by Roxanne -

Spend Less on Groceries – Eat Better

The other day I noticed that there are a lot of places I don’t go to in the grocery store anymore. I don’t go down the bottled water aisle, for example. I haven’t been down the frozen food aisle for more than a decade now.

Making our own no-knead artisan bread and homemade pitas, we never have occasion to visit the bread aisle. Likewise, the bakery aisle is visited only on rare occasions. Bagels are an occasional treat.

Since we only purchase muesli, cut oats and kasha, the cereal aisle is a 30 second trip. About four years ago we stopped buying soda pop and snacks – so that aisle isn’t on my list anymore.

Basically we purchase fresh fruits & veggies, eggs and cheese, a little meat and fish, coffee and tea along with nuts, dried beans, spices, flour and some pasta. We try to cook with fresh ingredients almost every day.

In fact the cleaning aisle and paper products section only see limited visits from us these days. We use cloth. We clean with vinegar (makes a great dishwasher rinse agent) and baking soda most of the time. Lemon or lime juice is one of the strongest disinfectants you can use. After juicing one for a recipe rub it on cutting boards, sinks or knives.

Of course, none of these are absolutes. When a guest is coming who enjoys sparkling water I will purchase it. The same is true of crackers or other items. However, they are no longer a weekly item on my grocery list.

A couple of years ago my cousin and I purchased a soy milk machine. Now we make our own rich, creamy soy milk for pennies – and share the machine.

In the summer the farmer’s market gets most of our attention. Over time we continue to adjust and change what we purchase and how we cook.

All in all, it’s interesting to notice where I don’t go in the grocery store these days.

You may also like Christmas Craziness or Christmas Spirit? and Kowalski’s Grocery Store and Fiji Water.

by Roxanne -

Our Furniture Moves Around

Our furniture moves around – often. The pieces we have are multi-purpose and we use them for many purposes. Sometimes my desk is in the dining room being used as the dining table. Other times it may be found in the living room working as a desk or in the bedroom functioning as a beside table.

The same can be said of our sofa table, server, bookshelves or the two square tables that are currently serving as a coffee table. Our futon sofa is also a guest bed. Guest linens and down comforter are stored in a zipped quilted bag behind it.

Most of our furniture is lighter weight so I can easily move it without help. Depending on what is happening we may need more room in the living area. I like that we can open our home to women’s spirituality groups, our small Christian community or Mary’s Pence gatherings.

Our living room is small, like those shown in these pictures. It serves as a living room, dining room, guest room, office and meeting space. It must be flexible and open.

Movable, multi-purpose furniture keeps it easy and simply. Most of our furniture is medium toned wood – so it doesn’t show dust. Another way to simplify my life.

Image Southern Living.com

The furniture industry has a real opportunity here.

What about inexpensive, lightweight upholstered chairs on wheels that could be used separately or combined into a love seat, sofa or sectional?

West Elm tries with their Tillary sofa but it is very low to the ground (at only 15 inches high for the base) making it arduous to sit down and get up. Also the back and arm rests don’t stay where you put them – not even in the store – very annoying! Also who wants to bend to the floor for the coffee table in this photo?

Many of West Elm’s coffee tables sit only a foot off the ground. The one below is only 13 inches high -really a foot high? Again, why do I want to bend over that much just to reach something on the coffee table? – and it’s not adjustable. It’s not only West Elm – other makers have the same problems, but West Elm had the promise of adjustable, flexible furniture.

Why not make tables that easily adjust height? Wouldn’t it be great to have a 40-inch diameter, round pedestal table that could be adjusted from coffee table height to chat height to end table height to dining height? Round tables make it easy to add additional seating. There’s always room for one more.

Or how about a 30-inch high dresser on wheels that could be used as a server, buffet, bedroom dresser, TV stand, or sofa table?

What about packaging ready-to-assemble furniture that fits in a vehicle smaller than an SUV or minivan? Why should I have to pay for expensive delivery or rent a small truck?

Lastly, when will someone make an attractive, inexpensive, lightweight futon??? You’ve all seen this “lovely number” 🙁  and this 🙁

and let’s not overlook this classic (which looks similar to ours, BTW):

Of course there are the Klik Klak versions which look slightly better but feel like cardboard.

The furniture industry is deeply asleep.

You may also like Simplifying Our Kitchen, A Year Without Buying Clothes and why Home Prices Free Fall.


by Roxanne -

Kowalski’s Grocery Store and Fiji Water

My grocery store is often Kowalski’s. I shop there because they carry Peace Coffee which is always Fair Trade coffee – meaning workers receive a living wage. They also carry local produce that isn’t shipped great distances and supports local farmers.

But tonight while shopping there I was near the deli and noticed a big display of Fiji Water above the Olive Bar display. Really ???? Fiji Water??? Yikes! Do we really need to ship water from the other side of the world??

I took time to convey my shock and dismay to the manager. I explained why I shop at Kowalski’s in the first place (fair trade, local, organic) and why products like this bottled water make me want to RUN and SHOP SOMEWHERE ELSE.

You can do the same. You can make a difference. Take time to talk to the produce manager or store manager. They know, as I do, that just one person making a comment means at least twenty other customers thought the same but didn’t take the time to tell them. If two or more people have negative comments on a product that product is HISTORY! You can make a difference.

Bottled water is bad enough. It gives the impression that it’s OK to pay a high price for water – something every human person needs by virtue of being human. Just like we need clean air, we need clean water to survive.

Although there are rare times when bottled water may be necessary — there is never a time when it is necessary to import bottled water from the other side of the globe! What a waste of oil, plastic (more oil) and money!

Further, too many people living in Fiji do NOT have access to clean water. The American owners of Fiji water have taken over local water sources there (as if you can own the water supply of others’?) and now export what water they have out of the country. Read more here.

(Update 3-3-11 – Learn more about the problems of bottled water in general.

Watch the “Story of Bottled Water.”)

What’s next – making us pay for breathing clean air?

You may also like Life of Water; Water of Life.

by Roxanne -

White Privilege

On this eve of the day honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a post on white privilege is appropriate. White privilege and racism are recent social constructs. The idea of differentiating between people based on skin color only begins the16th century as a way to justify chattel slavery in the New World.

It is difficult for those of lighter skin color to understand the devastating effects of racism in our culture. As a person of Northern European descent I will never know first hand what the experience of racism is like.

But I do know what the experience of white privilege is like. Those of us with light skin have very different everyday experiences. We are treated differently (meaning “better”) at the grocery store, at the bank or when we apply to a college for example. In addition, those of European descent benefit from wealth (primarily through land ownership which until recently in our history was prohibited to others) and other privileges that are unearned. The benefits of this unearned wealth can and does impact us for generations. Yet our society remains blind to these privileges. Education is the key to removing the blindness.

Removing the blindness is only the first step however. White privilege is embedded in our governmental, legal, educational, economic, religious and social structures. Structures and laws must be changed in order provide fair access for all.

What can we do? Learn more.

1. View the PowerPoint on White Privilege by Dr. Wing Sue – available on Google.

2. Listen to educator Tim Wise talk about the long term effects of white privilege on YouTube.

3. Read White Like Me, Between Barak and a Hard Place and Dr. Joy DeGruy Leary’s book, Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome available at your public library.

4. Be swept away into the Deep South, New Orleans in the 18th Century. My good friend J recommended writer Barbara Hambly’s series starting with A Free Man Of Color. Main character Benjamin January, an educated free person of color, deals with the reality of his life and times. He also solves mysteries. The series is entertaining while providing excellent socio-historical information on the evolution of white privilege and racism from the practice of chattel slavery. I have enjoyed all of her novels immensely.

In the end it is about remembering that we are all interconnected and interdependent. It’s not about teaching others “to fish.” People know how to fish. It’s about giving everyone equal access to the pond.

When everyone has equal access to the resources of our society, all of us will be better off.

You may also like What is White Privilege? and Poverty is a Luxury  We CanNOT Afford.

by Roxanne -

After-Christmas Tree Hangover

Photo Apartment Therapy, Elle Interior

Real Christmas trees were a great idea back in the day when people heated their homes with log fireplaces. But I’m wondering if they make much sense  for the world today. It takes 10-12 years to grow a pine tree to the size needed for a Christmas tree. Trees help conserve the soil and put good things into the atmosphere. Then we cut them down by the millions to use in our homes for a month of decoration. The week after Christmas most of these trees will be wrapped in a large trash bag and set out at the curb. Hopefully some will be composted but in large urban areas most are destined for the landfill or an incinerator (ugh!). Although one study insists real trees are less damaging, why not change the paradigm completely and be kind to the environment instead?  I think we are imaginative enough to find even better options. Find some inspiration at Apartment Therapy here.

On another holiday note, we spend most of the year conserving electricity, turning down the thermostat, turning off lights and appliances when not in use. Then in December we plug in lots of lights? Just wondering . . .

Maybe we can consider new ways of thinking about Christmas trees, ornaments, holiday reminders and how we might enjoy them, beyond just getting an artificial tree.