot the anti-BPA symbol? Look closely!

Book review: Slow Death by Rubber Duck

I am certainly not a germophobe, but I am most certainly a chemophobe. That's why when I heard about this new book -- Slow Death by Rubber Duck: The Secret Danger of Everyday Things by Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie -- I had to check it out (literally, from the library). Here's a book that further confirms my beliefs that we're all swimming in a pool of unhealthy chemicals that in many cases lead to an increase in various illnesses, most notably cancer.

This book spends eight chapters highlighting case studies dealing with seven extremely common yet ultimately unsafe chemicals we all encounter daily, along with the latest research by scientists and government agencies supporting that yes, in fact, these chemicals possess harmful side effects.

Here are the dirty seven:

• Phthalates -- usually the chemicals that provide fragrance, but also present in some children's toys (like rubber ducks!).
• Perfluorochemicals (PFCs -- aka Teflon) -- though normally just thought of in frying pans, these chemicals are increasingly in an array of products, including fast-food packaging (pizza boxes) and Gore-Tex clothing.
• PBDEs (aka flame retardants) -- most infamously in children's pajamas, but also found on much furniture or in electronics.
• Mercury -- found in large fish (think tuna), and also now being used in the popular compact fluorescent lights.
• Tricolsan (aka anything antibacterial) -- found in many hand soaps and sanitizers, but also showing up in cosmetics and household cleaners.
• Pesticides -- DDT is mostly a thing of the past, but others, such as 2, 4-D are popular and toxic.
• Bisphenol A (aka BPA) -- a common component of #7 plastics.

Some of these chemicals have faced more regulation over the last few decades; some are being regulated in certain parts of the world or the country; some are hardly regulated at all.

The authors add a personal element to the book by experimenting on their own bodies using these chemicals. They don't do anything outrageous; they eat tuna, microwave food in plastic containers, and breathe in air freshener, among other everyday activities. Then they enlist several scientists to help them collect frequent blood and urine samples before, during and after exposing themselves to everyday toxins. The results are, of course, troubling when the authors provide charts illustrating their initial toxin levels followed by toxin levels after exposure that are sometimes several times the amount deemed safe by the Centers for Disease Control.

Chapter 9, titled "Detox," is the most practical chapter of them all. If you're already convinced that chemicals in everyday products are bad for you, you can just skip to this chapter. "Detox" teaches you how you can reduce these toxins. Realistically, you can't avoid toxins. Even Inuit people near the Arctic Circle have toxins, such as PFOA (aka Teflon), in their blood because this chemical lasts for centuries once it's in our environment.

So, "Detox" helps you live with toxins. Now, I am not giving up my shampoo and conditioner, but I am trying to be careful when it comes to many of the suggestions given in this book. Most of this chapter reconfirmed some of my beliefs, and other parts gave me some new suggestions. Some highlights:

• Phthalates -- Eventually take down our PVC shower curtain liner and replace with a more natural product.
• Perfluorochemicals (PFCs -- aka Teflon) --Dump our non-stick pots and pans if they show signs of scratches, which is when they become a more serious hazard.
• PBDEs (aka flame retardants) -- Donate or recycle old electronics to avoid increasing the amount of PBDEs in the environment (check!)
• Mercury -- In addition to not eating much tuna (done), always return mercury-containing products, such as compact fluorescent light bulbs, to stores such as Home Depot that recycle them properly.
• Tricolsan (aka antibacterial) -- Give up my Bath and Body Works antibacterial hand soap (but it smells so good...probably from the phthalates).
• Pesticides --We can't afford to eat all organic, all the time, but we can do a better job of buying The Dirty Dozen in organic varieties.
• Bisphenol A (aka BPA) -- Never heat up food in the microwave in plastic containers, which includes plastic wrap. (Side note: Plastic wrap is something I've always hated, mostly because I can't for the life of me figure out how to make it stick without using half a roll.)

Now, if you know me, you know I don't advocate getting rid of items that still function appropriately. So, I won't be throwing anything out or radically altering my existence as a result of this book, but I will try to make better choices whenever I plan to bring something new into our house.

DIY laundry detergent experiments

I've wanted to try my hand at making my own laundry detergent for some time, but thanks to our Costco-sized Tide bottle, I didn't have a chance until a couple weeks ago.

Experiment, take 1
First I tried a recipe from my Clean Home, Green Home book. It is simply titled "Easy laundry soap," and it doesn't specify if that means liquid or powder detergent, but I should have realized it would be powder.

As the name suggests, it is quite easy.

Here's the breakdown. Mix together the following:

• 1/8 cup castile soap
• 1/2 cup washing soda
• 1/2 cup borax
• Optional: 1/4 cup vinegar added to rinse cycle

The instructions state you can add more castile soap if you aren't satisfied with the cleanliness of your clothing. Frankly, I just couldn't figure out what kind of consistency this soap was supposed to have when everything was mixed together. The castile soap is liquid, so it made everything a little clumpy.

I tested this out on towels we use for the dogs along with the dogs' bed covers. I figured if I failed I would have ruined some easily replaceable, inexpensive items. The laundry came out quiet clean, but there was no fresh-laundry fragrance lingering on the items.

Experiment, take 2
For round 2, I decided to change things up. I prefer liquid detergent, so I searched for a recipe for that. I found this post at a blog I read, More Green for Less Green. It directed me to this site, Tip Nut, and like the author of More Green for Less Green I decided to give the Recipe #1 a shot. I'm glad I did. This recipe is much better, it left my clothes with a nice fragrance, and it was kind of fun to make, too. And I better like it because I just made us enough laundry detergent to make it to next Valentine's Day.

To test this recipe, I had to buy a new ingredient: Fels-Naptha soap. I had no idea what this was, and before heading to the grocery store I figured I wouldn't find it and I'd buy some plain Ivory soap as the site suggests. I was wrong. Fels-Naptha was right there in the cleaning aisle, conveniently next to the washing soda, another new item I'd purchased for the first time last month. This land of DIY cleaners has introduced me to some things I never even knew existed. If you're wondering, Fels-Naptha has an intense smell, but it's an intense good smell, one that smells very...clean. It's kind of retro looking too.

Here's what I did:
Boil one quart of water while grating 2 cups of Fels-Naptha soap. I bought two bars of this soap because I had no idea how much would create 2 cups. Turns out I needed about 1/3 of one bar, so at this rate I could be in my mid-30s by the time I'm done with these two bars. Oh well.

Doesn't the soap look like cheddar cheese? I felt like I was about to make some mac and cheese.

Add the grated soap to the boiling water. Now it really looks like I'm cooking mac and cheese, right? Stir for only about a minute until the soap completely dissolves.

Transfer the water and soap mixture to a large bucket. Add 2 cups borax and 2 cups washing soda. Stir until combined.

Finally, add 2 gallons of HOT water to the bucket and mix well. (I learned that lukewarm water will make the mixture too dry.) This mixture is the laundry soap that will begin to take on a gel-like consistency. I almost needed a bigger bucket!

The instructions say you should use about 1/4 cup of this detergent in each load of laundry.

In the future, I will skip the powder detergent recipe and go straight for this liquid recipe. I am shocked at how inexpensive this homemade detergent is, especially as I walked by an $18 bottle of Tide while I toted around a couple items that cost a couple dollars each. I have leftovers of all products, and I know this will all last a very long time. At first I was also worried that even though I was saving money and being greener I would be wasting time, but it turns out that as long as you have the patience to grate some soap for about 10 minutes, you'll able to make some detergent that will save you several more trips to the store.

Computer recycling: goodbye, old friend

With very little clutter in our house, this weekend Matt and I engaged in a partial attempt to rid our house of a few lingering items. This included recycling my Dell Inspiron 2500 that my parents bought me in 2001 as I entered my third year of college.

It has been out of commission for several years, particularly after it stopped connecting to the internet. Sitting in the back of our office closet, when I got it out this weekend I was reminded of 1) its incredible weight and 2) the fact that it is not a widescreen laptop. Being several years removed from this device reminded me of what a dinosaur it is and confirmed my feeling that this computer would not be of much use to anyone.

So, I Googled "computer recycling Fairfax" and the first site was the right site. I came across this Electric Sunday event that I discovered around 9 a.m. Sunday. The best news: Electric Sunday, while not every Sunday, was happening yesterday just an hour after I heard about it. This, my friend, is the organization gods smiling down upon me.

We drove up to the I-66 Transfer Station (near the intersection of 29 and the Fairfax County Parkway, if you're trying to place it). The workers won't even allow you to get out of your car for "safety reasons," which is fine by me. I handed them my laptop and power cord and bid them farewell.

I still had my laptop case, designed for older, bulkier computers, so I posted it for free on Craigslist yesterday at 12:30 p.m. I give you this time because, by 1 p.m., I had received 10 emails from people who wanted the item. The first person to respond sent his girlfriend driving toward my house before I could blink. It was unprecedented insanity, but I am happy to have given away something that someone can (apparently) actually use.

(On a side note, I also gave away a Belkin iPod FM transmitter -- dozens of responses to that one -- and I sold those two floating shelves for $15 total. From posting to pick up, all three items were gone within four hours. Craigslist victory!)

Now I've freed up some space in a closet, helped someone out, and I can sleep at night knowing that my laptop is (hopefully) not going to wind up in a landfill in Asia, leaking chemicals into the water supply.

Tip 56: Bulk foods (and a cookie recipe!)

You may already know about my love/hate attitude toward Costco and unnecessarily out-of-control consumerism, and if so, you may find the title of today's post confusing. Let me clarify...

Tip 56: Make the most of your grocery store's bulk foods section. Consider dry goods you typically buy in packages, and see if it makes sense to purchase just the quantity you need from the bulk foods section. You will probably discover yourself being more economically and environmentally friendly.

At my grocery store's bulk foods section, I've always been tempted by the bulk candy, so much so that I often overlooked all the other treasures waiting to be uncovered.

See? I like candy and tiny containers, like these mini-gummy bears I picked up in the bulk foods aisle and stored in this small canning jar.

But then Matt started buying dried fruit and nuts in the bulk foods section, and I started to look at the section of the store from a different perspective.

Save money
Once we embraced the bulk foods section, we started saving a little money. This is partially because we started replacing some brand-name products with essentially generic bulk foods products. Before we would buy walnuts, pecans, almonds in the baking aisle in pre-packaged quantities. Then we'd put the unused pieces in the freezer, and two years would pass and we'd forget about those pecans in the freezer. Buying in bulk has helped us get what we need and use it while it's fresh.

Be green
Anytime you can waste less, you're being green in my book. Buying in bulk also helps cut down on packaging. We try to be painfully honest in our bulk foods purchases, so that we only mix together items of the same price in one bag. Even with separate bags, though, for items of different prices or from different categories, we still have less packaging on average than we would find in the regular grocery store aisles.

Welcome to the future: copious bulk foods
I'm also impressed by the variety you can now find in many bulk foods aisles. Besides dried fruit and nuts, you can also find grains, chocolate (great for baking) and snack items. Our Wegmans grocery store has an organic and non-organic bulk foods section. Whole Foods has even more selection, which includes beans (and I'm trying to get us away from canned beans thanks to their significantly higher sodium content and BPA-lined packaging). I know I'm probably not shocking you with this information, but if you're like me there's the possibility that you've never really appreciated the deals you might find in this area of the store.

And now, a recipe I tried out last week using items from Wegmans bulk foods section!

This recipe is from the September 2009 Everyday Food magazine, and though it is gluten-free, we did not make it because of any sort of dietary restrictions. This is a great recipe for anyone, but I could imagine it could be especially great for anyone who needs to avoid gluten.

Flourless Double-Chocolate Pecan Cookies
From Everyday Food, with my comments in bold italics
Makes 12

• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder (spooned and leveled)
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt [be careful not to add too much salt like I did accidentally]
• 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped [we found this item in bulk foods]
• 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts [our substitution...bulk foods was out of pecans!]
• 4 large egg whites, room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, cocoa, and salt. Stir in chocolate and pecans. Add egg whites and stir just until incorporated (do not overmix). [This point about not overmixing is crucial.]
2. Drop dough by 1/4 cupfuls, 3 inches apart, onto two parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets. [If you're like me, there will be more batter than seems reasonable for 12 cookies, so you'll wind up making much bigger cookies than you anticipated.] Bake until cookie tops are dry and crackled, about 25 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. [I cooked ours for a little over 30 minutes.] Transfer sheets to wire racks and let cookies cool completely. (To store, keep in an airtight container, up to 3 days.) [You can keep these way longer than 3 days...we're on day 6 over here, and those cookies are still great. They'll be light weight in your hands but heavy in your stomach, so proceed with caution!] 

Experiment updates

I told you earlier this week that I've been engaging in several household experiments. So far, I have won one and lost one.

Household win: recycling!

Matt and I did this fairly easy switch for a new recycling "bin" that is actually a trash can with a recycling sign slapped on. On Thursday, the recycling company accepted it as they would a regular-sized recycling bin. Victory! Now I will have to figure out a paint plan to make that recycling logo official. Maybe I'll make a stencil!

Household fail: gas company meter reading

The gas company did, in fact, send someone to our house on Thursday to read our gas meter after I complained about an insanely high bill. I know the company actually came by, not because I was home, but because 1) there were footprints in our mulch and 2) when I called the company Friday, they told me they took this reading of 6847, exactly what I saw when I snapped this photo as evidence Thursday morning before leaving for work

So, it seems like this should also fall into the category of a household win, no? WRONG! Here's the deal:

The company claims they really took a reading on April 7 of 6826 CCFs. They are sticking to that claim, despite the fact that the second customer service rep I talked to at Washington Gas told me, "I doubt that actually happened." Right, me neither, because I had to leave our gate open to let someone in on Thursday, and I haven't done that in the three and a half years we've lived here.

This reading is only funny because it means that between April 7 and April 29 we only used 21 CCFs, but between March 9 and April 7 we used 200 CCFs, which I take issue with because we turned our heat off on March 15. When the person I talked to on Friday said the company sticks by these numbers and will not be adjusting our most recent bill, I said, "So, this means that I can expect an incredibly small bill issued in early May?" he said, "Yes." I mean, if this is true, we're talking about the smallest bill we've ever received while living in this house. I will be watching you, Washington Gas.

Finally, I said, "I would really like to be able to send in my meter readings [any method: website, phone, snail mail, whatever!] each month so I can be guaranteed that the bills are accurate," he remained me that Washington Gas does not allow us to do that, but that I can pay attention to the next meter reading day listed on my gas bill and call if I see a discrepancy. Well, you can bet I will be doing that. Something just seems off in this entire situation, and it annoys me that Matt and I conscientiously turn our thermostat down in the winter and up in the summer in efforts to be environmentally friendly but also help save money, yet it does not seem to affect our bills.

The next meter reading date in May 6, and you can bet I've already entered that in my Google calendar!

Simple fixes, part 1: garden hose

This will kick off the...wait for it...series of TWO whole posts about how taking a second (or 30 minutes, or one hour) to fix those little things around your house that have been bugging you can help you reach a zen-like state. This is partially inspired by an after-school conversation I had the other week with my friend Cara, as we caught up and compared notes on the little things we needed to finally handle in our lives.

Exhibit A: Constantly leaking garden hose
Simple fix: a washer!

If you know me or you've been reading this blog for more than a day, you might already know that I try to be green, and my husband Matt is even more environmentally conscious than me. So, it was wearing both of us down when we turned on our outside spickets last month and found them spouting lots of water that wasn't making its way into our garden hoses.

Now, this water loss was partially the fault of our old hoses, so we knew it was time to get some replacements. First, though, we tested the garden hose of our trusty neighbors Paul and Mimi. We took their coil hose and tried it in our spicket. It worked magically with absolutely no wasted water, so we knew a quick jaunt to Home Depot to find our replacement hoses would solve our dilemma.

We got two of these fun coiled hoses (regularly $19.97 each, on sale when we purchased them for $30.04 for two). They are awesome because they automatically save space without the extra work involved in wrapping up the hose on your own after every use.

We brought home two new hoses from Home Depot and hooked them up, only to discover -- no dice! We had a similar case of spouting water as we had before. We compared the hoses we bought to the one from Paul and Mimi, and we couldn't see a difference. Baffled, Matt drove back to Home Depot while I held down the fort.

A few minutes later, Matt returned with the solution: washers!!! We did not have a washer inside our hoses' connections to the spicket, and that was giving us our ongoing problem. By simply inserting this little washer into the end of the hose, we solved our problem.

Look at that beautiful, leak-free connection in our backyard!

We have one spicket and hose inside our garage, and this was proving to be even more problematic than the one in our backyard, but now we've solved that problem as well. What a little washer can do!

And our yard has been reaping the fruits of this hosing labor.

First of all, I planted some grass seed on April 3.

Here's what the grass looked like on April 16:

Here's what the same patch of grass looks like today

Pretty good for less than two weeks later, eh? I see the patchiness, which I plan to work on fixing this weekend with some more soil and seed in the patchy areas.

I've also got that scallion experiment update for you.

The scallions on April 9, right after planting.

On April 16

Today

They're starting to look like actual scallions! They are not quite the height of the kind you buy in the grocery store, but I would bet that in the next two weeks they will be approaching their full-grown state. I have to say, I find it so awesome that all this came from the ends of the scallions we usually throw away.

Next up...simple fixes, part 2: oven cleaning.