Anyone else think their time could be better spent than sorting, shredding, or recycling all that junk mail? Continue reading “Junk Mail”
Rain
We finally got some rain last night in Maricopa! We received two tenths of an inch (I know some of you in other states are laughing at this), plus all the other summer storm goodies, a dust storm, lightening, and thunder. It had been over two months since we had received measurable rain, so needless to say it was the top story on the news. We should get storms for a few more nights this week. I love this time of the year!
Stephanie
My Garden Lessons Learned
My garden this last season was less successful than I would have liked, but I take with my failures some valuable lessons learned. Continue reading “My Garden Lessons Learned”
Buy Local
I have heard a lot to buy local, it is better for the environment because there is less transportation involved, supports the local economy, and tends to be organic. I had one problem with that, there was not a good selection of local produce at the local grocery store. It was hit or miss on finding anything grown locally. I have been encouraged to see that both local grocery stores have increased their organic produce sections. But buying organic was only part of what I was looking for. Well today I came across an article regarding Consumer Supported Agriculture (CSA), I had heard something along these lines but had not bothered to research it much. I was interested in finding a local farm to support after reading the article, I was wondering if any such farms even existed in Arizona. I knew we had farms out here, but had never seen any with diverse produce. So, how does one find a local farm to buy produce from? I googled it and found a website that allows you to search by zip code or state: http://www.localharvest.org/csa/
Continue reading “Buy Local”
Bottled Water
I thought for my first blog post I would introduce you to one of my biggest pet peeves: disposable, plastic water bottles. According to a July/August 2007 Fast Company Article, Americans spent more money last year on bottled water than on ipods or movie tickets: $15 billion. That figure is staggering to me. If the water we use at home cost what even cheap bottled water costs, our monthly water bills would run $9,000. (Fast Company, July/August, 2007) Now I think drinking water is very important I try hard to drink my 64 ounces a day. Those of you who see me on a regular basis know that my pink Camelbak water bottle goes pretty much everywhere with me. I am not against drinking water, I am for more responsible ways of drinking water, such as in a glass or reusable water bottle. I did the basic math on my most recent water bill to figure out how much my water costs. I have a basic water delivery charge of $25.00 and a usage charge of $9.66 for a total of $34.66. We used a total of 4,714 gallons of water. That comes to $.00735 per gallon of water, much cheaper than $.99 for 16 ounces from a bottle. That means it cost me a mere $.0013776 to fill up my 24 ounce bottle. I’ll put my math in so you don’t think I am crazy. (128 ounces per gallon, .00735/128=.0000574 per ounce, .0000574 * 24 = .0013776)