gavishalva
My Summary…
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It's Reusable Bag Month!
Did you know that simply by using a reusable bag you can cut your ecological footprint? You???ll also begin to make a dent in the waste and pollution that sees 12 million barrels of oil and 14 million trees wasted each year to make plastic and paper bags. Most plastic bags are made from polyethylene …
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The Story of STUFF
I was thinking about the new year coming up and my compact pledge. I have kept to it for the most part, with the exception of some books that I should not have purchased. I am going to be more diligent in 2008.For those contemplating doing something similar or are simply interested in where our st …
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Its Time to Junk the Junk Mail!
One of my evil adversaries in the decluttering war is .... PAPER! I cannot believe how much paper comes into my little apartment. Combine that with my total lack of organizational skills and the bad habit of just setting mail down wherever, it becomes quickly overwhelming. So, I am going through …
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Downshift Your Driving -- Go Car Free One Day a Week
It takes total carbon dioxide emissions from most countries worldwide combined to equal just vehicle emissions in the United States, and as we consume more and more gas, pressure builds to drill in fragile and conflict-ridden areas. Yet a quarter of the trips Americans make are within walking dista …
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How long has it been since you've taken a vacatio...
How long has it been since you've taken a vacation? I don't mean using your vacation days when your children are sick because your own sick days have been all used up. I mean when have you taken a couple of weeks off to reconnect with your children, your spouse, or even yourself? Do you even have th …
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Chinese-produced fresh ginger is recalled
WASHINGTON, July 30 (UPI) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning Monday for consumers to avoid eating fresh ginger imported from China.See link for more information
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I'm excited!
There is something that I've really been wanting to get. But I don't want to and simply cannot afford to buy new. There is a possibility that I might be able to get it used and hopefully be able to afford it! I will update once I find out for sure.
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From within
In the process of simplifying and renewing, perhaps one of the most important aspects is that of purifying our bodies and souls. I am wondering if maybe that is where I went wrong a few months ago. I was so focused on the outer, on getting a clean house, on reducing the amount of "stuff" we have, …
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Starting over
Last year I began a journey that proved more difficult than I had imagined. I wanted to step off of the consumerism highway. I wanted to explore new and untraveled paths. I wanted to reduce our footprint on this planet. Alas, my journey was not successful. And now, months later, I look around m …
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A visit to Cindy's Porch
How often do we go out and buy something, then later realize that we either don't really need it or already have the same (or similar) item at home?I've found a great website whose principles totally fit into the Compacting lifestyle. At Cindy's Porch, the three cardinal rules for "rediscovering" …
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Just a little whining today...
I'm sorry I haven't posted in a few days...just been going through a difficult time recently. One bright spot though...when you don't have enough money to even pay the electricity bill or buy fresh food, you have no trouble at all sicking to The Compact! :)Here's looking forward to brighter days!
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Life is Good
Yesterday, I had such a nice day. I dropped the kids off at Sunday school and wasn't sure what to do with my 3 hours I had free. I thought about going to the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, but didn't want to spend the money. Besides, it was a beautiful day. I thought about walking around, looking a …
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My Ecological Footprint
Thanks to Jessica for pointing me to Earthday.net's Footprint Quiz.According to the site, there are 4.5 biologically productive acres for each person on the planet and they offer a quiz to find out what your particular footprint is. I found from the quiz that I am using 7 acres. A large part of …
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The humble, powerful table
For the longest time, its grieved me that so many families eat dinner on the run. It seems that most people I know do not sit down at the table for dinner as a family, much less for breakfast or lunch. In fact, according to research, only 40% of American families eat together even 2 or 3 times per …
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"You'd lose your head if it weren't attached"
I am constantly being told that. I am also constantly losing things. Now, I think that part of it is due simply to the amount of clutter in our apartment. 5 people in a little 2 bedroom apartment, along with a clutter problem, is a recipe for losing things.But I think my problem is much more than th …
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The Compact
If you haven't yet heard of The Compact, you may want to check into it. It was started by a group of people in San Francisco whose aims were:1) to go beyond recycling in trying to counteract the negative global environmental and socioeconomic impacts of U.S. consumer culture, to resist global corpo …
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More than enough
There is very little that we actually need. That kind of sounds funny to me because just a couple of months ago, you could always hear me saying "I need to buy this" or "we need this for the kitchen" or "I need to get the kids some new clothes". I've definitely gone through a change these past few w …
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The Organic Myth?
Pastoral ideals are getting trampled as organic food goes mass marketWow! I have been trying to switch over to organic for as much food as I'm able to get. But this article is certainly eye-opening and not at all how I pictured the organic scene. I suppose that the answer is to buy local, from peo …
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There's got to be a way...
I read posts and blog entries about people living in a small space and making it beautiful, comfy, cozy. I get inspired, then, when I look at our apartment, I literally start to cry.We are two adults and three children (13, 11, 8) in a small two bedroom apartment. All the kids are in one room and …
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Consumerism and traffic
Today as I drove to pick up the kids from school, I did some thinking in traffic on the freeway. I was completely surrounded by tractor-trailers. They are always there, but usually I only peripherally notice them. Today they had my full attention. I felt the rumble as one would drive past me. I …
Seeking Simplicity