Urban Ecoist

If you are a good little Urban Ecoist, you should be starting to harvest some pretty nice tomatoes right about now. Remember, even if you don’t have a yard in your urban environment, tomatoes are easy to grow in pots outside your door, on a balcony, or you can find a community garden to rent a plot. So you have no excuse to not grow your own tomatoes. And of course, I know you are growing them organically, because you are a smart, attractive, sexy gardener that eschews chemicals.

When I chose the tomatoes I am growing, I experimented with a few different hybrids. One is an “ultra early,” one is a extra-early, and then I tried a “determinate” and an “indeterminate.” What does all that mean? The “earlies” refer to when the tomatoes will be ready for picking, and the determinate versus indeterminate refers to how the tomatoes will come in, all at once or little by little. If you plant a good variety, as well as some fun heirlooms, you will have yourself a nice little harvest for the end of July and into September.

Of course, there is always that week or two when you feel like you are literally swimming in tomatoes, but if you don’t mind doing a little prep work, you can convert all of that lycopene-y goodness to salsas, marinara sauces, or you can “can” those puppies for those long winter months. Personally, I give tomatoes away to my neighbours, but as I now live in Portland, Oregon, where everybody seems to have a vegetable garden, I will try my hand at canning for the first time this year. If anyone has any advice, by all means, please let me know, and I will pass it on to my awesome, kickass readers!

Anyhoo, I did have another idea for all my little urban ecoists. Use your tomatoes to clean your face. Click on that last sentence to see how to do it. It’s simple. Tomatoes have really good acidic qualities, and can act as a toner for your skin. They are also great at clearing up blackheads. I have great skin (thanks to some good genetics that run through the Mcgrew and Neile Families), but heck, even I get blackheads on my nose. I tried those stupid Biore strips, I tried all kinds of mud and peel-off masks, and frankly, I have never had better results than from tomatoes. Crazy, I know, but effective.

garden, gardening, urban, community garden, tomatoes, salsas, Portland, Oregon, toner, skin care, DIY, blackheads

Wow, this blog has been dormant for quite some time, and oddly, just when being green and sustainable and eco-friendly and zero-emissions and composting and stuff is getting hot. Ew, kind of a bad pun there, with global warming and all, but you’ll see that I am full of bad puns.

Welcome to the first day of Urban Ecoist’s new life.

About me, the writer, your host: I live in Portland, Oregon. If you didn’t know, Portland is a very green and “green” city (I could add one more green referring to the populace’s penchant for pot, but I won’t — oops). LIving in Portland is like a test case for how a major American city can be environmentally sensitive and responsible.

Personally, I am a bit of a granola. I am not wearing hemp, but I do own a bamboo shirt. Not a hippie, but close in some aspects in terms of stereotypes. I was raised by grandparents that went through the Depression, so recycling and gardening was a big part of my childhood and teenage years. For me, this stuff is the ways things are and have been, but like everyone, there are always new ways to help out our environment. Adapting is what we do, and it is interesting how we are all adapting and going to adapt to this sudden realization that Earth is a closed ecosystem and we have the power to muck that up.

Anyhoo, here is my first shot at becoming Urban Ecoist. Living in a city may result in apartment living or renting a house. It is hard to install more efficient appliances and such when you don’t own your residence. Here is what I did as soon as I moved into the house I am currently renting. It’s easy and it will save you water.

Ta Dah!! The incredible low-flow toilet.

You can easy take a half-gallon milk jug or something similar and watertight, fill it with water, and sink it in your toilet’s water tank. By displacement, you effectively reduce the use of a half-gallon of water used in each flush.

Rubber bricks that do the same trick are available at hardware stores, but why not use something you have around the house already. You can add more bottles if you are totally serious about this, but be careful about decreasing the pressure of the flow too much. It may have messy consequences…

Portland, Oregon, sustainable, ecofriendly, environment, urban, zero emissions, low flow toilet

I was looking around the internet, searching for ways to organize my life (and make it stay that way) and found this list of 9 secrets. Most of them are common sense, but I’m thinking I need to really read them… you know really read… And see if they don’t make life better. They are also available at INeedMoreTime.com.

Note: I am not suggesting that you purchase anything from the site. Some information is available for free.

9 Secrets of Successful Organizers
by Barbara Myers

You can reduce your stress and enjoy more time for yourself and your family. Discover these seven secrets of getting and staying organized.

1. Keep like items together. Keep cutting boards, knives, peelers and vegetable brushes together near the sink. Place all manicure/pedicure supplies in a basket.

2. Store things where you use them. Keep extra sheets in bedrooms, videos near the TV and cleaning supplies on every floor.

3. Make frequently used items easily accessible and rarely-used items less accessible. If you use your blender daily, keep it on the counter. If you use it once a month, put it in the back of a low cabinet.

4. If you don’t use it get rid of it. Unless it’s a beautiful decorative item or a cherished memento, why are you keeping it? Pass it on.

5. Establish a place for everything. Designate a “home” for every item in your home. Make them so specific you can find things in the dark.

6. Always put it back where it belongs after you use it. Teach household members to do the same.

7. Use lists. Make lists of things to do and buy. Keep an on-going grocery list. Post a current leftovers list on the fridge door. Use a meals list.

8. Make it easy. Use hooks instead of hangers for kids’ coats. Take the lids off hampers. Preprint a grocery list so household members can simply circle needed items.

9. Develop systems and routines. Find the most efficient way to do laundry and stick with it. Use a meal planner consistently. You’ll save time by not having to think about the details.

organization, lists, i need more time, organize

You never realize how much stuff you own until you are forced to go through it all in an attempt to slim down your belongings so that you are not unfortunately buried under a mound fallen stuff. And I guess what’s bugging me at the moment isn’t the ladder I bought, or the lawn mower, or anything of that nature. It’s that (so far) I’ve found 6 pairs of nail clippers and something like 10 pairs of scissors. Who needs that many scissors? I remember when I was young my mother had this pair of stainless steel scissors that she would take to the scissor man when they became dull. He would sharpen them and bring them back. Now, our lives and our homes are littered with these ‘disposable’ items, that in some cases, never get disposed of. They hang around with marginal usefulness, being joined by brethren of the same ilk when we are so unlucky as to be without and in need of one just like it. The whole thing makes me tired.

Anyone have any ideas on how to keep from ending up with 47 pairs of nail clippers? Or 4 hair brushes? 15 pillows?

recycling, trash, cleaning up, cleaning out, disposable

Completely and totally appalled.

I’ve been trying to get on my recumbent bike and workout every day. I’ve been going strong for 15 days now, and haven’t skipped a day. Today however, the batteries that power the bike’s display and control the magnets that create the tension finally gave out and I was forced to go to Walgreen’s to purchase batteries. That’s all I went in for and that’s all I took to the counter. The man at the register rang up my item and made a move to put the batteries in a bag. I very quickly told him, “I don’t need a bag.” He placed the item in the plastic bag anyway and handed it to me. When I frowned at him, he promptly said, “We’re giving them away free. Please take one.” I know I grimaced. I know I did. I left.

Pimp.

Walgreens, plastic, bags, BYOB,   ban the bag

Most people don’t know this yet, but I am moving. Moving to North Carolina in the next couple of months. In trying to pack up everything I own and get my household slim and trim (I’ll be moving back into an apartment) I’ve been throwing out bags and bags off clothes. Let me rephrase… I’m been donating all of those clothes to Goodwill. Mostly jeans, and polo shirts. But the whole process made me wonder… is there a way that I can use some of that old clothing?

I found this article over at Green Options. It’s definitely worth the read.

recycle, denim, goodwill, green options, recycling, upcycling

Are you using too much detergent? Have you read the instructions on the box to see how much you are supposed to use? Sometimes, the scoops they provide are larger than needed. (An evil trick to make you use more.) Try an experiment with using less detergent until you find the smallest amount you need to still make a load clean. Then mark your scoop at that level (permanent marker works great for this.)

I personally have found that the small 1 tbsp scoop is enough of even my liquid detergent to get the clothes clean.

I know I posted about it several weeks back, but I wanted to provide an update. I got the Jimi wallet this morning in the post. It came in a small bubble-lite envelope made of 100% recycled paper (25% PCR - post consumer?) It is teal. It came with a small operator’s manual stuck inside. Filled with witty quips, it seems really more for laughs than for instruction. And if you were able to open the Jimi in the first place, I doubt you really need the instructions. But they are quite novel.

My initial thoughts on it are that it might not hold enough credit cards for the average user. It will only hold 5 - 4 in the credit card slot and 1 in the money clip. The manual says it can hold 3 folded bills, so while I don’t typically carry money, I might fit a couple more cards there. We’ll see.

It’s my post to test it out for a minimum of two weeks, then provide feedback. I’m think after that I should use it 2 more weeks then provide my final assessment (or make any modifications to my original assessment.)

Never wash your cell phone with your sheets. Both your sheets and your phone may come out clean, but only one will still be able to provide its intended function.

That’s exactly what I did yesterday. I was talking on the phone to my mother. When I got off the phone, I just laid the phone down. At some point in the next few minutes, it got covered by a sheet or pillow or something. Either way, it was wrapped up in the sheets that I tossed in the washing machine only a few minutes later. Twenty four hours after that, the phone still will not power up, and thus I am on a quest to find a new phone. Honestly, I was fine with the phone I had. But this whole situation has brought up a couple of questions for me…

What do I do with my water soaked a.k.a. dead phone? And would buying a refurbished device be more eco-friendly?

So, I read in a magazine not too long ago about a company, SellYourCell.com, that will buy your used (though 100% working) cell phone. SellYourCell.com is dedicated to the idea that used cell phones can have their useful lives extended with re-marketing. Re-marketing can and does result in lengthening the life of an individual phone and indirectly reduces the need for the purchase of a new phone. Extending the life of products in these ways are a recognized means of effective recycling.

Unfortunately, my phone isn’t working and therefore I can’t send it to them. My carrier is T-Mobile. To my amazement, with a little bit of digging, I was able to find that T-Mobile excepts old cell phones, working or not, any carrier, which they then donate to their T-Mobile Huddle Up program.

As far as refurbished devices, I would have to assume that they are more eco-friendly than a new phone. Should you decide to go this route, ReplaceYourCell.com, has quite a selection of unlocked, and ready to use phones.

OK folks. Here it is, my first installment in the DIY category. I know you’ve been waiting with baited breath. =P

So I went to the the local Home Depot this weekend, as is my habit lately. I needed a piece of sheet rock to patch the ceiling where my man fell through it. Of course, I did not bring my own tie-downs, so I grabbed some of the thin tie-down material they had. I believe it’s nothing more than 20 or so fishing line filaments. Either way, when I got home, I was loath to just throw it away. Instead I put it on my Knifty Knitter loom and created a Recycled Tie-down Kitchen Scrubbie. I uploaded it to my personal site, but I think it’s worth mentioning here too.

As my first experiment with the DFWFreeCycle group, I posted an offer for 30 red landscapers bricks. They had been pulled up from my yard with I had a new flowerbed built earlier this year. I had originally tried to gift them to my brother, but he told me that they had gone with the typical gray stones. I posted my ad and within 20 minutes I had at least 6 responses from people interested in the stones. By the end of the evening, I had more like 20.

Because I wanted to move quickly and get rid of the stones as quickly as possible, I just picked a random name from the list of people who had emailed. I sent her my address information and she came and picked up the stones today. The only finger I had to lift was to type the email and answer the responses.

At the moment, the ratio of ‘offer’ ads to ‘wanted’ ads in this group is about equal. I’m currently eyeballing a wanted’ ad placed by someone looking for a replacement phone. I have one that I don’t really know what to do with, and don’t really want to throw away, so I may ‘gift’ that as well. I’ll post back on how that goes.

recycle, FreeCycle, reuse, free, gift, share

So, as I suggested I might earlier this week, I went ahead and purchased 6 of the IKEA blue bags, for use in my grocery shopping endeavors. Unfortunately, since I am relatively new to this way of thinking, I have forgotten at least 3 or 4 times to take my bags into the store with me and have been forced to take home more plastic bags than I wanted.

However, this weekend the Domesticated Barbarian and I went shopping. We hit several stores, and each time I walked out of the store with my item in hand - sans bag. It was a start. Today I had to do the grocery shopping on the way home. I remembered to take in my bags. (Yay, for me!!!)

I took in 3 bags, but only needed 2 to carry out $101 in groceries. The lady who checked me out was very nice about the whole affair. Here in the DFW metro, I bet I’m one of the very few who bring my own bags. Needless to say, I walked out of the store totally and completely proud. Additionally, I drive a truck, so my groceries go in the bed… I only had two flaps to tie. Once I got home, only one trip to get it all in the house. These bags are big.

For my first attempt at this, I could not have asked for more. =)

Reuse, plastic bags, reusable bags, IKEA, BYOB