Happy Green Beings

It’s amazing what’s available in this country to the thrifty at heart. The other day, I saw a pair of like-new cross country skis with up-to-date bindings for $12 on the rack at our local Good Will Store. By like-new, I’m saying that there were far fewer scratches in them than in my own skis. Here in Wisconsin, it’s not hard at all to find the old 3 pin bindings on a pair of skis that will work as well as when they were made. If you try hard enough, you can find a traditional set of skis, poles, with boots and bindings for less than $50. What you have in the garage may work perfectly fine as well. There are lots of options at places like Play-it-Again Sports as well, still at quite reasonable prices. Cross Country skiing works all of the major muscle groups making it a great cardiovascular exercise that gets you out of the house in Winter. What could be greener than breaking trail on your old pair of cross country skis?

First, make sure that your boots fit you. You should wear the socks you will ski in, and walk around in them. You should have space between your toes and the end of the boot, yet your heel should stay in place. If your boots fit comfortably and look like they’ll hold together during an outing, find a pair of skis with bindings that work with your boots, and check the skis for size. To check the skis, stand with all of your weight on one ski with a 3×5, business, or playing card under the ski beneath the binding. If there is resistance to pulling it out from under the ski, it should grip the snow. Next, stand with equal weight on both skis and if the card slides out easily for about a foot of space in front of and behind your boot, they will glide freely after you stride forward. If a shorter space allows the card to slide, you may not get as much glide but will feel more secure. Some skis have more curve and are stiffer than others of the same length. Older models were sized for length by standing with your hand up and picking a pair that reached up to your wrist, then checking the flex of the skis with a card. Newer models are being made shorter with suggested weight ranges in fewer sizes, so the card method is still the most reliable way to check skis to see how well they will work for you on the snow.

Look at the base of the skis to see if they are textured for waxless skiing, and if not, see if you can find some cans of wax, a scraper, and a cork. Scrape off old wax if needed. Apply glide wax on the base at the tips and tails, and then crayon on the proper temperature wax in the kick zone (center 1/3 of the ski). Then rub the wax smooth with the cork, and you will be ready to go!

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We’re going to be on the Midwest Renewable Energy Association’s Solar Home Tour this weekend!  It’s kind of a Parade of Homes for folks interested in renewable energy, and showcases things that regular people can do in an effort for more sustainable energy.  Our system, described here, was installed by Green Sky Energetics.  We’re all just a little bit geekily excited about the tour.  A word of caution here–the tour is about our hot water system ONLY.  No fair judging the condition of the rest of our home.  Hopefully, we will be ready enough that participants won’t be tripping over shoes and socks in the entryway, or smelling our dog Preston’s latest accident.

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Click the button above for a great e-book on spring cleaning anytime of the year. I love the straight-forward nature of the author’s writing, simple and clear. Also, we share values around reducing STUFF and cleaning with non-toxic products. Enjoy the e-book for only $7.

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After sixteen years of sleeping on the same mattress set, we’ve splurged. W’s economic incentive rebate and most of our solar system rebate has been dutifully spread around. Beginning with a mattress that we hope will prove to be an

heirloom, we completed our new sleep platform. A 5″ thick hand made compressed wool mattress by Shepherd’s Dream has been dropped onto a set of latex foam strips, each glued to the slats of a wooden bed base. We are also enjoying the wool topper we bought to go with. They are shown together to the right. After 16 years of pillow top, we wanted more than a reed mat. We decided to opt for a queen sized IKEA Sultan Lovene which comes in two slat bases resting side by side. A single one is shown below to the left. Each base has it’s own independent adjustable section of slats located under the area where most of each person’s weight will be distributed.

This was no quick decision. We researched. We dialogued. We inquired. We sampled. We planned. And once we were granted the federal funds, we ordered. Shepherd’s Dream uses wool collected from sheep who are treated a certain way, by people who don’t believe in the use of hormones, etc., etc. The folks that make the mattresses charge enough to pay themselves a living wage (and they live in California). The sample was just large enough to lie down shoulders to hips, but it was the clincher. You’ll have to visit someone like us if you want to try it in full size, or go stay at a bed and breakfast in Canada. You won’t find their line in any show rooms because they don’t want to deal with retailers who may pressure them to do business in ways that they aren’t willing to compromise. Direct sales only. Smart in a know your limits sort of way, isn’t it? True to the testimonies, it really feels like a fine product.

IKEA’s bed base was a bit of a gamble on our part. We spent as much on keeping our bed frame and finding a way to support the mattress with it as we would have for a bed frame from Shepherd’s Dream. I like what we’ve found to go with our bed frame. But if we had it to do over again we would have ordered the Shepherd’s Dream box insert shown above to the right. The Sultan Lovene allows us the additional option to tip-up the head of the bed while reading, but we really haven’t used it yet. It also provides an area of adjustable firmness for each person, as well as independent support for each person, but the latex foam provided independent support anyway. It will allow the mattress to breath similar to the Shepherd’s Dream slat base. We tried the mattress set directly on the IKEA bed base and we could feel the slats. We were glad that we had ordered the latex foam strips which have been glued down over each slat. The latex strips are shown below to the left. Ours are not visible when the bed is made, but a few can be seen when it is not. The main challenge was that our bed frame has no midbeam, so wooden slats alone wouldn’t work. Initially, I thought I would want to install one of my own. But the prospect of watching our head board and foot board gradually come unglued during our slumber drove my search for another option. Our bed frame is designed for a box spring. The set of Bedbridge Trusses that I ordered provide support for the wooden slat bed bases by spanning from one side rail to the other, and come with adjustable posts supporting them at their midpoints. This is a major compromise on going with all wood support, and was not a green nor an inexpensive choice. Because I’m no engineer, I ordered another set offered by the same company that comes with a single truss, and a pair of Bedbridge Beams. That gives us four trusses with center posts and a pair of beams that have no posts. I’ve spaced them evenly, using the beams at the head and foot of the bed bases, and the trusses under the weight bearing portions of the bed bases. A new bed frame or the bed box that Shepherd’s Dream offers would have been greener options, but I was convinced I had a better idea. These are the sturdiest products I could find to go with the IKEA product, and I’m confident that they will support the bed bases for as long as they last.

About IKEA’s Customer Support. While ordering, the lack of a confirmation page led me to believe that my first attempt to order hadn’t gone through.  I ordered a second time, and the confirmation page showed that second order, but not the first. That’s right, I ordered two sets of bed bases. When they arrived, I was confused, and immediately navigated to their customer support page. Although I did have to wait a couple of days for a response, they credited our account, and I have been told to dispose of the extra set of bed bases. What could beat that?

So what is it like to sleep on after a month? I like it. With the latex foam and the topper, it feels like a firm mattress with a pillow top. I haven’t played with the slat bed’s firmness, but it is adjustable as long as you don’t completely glue down the latex foam across the entire surface of a certain section of slats. The directions are to leave the covers down during the day which suits me fine. There is enough give in this foundation, yet we don’t seem to feel the other person moving when they turn. I’ve also spent nights spread out across the center while Anja was away traveling, and there isn’t any problem sleeping over the seam between the twin IKEA slat bases. I really like the idea of not needing to throw a mattress into the landfill.

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What to do… what to do? We have just learned that our food co-op has suspended operations and will not be delivering our monthly groceries. That means, among other things, that we are out of coffee and toilet paper. This is not good news.

We haven’t learned why exactly but we know that the co-op has been struggling. (It’s been evident by the number of things that have been back-ordered over the last six months.) I can’t help but wonder though if much of the struggle has to do with the still limited interest in natural and organic foods.

Last week I attended this conference. In order to offer a mix of small and large group learning experiences, the conference offered 20 different learning tracks. Each learning track had 20-30 participants and provide opportunity for discussion. My learning track was “Beyond Consumerism” and while I won’t hash out all the details I will say that I was shocked that those who were leading the discussion were not particularly well versed in the ways in which consumers can purchase food that either lightens the carbon footprint of the consumer or supports the farmer with a substantial percentage of the sticker price or both.

For example, one leader had spent time in Costa Rica and was discussion coffee exports. Roughly, for a pound of fairly trade coffee, the grower is getting $1.26, for the non-fairly traded pound, the grower gets 70-90 cents. (click here for a visual comparison). And we are paying, in this country, $8-$12/lb for the same coffee. The thing that bothered me the most is it seemed (although was never said explicitly) that buying fairly traded products doesn’t matter and it was even implied that the certification process is not to be trusted.

Is it a perfect system? No. Of course not. But should we completely disregard it? I think that is irresponsible (not to mention cynical and pessimistic.) But clearly, responsible food is not yet in the mainstream and companies that sell and distribute it are struggling and leaving consumers to piece together less than ideal buying solutions. So…

For the time being, it looks like coffee will come from Coffee Bean Direct and TP from theearthshack.com

Are you part of the growing number concerned about food?  How do you buy green?

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The curb side discount electric lawn mower has died. The bearings are gone on the electric motor, so no point in repair. The battery was loosing it’s ability to make it half way around the yard anyway. So out with the rotory mower, and back in with the reel mower. Eugene Klein, who fished our local waters, and kept a garden next door, had a reel mower that he used well into his 50’s. At some point it broke and he finally joined everyone else and purchased a Lawnboy gas mower, so the sound of cutting grass finally changed in his part of our neighborhood. All of the sudden, the late evening lawn mowing was no longer an option. City ordinances had already addressed complaints between neighbors across the region. Soon, their language would be generalized to address the use of their string trimmers, wood chippers, and other noisy two cycle motor driven power tools. Ultimately, power washers, and leaf blowers would fall under their authority as well. Instead of rakes edgers, and leaf sweepers powered by muscle, everything had either an electric or small gas powered element to it.

Mr. Klein never turned to the rototiller. He had long established a well aerated soil structure, composting his fish remains along with yard waste. My brother’s dog so loved to excavate and roll around in that stuff when I tried it in mom’s flower garden. And did he ever have the tomato and green bean crops. We always had plenty of fish in our freezer, fresh tomatoes, beans, and cucumbers on our table, followed by rhubarb for mom’s pies. Friday evenings during the summer, we ate like kings even though dad’s business was in start-up. And they were all thanks to Mr. Klein’s habitual use of a garden fork and skill with his spinning rod. The Lawn-boy and the garden fork used for traditional vegetable and flower gardening seem at odds in this time of global warming, but were completely compatible to a guy who grew up in Northern Wisconsin’s logging camps. Pick the right tool for the job and maintain it until it can’t be fixed. Fishing on Lake Winnebago from a wooden boat with an old Evinrude Motor and a pair of oars, Mr. Kline showed me how to use the wind while drift fishing for walleye pike on early mornings or overcast days, depending upon which shift he worked. He motored out until we lined up the center Elm tree with the radio tower, and another elm tree with a silo, and low and behold, the depth of the anchor went from 15 feet to 7 when he had me drop it in. We were right over the rock pile off of Garlic Island which the walleyes used like a corner hangout. He took me out to further his limit, but I was the one who took home the fillets those summer days. We used his home made jigs, poured from a piece of lead that he found at the army surplus store, and tied with care from buck tails that he brought home from deer camp.

A few weeks before he passed away, Eugene and I sat with my daughter while we visited in his living room. The house still smelled the same as it had when I was growing up. He asked about my children, and talked about his children and grandchildren. The garden was still there, though not as many vegetable plants were in residence as when I lived at home. He ordered a single box of girls scout cookies, and we said farewell for the last time. Taking out the reel mower reminds me of Eugene Klein, his care for his friends, family, and his home. I just purchased a garden fork last evening, so I’ll be thinking of him as I use it to turn the soil for our new vegetable garden plot. I only hope I can prepare the soil as well.

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Earth day has been around since 1970 but I didn’t know the rest of the story. You can find it here and while you’re there, check out ways to green your garage.

Other great places to learn more about being green.

Mom Go Green Musings of a Mom on a Quest for a Healthy Planet and Family

Women’s Voices for the Earth - loads of great resources including how to have a green cleaning party!

and the mother of them all
The We Campaign spearheaded by Al Gore and funded to the tune of $300 million!

How will you celebrate Earth Day?

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Because people ask me all the time the following is a list of the products we use to clean our entire house, bathroom, kitchen, floors, laundry, everything….

Vinegar - white distilled
Baking Soda - plain old Arm and Hammer
Dish Soap -
Hydrogen Peroxide
Bac-Out by Bio-Kleen
Bio-Kleen laundry powder
Essential Oils (lemon, peppermint, tea tree, lavender)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Simple Green

That’s it. It should be noted that these are in order - heaviest use to lightest use. If you’re new to cleaning without all the ammonia, bleach and and heavy toxins, here are some ways to get started.

Vinegar is an incredible cleaner. We use it straight out of a spray bottle on our kitchen sinks and counter tops (Formica and stainless), toilets, tub, and bathroom and kitchen floor. We use it diluted with water for the hardwood floors, spot cleaning walls, light switches, railings, cupboard doors, and door frames. A spray of vinegar followed by a spray of hydrogen peroxide is very effective at killing bacteria (for more see this resource) and can be used to clean up after handling raw meat and eggs.

Baking Soda is also a great cleanser, slightly abrasive but not enough to scratch shiny surfaces. Everyone knows that baking soda followed by vinegar keeps drains running clear but try mixing baking soda with mild dish soap and using as a substitute for harsher products. I recently used this on my stop top with amazing results!

Dish Soap There are lots of choices here. We like Dishmate but have also used Mrs. Meyers, Ecover and Seventh Generation. You’ll find these products to be a little less bubbly but just as effective on grease as the more widely used versions.

Hydrogen Peroxide was a big surprise to me as a cleaner. I grew up thinking it was only for scrapes and cuts. Turns out it’s a mild bleaching agent - cleans clothes and kills bacteria. Yep, you can toss a 1/2 a cup or so in for whiter whites and you can spray your cutting boards for easy raw meat/egg clean-up. You can also spray your fresh veggies and give your dish rags a soak. Just make sure to keep it in the brown bottle or a similarly dark container - exposure to light causes Hydrogen Peroxide to decompose faster.

Bio-Kleen Products - We started using Bac-Out when we started washing cloth diapers at home. What is it? It’s an enzyme producing culture that can take care just about any spill, stain or odor caused by an organic source (as opposed to synthetic source). Dirty diapers - no problem. Red wine spilled on the white carpet - no problem. Cat peed on the guest bed - no problem. Mold in the shower - no problem. Really. The stuff is incredible.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil(EVOO) and Essential Oils We use EVOO mostly to cook but mixed with a little lemon essential oil, it makes a fine furniture polish - one that our six year old can make by herself and we don’t worry about the 1 year old getting into it.

A few drops of eucalyptus oil mixed with vinegar in the fabric softener section of our washing machine keeps our towels and cloth napkins mildew free (even when they sit wet for a few days before we get to washing).

So there you have it, you can clean your house, do your laundry and polish your furniture - all with just a few non-toxic products. Got questions? Leave a comment and I’ll address it in another post. Or if you have your own favorite cleaners let us know.

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Mark your calendars for The Energy Fair, put on by the Midwest Renewable Energy Association. It’s going to be held this year June 20-22 in Custer Wisconsin. Our family has enjoyed the fair in past years. There’s lots of workshops, exhibits, speakers, entertainment and yummy food! This year is the 4th annual Clean Energy Car Show, and there will be a Green Home Pavilion. As in past years, there will also be fun activities for kids. For more information, visit www.the-mrea.org.

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