Comments on: March Carnival of Natural Parenting: Vintage Green

By: NavelgazingBajan

NavelgazingBajan — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:21:32 +0000

Ok, the pantyhose soap idea is genius! I’m sitting here thinking of how I can implement that idea in the Navelgazing household. I might have to find some sort of mesh material though since I don’t wear pantyhose anymore.

By: Amber

Amber — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:13:23 +0000

My parents were hippies who heated our home with wood, were periodically vegetarian and ate organic food. I would definitely say that this avoidance of the chemical and artificial, and rejection of cultural norms, shaped me. But I will also say that after watching them get up before dawn to chop wood in the rain, I will NEVER have wood heat myself. No way, no how.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:21:05 +0000

I love that this post highlights what your parents and grandparents did and how this has remained and evolved in your own family life. You give readers great examples of how and why to make a greener lifestyle work. It sounds both practical and fun for everyone. You’ve given me some great new ideas.

By: megan

megan — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:09:20 +0000

We do all those things, I love thrift stores. I recently purchased a wool sweater($6.99 I think) and felted it down to make a pair of longies and I will get four other covers out of it because it is so long and my baby is so slim. Love it!!

I don’t remember the last time I bought clothes for my kids,
besides socks. They get all of their clothes from their cousins, we get enough to share with friends. I also thrift shop for myself and my husband.

We are counting down the days till it gets nice, but being MN we know we may have one or two more snow storms. We have a huge garden planned this years and my hubby is going to make/dig me a storage cellar so I don’t have to process so much at the end of the year. We also just ordered 60 new chickens to free range and eat all of our summer bugs. Eggs and chickens in the freezer are great too!!

We buy almost everything in bulk, the few boxes and bags left over my kids used for arts and craft. Good job everyone in their efforts to be green.

By: Paige

Paige — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:50:01 +0000

lol! My mom did panty hose soap slivers! I dont do that either!

I grew up on thrift store clothes (my grandma managed a Salvation Army so almost everything I wore was from there) but I’m so bad at it now. Every time I go to a thrift store or consignment shop I ask myself “why don’t I come here more often?” and yet it will be months before I go again. I’ve become lazy in the consumer lifestyle of our culture. I’m wasting money on new clothes as well as perhaps supporting things I don’t believe in (slave labor, unfair trade practices, products shipped miles and miles).

This carnival has been so great. I’m actually going to have a list of new resolutions this month!

By: Sarah

Sarah — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:40:26 +0000

Another great post by one of our great carnival hosts!

I LOVE garage sales, but I’m a complete failure at finding a good one… I did however find some goodies thrift shopping on Saturday, so I’m not yet useless.

Cloth, I love cloth! I am so cheap that we use prefolds, and practice EC religiously. Of course, cost isn’t the only reason, but it helps keep us motivated, for sure!

We just started buying the heavier duty foil, and now we’ll able to re-use it 6-7 times for baked potatoes, which is amazing! “Upcycling” is so fun. :) Great post, by the way.

By: Ruth

Ruth — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:33:43 +0000

You didn’t report one enormous project that I remember Grandma getting involved in…she and I went to a Rexall Drug that was going out of business, they had literally HUNDREDS of pairs of white nurses nylon pantihose. They were marked down to something ridiculous like 5 cents a pair..Grandma bought every pair that was in our size, probably 50 pair…we brought them home and she boiled them on the stove in tea bags to color them a LOVELY shade of brown. Those pantihose lasted forever because, as you might remember, when you get a run in just ONE leg you clip it off and combine it with another one legged pair that is waiting in the drawer!!! Voila!!! 3 pair for the price of 2!!!!

By: Dionna

Dionna — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:26:53 +0000

Lauren – I will do a post :) And I agree re: gardening. If I was doing it solely to save money/eta healthier produce, I’d give up based on past years’ yield. I just like the process!

theGrumbles – I think a lot of green things can also be frugal – it’s a double blessing!

Darcel – I have to be in just the right mood for thrift stores/garage sales, but that mood seems to be occurring in much greater frequency ;)

Papa – I agree. That and not buying new – the amount of stuff we have that was passed on to us from someone we know or we bought from a thrift store/garage sale is really green. Someone’s carnival post today was all about the resources saved by reducing consumption/reusing resources. It’s significant!

Shana – you and my mom would get along well ;)

Joni Rae – that’s my grandma to a T!!

Jessica – now that we use the glass jars, I like them so much more than the plastic containers I bought for freezing before!

Claire – I’m surprised my hubby didn’t chime in with something like that. I’m a notorious klutz!

Emily – I love the green theme idea!

Maman A Droit – I second cilantro. It’s my absolute favorite.

Melodie – ew on the drawers. I won’t be that green ;)

By: CodeNamePapa

CodeNamePapa — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:16:09 +0000

Cilantro is good in salsa, pasta sauce, rice for burritos, um… it’s good. It’d probably grow well in a container, too… and it is QUITE bountiful, too, we couldn’t use all the cilantro we grew last year!

By: Melodie

Melodie — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:58:46 +0000

My husband has often talked of how his Grandma saved soap slivers too. Guess it really was a Depression thing. Oh, and she’d make him and his siblings were their underwear for at least two days in a row too. Now that’s ONE thing I wouldn’t bend on.