February 2012

Grow Your Own Dairy Products

Have you ever noticed all of the packaging involved with yogurt, cheese, milk and butter?  If you eat very many dairy products, all of that packaging really starts to add up. And what’s with the ingredients?  If you look closely at the ingredients, especially in yogurt, you will see some suspicious items that really shouldn’t be in any ingredients list.  If you want to be healthier and create less waste, grow your own dairy products.

Berkey Water Filtration Systems

Getting rid of bottled water is probably the first step anyone going green takes.  There is little as destructive to the environment as the flood of plastic our recent fascination with spring water has caused.  There are a lot of ways to still get clean water, and many people opt for a water filtration system.  We recently bought a Berkey system, and I wanted to write about our experience.

Almost Time for Line Drying Clothes

This time of year is just too exciting for words.  Although we are in the coldest month of the year for our region, I can’t help but think ahead to spring.  Next month, the snow should start to thaw and the temperatures increase, and that means warm weather is just around the corner.  Along with the warmer temperatures comes the opportunity to line dry our clothes again.  Line drying clothes in winter is possible, but it is such a hassle that we just use the dryer during the cold months.

Have a Pet Door? It Could Cost You

We heat with wood heat, and get our wood from fallen, dead trees.  It is a very inexpensive way to heat and doesn’t require the harvesting of valuable resources.  Because of that, we don’t worry as much about having an airtight home.  If you have ever been in a home heated with wood, you know just how cozy it can be – sometimes too cozy.  So we have a pet door that inserts into the patio door frame, and never noticed just how much cold it let in, until we took it out the other day.