I'm an old WW member and i quit because of the expense of meetings. Dottie's Weight Loss Zone, www.dwlz.com, will give you all the ww plans past/present, all the info, message boards. For free!
I stopped freecycling because almost all of the people who came for my stuff were just planning to resell it. Or, people offer to take away everything in order to get the one thing they really wanted (and presumably throwing the rest away). That's not in the spirit of freecycle.
If something is unreasonably cheap, there's always an unsavory reason. Child labor? Poor environmental practices? Unsavory sources for raw materials?
We must all learn to consider the full costs of our purchases. The 39 cent head of lettuce is cheap today, but how much more will we pay in the long run for the environmental cleanup? A $3 head of romaine or a $15 organic t-shirt is a vote for the future.
Sustainability isn't a trend - it's a return to a mode of life that never should have been forgotten. Everything is interdependent.
The exchange rate on points.com is around 10 to 1. So for giving up 1000 points on one airline, you get 100 points on another airline. Plus you're paying a fee that's possibly worth more than the points you're getting.
I found this post insiteful.
1. I hate Wal-mart too and have begun trying to shop for most things at grocery stores and using coupons and then buying everything else at more specialized stores.
2. I also agree about waiting until it is on sale. I think there is a difference between buying something at a store wide sale and on clearence. And still every once in a while I will shell out more for organic, made in the use, etc. or something else I think is worth paying for.
4. My local GW warehouse is overflowing with stuff that will rot before it hits shelves. I have taken good quality clothes there to see them heaped in a pile with things that smell like smoke and mildew. At least with freecycle, I know they will be used for a time and keep someone from buying new and sending mine to a landfill. I also sell nicer used clothing on consignment or find a source where it can be distributed immediately. My local career center takes business clothes to outfit their client base with appropriate clothes for interviews.
I feel like I am saving money in other places to buy local, handmade and things that are important to me.
1. She uses her microwave to dry herbs. She doesn't actually heat them, but she lays the herbs out on plates, stacks them diagonally so they don't actually sit on each other, and leaves them in there for about a week. Whenever she needs the microwave, she removes them temporarily, and then puts them back in when she's finished cooking. I've never tried it but she swears by it.
2. For those of us who keep the spice rack on the wall above/behind the stove top, spices go bad faster. The constant heat rising from the stove isn't good for them. I keep mine there because it's the most convenient to be able to just grab without moving your feet, and I use them so constantly that it doesn't matter, but if you cook less seldom, just a thought.
Any self-respecting Italian will tell you if you actually buy olive oil by the gallon (And yes you can buy it that way, in the big metal squares on the bottom shelf of your grocery store) it costs much less than $77 per gallon.
Maybe if you buy a small bottle and multiply the cost up to a gallon.
Whether you give something to Freecycle, or Goodwill, etc (and a LOT of middle class people shop at those places too, and pick up some amazing buys) you are probably doing an all-around good thing. Everything rescued from a possible resting place in some landfill is also something not being mass produced immediately, saving resources. I think my frugality here is well-placed. And I don't know where you are, but around here I have NEVER seen the shelves and racks at the local thrift store sit empty. More stuff is coming in than most places can sell or give away, and I don't mind keeping it moving. Multiple streams are more efficient in this case than just one picky or overwhelmed Salvation Army per county.
The other end of the decision making process comes down to what it costs in real consequences when we save money on purchases. I must have cage free eggs, natural meat, as much local and organic food as the budget will bear. Not only do I prefer to buy these personally, I know that if people who CAN afford to spend a little more on responsibly produced food will do so, that that will help those farmers and growers stay in business, make more of these choices available, and eventually help ease the price down for everyone (or help it ease upward more slowly if that's the direction everything is going.)
I have a difficult time believing you're going to generate much cost savings drying your own herbs unless you're also the one growing them. A 1.5 oz jar of dried basil costs a buck at the dollar store, and it takes more than half a pound of fresh basil (about 10 cups!) to produce an equivalent amount if you're drying your own. That's easily $5 or more worth of basil at typical farmer's market prices. There are culinary advantages to using fresh herbs in some situations, but I'm skeptical of the claim of cost savings.
I'll second the recommendation of buying in ethnic markets if you have access to them, especially if you can buddy up with some friends to do a "group buy". (Speaking from personal experience, it takes an undogly amount of time to use up a quarter-pound of coriander unless you use it all the time.)
I don't see how spending less can be bad for the economy. It's not like I'm going to take any savings and hide them under a mattress. If I save on something, then I'm going to buy something else, or invest it in an economy that is amidst a credit crisis. How is that a bad thing?
If you examine the video closely, you can see the batteries arranged all plus side up and then dumped upside down so that they land all minus side up. Even if you could fit them, stacked 4W x 4D x 2H, as shown, would yield a long lasting 3 volt battery. The orientation would have to alternate in such a way as to create 4 parallel sets of 4 AAs connected in series. Wires aren't necessary. Does your flashlight have wires? Since the video clearly shows the batteries aren't arranged correctly, whether they fit or not becomes secondary. If you freeze frame on the segment where the "wires" are supposedly cut, you can see too many batteries facing up, where half of them would need to face down. The real question is, did the gag meister do this on purpose? Or was he just not smart enough to be more convincing?
whomever thinks that we have reached peak oil, must stop reading literature from the 80's. why, there is 2 TRILLION barrels of oil right in the foothills of the american rockies. plus there are numerous new finds all over the world that are making the myth of oil scarcity, just that, a myth. sure, some of the finds are of difficult extraction quality, but most of them are not. "peak oil" exists to keep prices solid, and to enflame activists.
One thing I want to address is that dogs not only don't need carbs, their digestive system can't process them so any carbs are a waste. Also, many allergies come from carbs as well.
And why throw away bones only to give a supplement? Feed them raw, not cooked. I feed about 80% meat and 20% bone and some of that meat is organ meat. Most is red meat like beef and pork and I belong to a co-op that orders together to save big. I also buy store mark downs and buy from wholesalers.
Some people feed vegetables but I don't. Some allergies can come from them as well, especially any that are high in carbs.
I don't know about you but I have a few friends/family members who are SO difficult to find gifts for. Last minute shopping is awful when considering a gift for them as I hav ended up in the past making bad choices and regretting it bitterly. I made a resolution last year that I would carry a tiny notebook in my handbag (took up no room) and when I was around my more difficult friends eg those who are hard to buy for, when ever they made a small off the cuff (and unremembered by them) comment about what liked/wished for/might like one day, I would note it down to keep a track of it. The result was amazing! I had a list of a few things that I could use and the result was often the comment: "How did you know that is just what I wanted?". I just smiled. Seems crazy, but it really really worked. I like to personalise my gifts, and make them meaningful, and this made is easy to remember a simple comment and use it to find the right gift. Good shopping! Josie
I bet if I could buy 10 gallons of krazy glue at a time I could get it at a price point much closer to gasoline... For that little glue I'm also paying for the packaging.
http://greasypc.blogspot.com for ways to cheaply (oftentimes free!) ways to keep your aging computer running years after your friends have already moved on because theirs were running so slow.
A few questions. Would there be anything wrong with using hardware store copper line? Does it need to be cleaned before the beverage is run through it? For the Pot I should be using a copper one? Fitting the lines and vent shouldn't be a problem. I've heard it asked a couple of times but it hasn't been answered, approximately how much yield are we talking? How big of a glass container is needed? I plan to re-read this a few times. Is there any way to up the alcohol content without separating the run?
I'm an old WW member and i quit because of the expense of meetings. Dottie's Weight Loss Zone, www.dwlz.com, will give you all the ww plans past/present, all the info, message boards. For free!
it always makes me LOL when I hear people say that they hate Wal-Mart but love Target.
McCormick makes a 'vietnamese cinnamon' that is better than all others, IMHO. It's a little pricy, but you can use less. Superb quality.
I stopped freecycling because almost all of the people who came for my stuff were just planning to resell it. Or, people offer to take away everything in order to get the one thing they really wanted (and presumably throwing the rest away). That's not in the spirit of freecycle.
If something is unreasonably cheap, there's always an unsavory reason. Child labor? Poor environmental practices? Unsavory sources for raw materials?
We must all learn to consider the full costs of our purchases. The 39 cent head of lettuce is cheap today, but how much more will we pay in the long run for the environmental cleanup? A $3 head of romaine or a $15 organic t-shirt is a vote for the future.
Sustainability isn't a trend - it's a return to a mode of life that never should have been forgotten. Everything is interdependent.
The exchange rate on points.com is around 10 to 1. So for giving up 1000 points on one airline, you get 100 points on another airline. Plus you're paying a fee that's possibly worth more than the points you're getting.
I found this post insiteful.
1. I hate Wal-mart too and have begun trying to shop for most things at grocery stores and using coupons and then buying everything else at more specialized stores.
2. I also agree about waiting until it is on sale. I think there is a difference between buying something at a store wide sale and on clearence. And still every once in a while I will shell out more for organic, made in the use, etc. or something else I think is worth paying for.
4. My local GW warehouse is overflowing with stuff that will rot before it hits shelves. I have taken good quality clothes there to see them heaped in a pile with things that smell like smoke and mildew. At least with freecycle, I know they will be used for a time and keep someone from buying new and sending mine to a landfill. I also sell nicer used clothing on consignment or find a source where it can be distributed immediately. My local career center takes business clothes to outfit their client base with appropriate clothes for interviews.
I feel like I am saving money in other places to buy local, handmade and things that are important to me.
Couple of things i learned from my mother:
1. She uses her microwave to dry herbs. She doesn't actually heat them, but she lays the herbs out on plates, stacks them diagonally so they don't actually sit on each other, and leaves them in there for about a week. Whenever she needs the microwave, she removes them temporarily, and then puts them back in when she's finished cooking. I've never tried it but she swears by it.
2. For those of us who keep the spice rack on the wall above/behind the stove top, spices go bad faster. The constant heat rising from the stove isn't good for them. I keep mine there because it's the most convenient to be able to just grab without moving your feet, and I use them so constantly that it doesn't matter, but if you cook less seldom, just a thought.
Any self-respecting Italian will tell you if you actually buy olive oil by the gallon (And yes you can buy it that way, in the big metal squares on the bottom shelf of your grocery store) it costs much less than $77 per gallon.
Maybe if you buy a small bottle and multiply the cost up to a gallon.
Whether you give something to Freecycle, or Goodwill, etc (and a LOT of middle class people shop at those places too, and pick up some amazing buys) you are probably doing an all-around good thing. Everything rescued from a possible resting place in some landfill is also something not being mass produced immediately, saving resources. I think my frugality here is well-placed. And I don't know where you are, but around here I have NEVER seen the shelves and racks at the local thrift store sit empty. More stuff is coming in than most places can sell or give away, and I don't mind keeping it moving. Multiple streams are more efficient in this case than just one picky or overwhelmed Salvation Army per county.
The other end of the decision making process comes down to what it costs in real consequences when we save money on purchases. I must have cage free eggs, natural meat, as much local and organic food as the budget will bear. Not only do I prefer to buy these personally, I know that if people who CAN afford to spend a little more on responsibly produced food will do so, that that will help those farmers and growers stay in business, make more of these choices available, and eventually help ease the price down for everyone (or help it ease upward more slowly if that's the direction everything is going.)
Thanks for a thought-provoking post.
Have you really tried to give a significant amount of stuff to Goodwill or the Salvation Army lately?
They are VERY picky. Our SA will not take: books, toys with "use" showing, chairs or furniture with any wear or the bottom dust protector off, etc.
And then there are items they historically don't consider- like plants, food, etc.
FreeCycle in my area is very active and saves tons of stuff from landfill. Charities don't want a lot of the stuff that seems to go around.
I have a difficult time believing you're going to generate much cost savings drying your own herbs unless you're also the one growing them. A 1.5 oz jar of dried basil costs a buck at the dollar store, and it takes more than half a pound of fresh basil (about 10 cups!) to produce an equivalent amount if you're drying your own. That's easily $5 or more worth of basil at typical farmer's market prices. There are culinary advantages to using fresh herbs in some situations, but I'm skeptical of the claim of cost savings.
I'll second the recommendation of buying in ethnic markets if you have access to them, especially if you can buddy up with some friends to do a "group buy". (Speaking from personal experience, it takes an undogly amount of time to use up a quarter-pound of coriander unless you use it all the time.)
I don't see how spending less can be bad for the economy. It's not like I'm going to take any savings and hide them under a mattress. If I save on something, then I'm going to buy something else, or invest it in an economy that is amidst a credit crisis. How is that a bad thing?
If you examine the video closely, you can see the batteries arranged all plus side up and then dumped upside down so that they land all minus side up. Even if you could fit them, stacked 4W x 4D x 2H, as shown, would yield a long lasting 3 volt battery. The orientation would have to alternate in such a way as to create 4 parallel sets of 4 AAs connected in series. Wires aren't necessary. Does your flashlight have wires? Since the video clearly shows the batteries aren't arranged correctly, whether they fit or not becomes secondary. If you freeze frame on the segment where the "wires" are supposedly cut, you can see too many batteries facing up, where half of them would need to face down. The real question is, did the gag meister do this on purpose? Or was he just not smart enough to be more convincing?
hi i'm looking for a way to make my Sony model:HCD-DZ110 codefree, does anyone know how?
That's an awesome idea, Josie! Love it. I'm setting up a notebook right now!
whomever thinks that we have reached peak oil, must stop reading literature from the 80's. why, there is 2 TRILLION barrels of oil right in the foothills of the american rockies. plus there are numerous new finds all over the world that are making the myth of oil scarcity, just that, a myth. sure, some of the finds are of difficult extraction quality, but most of them are not. "peak oil" exists to keep prices solid, and to enflame activists.
One thing I want to address is that dogs not only don't need carbs, their digestive system can't process them so any carbs are a waste. Also, many allergies come from carbs as well.
And why throw away bones only to give a supplement? Feed them raw, not cooked. I feed about 80% meat and 20% bone and some of that meat is organ meat. Most is red meat like beef and pork and I belong to a co-op that orders together to save big. I also buy store mark downs and buy from wholesalers.
Some people feed vegetables but I don't. Some allergies can come from them as well, especially any that are high in carbs.
I don't know about you but I have a few friends/family members who are SO difficult to find gifts for. Last minute shopping is awful when considering a gift for them as I hav ended up in the past making bad choices and regretting it bitterly. I made a resolution last year that I would carry a tiny notebook in my handbag (took up no room) and when I was around my more difficult friends eg those who are hard to buy for, when ever they made a small off the cuff (and unremembered by them) comment about what liked/wished for/might like one day, I would note it down to keep a track of it. The result was amazing! I had a list of a few things that I could use and the result was often the comment: "How did you know that is just what I wanted?". I just smiled. Seems crazy, but it really really worked. I like to personalise my gifts, and make them meaningful, and this made is easy to remember a simple comment and use it to find the right gift. Good shopping! Josie
I bet if I could buy 10 gallons of krazy glue at a time I could get it at a price point much closer to gasoline... For that little glue I'm also paying for the packaging.
http://greasypc.blogspot.com for ways to cheaply (oftentimes free!) ways to keep your aging computer running years after your friends have already moved on because theirs were running so slow.
Actually, drug company profits are higher than oil companys' profits, according to AARP. According to them, the top drug companies average 17% profit.
I love that their garage-cleaning activity is "excavating garage". Somebody's been to my house. ^^
just today i passed a store selling 59-cent/pound chicken quarters
A few questions. Would there be anything wrong with using hardware store copper line? Does it need to be cleaned before the beverage is run through it? For the Pot I should be using a copper one? Fitting the lines and vent shouldn't be a problem. I've heard it asked a couple of times but it hasn't been answered, approximately how much yield are we talking? How big of a glass container is needed? I plan to re-read this a few times. Is there any way to up the alcohol content without separating the run?
$1 hamburger and $1.98 ribs! Do you live in 1975??? ... (Insert Laughter here).