Design Inspiration: Rainbow Book Displays

I've been absolutely dying over rainbow-ordered bookshelves for a while now. I am a prolific reader and incorrigible collector, and I've never liked the kind of bookshelf displays where there were one or two books and a whole lot of vases or those weird, useless wicker spheres people seem to like so much (??). Yet I recognize that shelves absolutely packed with books have little visual appeal. Enter the organization-by-color phenomenon (yeah, it's everywhere, but it's so awesome, it should be).

How incredible is this bright and airy library by Craft & Creativity on flickr? IKEA shelves and an incredible effort in organization and sorting. What an eye. Oh lord how I love it.

New library, originally uploaded by Craft & Creativity.

This version creates such a different mood with the dark wood and colorful accessories. Love the deep blue walls, too. Just stunning. This is precisely how I would want my library to look (possible in my dreams only, of course- le sigh).

bookshelf spectrum revisited originally uploaded by Chotda aka Santos

This one is more simplistic, and gives off a sort of bachelor-feel with the open shelving instead of bookcases. This would look terrific with inset shelves (the ones with no visible hardware that look like they're floating).

Rainbow Books originally uploaded by Andrew Coulter Enright

If you own a huge number of black and white rather than colored books, here is a way to balance the rainbow with the monochromatic to create a beautifully symmetrical look:

Rainbow of Books originally uploaded by MindOnFire

...And if you don't have enough books to fill the shelves, or prefer the spare, minimalistic look, try coordinating a few spines with other objects in their color family like this lovely display (yeah, I know, I said I didn't like vases in bookcases so much- I make an exception here.) Also, varying vertical and horizontal placement can create visual interest.

Rainbow Order originally uploaded by paperpie

Have you thought about or actually accomplished organizing your books by color? Do you like this look or are you "over it" since "everyone's doing it"? I like to be a little different so it is strange to think about adopting something super-trendy, but sometimes trends stick because they are just plain awesome, so I'm calling this aesthetically pleasing idea wonderful enough to not care less whether everyone else likes it, too.

Special Savings: Sears

I am passing on some special sale info which Sears sent me for you guys!

Here are the sale details:

Sears Family & Friends Night Sale – Online from Saturday, March 20, 8 PM CT to Monday, March 22, 4 AM CT; in-store Sunday, March 21, 6-9 PM

Link to site – http://www.sears.com/vip

Link to PDF coupons - http://www.sears.com/ue/home/31010_f&f_flyer.pdf

Link to in-store bonus savings passes - http://www.sears.com/ue/home/031010_f&f_coupon.pdf

Plus, there’s an online Sears VIP contest where you can win up to $1,000 in gift cards by simply inviting your friends to check out the Sears sale – the contest starts Tuesday, March 16, and ends on Sunday, March 21: http://www.sears.com/vipcontest

The extra $ off is in ADDITION to clearance prices, in most cases.

Here are some of my favorite picks from the site (some on sale, some regular price but remember you should get extra off with the savings pass info above):

HOME & GARDEN:

Enliven your bed-making experience with these gorgeous patterned sheets starting at $14.99 (twin)- savings of 50% before any additional discounts:

This beautiful shade of periwinkle will bring some cool color to your kitchen area, or use it as a decorative fruit bowl or centerpiece on the dining table. $29.60:

Serve in style with this graphic bird-design platter, $24.99:


Keep those receipts organized by month so you can examine your spending! Expanding file by Smead, $2.49 (these are like $7 at the drugstore!):

Stock up on gorgeous shantung throw pillows, only $14.99:



Another gorgeous decanter option, $27.98:



I refuse to use paper napkins, and I'm obsessed with butterflies, so I adore these napkin rings, $26.99/4 (also available in dragonflies and other nature-inspired elements):




APPAREL:

Gorgeous plum-pink-hued satin party dress, $29.99 (sizes 10 and 12 only remaining- act fast!)

On-trend, this tuxedo jacket will create gorgeous curves on a boyish figure, $29.98:


How impossibly cute will this classic houndstooth tweed skirt be next fall? For $4?! You'd be insane not to buy it now (still available in sizes 10-18):

Stock up on soft, classic tees at a great price, in 5 colors & 4 sizes, $3.99




If you love ruffles and magenta as much as me, this jersey-blend tee for $9.99 is perfect.




...And how STINKIN' cute is this rose-embellished ankle-strap stiletto?? $24.99

Enjoy a little spring shopping with less guilt!

Happy saving :D

Tightwad Tuesday: Wine in a Box

If you are a wine drinker, an excellent way to save cash is to buy boxed instead of bottled. Some of the most prolific and popular American vineyards, such as Turning Leaf and Woodbridge, are beginning to offer most of their varieties in a box (with a bag-and-spigot system housed inside). The advantage is that the wine stays fresh longer because it is not exposed to air until poured, and the transportation costs and fuel expenditures are far, far lower without the glass—one large box equals four to five bottles but weighs only as much as one or two.


Hopefully some of the smaller craft vineyards will catch on to this trend. I've seen some from the Pacific Northwest embracing non-glass packaging technologies, selling .75 liter lined cardboard containers. Some purists and sommelier-types likely demur, but proponents claim that the new methods are superior to cork, which can degrade and crumble or allow oxygenation to spoil the wine. For some good information on the method and its advantages, check out About Boxed Wine. There is also a Chowhound discussion on the subject.

You could always invest in a lovely decanter set so that no one but you ever has to know the source of your party libations. Here are some options in several price ranges (click pics to buy):

Mirabel Decanter from Crate & Barrel, $36.95

Bohemian decanter from Pottery Barn, $29.00



Riedel Vivant decanter at Target, $16.99



Milk glass decanter at Swanky Lady Vintage on Etsy, $10

"Swanky Vintage Pressed Glass Decanter" at To Hell in a Handbag on Etsy, $7

(For more awesome inexpensive vintage options, check out my Etsy favorites!)

If you really can’t abide your wine a box, consider a simple, inexpensive table wine. The French don’t drink expensive wine at every meal; usually it’s the equivalent of what those in the know dubbed “Two Buck Chuck,” the Charles Shaw brand sold at Trader Joe’s. Not every store is permitted by town bylaws to sell alcohol, unfortunately, but if one near you does, stock up on this perfectly decent brand for $2-3 a bottle. In general, except for on special occasions, try to stick with wine produced in your own country (in your own area is even better if you are on good terroir), to reduce the transport impact.

Happy cost-cutting and crystal-shoppin' :)

Kitchen Renovation Plans

A minor renovation on my eentsy-weentsy kitchen in my weird little condo has been a savings goal for a while now. Incredible size limitations prevent any true structural changes or appliances wider than 24," so the changes will be strictly cosmetic. Its sole saving grace is that the cabinets are classic and white and not some god-awful oak veneer or something. I replaced the knobs long ago with oval brushed nickel ones from Target (updating that horrid shiny brass hardware goes a long way for very little!) and this weekend I scrubbed the tops of the cabinets (as mentioned yesterday), with so much force that a day later I can't lift my arms above my waist (as not realized until today). But it was worth it for my beautiful, clean new display shelves:





The "before" having been a jumble of appliances, tupperware, picnic baskets, egg cartons and various other flotsam and jetsam, this "after" is quite nearly a miracle.

In a similar divine-intervention-required way, I plan to turn the little drab grey hovel (flecked grey formica countertops, grey tile backsplash with black trim, grey dingy once-white walls) into something bright and colorful (I did already put up the framed butterfly shown, which is very real and quite dead and was caught and pinned by my grandfather):

There's good light from two side windows, and the white cabinets and (staying-white) appliances reflect it well. Of course my space is only eight feet square (sigh). I'm thinking a mosaic backsplash in oceanic colors, and mirrored or decorative tin tiles behind the stove. countertop. I am incredibly enamored of Silestone countertops and especially their cobalt blue options, but recently learned that blue is least favored for kitchen colors because of its suppressive effect on appetite. Who knew? (Also, not such a bad thing if you're home alone, right? But I suppose you want other people to want to eat your cooking). So, I'm leaning more toward Dali which is white with recycled glass bits:

"Enjoy," "Dali," and "Stellar Marine" by Silestone USA

I'd love to carry the hardwood from the rest of the condo through the space but I think it might just be too small. I'd like to do a 12" stone tile on the diagonal to try to make it appear at least slightly larger. And a white sink, most likely. I know everyone is into stainless for everything but I just think the kitchen is too tiny to pretend it's industrial. I'm sticking to cottage charm if I'm going to have any luck of turning it around to a renter or buyer!

I'm also working on creating my own triptych as the backdrop for the glass and silver collection atop the cabinets. Here's a rough workup:



...and the work in progress:



...More on creating your own acrylic masterpieces at another date.

Hope Springing forward treated you alright today! Let me know what DIY projects and renovations you're taking on or just dreaming about! Do you play around and create covetous lists on Polyvore?

Fun fact: Losing just one hour of sleep makes people much more dangerous on the road the next day (so be careful out there)! The exactly parallel effect occurs when we Fall Back - there are the same percentage fewer accidents as there are more after the clocks Spring forward again!

Quick Thrifty Tip: Caring for your Silver

Whilst staging my above-cabinet vignette this rainy Saturday, it became necessary to give my silver collection a polish before putting it on display (once you start scrubbing one thing, you can't let the others not sparkle too, right?). I love silver and have a wine rack, footed chafing dish set and miniature tea set in this particular grouping, all of which needed de-tarnishing. (If you aren't aware, silver oxidizes when exposed to, well, oxygen, i.e., the air. You can combat this with your jewelry by wearing it often, rubbing it gently (the oils in your skin mitigate tarnish) and/or keeping it stored in an airtight container (plastic bags seem to work well). But if you're decorating with your silver you will (unfortunately) need to polish it.

The sensible, thrifty way to polish your silver (environmentally sound also, of course) is to eschew fancy chemical polishes that are near ten dollars (or crazy electrosometingorrather sink systems like the one my mom got scammed into when I was a kid) and simply take your nearly-finished toothpaste tube- the one that you've rolled already and have extracted every last possible morsel- and slice it up the side to the mouth and lay it flat as possible, and use a rag (you've hopefully been collecting holey shirts and socks for this purpose) to collect the remaining toothpaste, and polish away. Severe tarnish will take some scrubbing, but you should start to see shine come through the very dullest silver fairly quickly.

Left, unpolished (dull, blah) teapot. Right, post-toothpaste-treatment (bright! shiny!) teapot (please pardon crappy cell phone photo)

This trick works with nearly all kinds of toothpaste (save, perhaps, berry childrens' with crazy sweeteners and that sort of thing) from plain white to gel-ly blue. It's quite remarkable, and a great use of something you'd usually just throw in the trash. Wash in warm water and dry with a kitchen towel and you'll have your coveted shinyliciousness back! Repeat anytime your pieces start to look dull again- save your toothpaste tubes for a silver-polishing day! Which, by the way, you should schedule any time you have a cold. Inhaling menthol as you rub tarnish away leaves your nasal passages... very... clear.

If you have any special awesome thrifty hints, please share them- I might publish yours on the Cambridge MA Thrifty Living Examiner page- More info TBD!

Happy Saturday Night!

Thrifty at Home: Spring Cleaning

While the mercury here in the Northeast may protest that it's quite nearly Spring (this weekend, anyway- ~shiver~!), it's just about that time of year to start switching out your cold-weather wardrobe (if you're lucky enough to have decent storage) and to tackle some of the long-neglected projects you've been meaning to get to.

For me, this weekend is all about the kitchen. First of all I'd like to figure out what is making that absolutely god-awful smell in the refrigerator. Yeah, um... It was cleaned pretty recently but evidently since something has died. Here's my recipe for the ultimate fridge-scourer that costs about 41 cents and won't kill your birds, poison your children or pour horrid chemicals down the drain:

1 lemon, cut in half (visible seeds removed but not squeezed yet)
baking soda (you'll probably end up using 1/8th to 1/4 cup)


That's it. Sprinkle your baking soda over stuck-on food, mystery glops of ancient condiments, and anything that's not sparkling to your standards. Then start scrubbin' with that lemon half. The acid will react with the baking soda and do pretty much all of the work for you. A little elbow grease never hurts, though. Wipe your mess up with a dry rag or recycled paper towel (not to be preachy but really, try to buy non-virgin paper products and do your part change the demand in this country!) and then once more with a warm, wet rag to get up any leftover grit from the baking soda (or weird chunks of stuff you really don't want to think about).

This also works tremendously well in tubs for soap scum and that other weird crud in there. No more caustic, horrible-smelling spray bottles that shouldn't be around kids or pets and need ventilation to use (creeeepy, am I right?) ...and as an added bonus when you rinse your concoction down the drain you probably give your pipes a little flush with the remaining fizziness.

In addition to the fridge-scouring, I am tackling the tops of the cabinets. Last weekend was the fronts (amazing how much brighter the white doors were after a good scrubbing- who knew they had really turned greyish?) with the same general cleaning recipe- white vinegar can be used in the place of the lemon if you find it gets too expensive or wasteful to always use lemon halves.

So, apparently. if your cabinets don't reach the ceiling, and you never dust around the decorative platters and picnic baskets atop them , a certain sticky film overtakes them and every surrounding surface. A scrub brush, hot water and dishwashing liquid are really all it took to remedy this unappealing mess (and something along the lines of greased elbow lightning, I suppose, but think of the calories burned and teacher arm averted).

Next will be shelf liner and an actual decorating scheme including some of my collection of amethyst and cobalt glass and sterling silver (centered around the glass bowl found at Goodwill (discussed here):




...and then I swear I will dust regularly so as to never, ever have to go through this kind of intense scrubbing again.

Sadly I didn't have the foresight for before pictures, but I'll be sure to post some "after," if only so you can gawk at the astounding microscopic-ness of the kitchen itself.

I transferred a big chunk of money from my regular savings bucket at ING into my home improvement bucket, and I'm having visions of ocean-colored mosaic backsplashes and recycled-glass-flecked Silestone counters... sigh... Someday.

Happy productive weekend!

Dream Interiors: Home Office

Hello lovely Wicked Thrifty readers! Sorry to have disappeared on you for so very long. Living and work have kept me extremely busy lately. There are some major changes in store for my life and for this blog, too... first of all, you may notice I just said "me." Yep. The Royal We was definitely fun to write in, but after that (single, granted) negative comment I really started to wonder if it bothered people. According to the poll, a third of you loved it, a third of you didn't care one way or the other, and a third of you hated it. Not a very helpful poll :P But, since half the time when I was writing I had to go back to edit "me" to be "we," perhaps it was time for the change.

As far as life goes: that new title I'd mentioned a few times finally materialized (perhaps it was the Dress Smart book? Or a year's-plus worth of thinly veiled impatience?), so work has gotten even busier. Plus, during the past month I've been trying to climb back on the super-healthy bandwagon after noticing the scale creep up and the bad habits start to turn into a lifestyle. DANGER! Also, my fiance is moving into my apartment in two months-- I've lived there over five years now, so it's a major, major change involving the need for a massive yard sale and re-thinking everything. Not to mention that he wants to sell ASAP because he hates the place, so it's going to be a scramble to renovate and redecorate in order to attract either a renter or buyer so we can move into a place that wasn't built in 1860 and might have a closet to speak of or a doorway he might not smash his head into.

So... to that end, I've been obsessing rather inordinately over home decor, as well as food and exercise. Much less than fashion. (Although I do suspect that as soon as Spring shows itself, my singular fiend will be for a new wardrobe, having filled out the coffers with a dozen wool skirts but realizing the lighter options are meager!) You can expect that this blog will focus much more on those kinds of things (and my health-nuttiness when it comes to eating!)-- I hope you'll stay with me!

Today I thought I'd share a little inspiration board I've been working on (with clippings at home, re-created via Polyvore) for my "someday" home office.

This rug has been calling to me for many months. I could definitely also go zebra though (faux, of course). The general theme is obviously super-girly, hot pink, a little bit French provincial and a little bit goth, with feminine details but BOLD color. No pastels here, thank you. Most of the items pictured are decidedly NOT thrifty, but when and if I actually have a spare room to make into an office, I'll DIY most of these projects... Surely I can find a crap thrift store armchair and cover it with some sort of amazing flocked velvet. Tables with beautiful legs and lines can be sanded down and painted black or stained a deep, deep ebony. I'm sure I can create some kind of funky chandelier and spray-paint the whole shebang magenta, too. No doubt the curio will be the biggest investment, but maybe my fiance's friend will be done with his cabinetmaking course and will want to show off his new skills for a song... My biggest desire for this room, though (and actually for every room in my house) is a gigantic mirror with some kind of awesome frame on it. Sadly, large mirrors are hard to find and inordinately expensive. *Sigh.* Let me know if you have any suggestions for a great source!

A girl can dream... and will! Happy home-decor daydreaming to you, too!

New Name

Hello lovely readers!

Just wanted to beg and plead that you switch your reader and (hopefully!) your blogroll over to the new url: www.wickedthrifty.blogspot.com!

We haven't actually moved but who knows how the redirect will work.

So... why?
If you're not from Boston, you may not know "wicked" as a synonym for "totally" or "absolutely." But really, it is. And a great one at that. ...And then there's the whole us being kind of a recovering goth, witchy type (think Stevie Nicks... and stay tuned for news about our new planned Etsy endeavors!) ...And also the matter of the lovely blonde Swede-in-California publishing under nearly the same name, a few months before this one.

So there was an epiphany, and it just made sense.

The focus of the blog will remain on beautiful clothes under $30, but we may switch it up a bit with some more home posts like this one and also about our decluttering process when the fiance moves in in May, along with some ideas and recipes for eating non-factory-farmed food and organic when possible without killing your food budget. Lots of tasty treats.

Hope you stay with the blog. Thanks for your comments- they mean so much!

Please take the poll on the right, just to satisfy curiosity ;) Thanks!

Shopping in Your Own Closet!

The change of seasons is upon us! With the passing of the equinox, it is time to start thinking about Hallowe'en, unbelievably enough! (We didn't really get a summer here in New England).

Whether you're in the Northern Hemisphere and experiencing shorter days and crisper temperatures, or just warming up to Spring Down Under, you'll probably have to do some seasonal shifting of your wardrobe (unless you're in a clime where you can wear the same breezy items year-round, or have gigantor closets. Unfortunately for us, we are in neither position).

We have a storage unit in the basement, which we pack up twice a year with garment bags and Rubbermaid containers filled with off-season clothes and bedding and then haul up and down the stairs. (We group them into Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter so as to spare ourselves doing this four times in a year!)

For those of you with small closets and no supplemental basement or attic space, some lovely storage options we've seen recently include stacks of vintage suitcases (with the top one used as a side or bedside table), vintage steamer trunks, and of course underbed boxes (buy risers if your frame is low to the ground, and hide them with a lovely bed skirt! Check out these great options from Jeri's organization blog!) Or, make use of high ceilings and construct shelving all the way up (and get yourself a proper stepladder while you're at it).

One of the most exciting things (for us anyway) about this grueling process is discovering pieces we had completely forgotten we owned. This past weekend we found, tucked away in a bin at some unknown time, a lovely vintage cropped lavender motorcycle jacket. When did we buy this? At what thrift shop did we find it? It must have been last winter, because we have definitely never worn it.



Quelle cuteness, no?? We think it's 80s... it is "authentic style" brand. Isn't the iris color just divine? OK, maybe only if you're obsessed with purple. We don't normally go in for pastels, but this we couldn't pass up (evidently). Who could have known that cropped motocross and other wee leather jackets would be so "in" this season, too? (Not that we care about being "in"... we'll wear whatever we like and trends can shove it, we're just happy when things we like are widely available!)

We heard a fancy leather-cleaning remedy the other day which we'd like to share, also. And by fancy we mean totally thrifty and natural and easy: egg white. Apparently raw egg white on a soft cloth will take leather stains out. We will be trying this immediately.

Other things we're excited about for fall in Boston: all of the colored tights we bought over the summer, and the black boots we got on clearance, together of course! Corduroy! Velvet! Cashmere... aaaaahhhh... (don't forget to check your Goodwill or Savers for cashmere sweaters we got both our baby pink and our deep purple ones at thrift shops!)

Have you found anything fabulous in your seasonal shift that you had forgotten about? What makes you happiest about the change in your part of the world?

Happy shopping-in-your-own-closet!

End-of-Summer Trends We Ended Up Loving

We bought a maxi dress! We had questioned the sanity of such an item on our short little frame, but we found the perfect one that we don't step on (even in flip-flops). It has a Grecian-inspired, drapey empire-waist bodice with adjustable straps (woot!) and in an absolutely divine peacock print. Really, we just love it-- and best of all, it was half off at that dreaded T-conglomerate, for $14.99. It was marked a size 2, which is possibly why it was the only one of its kind on the clearance rack. Remember, never believe the label- try it on if there's any possibility it could fit!) Here's a really terrible picture:


The print is turquoise, teal, periwinkle, spring green, bright violet and seafoam. Luscious:



We also thrifted a statement necklace back in June at Raspberry Beret, which we paired with (our first wearing of) our new psychedelic flower-patterned mesh surplice v-neck at the office on Friday (on the bottom, our orchid tiered hippie skirt). We doubt we'll be owning a bib necklace or anything else enormous in the near future, but layers of chains and teal-and-sea-green glass beads are just fine by us. We're flouting the petites-can't-wear-bold-jewelry rule:


It seems like the big-necklace trend will still be huge (ha, ha) for fall, and we recently saw (in September's 15th Anniversary InStyle) teal referred to as a fall color (? really?) so hopefully this will last us a while before we look hopelessly out-of-fashion. (Like we'd really care...)

What are your favorite trends that are continuing on from summer to fall? We discovered that our maxi dress looks adorable over a body-conscious teal sweater (from the same thrifting trip as the necklace) as a jumper, with our fake Frye motorcycle boots from Famous Footwear beneath, so we'll be wearing it well into the colder weather (it's also a magnificent just-hanging-around-the-house dress, as the empire waist and cup-and-strap construction mean braless is a possibility even for those of us who are more largely endowed and can rarely enjoy the non-constricted luxury).

While we usually advocate vintage thrifted and/or handmade, we have to admit that we're drawn to the clearance racks at the demonic T. Aren't you? Definitely hit them now, as they're transitioning out for fall items, so you can probably find a lot of cute stuff. Also, some of the dorm decor isn't so awful-- we just grabbed a microfiber "storage ottoman" in black, for $19.99, which is now housing our dumbbells so they're not just lying around the living room waiting for us to do something about this teacher arm! Check it out (bottom left/center):


(Yes, we are obsessed with purple).

Ooh! We forgot to mention that our Tar-geigh has all of their house brand (Prospirit) Balance Balls on clearance for $5. We got one for home for an office chair, and we're thinking we're going to go back and grab a blue one for the office, if we can convince them it's professional enough! Hooray for working the abs while you're required to be sitting on your arse!

Enjoy the last of your weekend!

The Thrifty Stylist At Home

We are definitely primarily a fashion blog over here, but we thought we'd discuss being thriftier in your home for a change... We consider ourselves environmentally conscious, so we certainly try to be "green;" however, recycled (thrifted) housewares are not only more economic but likely higher quality (they just don't make 'em like they used to, as they say) and vintage/ handmade/ reusable items can be ridiculously stylish and so much classier than disposable crap!

Our favorite places to find vintage housewares are flea markets or consignment and antique shops (that aren't too high-end); there's a permanent flea market in a barn in Newburyport, MA that we've had some amazing scores at (lots of cast-iron pans, hanging baskets, old wine boxes to use as planters, trunks for coffee tables, fish-grilling baskets, napkin rings- ours are made from old sterling spoons) , and there are so many fleas, yard sales, church sales, tag sales, out there that really there's almost no reason to ever buy anything new, in our opinion! There's also Etsy, for wonderful vintage goods and handmade lovelies, although shipping is a consideration with heavier items like pots and furniture.

We're not nearly as frugal as some folks we know who make their own soap and such (or maybe we just covet leisure time too much), but here are some of the things we've changed in the past couple of years to try to fulfill the dual goal of environmental responsiblity and personal savings:

-Switched from paper napkins to reusable. We bought both of our sets on Etsy:

Plum Crysanthemum Hand-Dyed Batik by MargotBianca

Turquoise and Black Hand-Sewn Striped Batik by GoodKarma

Aren't they gorgeous? They're so much more attractive than a paper towel, and they go right in the wash, so it's not any less convenient, really (and we only hit the big T for paper towels every few months instead of weeks now...) We also have a hand towel hanging on the refrigerator and paper towels are absolutely banned for hand-washing purposes (we have become our mother. Sigh).

-Switched from petroleum-based laundry detergent to vegetable (coconut)-based (with plans for next time to get it in bulk from the co-op!) According to IdealBite, "If every U.S. household replaces one box of 48-oz, petroleum-based powder laundry detergent with a vegetable-based one, we'll save enough oil to heat and cool 5,300 homes for a year." Wow! Most eco-detergents are made with coconut-- pretty renewable, right? And they really do work just fine. (we've also switched the dish detergent). Look for any brand that says "vegetable-based surfactants" or "coconut surfactants" or the like- Arm & Hammer is offering one, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods definitely carry them, and of course Seventh Generation at most regular groceries is non-petrolate-based. We hope you won't buy Clorox's version, even if it's not that awful; we boycott Clorox because their bleach is one of the leading products contaminated with mercury (other brands of bleach do not have it- we know this from working in a lab where Clorox was banned!)

It may not seem like a big deal what you choose to wash your clothes with, but personally we think it's foul that we were using oil, anyway (!), and we're glad to help save some fossil fuels. Also, most "green" detergents are concentrated, so they use less water in the bottle; if we're just going to dilute it in the washer anyway, why do so many manufacturers waste water in the package, driving up shipping fuel costs at the same time? Baffling.


-Started washing all clothes in cold water. Maybe you already do this sometimes, or maybe you don't at all- but unless you're trying to kill dust mites, you really don't need hot water for anything, and you'll save tons of energy (and money) not heating the water up. Bonus: with cold water you can throw everything in together and save yourself a few minutes of sorting (more time to shop!) We also do.not.dry.clean. Bad for the earth, bad for your bank account. Most things that say dry clean only can be gently hand-washed, hung to dry and then ironed inside out to restore their softness.

-Joined a CSA. That's Community-Supported Agriculture, if you haven't heard the acronym, which means a "subscription," in effect, to a local farm (ours happens to be our mum's :D ). You prepay for a set amount of produce per month for the harvest season (usually June through October), and each week you either pick up at a designated location or have delivered to your home a box of seasonal surprises. It's true that sometimes you'll have more zucchini or kale than you really know what to do with, and occasionally you may get something you don't know what to (or don't want to have anything to) do with... But for the most part, at a truly bargain price you get a steady supply of nutritious, delicious food grown without pesticides, genetic engineering or chemical fertilizers. Not to preach, but Big Food is a terrifying entity and we should all try to eat as close to the farm as we can!

You probably can't get into a CSA this late in the year but do research and get in on one for next year! We pay $60/month for a half-share which translates to a dozen eggs, a pint or two of berries, half a loaf of amazing whole-grain homemade bread, and at least two full meal's worth if not three each of myriad vegetables like greens, squash, potatoes, peppers, and come August, luscious vine-ripened tomatoes and sweet corn, every single week. We scarcely have to go grocery shopping anymore!

-Stopped buying cleaning products. No, we haven't just decided to let our house go to hell- but after watching "How Clean Is Your House" on the BBC, we discovered that salt, white vinegar, baking soda and lemons are really all the cleaning products you will ever need. Everything else is a scam in an expensive package sent to you through the tremendous expenditure of fuel.

-We also don't drive. That hasn't changed in recent years-- we never got a license-- but we're mentioning it here because it certainly helps our wallet and "carbon footprint" to use exclusively pedipower and public transportation! Hooray for living in a city where it's (somewhat of) a priority!

Boston- MBTA system map

If you live in a place where walking or taking buses and trains is just not possible, think about trying to use a bicycle for smaller trips- those things go like 25 miles/hour if you're cruising! You can get places. Plus, then you don't have to worry about a gym membership or expensive exercise videos and equipment. Beater + frequent riding = cheap hot body. Hey! Wait, we should take our own advice.

We assume you recycle. You do, right?

...And here are some things we really ought to do and hope to in the next year:

-Install dual-action ceiling fans to heat in winter and cool in summer (it really works)
-Start a compost bin
-Put out rain barrels for lawn watering
-Install low-flow shower head (has anyone seen a dual-pressure one for, say, when you're shaving your legs, or when it's heating up? Feels so horribly wasteful, right?)
-Try SoapNuts!

How about you? How are you trying to be thriftier and a more responsible human? Were any of these new to you or are you already way ahead of us? (We're looking at you, goodkarma)

Share your favorite tips and/or thrifty secrets!