Information Jeff sent out after the last Simple Living Meeting

I saw a great article a couple of days ago that I found pretty motivational. Here it is:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/magazine/20wwln-lede-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=magazine

Here are a few items that came out of the meeting:

Water conservation:

Erin collects water as she waits for it to warm up for washing dishes and uses it for watering plants.

Use “gray water” (or used wash water from dishes, clothes,…) for watering plants/lawn ( I think you need to be careful about watering vegetables with this). In the summer, if I ever wash my car, I do it on the front lawn so the grass/trees get some water.

Collect rainwater for watering plants. You could really go for it and use rain water for a lot of household functions. We have 2 old water heaters that fill up w/ rainwater from the roof. Work well and look ok once you take the outer insulation off. I picked up both water heaters from the side of the road.

Bug Control:

Christophe told us how to make a cool bug/wasp/fly trap made from a 2L bottle ( cut top half off, fill with colored sugar water, flip top and insert); flies get in, can’t get out.

Fleas/Ants: we used these nematodes to help correct a flea infestation in our yard; I think they worked great. It sounds like they may work for ants as well. Here is the site:

http://www.arbico-organics.com/nematodecombo.html

For insect repellant, we have starting using “Bug Bands” which are citronella impregnated wrist bands. They seem to work well. As far as bug spray is concerned, we have some Burt’s Bees bug spray that works well. No deet so I feel ok about putting it on the little one.

Biking around BR:

Baton Rouge Bike path info:

http://brgov.com/dept/planning/bike/routes.htm

Local pro-bike group that Christophe remembered from earth day:

http://bikebr.org/

Urban/Apartment Compost Ideas:

Make a compost bin out of a big pot and put it on the balcony/porch. Worms would probably eat up your veggie scraps like crazy. Maria suggested putting some shredded newspaper in there every once in while to keep everything moving along.

I’ve seen some indoor, under counter worm bins/ compost bins that may work. Not sure how well they work.

Green your life

While watching The View last week, I was intrigued by Deirdre Imus so I bought 2 of her books. I can't seem to put them down. growing up green and green this! are awesome. She talks about safe ways to clean your home, feed your children, prepare for pregnancy, and choose a pediatrician. I hope people will read these books and start to protect themselves and their families.

I have been addicted to www.cosmeticsdatabase.com since yesterday. I have been typing in all of the products we have in our house. It rates your personal care products according to toxicity. Very interesting! Bad news is that I will need to make a trip ( or several) to Whole Foods to restock after I throw all of my terrible products away!!

Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price teaser

Story of Stuff Teaser