Fall Gleaning for Apples

A couple weeks ago, we spent a lovely fall afternoon picking apples, and came home with a big bushel full of the fresh crisp fruits for practically nothing.

It was the Annual Gleaning Day our local orchard. Every year, at the end of the season, they allow people to "glean" all the apples that are left on the tree. There were also pumpkins, squash and gourds, but we had our hands full with apples. All they ask is that you donate something to local food pantries (You are also limited to one bushel of apples and you have to purchase a basket for $3, but I can think of a million uses for a nice bushel basket!).

The apples that were left were not "perfect" like you see in the grocery store, there were some spots and knobs and misshapen fruit, but the taste is amazing. A cool crisp apple freshly picked from the tree is pure heaven. We have been eating them fresh for weeks, and I also made applesauce and canned some slices for pie.
I will be marking the calendar for next year's fall gleaning. It's a great way to get inexpensive healthy food, support your community, and it's a great way to spend an afternoon outdoors!

Sustainable Living Challenge

This blog is a record of my journey to add a little bit of 'the way it used to be' to my modern life. I want to get back to when we, didn't spend so much money we don't have on things we don't need. Back when we went outside, knew our neighbors and saw more wildlife. Back to shopping on main street, and eating real nutritious food.

Sustainable Living Challenge
This year, my sister Sarah and I have been working on (and just now getting organized) our personal plans to become more sustainable. We will be reporting our progress in our newsletter Handcrafts & All Things Green. Sign up for updates there by entering your email in the top left corner (be sure to watch for an email confirmation in your inbox!).

Basic Goals of the Sustainable Living Challenge:

1. Be Healthy
2. Maintain an Efficient and Sustainable Home
3. Benefit the Environment
4. Save Money
5. Support Community
6. Live a Simple & Enjoyable Life
7. Encourage and Inspire others

We made goals based on our different situations, but we challenge you to come up with your own Sustainable Living Challenge. Feel free to add comments or email us anytime.

Does Your Hair Care? Part 3

In Part 1 of Does Your Hair Care?, I explored what possibly harmful ingredients are in my current shampoo, and other brands.

In Part 2 of Does Your Hair Care? I started looking into homemade options, including different 'real' soaps, and Baking soda wash/vinegar rinse.

Part 3: The baking soda experiment results
I only shampoo every other day for various reasons, so I was already on the way to weaning myself off of shampoo.

Week 1

• Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Liquid soap: Very hard to use (especially diluted) and my hair felt greasier after I used it. (There are still many uses for the Dr. Bronner's though!)
• Baking Soda: I mixed about 1/4 cup of baking soda in 1 cup of water in a (reused) plastic bottle with a little lavender oil. Squirting in on my scalp and working it in is definitely something to get used to after using lathering shampoos. It felt good though, and smelled nice.
  
• Vinegar Rinse: After the baking soda scrub, I sprayed a mixture of diluted vinegar and chamomile tea on my hair and rinsed. This part felt really good, my hair felt softer and silkier.
  
• Back to shampoo: Towards the end of the week I was getting a little too greasy, so I broke out the shampoo. It's a process...

Week 2

• Same as Week 1- Dr. Bronner's too greasy, Baking soda/vinegar rinse nice, still had to shampoo one time a week to be able to go out in public.
  

Week 3

• Weaning off of shampoo! I can go more days without washing after the shampoo, with just warm water rinse and massaging my scalp in between.
  
• Baking soda wash: Tends to leave my hair a bit dry and I have to use conditioner. Vinegar rinse still works great! (I also use it as part of my facial cleansing routine!)

Week 4

• Giving up the baking soda: It's a nice idea, and I will still use it periodically for a good scrubbing (and it would be good to bring camping). There are plenty of people out there that swear by it, but everyone is different.
  
• Hemp Soap: I bought a bar of hemp soap with patchouli (not too strong) from my little local soap shop for $3.50. The soap lady said it was good for the scalp and would last a long time. I really like how it works- my hair is not too dry and not too oily, and has a nice fresh smell.
  
• Emergency Shampoo: I still keep a little bit of shampoo around, for those extra greasy days, but I'm almost free from it!
  

So, Does Your Hair Care?
Mine does, and it prefers homemade hemp soap. I'm happy because it's pretty inexpensive, cleans well, and my hair and scalp looks and feels great.

It's also perfect for traveling; you can cut off a chunk and use it for whole body soap (my face still prefers the oatmeal/baking soda scrub though)

What does your hair prefer? Any natural hair care tips?
Add a note, by clicking on "comments" at the bottom of the post (or reply if in email format)

Thrifty Shopping

For Many, Thrift Shops Are a Wardrobe Essential - New York Times:

"According to the National Association of Resale and Thrift Shops, the industry is growing at a rate of 5 percent a year. And as the prices of gasoline and groceries edge higher and debt — be it mortgage or credit card — weighs more heavily, saving money on clothes, shoes and household goods has become increasingly essential for many people."

Why Shop Secondhand?

• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Even if you're not on a tight budget, shopping secondhand is still a great thing. It is recycling at its finest- keeping perfectly usable stuff out of landfills. You can have nice things without spending so much money and consuming new materials.


• Impulse Control: When I'm looking for something, I always check Goodwill first. It's fun, like a treasure hunt, and it also helps with impulse control. If you don't find what you're looking for, you have to wait until it shows up, and it forces you to think about whether you really need it.


• The Hunt: My most recent thrifty treasures include a breadbox, a roll-top desk, curtains, work pants for the boyfriend ($5 secondhand jeans last longer than $15 new jeans), and cute brand name clothes for me. Everything is in great condition at a quarter (or less) of what you would pay new. Some things are even new!

Thrifty shopping is the way to go! Don't be embarrassed when someone asks where you found that wonderful item, be proud of your thriftiness. Hopefully it will spread and catch on, and more people will shop smarter.

Find a Store Near You:

• thethriftshopper.com
• Find a Goodwill Store
• Find a Salvation Army

How to Buy Local

Meet Your Local Farmer courtesy of Mother Earth News:

"Recent news about the side effects from artificial colorings and preservatives, the decline of nutrients in mass-produced food, and the unappetizing practices of industrial beef production have made the choice crystal clear: Bypass all of that and buy as much food as feasible from local farmers you can get to know and trust. You can go straight to the source and purchase food from a farmer, shop at a farmers market or join a CSA (community supported agriculture)."

Find out how to locate a local farmer with these Web sites:

Food Routes
LocalHarvest
Eatwild

The Modern Crafter

'Handmade 2.0' Published: December 16, 2007 in the New York Times, describes the movement to buy handmade (especially gifts) and the rise of the website Etsy, where people can buy and sell handmade items. The 'Do-it-Yourself' movement combined with old fashioned methods and some entrepreneurial spirit thrown in, and now modern crafters are using the internet to sell their creations, and even make a living from it.

The value of a site like Etsy is described perfectly in the article:

"It depends on people buying things... a throwback to the way consumption ought to be: individuals buying from other individuals. “Our ties to the local and human sources of our goods have been lost,” ... The idea is a digital-age version of artisanal culture — that the future of shopping is all about the past."

For a good example, check out my sister's Etsy store, www.redwickerbagdesign.etsy.com where she sells handmade reusable gift boxes, hand knitted scarves, and paper products made from Ellie Pooh Paper (Non-toxic, recycled paper made from elephant dung. Protects the elephants of Sri Lanka from poaching, and provides a revenue source for the local people).

Practical Gift Ideas for Gardeners

An article in the New York Times this week had some great ideas for gifts to give gardeners. I agree completely with her advice:

'Don’t give cute presents to your gardening friends. Avoid stones engraved with the words Love or Peace. Instead, think about what’s practical.'

Garden Gift Ideas:

• A basket for collecting vegetables, herbs, or cut flowers from the garden
• Gardening gloves- comfortable and strong
• Sun protection- Nice looking Hat (for extra convenience, look for one that is washable and soft so it can be thrown into a bag and taken everywhere) or Long sleeve UV protection Shirts
• Sunblock- I recommend Badger Sunblock 30SPF, it is made with natural ingredients and works great. Better for your skin and the environment (Badger also makes a bug repellent made with natural oils, it works for your backyard, but not so much in the deep woods)
• Skin care- natural lotions or soaps for overworked hands (Update- see my post on Help for Springtime Skin)
  
• Attractive thermometer or rain gauge
• Compost bin or worm bin- many models available in all sizes and price ranges
• Seeds- unique cultivars or heirloom varieties can be fun to try
• Books- especially ones with lots of colorful plant pictures, they get a gardener through the winter, with ideas and inspiration for next spring
  

Springtime, Wrapped and Beribboned

By Anne Raver, Published in the New York Times: December 6, 2007