Cindy

“Leftovers make you feel good twice. First, when you put it away, you feel thrifty and intelligent: ‘I’m saving food!’ Then a month later when blue hair is growing out of the ham, and you throw it away, you feel really intelligent: ‘I’m saving my life!'”

– George Carlin, comedian

I just finished reading the book The Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn. Briefly, Kathleen is a former restaurant and food critic who earns a degree at Le Cordon Bleu. One evening, back in the United States, she is grocery shopping and starts following a woman who is filling her cart only with highly processed, packaged foods including roast beef dinners, macaroni and cheese, and just-add-water scalloped potatoes. She finally strikes up a conversation with the women and hears the confession that the woman does not know how to cook, at all. From this, Kathleen gets the idea to open the Kitchen Counter Cooking School: She finds nine women who all confess to not knowing how to cook, and she trains them over the course of several months. Along the way, Kathleen talks about food politics, food waste, processed foods, sustainability, as well as how to wield a knife and other kitchen basics.

The sections on food waste caught my eye as it relates to clutter. Please bear with me as I quote some big sections of the book.

“Even as we bemoan food prices, American consumers are generally unaware that they spend less of their wages on food than any other country in the world; just under 10 percent of their paychecks. Compare that to 1900, when 40 percent of wages went toward food. Around 1960, the first time the amount spent on food was no longer the biggest expenditure, the figure was about 25 percent. The declining cost comes with the rise of the industrialization of farming practices and the shift of everything we eat – from pigs and cows to orange juice – into mass produced merchandise.”

“Perhaps it’s the lack of investment that leads to a cavalier attitude toward food. We may give thanks for the bounty once a year [Thanksgiving in the US], but then as a country we collectively waste about 40 percent of the food produced for consumption the rest of the time. Anthropologist Timothy Jones spent more than a decade studying food waste. His research finds that some crops sit abandoned or unharvested in the fields where they’re grown. Supermarkets or suppliers discard another few percent dismissed as too imperfect for retail. The rest – about 25 to 30 percent – we throw away at home. That food goes into landfills to rot, where it emits clouds of methane, a greenhouse gas more toxic and damaging than carbon monoxide.

” ‘By treating edibles as a disposable commodity, we teach our children not to value food,’ says Jonathan Bloom… He puts the figure on what we waste at more than $100 billion annually. This jived with what I found in the interviews with the volunteers and the kitchen visits [to her student’s homes before the lessons began] and what I observed in my own house and in the homes of friends. A few of the volunteers agreed to keep a journal of what they bought, ate, and threw out for two week. The result? They reported less waste due to the guilt they felt knowing they had to write it down, but even then, an average of 18 percent of their grocery bills went into the trash.

“But why do we waste so much? Both Jones and Bloom offer some interesting insights.

“First people often shop for the life they aspire to, not their real one. [Aspirational clutter!] Everyone knows that they’re supposed to eat fruit and vegetables, so we stock up on perishables. Since most people don’t plan meals for the week, those beets or greens that looked so great at the farmers’ market sit untouched as we end up eating convenience foods. [Impulse purchases!] With proper planning, buying in bulk or loading up on two-for-one deals can be a genuine money saver; without a plan, it’s just a recipe for double or triple the amount of food tossed away.

“Dr. Trubek from the University of Vermont has studied the activities of home cooks for years… ‘Planning menus is the greatest skill that we’ve collectively lost,’ she said. ‘That, and what to do with leftovers.’

Various chefs and food experts offer their ideas on how to eliminate food waste:

• Participate in an “eating down the fridge” challenge where you avoid buying groceries for a week and intentionally eat down your pantry and refrigerator.  [Use it up challenge!]
• Put a photo you like at the back of your refrigerator. Your fridge shouldn’t be so full that you can’t see it.
• Use up old products first, which is known as rotation in the restaurant world.
• Buy a realistic amount of produce. In our family, when I buy bananas, I just get four, not an entire bunch. Pears go bad quickly, and I usually buy only two of those – a half for each person.
• Especially in the United States and Europe, you can let the grocery store be your pantry: There will be more bananas  pears, cereal, flank steak next time you shop. Just because you can buy something doesn’t mean that you should.
• Don’t be afraid to substitute. If  you need a zucchini for a recipe but only have a green pepper, use that instead. No Panko? Use regular bread crumbs as a substitute. [Use it up challenge!]
• Don’t give up too easily on your food. Peel away the dent or the brown spot rather than throwing the whole thing away.
• Bought too much? Try IQF, individually quick frozen. Spread the extra berries or veggies on a baking sheet and freeze them. When frozen, sweep them into a plastic bag. (And don’t forget to use them!)
• Clean our your condiment shelf by taking some similar flavors and combine them into a marinade. There are sites on the web that will help you to know what flavors work well with what if you’re struggling with this idea. Here’s one possible helper.
• Soup is the great user of all-things-leftover.
• Don’t try to reinvent the culinary wheel for every meal. Develop a stable of recipes that you enjoy and know how to make, and lean on those for the majority of your meals.
• Take leftovers to work and pack them in your kid’s lunches.

On a different note, thank you to everyone who searched the Internet for the blog post I was looking for. It was found on Small Notebook, and here it is.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something from your pantry that isn’t healthy for you even though most people stock it. The best way to avoid unhealthy food is to not keep it in your home. ~ Examples:- White sugar, pasta, sweet sauces, white rice, white flours, candy…

Eco Tip for the Day

 No need for a tip today as there are plenty in Cindy’s post above.

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

Since I have brought us back to the subject of being open minded, now seems as good a time as any to write a post about our state of mind when it comes to stuff. I was reading a post this morning, which I will link to on Friday, and one quote really stood out for me…

“Most of us have so much – much more than the majority of the world at least (and more than our primal ancestors ever dreamed of), yet we live with a misplaced sense of deprivation.” ~ MARK SISSON

This statement puts into words something I wonder about often. I think about it from all aspects. There is the “Have” side where, as Mark mentions, people seemingly have much more than they need but are forever wanting more, so feel deprived. And then there is the “Less Privileged” side where people can’t afford all the trappings of life and naturally feel deprived. Then there is the minimalist who chooses and is happy to live a life like the less privileged and doesn’t feel deprived at all. What is different about his state of mind.

It is understandable to feel deprived when one works hard but struggles to provide the necessities in life ~ food, clothing, shelter and medical care. But when one feels deprived when they can afford this an more, then perhaps something else is wrong.  Or perhaps we are simply duped about what it is we should be striving for. When one comes to terms with the idea that what they give and what they have in life is enough, then stuff no longer matters.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter a kitchen item that you have simply because everyone else does. If you don’t find it helpful on a regular basis then it isn’t necessary to you. ~ Examples:- Garlic press, potato peeler, cake pans, blender, turkey baster, meat thermometer, deep fryer…

Eco Tip for the Day

Be conservative about how many dishes you use when cooking and eating. The less there are to wash the less water and electricity is wasted. And in my case ~ my dishwasher is out of service at the moment ~ this tip saves on dishpan hands. I realised, while preparing ingredients for dinner last night, that it would save me on washing up if I just left all the chopped veggies on the cutting board rather than putting them in bowls. I have also discovered that washing plastic bowls, that have had greasy leftovers in, is a real pain. Which for me is another good reason to declutter more plastic.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering.

Last week I wrote a post called Be Open Minded. This post was about being open to changing your mindset about what you keep. We keep so many things because it is conventionally normal to do so. This week lets see if we can get rid of some things that we have because it is the norm whether we actually need them of not.

Monday – Declutter anything you have several of for no reason other than that variety is the spice of life. Is it, is it really? ~ crockery, towels, sheets, trinkets, jewellery, toiletry products…

Tuesday – Declutter a kitchen item that you have simply because everyone else does. If you don’t find it helpful on a regular basis then it isn’t necessary to you. ~ Garlic press, potato peeler, cake pans, blender, turkey baster, meat thermometer, deep fryer…

Wednesday – Declutter something from your pantry that isn’t healthy for you even though most people stock it. The best way to avoid unhealthy food is to not keep it in your home. ~ White sugar, pasta, sweet sauces, white rice, white flours, candy…

Thursday – Declutter something you only keep in your home for those rare visitors that drop by maybe once or twice a year. They can always bring their own or do without. ~ Hair dryer, spare toothbrush, a variety of soap, talcum powder, more linen and towels than necessary…

Friday – Declutter a piece of excess furniture such as bedside cabinet or a dressing table in a spare room. Guests don’t bring that much stuff that they require whole pieces of furniture to store it in. It is just something else you have to dust and vacuum around.

Saturday – Take a look at your cleaning products. Perhaps you could find some multipurpose ones so that you don’t need to carry such variety. I use vinegar and bicarb soda for so many things these days along with a little lemon juice and dish liquid. These three ingredients with or without water makes up my surface cleaner, shower cleaner, jewellery cleaner, fabric softener and drain cleaner. Also three of these ingredients were things I already carried in the pantry for cooking.

Sunday - Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Eco Tip for the Day

Switch to 100% recycled printer paper.

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

On Fridays at 365 Less Things I share with you my favourite comments from my wonderful readers and my favourite web finds of the week. I hope you will enjoy them as much as I did.

Favourite Comments. Enjoy!

Here is a great comment from over at the 365 Facebook page from Jenny Adamson. Giving things away can bring more joy than keeping them.

Here is a thought about the shopping high from Idealistin.

Cat’sMeow has some great advice about treating yourself without causing clutter in this comment.

Brenda sent us this comment with a great quote to live by.

And while we are on the subject of quotes here is a message Cindy sent me this week that I wanted to share with you all. If you can identify who the quote was made by we would appreciate it.

Does this quote ring any bells with you? “I never dreamed that when I grew up I’d have so much crap that all I did was take care of it?” I know that’s not exactly right, but it came from this blog post that I loved and cannot re-locate. The author, who is a woman, is imagining sitting with her idealist college friends and never saying things like “I hope I have so much junk when I grow up that I have debts.” and “I hope I have to buy a bigger and bigger house to store all my belongings.”

Favourite Web Finds. Happy reading!

Here is a link sent in by Sanna for your enjoyment and mine ~ Just a little less ~ Making Room ~ The junk-room

And  Cindy sent in this link that is good for parents or even grandparents to read ~ www.parents.com ~ The to-do gift

I enjoyed this post from Tohami at Midway Simplicity ~ 25-simplicity-quotes-to-live-by-illustrated-with-pictures

Willow sent us in this link ~ www.nytimes.com ~ Living-with-less-a-lot-less

The Minimalists ~ 3 REASONS PEOPLE SEEK OUT OTHER POVS

Here is a link to a post by one of your fellow 365ers, Mard Adam Douglas.

Today’s Mini Mission

 Declutter some odd little thing that, up until now, has escaped your notice because it isn’t outstanding in any way. Yesterday I checked my bra drawer and in the bottom I found four little plastic baggies of extra bra straps that had come with bras that have long since worn out.

Eco Tip For The Day

If you use a cleaning service ask them about switching to using eco friendly cleaning products or consider switching to one that does.

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

This week’s mini missions ought to really get you thinking about the way you see the items in your home. Today’s mission ~ Declutter something you have kept out of habit because it used to be useful but now isn’t necessary ~ suggests that you should be open minded about everything in your home not just the things you know for sure are clutter. Moni made a point yesterday that she liked that there were no bedside tables in what was my son’s bedroom, even though she is a bedside table kind of girl. As I said to moni, when visitors come I can always bring down a side table from my bedroom or from the living room, for the short period of time they are here. The other 11 months of the year that room will be easy to keep clean.

Convention has us thinking that things should be done just so. My daughter’s opinion of my son’s room was that it looks like a jail cell. No personality. I understand where she is coming from and even I may relocate a little wall decor from another room to jazz things up a little bit. But, since for the most part no one is going to be in there, there is no point in cluttering it up.

Do you have things cluttering up corners, closets, cupboards, drawers and walls in your home that are simply there out of habit or because convention dictates that it is appropriate to own such things? Well, I don’t know about you but I don’t like being dictated to so I will do and own just what pleases me. To heck with convention, I love space, fresh air, ease and spare time.

So take a long hard look at everything you have in your home with an open mind and ask yourself, do I need this, do I love this, do I want to continuously take care of this item.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something you have kept out of habit because it used to be useful but now isn’t necessary. Maybe old pet equipment, outgrown kids toys, kitchen gadgets, reading glasses that are no longer strong enough…

Eco Tip for the Day

My daughter says, choose two meals you would like to cook in the week and then plan the rest of the week around the leftover ingredients so that nothing goes to waste.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

Cindy’s Weekly Wisdom

Cindy

My in-laws have recently visited us, and like a light bulb coming on over my head, I realized that my in-laws are living like minimalists.

I’ve talked about my in-laws here before from a different perspective – as owners of several storage units. While they live in California, the majority of their stuff lives in storage, in Texas. Each time they visit my family, they also make a couple trips to the storage units.  Over time, they have reduced what is being stored there, and last year, they arranged a Salvation Army to truck take away a large amount of stuff, including furniture. Nonetheless, they still have an entire storage unit here, and my mother-in-law has told me firmly “That’s what we want to keep.” Truly, I have no idea what’s there except for their china, and I only know this because she and I have the same china pattern, and she’s given me a few of her pieces.

In addition, they have a storage unit in California near where they live. This unit contains the furniture, electronics, and household items that they were using in their most recent home.

Two storage units? How can they be living like minimalists, you might ask? Well, while their stuff is living in storage, they’re living with a bare minimum of possessions.

They sold their house, which they primarily purchased as a fixer upper / flip and are happily living in a Residence Inn, a long-stay hotel. Because they like to buy and sell houses, travel, and not plan very far in advance, the Residence Inn fits their lifestyle beautifully, and they are happy there.

The two of them live in a one bedroom apartment. Breakfast is provided every day, I believe, and dinner is provided four days of the week. They have a two burner cooktop, a microwave, and a refrigerator. None of the furnishings, linens, etc. belong to them.

When they want to travel, which they do frequently, they pack up all their personal items, load them into their (one) car, and check out of the Residence Inn. They drive the car to a storage unit that they have in California and park it inside, with their stuff still in the trunk. From there, they take a taxi to the airport, and they’re on their way. If it’s a driving trip, they unload the car and drive off.  Literally, they are able to pack everything they live with into a vehicle, make a single trip, and be finished. When they return back to California, they reverse the process.

It’s the perfect solution for a couple who wants to be footloose and fancy free and can live without being surrounded by their own stuff. Could you live like my in-laws?

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something because it is an eyesore in your home, or perhaps always was. Maybe some sort of junk in the back yard, an ugly décor item that someone else gave you but you never liked or a fixture in the home that has become ratty or faded.

Eco Tip for the Day

Instigate a weekly old fashioned board game night for the family. Turn of the televisions, the computers, the DS, the PSP, the XBox and the PS3, get everyone in the same room, turn out all the other lights and save a little power for a couple of hours a week.

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

Today’s mini mission is to declutter something because it requires dusting and you don’t like it all that much anyway. Have you ever considered how much time you spend cleaning things in your home that aren’t even necessary to your happiness or survival. Or perhaps you avoid this task until the dust is causing hay-fever, someone is coming to visit and it looks embarrassing or the humidity is turning that seemingly innocent dust into a breeding ground for mould or mildew. Or perhaps you don’t even realise that this dust could be causing health problems.

My son’s bedroom used to be a huge dust collector. Needless to say I often made a lackadaisical effort of cleaning this space. I didn’t want to deal with the difficulty factor of cleaning it properly. There were various reasons why this job kept getting relegated to the too hard basket.

Firstly he had a large desk in his room which caused bad placement of his other furniture. His bed was placed in a corner and over a window. Making it difficult to change the sheets and flip the mattress. And also the window sill was half covered by the bed head making it difficult to dust. Also only about two metres of his skirting boards were exposed for dusting and only about one third of his carpet was accessible to vacuum.

My Son’s Room

This large desk, intended for him to execute his university art assignments, was mostly covered with numerous dust collecting sentimental items making it an enormous task to keep it dust free and tidy.

Then there were the two guitars resting on their stands in the corner and a small ottoman he had a habit of “hanging’ his half soiled clothing on.

All and all this was an uninspiring room to entice me to keep clean. As a result quite often I would  wipe down the skirting boards I could see, change the sheets, run the vacuum over the carpet I could get at, and walk away. I would perhaps once a month make a bigger effort but only out of sufferance. Less often I would insist the desk be cleared off so I could give everything a good dusting. Usually at the end of a school term.

My difficulties with this room were somewhat unavoidable simply because he needed the furniture that was in it. Also it is his room, his domain, and I felt that he was entitled to adorn it with what ever personal items he liked. A mother often doesn’t get much say in how tidy a 21 year old keeps his room either. One can merely guide not force. Well my son has moved out now and you should see his room. In fact you can in the photo below. It is vacant except for a bed.

My Son’s Room Now

Do you have a room in your home that is too hard to keep clean because of the clutter collecting dust, resting on dust collecting furniture that isn’t necessary, which covers walls, floor and skirting boards that rarely see the light of day that could do with a good clean. Do you really need or want all this stuff getting in the way of a clean and tidy home or is it just there out of habit. Give it some serious thought because as I mentioned above it may be less harmless than it appears.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter something because it requires dusting and you don’t like it all that much anyway

Eco Tip for the Day

Embrace your real hair colour, even if it’s grey. The environment could do without all those nasty chemicals and wasted water going down the drain in an attempt for you to be something other than the beautiful creature nature made you.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

Mini Mission Monday is about finding ten minutes a day to declutter. To make it easy for you, each Monday I set seven declutter missions, one for each day of the week for you to follow. It takes the guess work out of decluttering and makes it easy and “fun” for you to achieve some quick decluttering.

This week’s mini mission post is titled Reasons. I am going to give you six days worth of reasons to declutter things and your job is to find something to match the reason and let it go. Best to declutter the first thing that comes to mind when you ponder each reason. Simply because you are least likely to find an opposing reason to convince yourself to keep these items.

Monday – Declutter something because you never use it.

Tuesday – Declutter something because it requires dusting and you don’t like it all that much anyway.

Wednesday РDeclutter something because it is an eyesore in your home, or perhaps always was. Maybe some sort of junk in the back yard, an ugly d̩cor item that someone else gave you but you never liked or a fixture in the home that has become ratty or faded.

Thursday – Declutter something you have kept out of habit because it used to be useful but now isn’t necessary. Maybe old pet equipment, outgrown kids toys, kitchen gadgets, reading glasses that are no longer strong enough…

Friday –  Declutter some odd little thing that, up until now, has escaped your notice because it isn’t outstanding in any way. Yesterday I checked my bra drawer and in the bottom I found four little plastic baggies of extra bra straps that had come with bras that have long since worn out.

Saturday – Declutter something because it doesn’t work as well as it should. These sorts of items are annoying for various reasons. 1. Because they make you feel duped. 2. Because they most likely were a waste of money. 3. Because they don’t make your life any easier. These items may need to be replaced by something more efficient but at least you will have decluttered the angst.

Sunday - Sunday is reserved for contemplating one particular item, of your choice that is proving difficult for you to declutter. Whether that be for sentimental reasons, practical reasons, because the task is laborious or simply unpleasant, or because the items removal requires the cooperation of another person. That last category may mean that the item belongs to someone else who has to give their approval, it could also mean there is a joint decision to be made or it could mean that the task of removing it requires assistance from someone else. There is no need to act on this contemplation immediately, it is more about formulating a plan to act upon or simply making a decision one way or another.

Good luck and happy decluttering

Eco Tip for the Day

Even biodegradable bags have to be manufactured so even they are best avoided where possible.

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

On Fridays at 365 Less Things I share with you my favourite comments from my wonderful readers and my favourite web finds of the week. I hope you will enjoy them as much as I did.

Favourite Comments. Enjoy!

Kim tells us how she is finding it hard to walk past her favourite shops and asks her fellow 365ers for their advice in this comment.

Deb J had some great comments this week. This first one gives her take on those somedays that never come, while the second lets us in on a little update about decluttering with her mom.

This comment from Jo H says, in nine words, what my whole post didn’t quite convey. Well said Jo H.

Wendy B likes to want things, actually getting them would spoil the fun. Read about it in this comment.

Michelle tells us how she isn’t settling for second best or forever wanting stuff in this comment.

Judging by this comment Jen has cured herself of someday clutter collecting. 

Favourite Web Finds. Happy reading!

If you feel like exploring some new to you blog on the subject of clutter reduction you might find a couple that take your fancy among this link  www.housekeeping.org/blog/25-blogs-guaranteed-to-help-you-reduce-clutter-in-your-home

Here is a good eco tip link sent in by Wendy F ~ www.providentliving.org.nz ~ Bottle Drip Irrigation

Here is a nice little post about how clutter kills freedom by Dana Byers

I am not sure if I have posted this link form The Happiness Project here before but just in case I am posting it again. It has nothing to do with decluttering just a lot to do with seeing things from another person’s perspective and possibly questioning our own. I thought it worth sharing.

Here is a blog post from the lovely Shaloo Walia at Spiritual Boosters. It has links to some good minimalist/simplicity posts.

Today’s Mini Mission

Get rid of a craft project you keep promising yourself you are going to finish someday. Donate it to a thrift shop as-is or find a local craft group who might be happy to take it off your hands. Learn what your habits are in the respect of finishing projects. If you have a habit of not finishing large project stick to smaller ones in the future. And also commit to not buying craft supplies that you only plan on using someday.

Eco Tip For The Day

Purchase and use reusable diapers/nappies for babies rather than disposable ones.

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow

I know that people come to my blog to get ideas on how to reduce their clutter and there is plenty advice here about that. I also know that it might seem a little late to suggest that prevention is better than cure, but prevention is an ongoing necessity in order to both become less cluttered and to stay that way. Prevention is a life sentence if in fact you  don’t want to end up back at square one.

Life sentence may sound like some sort of harsh treatment but I can assure you it isn’t. Quite the opposite in fact. I wish I had handed myself this sentence years ago. I know I have said it before but it is worth repeating over and over again ~ Having no desire to acquire is one of the best outcomes of my decluttering mission. Second only to having an uncluttered home. In fact they aren’t separate things at all, as the uncluttered home can’t happen without stopping stuff from coming in.

It isn’t just about the fact that if I don’t buy stuff new potential clutter isn’t entering my house. It is several other freedoms and joys that are so wonderful, such as…

• The money that it saves.
• The reduced detrimental effect I am having on the environment.
• The time not wasted shopping.
• Less frustration not being able to find exactly what I  want right now.
• No settling for second best. Instead if there is something that I have a purpose for acquiring, I generally know well in advance and am prepared to wait for just the right item to come along.
• No disappointment when I can’t get stuff at the price I want.
• Less time wasted on product reviews.
• Less possibility of buyers remorse.
• No shopping guilt.
• No more procrastination over whether I should spend the money or not.
• No more justifying the expense to other members of the family.
• Being satisfied with what I have instead of forever wanting something else.

I am sure that other people could add several more feelings, anxieties and issues that go along with the desire to acquire. Equally some people may think that living without the thrill of the chase and enjoying new stuff is unthinkable. But I am sure that if they really looked inside themselves they would find their need for stuff causes them more grief than joy. You only have to turn all those positives in my lists to negatives to get a picture of that grief.

Even as I type this I feel I am not doing justice to expressing the freedom I feel at having escaped consumer madness. However I certainly hope that this post tweaks enough interest in some to give them the desire to at least attempt to achieve the same in their lives.

Today’s Mini Mission

Declutter a recipe book or two that you only ever use one or two recipes from, while the rest you have been going to try someday.  Scan the recipes you do use and donate the book. Recipe clippings are another thing that accumulate over time while someday never seems the day to actually arrive to try them. Do yourself a favour and get your recipes from the internet in the future when you are feeling adventurous enough to give something new a try.

Eco Tip for the Day

Consider trying some homemade cleaning products. Here is a web post I found yesterday with some good recipes. Sometimes natural cleaners can require a little extra elbow grease but the extra exercise is good for you. Natural cleaners are better for you,  your family and the environment and often better on your wallet as well.

For a full list of my eco tips so far click here

It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow