Week 4

Canning. I have no clue how our ancestors figured this one out. Dump food in a jar, add a lid, boil and keep in a cool dry place for up to a year. It's a little more complicated than that but that's the jist of it. I canned tomatoes. Some with jalapenos, some without. Foods with high acidity are easier to can, less chance of bacteria surviving. Kind of neat when the jars pop at the end of the process. When it pops it's completely sealed. It's putsy, but not too hard. Time consuming though, especially when one of the jars is flawed and breaks during the canning process. When that happens you get to start all over with fresh water, and try not to cut yourself on the glass. Cost wise canning seems like a really good idea. The jars and rims are reusable, as are all the miscellaneous supplies that go along with canning. The lids are not reuseable, they don't seal as well the second round. After I learned how to can tomatoes I moved on to attempting to make grape jelly. I think it went well. I now have Christmas taken care of, no shopping for me. One more reason not to go to the mall. I can give people the gift of jelly. Tasty goodness. I have managed not to go shopping at all, except for canning supplies. It's amazing how many people ask "why you need that many canning jars" while riding the bus. When I replied "Ummm.. for canning", they seemed a little surprised. I guess most people don't can. You have to regret that so many of the little domestic things that used to be commonplace are becoming obsolete.

Week 3

Okay, I'll admit it. I shopped. I bought new clothes. On clearance, but still new. Now I know not to go out with friends to Target. I get myself in trouble. Next time I'm dragging them to Goodwill or Value Village. And they will like it. And then I won't feel as guilty. My carbon footprint is going back up. I drove to school twice this week, missed the late bus. If I would have waited for the next one I would have been really late to class. Also, I shopped in a grocery store. Vegetables cost roughly 1/3rd more than at a farmer's market. So, in short, this week I failed. I spent money I didn't need to and didn't stick with my commitments. Next week I will do better. I promise. I've already talked my mom into loaning me her canning equiptment. I never realized I would need so much stuff to preserve food. Hopefully I don't blow anything up or trash my kitchen too badly. Wish me luck!!

Week 2

Taking the bus is an adjustment that seems relativly easy. I just have to make sure I actually get up early enough to catch the bus that gets me to school five minutes early instead of five minutes late. I tried riding my bike to school once. Got a flat. That won't be happening again anytime soon. I have to buy a replacement. Grrr.... It's also not very much fun to go to the farmer's market and then catch a full bus home. Carrying a backpack full of veggies while standing in a crowded bus is a bit more of a challenge than I had anticipated. Farmer's markets are a lot of fun though. The farmers are interesting and can give some helpful tips on how to prepare weird veggies. I never would have figured out what to do with kolrabi. I have started stocking up on some things and freezing them. Canning foods with low acidity doesn't work, but freezing does. Unfortunatly some of my early freezing experiments had things defrosting really soggy. Canning experiments are next. So far freezing tomatoes seems to be the easiest. All that needs to be done is blanch the tomates, remove skin and stem, put in a freezer bag and done. Adding jalapenos makes it a convenient chili base. Hopefully once my tomatoes are grown I'll be able to try canning.

Week One

This is my record of a project I started for a school project. For this project, we are supposed to find a way to make an impact on the environment and hopefully get others involved. For my project I decided to attempt to change my lifestyle. "We must be the change we wish to see in the world" Gandhi said. In experimenting with changing my lifestyle I hope to inspire people to attempt the same. I don't intend to do anything too drastic, small steps are sometimes more effective than large leaps. In my blog I want to record my ups and downs, triumphs and failures. I have kept a journal for the last five weeks. This is week one.

I decided to take the bus whenever possible. Since UWM provides a bus pass, I may as well use it. I do not own a fuel efficient car and my motorcycle is not the most reliable. I may also ride my bike, but I will admit, I am not in the best of shape and motivation is difficult to find in bad weather.

I decided to only buy the necessities and cut down on shopping. Hopefully my carbon footprint will be reduced. I own way more stuff than I really need and I don't use it all. The fact that I own multiple vehicles seems a bit excessive but unfortunately I can't ride a motorcycle in the winter.
How many pairs of shoes does one girl need anyway? At last count I have 24 pairs of shoes. I only have two feet.

In an attempt to help the local economy, my grocery shopping will be done at farmer's markets and locally owned businesses. I am going to try not to buy anything that isn't from within a 50 mile radius of my home. To me it doesn't make sense to transport produce from across the country when we grow perfectly tasty food here. Also, this is the dairy state. Why the hell would I want cheese from California. Also, I am going to try to learn to preserve food. As in canning, freezing, pickling, etc. This may prove a bit to challenging for me but I'll try anything once.

More fun to come soon!!