Clipmarks | firegardener's clips

Vinegar Hair Rinse

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 01:25:42 GMT

clipped by: firegardener

Clip Source: simple-green-frugal-co-op.blogspot.com

Vinegar Hair Rinse. I have posted here and here about my hair treatment. I haven't used shampoo nor conditioner in over 6 months, and I love it. Basically, I mix 1 part vinegar with 8 parts water, and add a cinnamon stick and a bit of vanilla for a nice fragrance. Did I mention I love it??!

Tags: vinegar

Pet Cat Rides Bus

Sat, 08 Aug 2009 21:17:08 GMT

clipped by: firegardener

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Pet cat catches the daily bus for four years

A pet cat has caught the same bus regularly for four years.

Casper: He has been making the journey for so long that all First Bus drivers have now been told to look out for him to ensure he gets off at the right stop.

Casper, which is 12 years old, boards the No3 service at 10.55am from outside his home in Plymouth, Devon, and travels the entire 11-mile route before returning home about an hour later.

Tags: cat, pet, bus

Aloe's Virtues

Sat, 08 Aug 2009 21:15:43 GMT

clipped by: firegardener

Clip Source: www.wickedlocal.com

Aloe vera

Research indicates that aloe vera’s earliest use originated from the Egyptians.

Taking aloe vera supplementation improves many conditions inclusive of dental problems.

Ongoing research on A.V. is presently happening at Oklahoma University, Baylor and Loma Linda.

Burns, as it stimulates skin growth and repair, acts as an analgesic; used for psoriasis and genital herpes with better results than the 1 percent cortisone cream!

Aloe is a herb and is strong medicine, therefore DO NOT TAKE OR USE IT UNLESS YOU’VE FIRST CONSULTED WITH YOUR PHYSICIAN, as this can interfere with many medications and taking the aloe latex can cause premature labor for expectant moms.

I have also crushed (to a fine powder) strong pain relievers (Excedrin Migraine Formula); mixed the powder in aloe gel and rubbed it on my aching knee and it gave instant and long-lasting relief

Tags: aloe, teeth, burns, knees, pain

Edible and Medicinal Plants

Sat, 08 Aug 2009 21:12:51 GMT

clipped by: firegardener
clipper's remarks: part of a series

Clip Source: www.amazon.com

Edible and Medicinal Plants of the Great Lakes Region (Paperback)

by D.O. Thomas A. Naegele

See larger image

This thorough and informative guide features over 150 plants commonly found in the Great Lakes Area, though many are prevalent throughout the United States. Each plant description is coupled with a detailed drawing, preparation techniques, related medical uses, edible qualities, a chemical breakdown, poisonous aspects, and the commercial value, if any.

Tags: plants, weeds, edible, food, herbs

Kitchen Pantry Ideas

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:42:48 GMT

clipped by: firegardener
clipper's remarks: don't miss the comments section

Clip Source: simple-green-frugal-co-op.blogspot.com

The Pantry: Cornerstone of Home Cooking

One thing that distinguishes the kitchen of a practiced home cook from that of a drive-thru habitue is the pantry.

With a well stocked pantry, you won't have to run out and buy every ingredient in the recipe when you want to prepare a meal.

All of your pantry items should be listed in your price comparison book.

When these items go on sale, stock up!

Here's a list of things I commonly keep on hand in my kitchen. You do not need to replicate this list, but if you're totally new to cooking, it might be a good springboard for ideas. Take what's useful to you and ignore the rest.

Long-storing produce

Canned/jarred foods

"Dry" goods

Refrigerator items

Freezer items

Tags: kitchen, cooking, pantry

Cloth: Its Various Uses

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:40:42 GMT

clipped by: firegardener
clipper's remarks: Lots of ideas.

Clip Source: simple-green-frugal-co-op.blogspot.com

My Cloth Revolution

The first step in our Cloth Revolution was the switch to cloth diapers. We did this when our daughter was 11 months old, after visiting with some friends whose daughter was using cloth. The cloth diapers seemed so cute and cozy, and more "natural" than the crinkly perfumed plastic ones we were using. I was nervous about the workload, but found them not to be that much work.

My next Revolutionary Act was to replace my tampons and pads with a set of beautiful, comfortable, reusable Lunapads.

Next I replaced paper towels with cloth napkins

the next paper product I replaced was toilet paper. Well, not entirely, but I made some lovely wipes that my daughter and I use for #1. Being pregnant and having to drink a lot of water, this saves me a huge amount of toilet paper. I just throw them in with the diapies and wash them often.

cloth kleenex (tissues).

cloth rags for cleaning

Tags: paper, disposable, cloth, creativity

Rise of the Experience Economy

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:38:05 GMT

clipped by: firegardener
clipper's remarks: Life, not stuff.

Clip Source: allaboutcities.ca

Urban families after the great reset

Families of the future valuing time more than space

Two bedroom apartments or condos can accommodate a family of four (although some modifications would help)

Families will use creative strategies to avoid over-accumulation of stuff that won’t fit.

Melanie’s general rule: When something new comes home, something else has to go.

Birthdays and Christmas are focused around receiving one big gift, and one set of (out-of-town) grandparents contributes to a plane ticket fund instead of giving gifts, allowing the whole family to visit at least once per year.

the experience economy rises out of condos

shift from giving the kids toys to giving them experiences.

bigger families reorganized their apartments, in order to have bigger children rooms and a smaller living room.

most of the daily activities were done in the living room or in the kitchen

Tags: economy, reset, space, time, experience economy, gifts

Water for Birds and Other Critters

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:53:14 GMT

clipped by: firegardener

Clip Source: simple-green-frugal-co-op.blogspot.com

Water for Wildlife

But there are lots more creatures out there that also need water - from birds, to bees, and even bunnies.

Ready to make your own? With a bag of Quik-crete and a bucket, some sand, and a bit of water, it's easy to sand-cast your own concrete bird bath/water dish. Mine are rough and heavy-duty, built around a wire reinforced center. Or maybe you'd rather get creative and make something more decorative - perhaps add some pottery pieces to make a mosaic; or make one in the shape of a leaf, like this one from Garden Gate magazine (instructions here). Whatever you put out there, the wildlife will thank you.

Tags: water, birds, bunnies, how-to

Castille Soap Toothpaste?

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:51:02 GMT

clipped by: firegardener
clipper's remarks: wow

Clip Source: simple-green-frugal-co-op.blogspot.com

A Multitude of Uses for Castille Soap

So what is castille soap? Originally an all-vegetable based soap was made in the Castile region of Spain from local olive oil. Now a days "Castile" refers to any vegetable oil-based soap, versus animal (tallow) fat-based soap. Dr. Bronner's makes a "Pure-Castile" guaranteeing that what they are using is a real ecological and simple soap, not a complex blend of detergents with a higher ecological impact due to the waste stream during manufacture and slower biodegradability.

What can use it for?

Toothpaste. I have never tried this but supposedly you can use a couple drops and it works. Has anyone tried this? Thoughts?

Clip Source: simple-green-frugal-co-op.blogspot.com

we're backpackers. It's nice because you take one tiny bottle and you use it for everything (dishes, washing up, toohthbrushing, etc).

Clip Source: simple-green-frugal-co-op.blogspot.com

I keep a little film can on the bathroom sink, with some water in it, and a DROP of the peppermint with a DROP of stevia extract (tea, really, we grow and dry our own stevia.

Clip Source: simple-green-frugal-co-op.blogspot.com

It tastes awful

Tags: soap, castille soap, toothpaste

Super Chicken Coop

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:47:41 GMT

clipped by: firegardener
clipper's remarks: wow

Clip Source: simple-green-frugal-co-op.blogspot.com

Our first try at raising animals will of course be raising chickens for our own organic egg production. We got day old chicks back in April which I showed on my GardenDesk blog. We raised the chicks in our garage while we built our outside coop. We built the coop mostly out of wood that we already had from an old deck that I took apart a couple years ago. The coop construction took much longer than anticipated but here it is:

We were able to put it right in front of the garden and beside the greenhouse.

Tags: chickens, coops, chicken coop

Cold Weather Gardening

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:46:19 GMT

clipped by: firegardener
clipper's remarks: options for extending the harvest

Clip Source: sharonastyk.com

Season Extension Techniques: Cheap and Dirty Options

I want a greenhouse. No, I want a glasshouse, a true British style Orangerie and succession houses (and, of course, the extensive grounds to accompany it, and the private fortune, as long as we’re dreaming). I dream of wandering in winter into tropical glory, and plucking ripe grapefruit from the trees for my breakfast, while the scent of jasmine permeates my senses.

Ok, revisiting *this* planet, the one I actually live on

tools for doing this include:

This is about the cheap and dirty options - ones that get you a lot of food.

Tags: winter, gardening, tools

Rethinking Survival

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:50:36 GMT

clipped by: firegardener
clipper's remarks: shrinking our ecological footprint

Clip Source: cluborlov.blogspot.com

Definancialisation, Deglobalisation, Relocalisation

we all have to prepare for life without much money, where imported goods are scarce, and where people have to provide for their own needs, and those of their immediate neighbours.

The idea is that if we shrink our ecological footprint by an order of magnitude or so, that should make the whole arrangement sustainable once again. This is expressed in financial terms: here we are lowering the GDP of the USA from, say $100 thousand per capita per annum, to, say $10 thousand.

an alternative to the big GDP decrease: a proportionate decrease in population. In this scenario, nine out of 10 people die so that the remaining 10% can go on living comfortably on $100 thousand a year.

most societies are able to absorb sudden increases in mortality without much fuss at all.

global economic growth might be finished for good

last year's financial crash was precipitated by the spike in oil prices last summe

game over

Tags: survival, oil, gdp, growth, progress, worst-case scenario

Zone 4/5 Plant Recommendations

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:40:48 GMT

clipped by: firegardener
clipper's remarks: cold-tolerant seed recommendations

Clip Source: sharonastyk.com

Variety Recommendations

Here are some of my own observations about growing here, in zone 4/5 (5 official, 4 for elevation), on my wet, thin soil in my wet, cold climate ;-).

Best cold tolerant salad greens:

Best spinach:

Best cold tolerance in broccoli:

Best cold tolerant root varieties

Best fall producing pea varieties:

Best cold tolerant leek:

Best cold tolerant favas:

Best cold tolerant cabbages and kales

Best Mustard:

Best tomatoes for overwintering in pots:

Best hot peppers for overwintering in pots:

Best basil for overwintering:

Best eggplant for overwintering

Ok, how about the rest of you? Share your wisdom!

Tags: gardening, winter, cold, seeds, varieties

Sustainable Technology?

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:38:27 GMT

clipped by: firegardener
clipper's remarks: some provocative questions

Clip Source: simple-green-frugal-co-op.blogspot.com

Is Technology Sustainable?

First, does living a simple life mean living without technology?

Secondly, is technology sustainable - or can it become sustainable?

I do wonder at times if technology is personally sustainable.

Now I participate in forums, blogs, and other places far less - and I feel I miss some of that online community. But I don't know how to put more hours in my day!

Also, I often wonder if technology is environmentally sustainable.

How do we make the technology in our lives more incorporated into our values of simplicity and sustainability?

Is there a way?

How do you find the time to participate in your online and offline communities?

Tags: technology, simplicity, sustainability

Simplicity: The New Normal

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:35:12 GMT

clipped by: firegardener
clipper's remarks: after the economy collapses, we'll have time for this

Clip Source: simple-green-frugal-co-op.blogspot.com

This week I lost a very good friend, far too young (early 40's) with young children and it was such a stark reminder for me about how important really living is, how important it is to have time rather than money or a bigger house; to follow your passions, to make a difference; to really live.

We live in a completely over-scheduled society.

Then I moved back to England and a smaller town in the West Country where shops shut at 5pm, coffee shops 4pm or 6pm if you are lucky. And I hated it, yes this anti-shopping, simple living girl hated that there was "nothing open". Oh how I've changed.

I started my simple life, I started living. My evenings became time to be home, time to learn to cook, bake, sew, knit. I began joining activities like book groups and knitting clubs within my community, I began to volunteer an evening each week and 1/2 a day at the weekend. I began to meet people, neighbours, people in surrounding villages.

I had created a new normality.

Tags: time, values, family, community, simplicity, stuff, shopping