Used

So this morning I went to sell back my kids clothing to a used clothing store. While I am waiting for my check, I peruse and get some great deals for my kids. If there are great gently used things I love it. Getting something used means I am not purchasing another new thing, which that uses natural resources, just so my kids can wear it for a limited amount of time. Anyway, back to my story. So I went on a Monday, and going through your clothing takes forever on Mondays. Since I wasn't able to find everything at the used store, went off to a sale at Gap to supplement. While I was in the store, another mom couldn't find something she wanted for her child. I suggested that she look at the used clothing store. Well this was a bad idea - she would have none of that. She looked at me like I had grown three horns. "Oh, . . . but they don't have the latest styles." Her sentiment was obvious that she had no intention of ever putting her one year old child in anything used. I think she felt very bad for my poor children who would be dressed in, "gasp," something someone else had previously worn. I was a bit steamed. I went back to the used store - challenged my current thinking of my own snootiness and bought 2 pairs of dress shoes for my daughter. They were not perfect, but I polished them up and now they look brand new.

This encounter made me ponder a bit. Beyond the tad bit of snootiness, this attitude is a prime example of some of the flawed thought processes that have caused the current mess we are in. A large portion of our population doesn't want to reuse things. The pervasive feeling is that reusing is only for students, people with lower-incomes or hippies. The moment you have a "real" income you should stop these lesser ways. Not so -this thinking is upside down and backwards. We should take pride in reusing things. We should be thrilled if we didn't add waste or use up resources every time we need something.

Willing to try? - Try ebay, swaps with friends, yard sales, second hand stores and the list could go on! Oh and the best part - when you are done with it - pass it around again!

What's the Trend?

Don't worry - no style advice. I did, however, find this new cool function in my utility company's website. Perhaps I don't have enough to do . . . . Anyway, you can graph the last 24 months of your electricity and gas usage in various ways. Obviously the graphs I made are above. The blue shows our over all usage - first in gas and then in electric. The darker overlays are the heating and cooling days.

I am pretty happy with our results. Our gas consumption is holding steady and did not completely spike last year with the bitter cold weather. The only things on our gas bill are the range (not oven), the water heater and furnace. We don't have tons of room to improve on beyond replacing these appliances or not cooking or heating our home. That said, we will still be looking though! The electricity appears to be trending downward even in the face of the bitter weather last winter! That is a great sign for the improvements/sealing we have done on our home. The trends are going the right way- Yeah!

Mom On Fire

So today I was listening in my car to WPR - to the dismay of my children. My dad used to torture us in the same way -I guess it wore off. Anyway, they were talking to one of the guru's in the organic lawn care business about the terrible effects of lawn care products on our children, grandchildren, dogs, and yes even adults. These effects have be known for quite some time, but the lawn care business is a powerful and well-funded lobby. I was so frustrated and fired up after listening, I considered streaking with my hair on fire just so I could talk about the dangers of pesticides etc. on the news. Alas, my friends and family are safe from humiliation - I didn't have the guts, the body or a babysitter. I could go on and on and on and on - but I won't.

There is a new documentary coming out on the dangers of pesticide. It is called "A Chemical Reaction." I am putting a link to the trailer. Take a minute and watch - it is far better than me streaking. And hey, did you know that Canada is outlawing weed killers/pesticides and Home Depot Canada pulled the bags off the shelves as being too dangerous . . . . hmmm

http://www.pfzmedia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=44&Itemid=59