Another Synagogue Score!

Since the big clean-out at the barn next door, there's been a huge pile of stuff sitting outside. It's been going down very slowly. That's where I found the gallon jars. We walked past the pile yesterday and I noticed a couple of wooden outdoor chairs. We pulled them off the pile and looked them over.  Other than being a little wobbly, they look great. So we brought them home and David tightened all the bolts. I plan to paint them some time, maybe not until spring, and them put them in the back where the old orange bench was. They're much more comfortable than the bench.

Stay tuned. We may find more treasures.

Month Four

Well, a couple of slips on my part this month. I went with Carolyn to Rags to Riches and found a really nice pair of Clark's slip-on shoes, navy blue. I just had to have them. They are very comfortable. Also while I was there, I found a nice light blue Talbot's tencel shirt. I didn't buy it that day, but a few days later, after thinking about it a lot, I went back and got it. I didn't really need either one of them, but at least they were second hand. 

Broom Repair

Our old broom, which is now the outdoor broom, has started to fall apart.  The stitching is disintegrating. 

Using some nylon cord I already had and a yarn sewing needle I was able to pull it back together so we can continue to use it. Ta-da!

Score!!

Yesterday as we were coming back from our morning walk we went through the synagogue parking lot.  It looks as if they have been doing some cleaning out of their shed.  Someone had put out about a dozen large glass jars in the recycling bin.  Some of them had labels (sauerkraut) on them.  But there were no lids.  I did a little dumpster diving and was able to find four metal lids in the trash bin.  I brought four jars home and washed them.

They're great!  I've already put one to use.  I'm using it to collect my vegetable scraps in the freezer.  When the jar is full, I'll make broth.  I've been using zip-loc bags, but this is much better.  I don't know what I'll do with the other three, but I couldn't pass them up.

Month Three

This month we've had a few expenses, mostly necessary things.  Our cheap plastic electric chain saw finally gave out, so David bought a nice hand pruning saw.  It works really well.  We used it to cut down the last of our columnar apple trees.  And I'll use it this winter to prune the pear and peach trees.

We also bought a Tushy bidet for our toilet.  We love it!  It works so well and we'll be saving a ton of TP.  In fact, we like it so well we've ordered another one for the other bathroom.  We thought we'd take it to Tucson to use when we're down there.

The other things we bought were some plants.  Plants are my one weakness and result in some impulse buying.  I bought an astilbe that was half off at Ace Hardware.  It's now in the ground in our woodsy area.  And I bought six small lavender plants at the Salem Hardy Plant Society plant sale.  I had planned to buy some lavender to put among the roses, so it probably shouldn't count as an impulse buy.  Oh, yes. I also bought a dahlia at the farmers market that I fell in love with.

So I think that's it.  Not too bad.

Bread

I've been making my artisan bread for several years now.  It's very good and really easy.

So then I decided to try to make a whole wheat loaf by the same enamel pot method.  It came out really well.  It's the bread I use for toast every morning. It's so delicious!

So then I decided maybe I could make rye bread.  It also came out beautifully.

I love baking all our bread!

Month Two

We've reached the end of the second month of our attempt to buy nothing.  I already mentioned two things that we had to buy, but now there's a third one to report.  My old garden clogs, which were at least fifteen years old, were so worn that I was about to wear right through the bottoms.  I felt every pebble and piece of mulch.  So I sprang for a new pair.

Tortillas

I've been buying Don Pancho whole wheat tortillas in plastic bags forever ($3.31 for ten).  But I decided to see if I could make them and lose the plastic.

It worked!  They were very easy, tasted great and don't have any of the unpronounceable ingredients that the store bought ones have.  And they cost just 9 cents each.  Another victory!  Yay!

Two Purchases

We've had two make two purchases, both unexpected but necessary.

The first one was a new instant read thermometer.  David grills chicken every week and our old thermometer gave up the ghost.  We did try to revive it with a new battery (another purchase!) but it still didn't work.  So we bought a new Thermopop, in purple. 

The second purchase was a new hose for the back yard.  We had a nice one, but after several years it sprung a couple of leaks.  David made a valiant effort to repair it but it didn't hold.  Because he pulls it out and puts it back every day, he needed one of the lightweight soft hoses. 

So that's it so far.  Nothing frivolous or impulsive.

Make Do and DIY

Recently we've had three brilliant make-dos.

The first is darning my socks that had a hole in them.  You can hardly find the place I did the darning. And I just saved a very nice pair of wool socks for a lot more use.

Okay, maybe not brilliant.  But it did save the cost of a new pair of socks.  But the next one saved the cost of a new wallet.  David has been complaining ever since he got his new fancy leather wallet that every time he opens it all his cards slip out.  So rather than going out and finding a new wallet, I sewed on a couple of velcro strips to keep the slots closed.  Ta-da!

The third thing we did, and this was David's idea, was to make a dog gate for the front door.  When we had the retractable screen door out, we were always afraid that Bailey would hit the door, it would open, and he would escape.  So we constructed a gate using the old compost sifter.  It works beautifully, is easy to put up as well as step over, and we saved the cost of a fancy new dog gate.

A Pledge to Buy Nothing We Don't Need - Month One

On June 21 we decided to try going a month without buying anything.  We did pretty well.  The only things we bought were items which we felt would in the end contribute to a better way of doing things.  We bought a silicone mat for use on the grill, which helps cleanup and eliminates using oil.  We also bought a silicone basting brush, maybe not a necessity but still useful.  I also bought three Silpat mats, two for baking and one for roasting, thus eliminating the need for single use parchment paper and aluminum foil.

The other thing we bought, used from Craigslist, was grooming clippers for Bailey.  We did have to buy a different blade and some clipper oil for it.  All together we spent about $100, which will just cover two professional grooming sessions.

So all things considered, the month went pretty well.  So well, in fact, that we've decided to try for another month.

A New Way of Living

I've been working toward this idea for years, but I decided it would be fun to document our efforts.

We're practicing a combination of minimalism, anti-consumerism, zero waste, plastic free and make do. I guess you could call it living thoughtfully, trying to have as little impact as possible.

We've drastically uncluttered our home, but there are lots of other things we're doing.  I've nearly eliminated food packaging by making a lot of things from scratch.  I now bake our artisan bread, and am about to experiment with making a rye loaf.

I make David's English muffins (for 8 cents each).

I make our thin buns (for 5 cents each), plus the black bean burgers to go on them.

And I bake our pita pockets (5 cents each).

I'm now cooking and freezing all our beans.

I'm working on crackers, but I still have a way to go on that one.