Lately I’ve had off-grid living on the brain. Probably because I read WAY too many green building / home books, which without fail, contain an abundance of self-sufficient homes to obsess over. I’ve also been thinking about off-grid in an urban context. When I lived in Humboldt and New Mexico I knew plenty of folks who were living off-grid to varying degrees but most of them lived in fairly rural areas so that was my example.
I currently don’t live in a rural area and for various reasons, I won’t be moving to a rural area anytime soon. So the question …read more

Tomorrow is Black Friday and Buy Nothing Day. I already know what I’m planning on doing. Have you decided? If you’re leaning toward Buy Nothing Day, but still need a little help deciding what you can do, here are some activities you can try tomorrow…

Find a BND event.
Do the obvious – hang with the family, have a cookie baking day, play games, go for a walk, plant a tree, play dress-up, sing, make some crafts, it’s a great day to find a family activity.
Go to a store, but not to shop, instead stick one of these up quietly.
Get started on …read more

Being that Buy Nothing Day is coming up fast, here are some ideas for gifts of time you can give this holiday season. These are all cost-nothing gifts, or gifts you can provide with what’s on hand already….
Teach a child something or just spend some time: Honestly, I can’t tell you one item my grandma gave me for a holiday. But I think about everything she taught me or did with me all the time. How to sew, cook, play cards, paint, and more. Plus her stories stick with me. These are the things kids remember when they’re older, not …read more

For anyone interested in the Buy Nothing Day Challenge, I’ve rounded up some of the best consumer posts we’ve had here at THF (and a few from Declutter It).
These are posts full of tips that can help you to rethink purchases, money, and the general idea of stuff.
Cold Turkey Paper Towels & the What Questions
Why Does Being Green Cost So Much?
Organizing by Simplifying
How To Start Getting Rid of Stuff – Get Rid of “Maybe” Items
Kid specific consumer info: 
Raising Green Kids In A Commercial Culture
Kids & Shopping – How Kids Can Be Smart Consumers
My Own Little, His View of Commercials, …read more

Yesterday, I posted about foil use, because a reader asked a question about it. Which made me think of how I quit using paper towels. Since we’ve got the paper towel challenge going on right now, I thought I’d share.
I’m not in the paper towel challenge, because we have zip paper towels at our house. We quit using them cold turkey. We didn’t ease down, or aim to use less, we just quit.
I asked myself: “What if the store was out of paper towels?” And, “What the heck did they do before paper towels?”
WHAT? Well, I’d use something else, find …read more

If you’re unplugged to save energy; cool. If you’re unplugged and celebrating TV turnoff week, well that’s fine too. I’m not unplugged though for the week, and here’s why.
It’s not a realistic campaign. While I agree with the reasoning, I don’t much agree with how they’re trying to pull this whole, get the family together or get moving or what have you.
First off they lie, or at least exclude decision making processes:
From the TV Turnoff Network: “All TV is passive, sedentary and non-experiential. Most viewers tend to watch show after show–not individual programs. Instead of watching a documentary about birds, …read more

Many of us are welcoming spring today, so I thought it would be nice to go over some nature loving, tree hugging, eco-friendly ideas that will carry the entire family through the better part of spring and into summer.
1. Quit looking at nature through your frosty windows. It’s warming up, so get out there and enjoy nature in real time, in real life, in full blown color.
2. Throw open your windows wide and let in the fresh air. Natural ventilation is actually a really effective green home goal to aim for. Proper cross ventilation naturally helps to remove any indoor …read more

This week we’re focusing on commercialism, materialisms, and how that relates to kids and green living. If you need to catch up:
Raising Green Kids In A Commercial Culture
Commercials Are Everywhere
Eco-friendly Ways to Reward Kids
I know many families with homes beyond their needs. Not always necessarily above their needs but absolutely beyond. I’ve known couple friends (no kids yet) who buy homes with six bedrooms and four baths, who have three cars, and all the new gadgets you could want. One such couple I know will really lay into you if you’re not up on all the best new golf gear …read more

How hard would it be for you to just pack up and travel if the opportunity arose? Barring situating your family – how hard would it be based only on the stuff you own? Would you need one small storage space or many large ones?
My ideal answer to the question above would be, “Easy, I could just go.”
My main goal for New Years was to get rid of more stuff. Right now, I have more stuff still than I’d like. I’m not a pack rat or anything, I just do have stuff. Over 30 odd years it builds up. …read more

One great project for kids is building, and then cooking on, their very own solar cooker. My son built one when he was five, at this co-op school-type deal he went to for a while, along with a bunch of other five year olds and one adult. They used it all the time. They cooked their own tortillas on it every week, and flat breads, the kids loved it.
Benefits of solar cooking are plentiful:
No energy drains.
It’s free! Until the sun starts charging us $.
Studies have shown that two solar cooked meal a week can save massive energy over time, …read more