m o r e (cycling sightseers)

Dreaming about spring vacation? I know I am even if it's just a weekend at a new pal's cabin in the nearby mountains.

If you're going to any of a burgeoning number of U.S. cities this spring or summer, you may just be able to rent a bike instead of a car. (That is, if you're not sporting your own folding bicycle in your suitcase.)

As David Byrne proves in Bicycle Diaries, tooling around a town on a bike is the best way to catch the true culture, the pace, to really get to know the place--same as when you're staying put.

So skip the rental car and check out RentaBikeNow.com.  It's a network of bike shops and bike rental joints so you have access to all participating bikes in one place. And you can book yours, be it mountain or tandem or comfort, there, online.

It even touts roadside assistance courtesy of my favorite four and two-wheeled auto club, better world.

Find a bike and book it here.

And for international bike-rental and all things bike-sharing, see the aptly named: Bike-sharing Blog.

Finally, for other modes of transport for those not inclined to cycles, check out the public transportation system in the state to which you're heading.

Send to a Friend

Photo credit: purplemattfish

m o r e (diy medicine cabinets)

I don't make a whole lot of my own personal care products. I do make my cleaning products though. And I make this spritzer that I use all the time:

It's simply witch hazel with a couple drops of tea tree oil in a small glass spritzer bottle.

Why? Tea tree oil is a natural antiseptic so it's great for cuts and burns. It's also said to be anti-fungal--for athelete's foot if it strikes. Witch hazel, also from a plant, is an astringent that is soothing and anti-inflammatory and has many of its own uses.

What for? I got the idea from an organic storebought variety. I use it to spritz my feet or under my arms after a long day (I use it and love it but don't claim that natural deodorant eliminates odor--but this does!). I also use it on small cuts or blemishes. It could be good added to a refreshing foot soak as well.

Plus, I use it to clean up my natural rubber yoga mat every so often.

(Caution: tea tree oil is pretty strong stuff, so use sparingly. Even the fumes can burn a little. And, since I'm not a professional, nothing I say is to be taken all the way to the bank.)

Other DIY personal care recipes that may be of interest:

**Angry Chicken's homemade deodorant.

**Make your own shampoo from baking soda and apple cider vinegar.

**And here are Your Daily Thread's recommendations for skincare from the pantry. I want to try the oatmeal/baking soda scrub.

Send to a Friend

m o r e (worms not waste)

The beginnng of a year brings a lot of talk about weight loss and as spring emerges, talk of the same in the context of bathing suits. But might this year be different? Knowing that one in eight Americans is food insecure makes me think more about the weight and mass of food waste than my own waistline.

There are some great resources on how to make your food last, like Love Food Hate Waste and Food Waste Fridays at The Frugal Girl--and following her lead, many other frugal-minded blogs.

And while not every kind of food scrap can go in the mix, composting is the best way to clean up one's food waste stream and get something fabulous in return (aside from feeling good about not wasting): compost! Pretty much the best fertlizer on the planet. And for free, after set up costs.

For those with backyard space, there's the compost pile or the compost bin. But for those of us in small spaces (and with little patience), there's vermicomposting. That's the kind where worms eat your garbage and, in just a few weeks, churn out castings (compost) and worm tea (fertilizer). And the bin might even fit under your kicthen sink--but I've got mine outside.

Worm bins like the one I have from Wriggly Ranch are inexpensive, made from recycled plastic, and easy to set up and use. And since worms eat their body weight everyday, they know just what to do with your carrot tops, stems, apple cores, eggshells, coffee grinds, leftover pasta and bread, paper, leaves, and grass clippings. Your plants, be they house or garden veggies, will thank you.

I used to have mine set up, but didn't have a shady enough spot for the critters to thrive. Now, with a new apartment, I've got a sun-shieled patio that's the perfect spot for my hundreds of tiny wiggling pets to do their thing.

Check out my 25th lim(b) project--vermicomposting--for all the details of how I set up my bin, and how you can set up yours.

For even more:

Worms Eat My Garbage.

Vermicomposting.net.

Do you compost?

Send to a Friend

m o r e (living small)

With our booming world population and the not so booming state of our economy, not to mention our air, land, and water, big is definitely no longer better.

I can't remember where I saw the blog, The Tiny Life, but I was immediately intrigued. I've written about at least one manifestation of a tiny house here at Less Is More (Balanced) before, but TTL's every post is about something tiny. Mostly houses and how to live with less, but all kinds of miniature movements and moments as well.

The blogger, Ryan, describes the tiny house movement this way:

"Simply put it is a social movement where people are downsizing the space that they live in. The typical American home is around 2600 square feet, while the typical small or tiny house is around 400 square feet. Tiny Houses come in all shapes, sizes and forms but they focus on smaller spaces, simplified living."

I'm really digging his post on Lucy's Love Shack  featuring a renter with 371 square feet to work with. I love the little dog house under the bed and the mini stove (I used to have one like that, too!). It's spare and simple and inspiring.

And the one on foldable tables for large gatherings in a not so large space.

I'm sure there'll be more as I follow along from here on out.

And if you want to get together with people and build a tiny house, there are resources in his localize section.

Other tiny houses I've heard of: tiny texas and the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company.

My apartment is definitely small, but I'm not sure it it's tiny (maybe 800 sq. feet?). All I know is I don't want to live anywhere bigger!

Do any of you live in a tiny space? How I'd love to see photos!

Send to a Friend

Photo credit: Tumbleweed Tiny House Blog

m o r e (trees in the field not the landfill)

I'm not a champion in terms of paper use because I  still use paper towels. There are times when they still seem the best option. So, I commend anyone not using them at all! But I am glad to say I do my part to reduce my use.

Here's how:

No more paper towels for most cleaning tasks (like I say, I still use them occasionally, like when I stepped in dog doo doo, for example). Instead it's a whole mess of rags that either my husband picked up at work or concocted from old towels or t-shirts and tanks.

No more paper towels for hand-drying, but cotton hand/dish towels, most of the time.

Cloth napkins all the way. Well, no napkins when I eat at home actually, but on the go, I use cloth ones to wrap up a muffin, store my bamboo utensils, or yes, wipe my mouth. (See my zero waste lunch toolbox here.)

And that's it. For the ones I do use, I get them at Trader Joe's where they're made from 100% recycled paper with no chlorine bleach--the two ingredients you want to look for. (And the higher the post-consumer content the better.)

For all sustainable papery things, check out Greenpeace's Shopper's Guide to Ancient Forest Friendly Tissue Products.

Any more ideas to add?

Send to a Friend

m o r e (unitasking)

When my husband and I recently watched Ozu's Tokyo Story, we were struck by the slowness, the deliberateness of pretty much every movement the parents in the film make. They meditatively walk, eat, sip, and pack their things. They give attention to every movement.

While I can't go to quite the same distance, I have started to notice my movements and the way I do things. I've started slowing down and say, first sitting down, then changing directions, then reaching for something.

Being more mindful of each step in a process and giving each action its due is certainly less stressful (and probably, in the case of physical tasks, a lot easier on the low back). It's also more effective. I find that when my husband and I try to talk about something important while we're doing a task that requires concentration, upset ensues. Or when I multitask and speed up I fumble, I make mistakes, I forget things.

High speed multitasking may be common in our times, but it doesn't make it effective.

In fact, studies are showing  it's quite the opposite. Multitasking causes poor performance and decreased productivity (see dumb little man's post on the subject for details).

I'm thinking by multitasking we also miss a lot of little moments.

Thich Nhat Hanh advocates "unitasking" in his book, The Art of Power because its opposite causes a diffusion of power: "Now we can send e-mail while listening to music, talking on the phone, and taking a picture...With your energy that dispersed, where is your power?"

This is why I'm working on not checking email until I've accomplished one of my own projects most days, limiting what's on my desktop (on screen and onliteral desk), choosing not to make the phone call and do the thing at the same time, doing one project at a time, stopping to look around, being more mindful of my physical movements, and sometimes just doing the dishes and paying attention to water and soap and dish--hard as that may be.

And you? How do you unitask? All suggestions welcome.

Send to a Friend