Maybe THIS is how we drastically cut dependence on fossil fuels?

Is Solar Suburbia the Way to Power Modern Cities?

I saw this article on Scientific American's website and found it most interesting.  The author cites a few studies that say putting solar panels on suburban houses and installing charging stations for electric cars would create enough energy to not only power said houses but charge their electric vehicles.  WITH SURPLUS to put back into the grid. The point of the article is that if we support urban sprawl rather than curb it (by designing tighter city centers to cut down on fossil fuel consumption) then we can power metropolitan centers with energy from suburban neighborhoods.  Read it for yourself, and make sure you take a look at the comments as well. 

This isn't the first time I've heard this notion.  I read somewhere that if we put a solar panel on every roof in America, then our energy problems would be over.  (I wish I could find that article again, but I can't. I want to say Robert Redford said it some years ago. Sorry.)  I think this idea warrants some consideration.  If we can then have plug-in stations in every parking spot/garage, then we've effectively eliminated the vast majority of dependence on fossil fuels.  

We could also get rid of our electric bills.  Wouldn't that be nice? I understand that we'd still need someone to facilitate the grid, but that grid would depend on property owners.  It wouldn't be the other way around.

I know this is pie-in-the-sky kind of thinking.  Money makes the world go 'round... not common sense.  The wealthiest people in the world have vested interests in oil and energy.  I bet they are actively working to keep ideas like this squashed.  

Getting rid of dependence on fossil fuels... now THAT'S cutting the crap.      

Agave Nectar: It’s sweeter than you think! (and not in a good way!)

I read this article earlier today, and it got my wheels turning.  As parents, my husband and I are constantly looking for ways to cut sugar and CRAP out of our family’s diet.  I was actually thinking that agave nectar might be a better alternative to sugar.  Now I’m convinced it’s just more hype.  WebMD has a similar article here, and Jonny Bowden doesn't buy into the hype, either (I noticed some info from his article cut and pasted into the first article I cited.).   

Turns out, agave nectar is just like high fructose corn syrup, and in some cases it can even be worse.  The article I cited above (while a bit disorganized) offered quite a bit of explanation around sucrose, fructose, and glucose.  Sucrose is more of the natural state of sugar… pure cane sugar, if you will, and it’s better for you than fructose.  Fructose occurs naturally in fruit and is fine in moderation (about 25 grams a day), but in higher amounts, it is processed through the liver and whatever isn't absorbed (which is most of it), is turned into fat.  Glucose is good.  Our body uses it for everything.  I found these little tidbits of information to be quite enlightening.  It also reconfirmed some points I made in another blog post citing blood vessel inflammation as the leading cause of heart disease (not cholesterol).  I love it when I can connect the dots.

 

Let me be clear.  Agave itself is not the problem.  It’s how it’s processed. 

ANYTHING processed needs to be axed from our diet.  I've known this for a long time, and while we've done a lot to get most of the processed foods out of our cupboards and our fridge, we still have a long way to go.  I think an overhaul is in order, and I need to take that overhaul with me everywhere I go. 

At work, I try to use raw sugar in my tea every morning, and I have an occasional Coke.  I succumb to sugary treats at work far more often than I’d like to admit.  However, it is obvious now that my love of sugar has translated into that flat tire that encircles my waist. 

I need to cut the crap and just live with it.  This needs to be done for me… and for my family.    

Put the Sponge in the Dishwasher? REALLY?

Yes!  You can put sponges in the dishwasher!  Thanks, Frugal Girls, for this awesome tip!  This cuts the crap out of germs in kitchen sponges!

According to WebMD, the kitchen is the germiest room in the house.  An article in The Daily Mail declared, "The kitchen sponge is 200,000 times dirtier than a toilet seat - and could even lead to PARALYSIS"... so YES.  We should either toss those germ factories into the trash or clean them somehow.  In the past, I simply sprayed them with a bleach solution, but that tended to break down the sponge pretty quickly.  Recently, I resorted to spraying my kitchen sponges with Sol-u-mel from Melaleuca.  It's organic and is proven to kill even e coli.  

I have to say, I really like the idea of just tossing sponges in the dishwasher, though.  The combination of heat and cleaner should be GREAT to get rid of the nastiness!  I'm going to try this!

Father's Day Gift! I cut the crap!

I know it’s a little late for a post about Father’s Day, but since I made my husband's gift THE DAY BEFORE Father’s Day, it’s not like I had time to post about it ahead of time.  But in any case, I cut the crap by re-purposing an old t-shirt into something new and useful – even if it’s only useful in a decorative sort of way. 

Rob really loved this t-shirt.  At some point, he splattered battery acid on it and created multiple tiny holes.  After wearing and washing several times, these holes got bigger.  SOOO…  The t-shirt went to the back of the closet and was forgotten until recently.  He cleaned out things and put this t-shirt in the rag pile.  I know he was a bit sad about this, so my brain immediately started to run through ways I could save that shirt.  What did I come up with, you ask?  A pillow.  It can sit on our bed and remind him that our kids think he’s the Dad of Dads.  J

How did I do this?  I cut out as much of the decal and the surrounding non-damaged t-shirt as possible.  Front and back.  Then I sewed it, stuffed it, and closed it up.  This isn’t a sewing blog, so I’m not going to give you step-by-step instructions.  There are plenty of tutorials out there; just google it.  In fact, here’s one.

You can do this with any old t-shirt, really.  In fact, I have a few concert t-shirts that are pretty much worn out.  I think I’m going to give them a second chance by turning them into pillows.  Why not?  You can always cut them into rags, because let’s face it: t-shirts are nice and soft and work great to wipe down a window or counter.  Whatever you do, think twice before throwing them in the trash, though.  I’m sure that eventually they’ll wear out.  No matter what.  But make sure you’ve gotten all your use out of them before tossing them away.     Here are some additional ideas. Just google "tshirt pillow" to get how-to instructions and pictures! 

Cut The Crap! Shop at Thrift Stores!

So, in my quest to cut the crap, I’m not sure I’m actually cutting the crap in my house.  I did do something cool recently, though, to keep crap out of the landfill.  I propagated some plants and re-potted them in pots I bought from thrift store.  I also bought some used children’s books and a few home décor items… all from the thrift store.  Not only did I get some great items for a fraction of the cost, but these items are getting a second (or maybe third?) life at my house.  It’s a win win. 

Let me start with my plants.  I have a huge spider plant that I affectionately call Big Mama.  This plant has survived several “murder” attempts, and we’ve given countless of her “babies” to friends and family.  She continues to make babies, though, and I have to do SOMETHING with them. 

I went to Walmart to look at cheap pots.  All of the “cheap” pots  were just that.  Cheap.  The inexpensive ones were plastic or terrible plaster things.  The nicer pots were obviously more pricey.  This was the case everywhere I went: Home Depot, Lowes, Target, etc.  I found a few cute pots, but really didn’t want to spend a lot since I had about 10 (you read that right. 10.) baby plants to transplant.  So I went to my favorite thrift store and found these. 

I repotted them this weekend and so far everything is looking great!  I’ll post more pictures of the happy little plants soon… and THEN I’ll have to go buy some additional pots because Big Mama has even MORE babies coming!  Does anyone want a plant?  Hahaha!

If you’ve read my previous blog posts, you know I love books.  My entire family loves books.  So when I saw these, I jumped at the chance to buy them.  Who can resist when they are less than $2?  My daughter had so much fun picking books that from now on I’m going to bring her with me to the thrift store.  She can pick up as many books as $10 will buy!  Why not?  We should always encourage reading!  AND when we’re done with these gently used books, they’ll go right back to the thrift store so another child can enjoy them. 

That brings me to the home décor… I bought a tray and a jewelry box.  I thought the tray would be perfect for Christmas cookies during holiday get-togethers, AND it only cost $4!  Can’t beat that!  It’s in perfect condition, too. 

Here’s the jewelry box.  It’s beaded and has a small mirror and tray inside.  This, too, was only $4!  It looks great with the colors in my bedroom, and I needed an extra place to stash my growing jewelry collection.  LOVE IT.

I’m sold on the merits of thrift-store shopping.  J  You can find unique items at low prices and keep said items out of the trash heap.  Why buy everything new when you don’t have to? 

More Electronics Recycling! Hardware Art!

How’s this for cutting the crap?  Make use of old, outdated computer hardware by repurposing it as abstract art!  WHY NOT?  This will keep tons of silicon crap out of our landfills and provide some interesting conversation pieces.  This particular piece is an old IBM server hard drive circa 1990!  It stands on its own and reminds me of an aerial map of some metropolis we never knew about.  It also weighs about 5 pounds.  The owner tells me that it is still functional (what!), but is so outdated that nothing we have today will run on it.  Still.  This looks really cool and could even be used as a bookend.     

Just on a whim, I decided to see what other folks were doing with old computer crap they had lying around.  I googled it, and here are some of the interesting things that showed up. 

Theo Kamecke made this striking box from circuit boards.  It’s not only beautiful, but functional. Click the link to see his other stuff.  This guy is amazing.  You can also read a cool article in MaximumPC about other amazing pieces of art.     

Pretty cool stuff, right? I especially like the take on insects.  VERY imaginative.

Cut the Crap Update

I’m not the world’s worst blogger, but I really should be better about regular entries, shouldn't I?  I’m not going to promise to be better.  I’ll do what I can.  Life has a way of leaving you a little breathless at times, and only now have I gotten the chance to breathe, let alone write.

I've changed jobs, so I've been busy.  However, I thought I needed to cut the crap and get out of a stressful situation while also growing my career.  It was needed.  It was time to move on.  One of the best reasons to change jobs is to gain a broader knowledge base.  I’m doing pretty much what I was doing before, only now I’m getting paid more.  AND I’m not dealing with as much uncertainty.  I’m also learning a lot about the hosting industry right at a time when cloud management is on the rise (ahem, it HAS been on the rise if anyone has been paying attention).  I wouldn't have learned this at my last job, so I’m thankful to be on the cutting edge. 

On the home front, we are still trying to simplify our lives.  It isn't more complicated since last I wrote, but it is more full.  My son will start homeschooling with his sister this summer.  We bought chickens and intend to go completely organic with our egg consumption (I’ll keep you posted on that).  We’re sifting through our old junk and hope to get rid of it one yard sale at a time.  We are having our house painted by an independent contractor.  He came highly recommended, but we chose him in part because we wanted to stimulate the local economy. 

So… we are making conscious choices to cut the crap and make a difference in small ways.  I’ll chronicle what I can, when I can.  Stay tuned…