Repurposing mason

I am obsessed with saving glass jars.

And my husband absolutely cannot stand it.  The most recent jars I added to the collection I had to rescue out of the trash bin because they had ickies inside.  "But I can USE it!" is usually my reply to whatever else might be said about the poor jar.  Sanitized and happy, it gets stashed away in the cupboard set aside specially for my finds.

I'm often told that my hoarding is reminiscent of my great grandma, whom we lived with for several years when I was a child.  A woman of the Great Depression, she saved e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g.  At seven years old, it seemed strange to save yogurt containers, clothespins and pieces of wrapping paper.  But now at a point in my life when I want to learn to reuse, repurpose and recycle, returning to the habits my great grandma developed doesn't seem odd at all.  In fact, it's smart.

Those pickle jars are now filled with other goods, such as nuts, granola and coffee.  The bathrooms are becoming more organized, tossing bobby pins and cotton swabs into their topless glass homes.  I even scavenged for more during trips to the recycling center, to be used at our wedding.  And I love it.

What things are you known for obsessively repurposing?

Regression

I've suddenly found myself making more and more changes towards a frugal, green lifestyle.  I feel like I've gotten to a point where I'm "regressing" due to my current lifestyle change--doing my laundry in the bathtub.

As I mentioned recently, I made my own detergent a few days ago and I bought an indoor drying rack since it's been a very wet Spring.  When I couldn't find any quarters to do a load of laundry, I decided to take a page out of No Impact Man's book and toss the clothes in the tub.  Using 2-3 inches of cold water with a 1/4 cup of detergent I letting the clothes soak and then stomp around with my bare feet in the water to agitate the laundry.  So far I've done two loads, saving $5 already.  And by not using warm water or a dryer, I have made laundry an entirely electricity free chore (not to mention the extra exercise I get).  I'm hoping to get a hold of a washboard to help scrub out the dirt from my socks.

What are you doing to "regress"?

Food and Art: Beauty in Both

Today I came across two incredible things.  The first being a cookbook I received called "Simply in Season" part of the World Community Cookbooks series developed by the Mennonite Central Committee. This cookbook is organized by season, then by dish creating an easy-to-use format.  It also includes many resources such as a list of many vegetables and fruits, when they are in season and suggestions on preparation.  Not only that, but it does offer many tips for making a difference in the way you purchase and prepare your food, in order to positively participate in the World Community.

The second is The Graphics Fairy.  Oh my goodness.  I first found it through Shoregirl's Creations, where one of my followers suggested I check out since she had just redone her bathroom  in the French style (take a look if you love vintage-y, French, girly decor.  It's beautiful stuff!).  The Graphics Fairy has thousands of *free* clipart, printables and craft projects available--again, for FREE!  Everything available is beautiful and I had to stop myself from printing out all the French stuff that was available.  I currently have one hanging in my bathroom now.  Isn't it pretty?

While printing millions of things out may not be very eco-friendly, if one can do so responsibly and not go overboard, this makes an excellent tool for responsibly decorating.  Other than the cost for the ink, these are entirely free pictures and it sure beats buying home decor from Walmart (ick).  You can find frames at thrift stores to make this a very affordable (and more earth friendly) project.

To end--I made two book bags for my aunt who requested one in a bright blue color for her friend and a purple on for herself.  That was the only criteria.  So here's what I came up with!

This one is linen, with a muslin interior and small inside pocket.  There are five pockets total, two on each side of the exterior and one on the inside.

This one is my favorite.  I made a few flowers to put on the outside.

I think one of my favorite parts of this bag is the interior.  I found matching fabric in white, so you can just barely see the same pattern inside.

What free or local cooking resources have you found helpful?

Live with Less

One of the most influential books in the simple living movement was Doris Janzen Longacre's "Living More with Less."  Published in the 80's, this book not only called everyone to live a life of less in order to care for those who didn't have enough, but called Christ Followers to this life as well.

In a day and age when Christianity is often linked to heavy consumerism and capitalism, this is a radical call for Christians.  While I continue to hold to the belief that Jesus was a hippie, many still continue to think that following Jesus no longer means "sell all your belongings and follow me" but "take all you can."  While this may be a severe blanket stereotype, it does hold some weight.  With elaborate church buildings, fancy car-filled parking lots and still a huge portion of starving people, it seems as though the majority of God's children are no longer attempting to care for those who are less fortunate.  But Jesus' message has not changed.  People have twisted it.

Longacre's challenge to those who claim to follow Jesus is a serious one.  And with the problems severely increasing since the 1980's, over 30 years ago, we need to take on this challenge.  We need to not let our consumerism get in the way of caring for others.  One would think that with the internet we would become more aware of those who are in need all over the world.  Instead we turn our heads, telling ourselves that we are helping those by supporting the sweat shops they work in.  "At least they have jobs" we say.

This book can also be a very helpful resource for those who claim no religion, or even a different one from Christianity.  Do Justice.  Learn from the World Community.  Nurture People.  Cherish the Natural Order.  Nonconform Freely.  These are Longacre's Five Life Principles, with which she challenges us to live by, and can be taken on by those of any faith.  While living with less can commonly be brushed off, we should at least try.  Start thinking of the these life principles when you make simple purchases.  "Does this item nurture people?  Does it cherish the natural order?"  Starting small can bring you down a path of simplicity out of caring for others.

Inoculating our youth

As I have mentioned before, the family I work for home schools.  If you were living in the U.S. or likely any other part of the European Union, this wouldn't be considered a big deal.  However in Germany, this is something that is completely unheard of.  Parents are handed fines, thrown in jail, and have their children taken away if they refuse to put their children in public school and instead educate them at home.  The number of home schoolers in Germany is in the mere hundreds.

Home schooling in Germany was outlawed by Hitler in 1938.  One would think that because of this act being associated with Hitler, Germany would immediately make it legal once again.  This is not how they have chosen to go about it.  The powers that be have made the decision to continue with this law, saying that it is because they want to create a plural society and in order to do so they must keep all children in the public school system (or a private school, which is also heavily influenced by the government) in order to "properly" educate them about the rest of the world they live in.  This is also to create "acceptable" citizens, those who are aware and tolerant of the different societies in the country which they live in.  Dictionary.com states cultural pluralism as: a condition in which many cultures coexist within a society and maintain their cultural differences.  So the question is begged to be asked.  Isn't tolerance of home schooling and other "cultures" a part of pluralism?

An article on home schooling in Germany featured in the Jan/Feb 2009 HSLDA magazine is quoted saying, "Those who would shape society know that in order to do so, they must control education, because the children of today are the culture of tomorrow."  The German government (along with the rest of the world) knows that children are extremely vulnerable at such a young age and can be taught and molded into exactly how the they would see fit.  Hitler said it himself, "The youth of today is ever the people of tomorrow.  For this reason we have set before ourselves the task of inoculating our youth with the spirit of this community of the people at a very early age, at an age when human beings are still unperverted and therefore unspoiled." 

It seems apparent that there is a heavy amount of socialism placed upon the government system in Germany.  However, I would challenge those living in other areas of the world to take a deep look into the education system put into place by their government system.  While it may not be as outright of an attack on individualized education as in Germany, they are there.  We see a heavy amount of government control placed upon the education systems in America.  The NCLB Act created a way for the government to place not only a foot, by an entire leg into the doorway of the United States education system.  Curriculum is not allowed unless it is passed by a series of government officials and there is a heavy amount of pressure put upon scholastic testing.  Because the government grants so much funding to schools, if the testing is not up to par, under the NCLB Act the government has the right to go into a school and do whatever is deemed necessary to get things back to where they need to be.  This allows little to no room with individuality for teachers, or students.  Not only this, but California state is attempting to put a ban on home schooling right now. 

Pay attention to what is going on around you. 

Our future could look terribly bleak otherwise.