Green tips

Here is a quick, inspiring list of changes you can make to help the environment. I like that they are each small and simple to understand, but can make an impact. Sometimes, information on the environment can come across as doom and gloom and it seems impossible to make any change at all, but this list shows that even small, do-able steps can help.




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Your bank account - keep it active or lose it

Did you know that if you don't keep your bank account active that the bank can turn the money over to the state to keep for you? You may not actually lose the money, but you may have to go through a long process to get it back and you will not earn any interest while the state holds it. If the inactive assets were in a safe deposit box, the state can sell the assets before you've had a chance to claim them, meaning you could lose irreplaceable things like family heirloom jewelry.

Check out this excellent article filled with resources and tips on how to keep your accounts active.



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An uplifting puppy story

Get ready to say "Awwww........." Here is a really cute and uplifting video telling about the Puppies Behind Bars program. Prison inmates raise puppies from 8 weeks of age so that the pups can go on to become service dogs and working dogs. The inmates complete a rigorous application process and agree to put the puppy's needs first 24/7 for the next 1-2 years.

There's a lot to like here. The inmates benefit in many ways, but it is also a cost effective way to train the puppies - imagine if all the training was done through professional trainers! I also like that the program uses volunteers to expose the puppies to outside stimulation during their training. In a win-win situation, the volunteers take the puppies to visit shut in elderly persons and people in hospitals. The puppies get much-needed experience and people benefit from the visit.

Take a few minutes and browse the site, including the video on the "about" page (link above) and come away feeling good.





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Sharing kids' artwork at Artsonia.com

One of my favorite emails to get is from Artsonia.com announcing that one of the kids in my life has new artwork to show off. I love being able to share in the parents' delight as well as nurture the child's interest in art. It's a well run website - each time a kid whose fan club I'm a member of has artwork published, I get an email with a link to the masterpiece. In the case of my friend's child, the school photographs and publishes the pictures. It's a great way to keep in touch with my friend and hear about her family life.

I've only used the site as a fan club member, but it seems to have good parental controls. All comments have to be parent approved, and I had to be parent approved to join the fan club for this child.



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Why vote?

At every election, I am surprised at how few voters turn out. In other countries, people endure hours of standing in line and sometimes threats of violence and yet refuse to give up their right to vote. We in the United States take our right to vote for granted and often feel like it's a chore. I will admit, I don't relish the hours I spend in preparation. I read lot of boring analysis and try to make sense of it all. It's not fun, but it's important so I do it.

Of course I know that women got the right to vote much later than men in this country, but I had no idea how badly some women suffered to earn that right. Here is a website that describes the experience of some women who were jailed following a protest. It's frightening to think that this atrocity happened in this country less than 100 years ago. In case it seems that this is an urban myth, there is a link to Snopes.com for verification of the story.

What put this in perspective to me is the website headline: "This is the story of our grandmothers and great grandmothers. They lived only 90 years ago." I remember one of my four great-grandmothers. She was born in 1880, which means she was 40 before she could vote. My grandmothers were 12 and 17 when women got the right to vote.

In the same way we remember the people who fought for our freedom, we must remember these brave women who made it so that I can treat voting like any other right.








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Hammer Zone - a great resource

I was browsing the web for ideas on cheap, easy to install, heavy duty garage storage. I came across this and this at Hammerzone.com. These two projects and a trip to Lowe's got me going in the right direction for my garage project. There's lots to like on this website. The picture-filled instructions are clear and precise, and he warns of pitfalls to avoid. I also like that he places a high value on doing things right, and not just slopping them together. For example, in the second project (attaching a garage shelving unit to a finished wall), he uses joist hangers because regular fasteners may tend to not resist the force pulling them away from the wall. It's a small, but important detail that will make your shelves last and be a pleasure to use.

For the projects I linked to, he places a high value on sturdiness, durability and low cost. Since they are garge storage, there isn't a lot of emphasis on making them designer-gorgeous although they look fine for the space. I don't need my garage to look like this, but it depresses me when things look to much like a junkyard. In the second project, he finishes the wall with painted OSB (oriented strand board - similar to plywood) instead of drywall. OSB is cheaper and easier to install the drywall, and has the added advantage of being sturdy enought to support hanging tools. I was thrilled to find this idea for my garage.

Even though the slogan for the site is "Better Living through Handy-man-ly-ness," there is lots for a "handy-ma'am" to like as well.


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Excessive Expletives

I don't mind the use of a well-placed 4-letter word on occasion. I try to avoid using them any more than very seldom though, because I think it's easy to overdo the expletives. My experience is that people who use a lot of expletives in their speech are not usually very precise. For example, I was talking to a neighbor once and he kept repeating "John Doe (a politician) is a XXXXXX." I didn't (and still don't) know what my neighbor didn't like about John Doe. His foreign policy? Economic policy? Views on civil rights? It was lazy and much easier just to repeat the expletive. It would have taken a lot more effort to clarify his opinion, so my neighbor took the easy way out and used an expletive.

I also find it easy to get in the habit of using foul language without thinking about it. Do I really want to drop "the F-bomb" without knowing it? It's a habit that gets worse without monitoring, and I really don't want to be someone who is known for having a foul mouth. I don't ever want expletives coming out of my mouth without my intending for them to.

In my opinion, expletives are generally inappropriate in a professional setting. I was interviewing a dog trainer we were considering hiring, and he referred to dog poop with a much stronger version of the word repeatedly throughout the conversation. It's not unexpected to talk about poop whenever you talk with another dog person, but for a professional to use the S-word repeatedly with a potential new client made me question his judgment in other areas. It's one thing to use expletives in a select setting with people whose comfort level you are familiar with. This trainer knew nothing about me, and just assumed I was fine with his language. It's not that my delicate ears were so offended, but someone that doesn't know basic good manners and business conduct may have bad judgment elsewhere.

Perhaps the most important reason I don't regularly use expletives is that I want to project an image of someone who is bright, articulate, precise in thought and speech, respectful of others, and in control of myself. I want to be someone who can describe complex ideas and perhaps even argue them without resorting to imprecise language that may be offensive to some.




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Doing good for others uplifts me

One of my favorite ways to feel good is to help others. I try to spot small ways to make someone's day more pleasant as I go about my daily activities. This may sound selfless, but it is actually for my own good. I assure you I am not looking for praise or saying I am better than someone else. This post is all about me. I want to feel like I've made a difference in someone's day and maybe improved the world just a bit. I want to feel like I am like the kind of person I admire and want to be in contact with.

Here are a few of my favorite ways to be nice to others.

While driving, I make it a point to look for someone to let into my lane or otherwise help. Not only is it nice for both of us, but I get cut off a lot less because I've already ushered the person in front of me. Unless I am really running late, I let buses in front of me. Bus drivers do a tremendous service to people who cannot afford a car, and we all benefit by having fewer cars on the road. By creating space and waving someone in, I am contributing to everyone's safety because the people I assist don't need to do any dangerous moves to get into traffic.

I take a weekly yoga class, and I look for ways to assist there. While the teacher is busy before class, I make sure there are props for everyone. I've helped less able-bodied people clean up their props and helped the teacher clean up.

I offer to help people in the supermarket. Yes, there are employees that should do this, but if I'm right there and can help, why not?

I try to give back online by reviewing products and services and sharing knowledge in various forums. I've benefited tremendously from reviews written by others and the only way to maintain the usefulness is to get continuous contributions.

If you are female, you've undoubtedly stood in line at a public restroom. If I see someone with small children or who looks less able to stand in line, I offer to switch places in line with them.

It doesn't take much to spot ways to be kind to others, and it sure feels good.


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Preparing to vote

Disclaimer: Michele's Mix is non-partisan and promotes no political views or party affiliation. Any indication otherwise is purely by chance and not intentional.

One of the hurdles of being an informed voter is dissecting the massive amount of information given by candidates. What is true and by how much is it true? It is especially important to review information about each candidate provided by their opponent. To this end, I've found a really helpful website called factcheck.org. Fact Check describes itself in it's mission statement as follows:

"We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit, "consumer advocate" for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. We monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases. Our goal is to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship, and to increase public knowledge and understanding."

You can read more about the organization here. I've done some reading on the site, and it seems to me that they do dispel rumors and confirm facts about candidates from both parties. I would be interested to hear any opinions on the site.




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Kitchen sponges

One area of kitchen cleanliness that I've recently become more aware of is the kitchen sponge I use for washing dishes. I was watching the show "How Clean is Your House," and they had a case where the rag used to wash the dishes was dirtier than the toilet! Yuck! Why bother washing the dishes at that point?

I think it's easy to overlook the sponge because it gradually gets grosser and it's hard to notice until suddenly you "see" it and it's really bad. I try to view my sponge as someone else would. I've read that sponges can be sterilized by microwaving or putting through the dishwasher. I have put them in the dishwasher, but never tried the microwave. I change my sponge pretty regularly, and have considered using a reminder in my PDA if it seems like I am missing this chore. I buy them at the dollar store, where I can get 5 for a dollar so I am not hesitant about changing them when it is time.





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The proper interval for home maintenance tasks

I use a Blackberry PDA for all of my to-do lists. One of my many lists is maintenance, a category that covers any recurring task that needs to be done to keep things ship shape. I put all sorts of things in this category - cleaning my wedding ring (monthly), cutting back the ivy (weekly), decluttering (one item a day), tree trimming (yearly), etc. The thing I like about using a PDA for this purpose is any task can be tagged "recurring," which means once you finish it and delete it, the task automatically pops up with a later due date based on the interval you've inputted.

After almost 3 years of owning a fixer-upper, I have learned that the best time to do maintenance is before it's really needed. For example, I clean the glass in the doors every 2 weeks, and at that time it is just beginning to show nose and paw prints. I got to the 2 week interval after trying it at longer intervals and finding that it was just too hard to clean it. The "before it's needed" mantra is especially suited to critical things like maintaining appliances.

The interval for a task can change over time. We have about 80 linear feet of Ivy growing into our yard from neighboring yards. It had been neglected for years, perhaps decades before we purchased the house and it grew almost to the ground from a height of 5-10 feet. For the last few months, I've been cutting as much every week as fits in our yard waste bin. I should have the preliminary cutting back done in a few months. At that point, I can decrease the interval to perhaps every two weeks or less. Another example - when we had no dogs, the house stayed pretty clean and certain tasks like sweeping could be done every week or so. When we got our first dog, sweeping became a once or twice a week job (dogs shed and track dirt into the house). Now that we have two dogs, sweeping is a 3-4 times a week job. (And, yes, it's worth every minute of my time to have those mutts!)

I tweak my intervals constantly. If something is too dirty or needs too much work, I know I waited too long. If it is still in perfect shape, I can wait a little longer. Every time a new task catches my eye, I add it to my maintenance list with a guess at the right interval. If it got dirty enough to need cleaning once, it will need it again at some point.





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The Grocery Game - update on my trial

I am two weeks into my trial of The Grocery Game, and still have not made any purchases based on the information on the website. I think that we are just too atypical in our shopping patterns to benefit from the website. However, the website itself seems great. The information seems like it would be useful if it covered what I needed, and the potential to save is large.




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Nail your mail!

One of the banes of my existence is mail. In spite of taking many steps to reduce the amount I get, there is still a lot and it takes a lot of vigilance to stay on top of it. Today at Lifehack there is a great post on how to deal with mail. I use a lot of the steps myself.

As mentioned in the post, I start by sorting my mail into 3 piles - recycle, shred and act on. Many people may disagree with me on this, but I process my mail in batches. If I can, I pull out the recyclable items right away, but if not everything goes in my mail drawer for batch processing a few days later. I just find it more efficient to do more mail at a time. If I have to sit down and pull out my checkbook, file things or check dollar amounts, it's just easier to do it all at once. I intentionally have a very small mail drawer though, so I can only go a few days without processing.

Like the poster, I shred everything with my name or address on it. When in doubt, I shred it. In our neighborhood, the trash is rifled through many times before being picked up so I don't take chances with my shredding.



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If you could stop time

For all of my adult life, I have had a massive to-do list and am constantly behind. Now that this has been the state of things for several decades, I have come to accept it as the way my life is and not something I should be racing to change. I could work myself to illness and probably still not be caught up. So I work as hard as I can, have a good system for keeping track of things and accept that I won't ever catch up.

Since this is the way things are for me right now, I often think about all the things I could do if I could stop time. I'd love to stop time and add many extra hours to each day. I'd work so hard and maybe get caught up eventually. I'd do chores, paperwork, organizing, cleaning, maintenance and home improvement.

When I posed this question to someone else, they answered with a bunch of leisure activities such as movies and bike riding. I was surprised. It never occurred to me to use my imaginary found time for leisure.

I'm still trying to figure out what this says about me, if anything. Maybe I just like being productive. Maybe I need to relax more.

What would you do if you could stop time?





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How attitude shapes perception

Last week, I got braces on my teeth after a month or so of dental and orthodontic prep work. It's been an interesting experience to have braces as an adult. I had some orthodontic work as a kid, but about 5 years ago my teeth began to shift to where I was biting myself several times a day and could no longer eat some of my favorite and best-for-me foods like raw vegetables. Since this has gone on for some time and then it took a while to get the treatment underway, I am so happy to be getting the problem fixed.

One thing that has been interesting is seeing how different people perceive the experience. I was and am hugely excited to get braces. I am so appreciative to have insurance to cover a lot of the cost and to be able to manage the rest. I feel so lucky and fortunate to be able to get nice teeth. Sure the discomforts of having my wisdom teeth extracted and having braces aren't great, but they feel like a really small price to pay for what I am getting.

As I have mentioned it to people, I treat it like a great and exciting event in my life. The response I get is usually something like "wow, braces, that sucks." I have to respond "no, it's great and I am so excited!" Sometimes I mention something that I find interesting about the process such as how I can feel the pressure on my teeth from the movement, and again people are quick with sympathy, and I have to say "no, it's not bad, just weird."

What this experience has highlighted for me is just how much a person's attitude can shape their perception of an experience. I could imagine that for someone not as interested in having nice teeth, this might feel like a bad thing, or something they "have" to do which could change their perception of the whole experience. Most people I have talked to have said something like "I'm so glad I don't have to do that."

Seeing how much my attitude (which I take no credit for, it's just how I feel) has changed my experience of this process has made me wonder where else I could use this idea better in my life. Certainly I'm not the first person to point out the importance of attitude, but this has been a dramatic example for me.





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Personalized picnic gear

From the August 1, 2008 issue of Woman's Day Magazine, here's a great idea for cutting down on wasted plastic and paper goods at your picnic. Bring along a Sharpie, and ask people to put their name on cups and plates. A simple trick, but important for the environment. Works great for any party too.



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Mold in your washer?

File this under "Gross, but good to know."

Did you know that your front-loading washer can get mold in it? I didn't, until I read this post by Professional Organizer Monica Ricci. I have done the maintenance on my washer and dryer (read about it here), so I didn't think to check for mold when I noticed a slight moldy smell on some clothes. I thought my washer and dryer were clean, so I looked for other explanations such as maybe I folded something while it was wet.

After reading Monica's Post and the the Consumer Reports article she links to, I went back and inspected the door gasket and found brown gunk in it! Yuck! I had been regularly wiping it, but the gasket has a very complex shape with lots of folds and deep crevices, so it needs more than just a simple wipe down.

The good news is that with a few days of wiping down the gasket and door after every load, the problem is much better. Fortunately, the machine is less than 2 years old, so the problem has not become too severe and I believe I can get rid of it quickly.

Keeping a food diary

This post on record keeping at lifehack made me think about the times in my life when I've kept a food diary. I've found it to be a simple, inexpensive and effective way to lose weight. I think it helps in several ways. First, I can't have food amnesia, where I forget or underestimate what I've eaten already today. Second, before I eat junk food, the thought that I have to write it down crosses my mind. Do I really want it in black and white that I ate THAT? What if someone reads it? Third, since I will have to record it later I am more conscious of portion size. I am more likely to take an appropriate portion and more likely to try to accurately estimate it's size. Fourth, I've found it helpful when working with a health professional.

If you decide to try keeping a food diary, keep the following in mind. Always have your diary handy. You probably won't remember everything hours later. Make a commitment to write everything down, including quantities. Don't make any exceptions or you give yourself an easy out which will lower the effectiveness. Consider working with a friend or professional who will regularly look at your diary. Having to account to someone makes it harder to eat junk.

Easy bookmarking for Delicious.com

I'm now on Delicious.com (user name michele_c), and I've added the bookmark feature to my posts.

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The Grocery Game - update on my trial

As I mentioned last Friday, I am trying The Grocery Game. As a non-typical user, I wasn't sure what to expect, but at only $1 for a 4-week trial, I couldn't go wrong. So far, I haven't found any bargains on things I would buy, but I am only 1/2 through my first week. I'll keep you posted!

Ending your vacation well

Over the years I've learned that setting up the end of my vacation and re-entry into the real world makes my vacation much more enjoyable. If I've got a rough re-entry planned, it kind of hangs over my head just a little during my trip. Knowing I've set myself up for a good end to my vacation makes me dread the end less and the transition back to my regular life less jarring. It takes some planning and effort beforehand, the peace of mind it brings me is well worth it.

Here are some specifics of what I do:

When possible, I take some extra time when I return. I try not to go back to work right away, even if it means cutting my travel back a day to have a day at home before going to work. Having that one day means I can unpack, do my wash, buy groceries, go through the mail, clear the Tivo, prepare food and clothing for the next day, check my schedule, etc. I have taken trips and returned late the night before having to go to work, and while I would never turn down a trip that required this, I do find the extra time at the end of the trip helps.

Create a welcoming home environment to return to. I clean the house, change the sheets, put out fresh towels, do all the wash, throw away any food that may spoil, take the trash out, etc. I try to make sure not to leave my house looking like a bomb went off due to a last minute packing frenzy. After staying in a hotel or with a kind host/ess, I find it depressing to return to a messy house. On the other hand, I find it a great joy to open the door and see a spotless, neat house waiting for me. It gives me a sense of appreciation for my house, as in "wow, I live here, aren't I lucky."

Anticipate any needs you will have right away upon your return. Have a prescription to pick up? Need cream for your coffee or like fresh OJ in the morning? Do you have enough pet food? Need directions for an appointment? I try not to have any urgent chores or errands that need to be taken care of immediately upon my return. If we don't take the dogs with us, we board them at a cage-free kennel. After many days of constant romping with other dogs they are pretty stinky when we pick them up. I make sure to pick them up at a time when we can bathe them before heading home.

One thing I learned quite by accident on this trip was to think about meals upon my return. Usually I return to a house that has no fresh fruit or vegetables in it, and often very little perishable food in general. It makes for a disappointing first meal home unless I run right out for groceries and cook something. We sometimes get takeout food to extend the feeling of vacation for one more night. For our last trip, I had a tasty, healthy pasta dish in my freezer ready to be eaten with just a quick heating. I didn't do it on purpose - I had made the dish a few days before we left and ended up freezing some of it to keep it from spoiling. It was really nice to have a hearty, vegetable-rich meal waiting when we got home hungry and tired from the airport. I may try to do this for future trips, but I would try to do it well before hand by just making a double batch of something rather than doing is specifically as part of travel preparation.

What makes for an easy end to a vacation will be very different from person to person and will depend on that person's lifestyle. I have found the concept really helpful in increasing my enjoyment of my vacations.

Packing light

In contrast to our holiday trip, I was very well prepared for our recent trip to New York. I had plenty of time to pack properly and consider what we needed. It was probably the best job I've done packing for any trip.

For many reasons, I like to pack light. In fact, packing too heavily really infringes on my enjoyment of my trip. I hate tearing my bag apart to try and find something. I hate lugging large, heavy bags. I hate having too many bags.

I love packing light. In addition to New York, we made various other stops - 5 places in 9 days. It was so nice to be able to pack quickly, easily fit the bags into our car, and easily manage walking the city streets and subway stairs.

I used a few basic tips - I packed things that could be left behind such as a half-full tube of toothpaste. We attended a wedding early in the trip, and the next day I shipped our wedding clothes home since we wouldn't need them. I also packed just enough clothes for half the trip and did wash halfway through.

All in all, being packed light really helped me to enjoy this trip.