Day 120-Cheap-Ass Hobby: Time to Get Dirty

Day 120-Time to Get Dirty

Today, we look at different hobbies that could save or earn you money. Check out last week's post to learn the principles of Cheap-Ass hobbies.

Ahhh, springtime--where thoughts of young people turn to dirt. Yup, I love spring. I never really appreciated spring living in Southern California--where the world is plunged in perpetual spring.

But the feeling of renewal. The magic of new plants. The sun and the rain. Green leaves and grass. It is all so wonderful. So why not take advantage of this wonderful season and plant some seeds? In the early 20th Century, families across America showed the Kaiser and Hitler who is boss by starting Victory Gardens. I love the idea of planting my victory garden, too. In a society in which our government asks so little for us when it comes to this war, my victory garden is a way to show our corporate overlords that I don't care for their disgusting war. But enough about that.

Planting seeds is an excellent way to have a wonderful and fulfilling hobby without spending a lot of money. Seeds cost just pennies for the burpee brand stuff you can find anywhere. They are so cheap this time of year, you can't go very far without some one just giving you seeds sometimes.

And Burpee is fine. The seeds will grow. They will make plants with pretty flowers and tasty fruits and veggies. But they are a multi-billion dollar company that uses crazy hybrids to make your veggies huge and sterile. Any seeds you may collect will most likely not grow plants next year.

On the other hand, I love Seed Savers Exchange. They are an NGO whose sole purpose is to bring heirlom, antique and heritage seeds back from the brink of extinction. There you will find all sorts of neat plants to grow. Things like Healy's Pride Melon, Bull Nose Bell Pepper, and the Double Yield Cucumber. You pay a little bit more for these seeds. But you pay knowing that you are doing your part to keep important cultural species of plants on our earth.

As for tools and space, you don't need much. You could go out and buy a bunch of fancy pots to grow your seedlings in. Or you could use left over yogurt containers. They are perfect for growing seeds in.

Also, don't forget about soil. Soil is cheap. Cheap as dirt. But after you get your plants all happy and in the ground, why not start composting? Make Magazine has a tutorial on your very own compost tumbler. And Get Rich Slowly shows how to turn junk mail into garden mulch. But I love my worm farm the best for quick, rich soil.

Once your seeds are strong, they can be put in the ground. If you don't have a lot of space--like me--you can make a squarefoot garden. There is a neighbor down our street who has a squarefoot garden where he grows lettuce all summer long. At our house, we just tore up the whole front yard and grew some plants. But if you have no lawn space, you can grow your plants in big buckets or pots.

Finally, I love harvesting seeds. You Grow Girl has a great tutorial on how to harvest seeds. About 75% of the seeds I planted this spring came from seeds I harvested last year from things in the garden or at the farmer's market.

And now, some shameless plant porn. From our garden this year:

Yay! Plants! You see there Tomatoes, Cantaloupe, Eggplant, Cucumbers, and Marigolds. I am just so very proud.

Day 119-Going with the Flow

Day 119- Going with the Flow

While Monday is usually the day I reserve for radical hygiene, I was asleep for most of yesterday after a red-eye from San Diego. So, today will be our radical hygiene post for the day.

Growing up in Southern California, where we always were in the middle of droughts--or as I like to call it, living in a desert--we were raised with all sorts of swell water saving methods.

These include turning off the water while brushing your teeth or lathering your hands. Or the ever so popular selective flush.

If we are supposed to turn off the water while brushing your teeth or lathering your hands, why not turn off the water while taking a shower?

Low flow shower heads are a great way to save water and money. They will reduce the amount of water used by 70% without sacrificing water pressure. They also restrict the dripping that can occur with older models.

Even better, if you get a model such as this one which has a "pause button". That way, you can heat up your water, get all wet, turn off the water at the head instead of the tap, lather up, shampoo your hair and then turn the water back on, and rinse off with hot water. Also known as a a Navy Shower.

That, or you can get a sun shower. But knowing my neighborhood, that may be a little too radical.

Well, hope you all had a great weekend. Tomorrow will be a cheap-ass hobby day.

Day 115-Its Business Time

Day 115- Its Business Time

Tomorrow I am getting up at 4:30 in the AM to fly out to San Diego for the annual meeting of the Pacific Southwest District of the Unitarian Universalist Association.

It is a bit of a homecoming for me as I grew up in the PSWD and will see lots of old friends and family. So there is not much news for today.

But I think Thursdays will be cheap food ideas.

We all know that eating out is costly. And making lunch every day is sometimes a big pain in the butt. And laziness/running late for work can prevent a good lunch being made. That is a dangerous combination.


Clever Dude shows us how to save time and money by making a month's worth of PBJ and freezing them.

Making lunch a month at a time will make sure there is always something ready, no matter how late for work or school you may be. And if a month of PBJ seems a little tedious, you can always switch up the Jelly type, crunchy or smooth peanut butter. Or replace jelly with honey.

Competency Moment of the Day: I filled out a survey that earned me $5.50. Not bad for a half hour's worth of pseudo-work on my lunch break.

Day 113-Cheap-ass Hobbies

Day 113- Cheap-ass Hobbies

Hobbies are important, I think. After all, idle hands are the devil's playground. But mostly, hobbies allow you to express yourself. They let you explore new ideas and build a life that is more fulfilling.

But hobbies can be expensive. They can clutter your life. They can be pretty darned useless.

So, I present to you my four principles to a cheap-ass hobby.

These are four ways you can tweak or grow a hobby that is fun, fulfilling and inexpensive to your livelihood.

1. Make a hobby out of something you have to do anyway. Lets face it, you still have to eat. You still have to wear clothing (for now). You still have to do a lot of things. So why not make it fun? If you have to eat, learn how to cook well. That way you enjoy what you are eating. If you have to wear clothing, why not learn how to make it? That way, you can save money and take pride in what you wear? Just last week, I wrote about how I turned shaving from a chore to a hobby.

2. Have a free hobby. There are loads of free things to do if you just know where to look for them. If you look in the back of your local free and alternative papers, you can find all sorts of free shows, gallery openings, concerts, etc. But don't forget about other free things that are always free. Instead of buying a new book or DVD, check out the library first. Check and see if your city offers free swimming pools, public beaches, or public parks. My new free hobby is making tourist maps for friends and family on google.

3. Have your hobby pay for itself. Thanks to the internets, we can get a bunch of free stuff and craft it into something beautiful and then resell it. So, if you are craft oriented--if you knit or papercraft or make jewelry or sew, you can get things and then sell it to folks.

4. Share a hobby. Sharing is a great way to save money on a hobby. Split on bulk supplies. Or trade techniques instead of taking a class. Or borrow materials from a fellow hobbiest.

With these four principles, you can be a master of cheap-ass hobbies. And every Wednesday, we share cheap-ass hobbies for you to try. Or ways to make your hobby even cheaper.

Competency Moment for the Day: I ran to work today. Well, mostly. I probably ran for about 1/3 of the time and then walked the other 2/3. Not bad anyways.

Day 112- Earth Day; or, Do More- Useless

I hate the new chevy ads. The ones for the environmentally friendly cars.



There is another one where the environmentally concerned driver connects his socks and underwear to the car radial antennae and then starts driving. As his tighty whiteys are flapping in the wind, the words say, "If you really cared about the environment, you could dry your clothes on your way to work. Or, you can get a new Chevy Tahoe Hybrid."

I hate these ads because they confirm what I thought all along, GM and Chevy are jumping on the "Green Bandwagon". They have found a great way to convince people the only way to save the world is by spending more money.

According to the Kelly Blue Book, a new Chevy Tahoe Hybrid will run you $50,490. And The Chevy website confirms that. Wow! And just how green is your Chevy Tahoe Hybrid? Approx. 20 MPG both hwy and city. That is still 4 MPG less than Chevy's non-hybrid compact AVEO.

And that is not even with extra features or gas.

What could we do with that $50,500?

We could put solar panels on 3 houses and never have to pay for gas or electricity again.
You could buy shares in a Community Supported Farm and have fresh, locally grown vegetables for 91 years.
You could install about 2,500 square feet of double paned window glass and save on heating and cooling for 10 average sized American households .
You could afford 40,400 bus rides on the Washington, DC Metrobus. Or one round trip a day for 55 years. And take a car off the road, for nearly a lifetime--reducing CO2 and dependence of oil.
Or, you could buy about 5,000 Dimmable Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs. And save on electricity.

In other words, you could buy a lot of actually green options for the same price as a green-ish hybrid SUV.

What really gets me the most about these ads is how much it makes environmentalists seem weird.

"Dog baths and flapping underwear. This is your future America. But you can trust us, we are Chevrolet. We know what is best for you. We'll save you from those weirdos"

Day 111-Homemade Detergent

Day 111-Homemade Detergent

Last week, we shared a recipe for homemade laundry detergent. I had to go to Giant Foods and Target to get all my materials. And I still couldn't find Naphtham Soap. So I used a bar of Irish Spring we had lying around.

The whole thing wond up costing about $11. But at 2 tablespoons a load, I am thinking it will be about 1 to 2 cents a load to wash my clothes.

The verdict? Yes, it cleans and brightens. Very well in fact. Got some stains out that Seventh Generation was not able to get. I am hoping to get the Naphtham Soap soon since I hear it works better on clothing and I am not super excited about the Irish Spring smell even though most of it disappears in the dryer. I haven't tried it on the clothes line yet since it has been raining to see if the smell goes away that way.

But in the end, I highly recommend it. It is a easy project to take on in an afternoon--less when you have all the ingredients.

Oh and those ingredients are:

1 bar bath soap or fels naphtha soap
1 cup washing soda
1 cup baking soda
1 cup 20 Mule Team Borax

Grind together in your food processor. Use 2 Tablespoons for a full load.

I hope you all are enjoying your spring.

Day 108- Radical Hygiene Part 5

Day 108- Radical Hygiene Part 5
This week, I will be devoting Road Toward Competency to Radical Hygiene—using traditional practices to make your hygiene regimen more healthy for you, the environment, and your budget.

Alright. We are the home stretch.

We are line drying our clothes that we washed with homemade laundry detergent. We are wet shaving and/or using diva cups. But what is next?

Homemade toiletries!

First of all, deodorant is terrible. Many have aluminum as an ingredient which is a neurotoxin and has been linked to Alzheimer’s, breast cancer, and blood poisoning. Some have strong and irritating fragrances. And more plastic!!!

Making deodorant is not nearly as difficult as it seems. And it costs mere pennies to make.

There are a lot of good recipes out there.

But my favorite is this one for its ease and convenience. I bet you have all these ingredients except for the essential oils.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/video/25473/how_to_make_a_homemade_deodorant_.html

Similarly, toothpaste is cheap and easy to make without any packaging. Sure, you don’t get tartar control, whitening, with fluoride or any of that junk. But, do we really need it?

Here http://sci-toys.com/ingredients/toothpaste.html, we can see all the ingredients in your average tube of toothpaste and exactly what everything does. Let’s just say there are a lot of them. And some things are in there just to counteract other things.

Compare that to just good old fashioned baking soda, salt, glycerin, and essential oils. If you drink tap water (even filtered) you are still getting plenty of fluoride to protect your teeth.

And if you really need/want fluoride and tartar control, then brush with this stuff and rinse with a fluoride enriched mouthwash right before bed. Fluoride does not help if you just wash it away with your morning cup of coffee.

Finally, you can also make your own body cream. I have not tried this yet. But Jessica Gonacha at Indie Fixx swears by the stuff she makes.

“Ingredients:

6 oz. raw shea butter
1/2 oz. jojoba oil
1/2 oz. sweet almond oil
1/2 oz. grapeseed oil
1/2 oz. apricot kernel oil
1/2 oz. lanolin (melted)
1/2 oz. aloe vera gel
1/2 oz. glycerin
1/4 oz. Vitamin E oil
5-10 drops favorite essential oil (some of my favorites are geranium, rose, clove, clary sage, cinnamon, and lemongrass.)

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a large bowl (I like glass or stainless steel). Mush together with your hands to get the lumps out of the shea butter. (Alternatively, you can use an electric mixer, but doing it by hand is the eco-friendlier way, because it saves energy!) Adjust accordingly– if you like a thicker cream, more lanolin and less oil will do the trick; a thinner cream can be made by adding more oil or aloe vera juice)”

I would like to point out that lanolin is not vegan. It is a byproduct of the wool making process. It seems to me though that you could replace it with olive oil and get a similar result.

Well, that is the end of the radical hygiene week. I am planning on posting my thoughts on the things I will begin to make like toothpaste and laundry detergent. If I get any new tips or techniques, I will also let you know with a new monthly segment on radical hygiene.

Day 107- Radical Hygiene Part 4

Day 107- Radical Hygiene Part 4

This week, I will be devoting Road Toward Competency to Radical Hygiene—using traditional practices to make your hygiene regimen more healthy for you, the environment, and your budget.

Ahh, laundry. I love doing it. I love the feel of clean clothes that have been line dried. Or a hot shirt on a cold day out of the dryer. But I am not keen on all the scents and dyes that go into the detergent. I have inherited my mom’s strong sense of smell and perfumes and fragrances have a tendency to bother me. And yet fragrance free laundry detergent tends to cost loads more than the average laundry detergent.

But at beingfrugal.net, Lynnea gives us a recipe for homemade soap that apparently works like a star. I haven’t tried this yet, but it is my plan for a weekend competency tip this weekend.

1 bar bath soap or fels naphtha soap
1 cup washing soda
1 cup baking soda
1 cup 20 Mule Team Borax

Grind together in your food processor. Use 2 Tablespoons for a full load. It costs 2 or 3 cents per use.

I will definitely let you know what I think of it when I am all done.

I have also made my own surface cleaner with white vinegar and water. White vinegar is mildly acidic and it tends to cut through grease and grime like a champ. And if you have hard water, it can really get in under soap scum and toilet rust. White vinegar is also great at absorbing odors, so it can really get your bathroom smelling fresh. For tough to srub places, sprinkle a bit of baking soda on the dirt and spray with diluted vinegar and get a volcano of cleanliness! This is also fantastic for stuck drains.

Diluted vinegar sprayed on glass and scrubbed with yesterday’s newspaper is a great way to get your windows shiny. Some people add some to rubbing alcohol or a drop of dish soap in order to prevent streaks.

Hydrogen peroxide is a great way to kill and bleach mold. Just dilute in a spray bottle and spray right on. But, keep away from colored fabrics as it will bleach your clothes or window dressings.

What tips and techniques do you have for non-toxic, homemade house cleansers?

Day 106- Radical Hygiene Part 3

Day 106- Radical Hygiene Part 3

This week, I will be devoting Road Toward Competency to Radical Hygiene—using traditional practices to make your hygiene regimen more healthy for you, the environment, and your budget.

After yesterday's post about menstruation, I thought today could be for the men oriented bodies out there. Although, any one could actually use at least some of this advice.

Recently, I picked up the habit of wet shaving.


Aren't you tired of how they keep jamming blades on your razor?



And now, there are just random blades coming off from the wrong direction!


Really, there is no reason why we need so many blades! And with more and more blades, means more and more money. Its like 4$ a cartridge for some razors. At times, I was wondering if I could afford to shave and go to the movie I was getting ready for!

And all that goo! It comes out of the metal can--not recyclable. And that goo is surprisingly bad for your skin. A lot of it is not actually conducive to a good shave. Unlike what the good people at gillette tell you, it is not pressure or number of blades that cause irritation. Most irritation comes from you shaving cream.

That is when I discovered wet shaving.

Wet shaving is like the shaving your grandfather or great-grandfather did.


Hell, if it is good enough for the Dodgers, it must be good!!!

Razors these days wont cost a $1.29 like they did in the 1060's. However, that is not far off. Each blade runs about $.50 a piece. Compare that to your $4.50 for your slashco mach 20.

And that goo? Replace it with a delicious shaving soap made from all natural ingredients.

But most importantly, get yourself a really nice shaving brush so that you can make some wonderful, hot lather to smother all over your face.

Wet shaving has been great for me. It has transformed my shaving from something I hated, a chore and a bore, to a new hobby that I love. I find my beard grows back softer, and more even. And my face has not been breaking out as much now that I have an all natural shaving soap.

Mantic59 has a great primer on how to get started. He also has a super blog.


But ultimately, you need to check out badger and blade. It is a forum for wet shavers.

Even if you don't want to invest in the new razor, the blades, the brush and everything all at once (which is understandable) I am urging you to at least ditch the cans of goo and move over to some natural shaving soaps or creams. And then invest in a good shaving brush. You will find the difference amazing.

Day 105- Radical Hygiene Part 2

Day 105-Radical Hygiene part 2

This week, I will be devoting Road Toward Competency to Radical Hygiene—using traditional practices to make your hygiene regimen more healthy for you, the environment, and your budget.

If you have a woman oriented body and are between the ages of 13 and 45, odds are you ovulate and menstruate. I don’t. So, I recognize that what I am writing here today may seems like a strange choice, tinged with breaking social mores and problematic power dynamics. I and I would like to keep that first and foremost.

However, the whole radical hygiene movement at Earlham began here, so I think it is best if I go in this direction today.

Lets face it, I don’t get a period. However, many people in my life do. It is a natural bodily function that society has shied away from. They have diagnosed it as something that is dirty and needs to be “treated”. Tampon ads talk about secrecy. Crinkle proof wrappers that look like sugar packs and smell like flowers or things. And you get all sorts of great ads.

Like this classic one-

But, lets face it, tampons and pads are not good for the environment, your body, or your budget.

Tampons are cotton--the least organically grown material in the global agriculture market. They are packaged in plastic--often with plastic applicators. Sometimes, they have all sorts of chemicals and artificial fragrances. On top of that, they can make you sick. There is a chance of Toxic Shock Syndrome or TSS. Essentially, TSS is a Staph Infection in the vagina. And nobody wants that.

This is where radical hygiene steps in. There are all sorts of products women use for their periods.

The most popular, among the women I know, are the Keeper/Diva Cup.Each are rubber cups that hold the menses back until you are ready to empty it. Each are reusable, so there is no waste and they practically pay for themselves as you no longer need to pay for pads or tampons. They are made from polyurethane so they are hypoallergenic and there is no chance for TSS.

But if you really love your tampons, you can get one made out of sea sponges. At $4.50 each a year, they are much more economical as compared to cotton tampons. And they are environmental since they are not made with cotton (pesticide filled) or bleached (bleaching process gives off toxic dioxins). And the average sea sponge lasts about 6 to 7 months. Compare that to the dozens of tampons or pads you use a year.

Finally, if you use a pad instead of a tampon, there are reusable pads. The company Glad Rags offers a whole line of reusable pads. Pads have many of the same problems tampons do--bad for the environment and costly. So, a reusable pad is cost efficient and healthier for you and the earth.

While I have heard great things about these products from women I trust, I cannot officially endorse any of these products. But I encourage you to go out and try some radical hygiene this month.

Day 104- Radical Hygiene Part 1

Day 104- Radical Hygiene Part 1

This week, I will be devoting Road Toward Competency to Radical Hygiene—using traditional practices to make your hygiene regimine more healthy for you, the environment, and your budget.

When I was at Earlham College, there was quite the rumblings about so-called “radical Hygiene”. It was mostly promoted by the Womyn’s Center. With a DIY flair towards simplicity—which is all too common at Earlham—folks explore old techniques of cleanliness that have been dropped in the name of progress.

Let me first take a step back and say there are few things on my list that I hate more than progress for progress sakes. Now, do not get me wrong. I am hardly a luddite. I love a lot about technology. I love my iPod and cross-continental flight now takes half a day instead of half a year. And technology has done loads to make the world a better, safer place to be.

But there is so much technology we just take for granted. We just assume that we must use it because it is there. And I would like to point out that not all technology is good at what it does. And while we work harder to make this new process “better”, it seems to me we might as well just get rid of it.

And so, this is the basis behind Radical Hygiene: reclaiming traditional practices that are healthier for your body, the environment and your budget.

Today, I will begin with clothes drying. Let’s face it, clothes dryers are pretty darned awful. I wrote the following piece as an environmental justice piece for my office-

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfctxnv4_15cnqz49f2.

Not only are clothes dryers expensive to buy and run. They are also bad for the environment and bad for your clothing. Sure, if feels good to bring your clothes out of the dryer and fold them while they are still hot and fresh. However, I think line dried clothing feels so much better.

As spring is approaching, warm sunshine and gentle breezes make it a prime-time to hang dry your clothing. Instead of investing in clothes dryers at $350-$900, a piece of rope and some clothes pins will run you less than $10. On top of that, it is free to run a clothes line. And it is expensive to run the clothes dryer.

After November, it becomes difficult to line dry. But that does not mean you have to go back to that nasty old drying machine. If you get a rack (price ranging from $10 to $110), you can still air dry indoors. I love my rack and still use it when the weather is warm so that I can dry multiple loads at a time.

This is what radical hygiene is all about, finding old ways to be more intentional with out health and actions. I hope you try some of these recommendations I have for you this week.

By the way, I am still running the poll to see which debt I should put my tax refund toward

Day 102- Taxes!!! Part 2

Day 102- Taxes!!! Part 2

Well, I got my taxes all done. And I am getting a really nice rebate. $1,365 back infact. This is due to the combination of me paying my tuition and getting my relatively low salary. I qualified for the HOPE Credit. So, I am getting a good amount of money back from the government.

So, this is my plan.

$65-In my savings for a new DSLR
$700-back into my savings account that I had to pull out for my overdue student loans
$600-snowflakes!! Paying off a good portion of my student loans. I don't know which part of the snowman I should tackle.

Maybe you could help. I am going to put up a new survey to see which part of the snowman I should take care of.


Competency moment of the day: Instead of ordering out for pizza and spending forty bucks, I spent half that amount and fed the entire house with homemade, organic pizza made from scratch.

Day 100-Nobody said this would be easy

Day 100- Nobody Said This Would Be Easy

Well it has been a month since my last post. And I am not sure what the heck happened!

I took a wrong turn somewhere and totally got off the road to competency, onto a side street of laziness and found myself on a dirtroad of distraction.

So since my last post, I stopped exercising, I stopped balancing my check book, I stopped keeping my calendar organized and everything fell to pieces.

I totally had to raid my savings to pay for rent. I missed a massive deadline. And I gained a bunch of weight.

So, I am slowly but surely finding my way. I am using exciting new ways to get my life back in order.

I dusted off my calendar and scheduler. My week is all scheduled for next week.
I have created a new to-do list for my big projects based on those Fund-Raising Thermometers but instead of money, each level is another step toward finishing my project. Each time I finish a step, I color in a level on the thermometer.

Christine and I have started going to the gym. The community center down the street has a small, but mighty gym for only $5 a visit or $125 a year. Its been great.

Back on my diet of one meal out a week. It really makes me think more about where I want to eat.

My laptop is on the fritz again with my quicken in it. So, I am not doing so well with balancing my check book. I may just have to go back to an old fashioned pen and paper ledger for a while. But come to think about it, the handiness of pen and paper with out at all times my promote my organization at the time rather than the "I'll take care of that later" mentality that so often hits me.

Tonight, I finish up my taxes and get those sent off. I am getting a really nice refund this year on top of the stimulus package.