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« Previous EntriesNo-Till Gardening?
Monday, March 15th, 2010I’m entering into Spring Number 1 in my new home, which means the first year to get a real start on planting a garden from scratch. Last year when we were cleaning up the yard (I moved here just too late for setting seeds, but just in time for the annual “oh we didn’t rake […]
Greening Cookware
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010So, I’m about to write about something that is complicated, necessary for everyday life, and yet not easily resolved. That’s right: COOKING POTS.
I know! so fraught with shadowy grey areas of environmental danger!
OK, OK - not to be overly melodramatic about things, but cooking pots are something that I can’t really wrap my head around. […]
Power Outage!
Monday, March 1st, 2010We had our share of that nasty weather that’s been going around this winter this weekend - where I live I got about 30 inches of snow from Thursday through Saturday. Which, you know, NO BIG DEAL. Sure our driveway is about 170 ft long, and kind of steep at the bottom, but we’re young […]
Easy Peasy Tip: Don’t Clean!
Saturday, February 27th, 2010Now, we’re not advocating slovenly behavior, but think about it: even the greenest of cleaning requires resources: water, cleaning agents, reusable rags which will need to be washed, trash bags which will need to be dumped, etc.
So when things need to be cleaned, by all means, clean! But if you can let it go another […]
Construction Materials Reuse
Thursday, February 18th, 2010As I sit here contemplating the baggy pants on the American half-pipe snowboarding crew, I’m also so excited to write this post and tell you about the coolest construction project I’ve heard about in ages: building a new house while reusing all the materials from the old house. I mean, all the materials: 100% of […]
Dreaming of Greening
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010In what is turning out to be an annual posting event since we first started writing TinyChoices, I wanted to remind you that it’s CSA sign-up time again! we are sending a check in this week to the people we had our share with last year - Sycamore Farms - our share last year was […]
DIY Cold house living: hot! rice! sacks!
Monday, February 8th, 2010I’ve mentioned before that our house is really cold. Really! Cold! So I wanted to share a little quality-of-life discovery that has really changed everything: rice bags. Amazing!
It’s so simple, really all we did was take a cotton sack that we had around the house (yet another use for those many reusable bags we have?), […]
Tiny Choices Q&A: What to do with Mesh Produce Bags?
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 Welcome to Tiny Choices Q&A, where we open the floor for discussion on questions which y’all have submitted (this is a long-neglected feature, feel free to contribute your questions through our contact button to the right!)
Aimee asks:
What can we do with those red mesh plastic bags that produce sometimes comes in (mandarin oranges, tomatoes)? […]
Spicey Improvements
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010Everyone’s got their own method of storing spices. Some folks like those countertop spinning racks, but I don’t have the space for that. Then there are those super cute magnetic metal tins, but I’m pretty sure spices are best stored in darkness, not with little windows to let in the light.
Clearly, though, anything would be […]
DIY Storage-Solution Plans
Monday, February 1st, 2010Even though it’s been a solid 9 months since I’ve moved in with my partner, I am still struggling to get all of my stuff unpacked and put away. Partly it’s because I’m lazy! and it’s easy to ignore a mess when you’re riding a motorcycle around or reading lots of books or canning food […]
Measuring what you Conserve
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010Around my house these days, we’re talking near-term attic insulation and taking full advantage of the tax credits that expire this year by installing a new furnace and hot water heater in the fall. So sure, I did move in just under a year ago - but we were so busy, you know, really seriously […]
More Potty Talk: Generating Energy!
Monday, January 11th, 2010We have talked a good bit about toilets here at Tiny Choices - just do a search (over in our sidebar) for toilet and you’ll see. We even talk about why we talk about this stuff so much!
So of course I knew I had to share with you these mini-turbine concepts that will generate electricity […]
Good Clothing Intentions
Wednesday, January 6th, 2010Being as it’s New Years Resolution season, I thought it was pretty timely that just after I wrote about reframing my own consumerism, I stumbled upon a group blog of women who have sworn off purchasing new clothing for a year. The Great American Apparel Diet involves shopping in their own closets and swapping for […]
“Way Basics” Furniture
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010Thanks to TC reader Brandy Bingham for pointing us towards Way Basics furniture!
I love this stuff– the company makes a particle-board like material out of 99% recycled paper, and then designs furniture which makes good use of its strength, durability, and light-weight. It ships flat, saving on shipping space. It’s lighter than the traditional wood-based […]
Update on insulation
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009I wrote a few months ago about the different insulation choices we’re considering for our drafty drafty old house, and I wanted to provide an update.
Short and sweet: house still not insulated, very cold, heavy investments in performance winter wear have been made, please send blankets.
Slightly longer version: my dad called and asked if they […]
Oranges in Christmas Stockings
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009Hey, do y’all remember the old tradition of getting an orange in the toe of your Christmas stocking? Now, I don’t want to date myself, and maybe I’m old fashioned (or my parents are?) but when I was a kid we would always get an orange - but more likely a tangerine - in the […]
Tiny Choosing Bedsheets
Monday, December 21st, 2009I have to confess to some non-green-tiny-choosing, with regards to the new luxuriously warm and soft flannel sheets I just bought. And I bought sheets not just for me, but also for the two boys that live here part time!
In my defense, it had been a long cold November with my partner and I gasping […]
The Great Christmas Tree Debate - Revisited
Monday, December 14th, 2009It’s well into the Christmas season around here, and most of you who celebrate have probably already put your trees up. I wanted to revisit the big FAKE VS REAL TREE debate briefly - we got a question from one of you lovely readers about which is better, plus I’ve been seeing other people kind […]
Tea Tree Oil
Thursday, December 10th, 2009I just realized that I’ve never waxed poetic about my love for Tea Tree Oil. It’s amazing stuff!
I first learned about it back in my hippy days, when I was living in a camper van and had everything we needed contained within that small space. Tea Tree is fantastic because it’s so incredibly […]
Easy Peasy Tip: Use Bar Soap!
Saturday, December 5th, 2009Instead of buying another plastic bottle of liquid hand soap, switch to bar soap instead. You’ll get much more bang for your buck: more actual soap and less liquefying ingredients; lower carbon footprint; far less packaging to toss away/recycle.
Another way to green this up even further is to seek out bar soap which is sold […]