Late Summer Edition: Buying from the Dying Shelf

 YES!  These are from the Dying Shelf purchased at 50% or more from the retail price.

In my earlier post, Buying from the Dying Shelf,  I showed you how we bought dying plants at our local plant store for a fraction of their retail pricing and how the plants have grown and prospered beautifully.  I found these Spider plants (3) in one pot for $5 (originally $10-$15 PER plant).


Fast forward to now, late Summer.  We once again took a look at the dying plants that were available. To our surprise, there was quite a selection, again at a fraction of the cost!

We purchased 2 Hydrangea, 2 Sage, 2 Cone and 2 Lavender plants.  Here's the breakdown:

Quite a savings isn't it?!  As you can see, the plants don't look so great right now but they have plenty of healthy new growth AND they are all perennials that will come back year after year. My advice is the same as it was for the indoor plants; look over the plant, see if there is new growth, it's free from mold and is at least 30-50% green.  

Buying from the Dying Shelf is a fantastic way to save AND have beautiful plants year and year!

We Live in a Disposable Society

We live in a society where just about anything tangible can be purchased in a disposable form. Disposable plastic bottles (water, juice, soda, etc.) can circle the Earth 100 times or more.  In 2013, K-Cups alone circled the Earth over 10 times! Americans generate upwards of 30 TIMES MORE waste than any other country. Have you seen the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? Not something to be proud of.

How long does it take something to decompose?

1 million years:  Glass Bottles
600 years:  Fishing Line
450 years: Plastic Bottles
450 years:  Disposable Diapers
400 years:  Plastic Beverage Holders (they also kill animals by strangulation)
200 years: Aluminum Cans
50 years:  Styrofoam Cups
10-20 years:  Plastic Grocery Bag
1-5 years:  Wool socks
3 months:  Waxed Carton (milk, orange juice, etc.)
3-5 months: Cotton Clothing
2 months: Apple Core
2 months:  Cardboard Box

Want to see more decomposition facts?  Check this out, Recycling.About.Com has great suggestions for recycling all kinds of things.

Here are just a few disposable items that could be purchased in a reusable form or repurposed from other things:

Bottled Drinking  Liquid (use a refillable bottle)
K-Cups (use a reusable, washable filter.  K-Cups are NOT recyclable)
Dryer sheets (use dryer balls and anti-static sheets)
Paper Towels (use washable cloth towels for spills, sponges for cleaning, newspaper for windows)
Paper or Plastic Grocery Bags (use reusable cloth bags)
If you get plastic bags while shopping, reuse them as Garbage bags, doggie poop bags, etc.
Paper Plates and Cups (use washable plates, etc.)
Plastic Cutlery (use washable)
Plastic Sandwich Bags (use washable sandwich containers)
Disposable Cameras (buy only for special occasions as necessary)
Batteries (use rechargeable when possible)
Aluminum Foil (wash and reuse when possible or use a silicone baking mat)
Party Decorations (save them and reuse each year when possible)
Dish Washing Glove (use the durable, longer lasting brands vs. 1 or 2x use)
Toilet Cleaning Products (use a toilet brush, let air dry)
Baby Training Pants (buy washable, use disposable for travel)
Razors (use standard and change the blades when dull)
Cleaning Products (use earth-friendly, biodegradable or simply vinegar and water)

Again, I acknowledge there are times when disposable products must be used for a variety of reasons.  We use them too, just as little as possible.  I basically restrict myself to vacations and big parties for disposable products.

Some will argue that washing all those reusable products is just as bad as buying disposable.  Is it? The article, Top 10 Water Wasters: From Washing Dishes to Watering the Desert from Scientific America gives a great summation of everything from hand washing vs dishwashers and washing the car to drinking alcohol.

Take a look around your home.  Do you have cases of plastic bottled drinks?  Boxes full of snack size foods.  Cabinets filled with canned soups or boxed this and that.  Refrigerators and freezers full of pre-made meals? Don't get me wrong, we have some of those same boxed foods and pre-made meals in our own Kitchen.  There are definitely times when I need something quick and easy to prepare.  BUT, it is always my last resort and quite honestly, I feel guilty even buying them.  And yes, I definitely acknowledge that there are areas where the water isn't safe to drink and there's no choice but bottled options.

WebMD has a very informative article on bottle water vs tap or well water.  It's worth reading.
Eating Well has another informative article on 'healthy' pre-packaged foods.
Men's Fitness tells you how to pick the 'right' can of soup.  (Watch the sodium content!!)


Some time ago I made the switch to cloth napkins.  Think about it, you use cloth napkins at restaurants and for holiday dinners.  You only need to buy them once every few years, or even less if you have a surplus.  You can color coordinate them with your decor.  You can buy them for special occasions with specific themes. You can use them to clean up spills or place them under hot dishes. If you have small children, they can't rip them up and shoot spitballs across the table!  Well, that should be reason enough to switch!  And last but not least, you can throw them in the wash and reuse them again and again!  Ok, that's obvious, just reinforcing my point here.

I could go on about the cost savings but honestly, you can Google it and there are dozens, if not hundreds of sites that will give you a Cost Benefit Analysis.  Yes, it's worth doing if you don't take my word for it.

How about plastic bags and aluminum foil?  Oh don't get me started on this!  BPA-free plastic containers or glass are perfect for food storage

Here's MY bottom line and why I switched:

First, I'm eco-friendly.  IN A BIG WAY.  Our family of 5 produces just ONE 10-gallon bag of trash per WEEK.  The rest is reused, composted or recycled.

Second, I'm frugal.  Ok, let's face it, I'm cheap. I've had to learn how to stretch a dollar much farther than it should be, which is okay, because I value every penny that comes into the house and give a lot of thought before I let it back out.

The best deals I found were always at Kohl's.  They always have a clearance section with napkins in it and since I don't care about 'every day' napkins being color coordinated, I bought 4 for $2 PLUS used a percent off coupon (which they always have).  So for about $5, I bought 12 assorted colored napkins that I keep in the Kitchen.  On another trip (I believe after Halloween), they had a huge pile of solid black napkins for about 50 cents each (4 for $2 plus the discount coupon).  I keep those in the Dining Room.

As for holidays, just hit the After Sales.  Kohl's will discount holiday merchandise up to 90% AND you can still use the discount coupon!  Really, you can't beat that.  Whenever I'm at HomeGoods, Kohl's or Target, I always check the clearance shelves for food storage containers, napkins, etc.  I'm a very patient person and with patience comes big savings.  That works for me!

In the end, just do what you can.  In today's world, it's very hard to be eco-conscious ALL the time. Implement new strategies in your family if you don't have any already in place and stick to them. You'll be surprised how quickly it will become a regular habit that you will feel good about.

If you need a little does of reality, watch this documentary; TOXIC: Garbage Island.  "Located between North America and Asia lies an island the size of Texas. This island is made up completely of human garbage: a sludge of plastic, metal, and decapitated Barbie dolls – and the island is growing."

Composting Made Easy

Composting really is so simple.  There are dozens of sites telling you how to set up a compost area, layering materials, getting proper oxygenation; the details are endless. I'm here to tell you, based on over 25 years experience, that none of that is necessary!

Stainless is your best option

Start in the Kitchen with a compost pail.  DON'T buy a plastic pail, it WILL hold odors and smell after just a couple of months. And there's no need to buy anything fancy or complicated.  I found this stainless steel bucket in the Target clearance for $7 and had an extra pot lid at home.  If you're not that lucky, you can still get a stainless bucket and lid for under $20.  Stainless will never hold smells and cleans up easily.  We eat alot of fresh food so ours is emptied 1-2 times a week.

Almost everything is compostable

Put your kitchen scraps in the bucket.  Yep, it's that easy.  If you can throw scraps in the garbage, you can just as easily throw them in a bucket.  Everything goes in EXCEPT meat, eggs, dairy items, fish, bones.  Here's a great comprehensive list to use as a guideline from Planet Tea.



There are several ways to use your compost.  We have a one large compost area in our backyard where kitchen waste is mixed with 'greens' such as leaves, sticks and grass.  We simply add them when we cut the grass or rake the leaves.  We also dump directly into the garden.  If you don't have the space, you can purchase a Compost Tumbler. I will admit, I don't have experience with Tumblers so you'll need to research that as far as getting it started.

Dump scraps right into the garden

If you're new to composting, be patient.  It will eventually come naturally and you will find yourself freaking out if someone throws valuable compost waste into the garbage instead of the pail!

Also if you're new, be prepared to wait a full year before you can utilize your compost (a Tumbler may be quicker. HOWEVER, once your compost area is established, you will have nutrient rich soil to work with!  Yes, soil.   There's no need to start new areas each year, simply continue to add scraps.  Now that the area is established, adding scraps just adds to the nutrients and breaks down faster.

Mix scraps with 'greens' in a pile

What can you do with all that awesome, chemical free compost?  Use it in gardens, planting beds, and indoor/outdoor potted plants.  We put most of ours in the garden; fruits and vegetables grow beautifully in nutrient rich, chemical free compost dirt.






To sum it up...

1. Get a stainless steel bucket with lid.  The lid should have an air hole.
2. Put scraps in the bucket.  Use this list from Plant Tea as a starting guideline.
3. Empty scraps into your pile or tumbler at least once per week.
4. Add 'green' waste whenever you have it.
5. Turn your compost pile whenever you add greens.
6. Use your nutrient rich, chemical free compost soil!

I am a Homesteader...and I live in Suburban New Jersey

Anniversary weekend at
1922 Starkey House in upstate NY

I have to say, I never thought of my self as a "Homesteader". Images of run down shacks on the outskirts of Alaska come to mind when I hear of homesteading. However, the more I learn about it, the more I come to realize this has been our way of life for nearly 20 years!

Being married over 25 years to an avid hunter, gardener, composter, landscaper and outdoorsman (to name just a few) has taught me alot. It was my stepping stone, WAY BACK in 1988, to a life of homesteading. A life I didn't realize I would become a part of and love every minute of it!

We're just a regular Suburban family. We live in a beautiful town in a beautiful 3 acre home filled with DIY projects, surrounded by awesome neighbors (no, they are not 20 miles away lol) and yes, the grocery store is 10 minutes away and a huge mall is just 20 minutes down Route 15! To look at us you'd think we were just like everyone else.

But we're not.

High School Sweethearts
25+ years later

We exclusively eat venison (no chemically processed beef for us!), have gardens, grind flour, bake from scratch, DIY, use only what we need, recycle manically, shop Farmer's Markets and Trader Joe's as much as we can.  Now Trader Joe's IS at least 40 minutes from here but so worth the trip AND I get to visit my sister! 

We are not crushed by debt but live by our means and do without when necessary.  We've had some really GREAT times and some really AWFUL ones too.

We have three beautiful sons who are learning right along with us but still have complete freedom to become their own persons (One would be considered a Hipster, one is an artist and one is a total techie nut). We've been called hippies, crunchy, even bitchy (I can get on a tangent about healthy eating).

We've essentially cured asthma and gastritis through nutrition. By essentially I mean no more pneumonia episodes or nebulizers. No day and night pills for gastritis. Not one of us has had the flu in years. In fact, we RARELY get sick at all. All through changes in our nutrition habits.

My Beautiful Boys

I hope you find this Blog interesting and helpful. I'm happy to answer questions if I can. Remember, Google search is your friend.  Talk to your local farmers, they are a wealth of information.  Seek out like-minded people to get yourself started or continue your journey. 

You will never know it all....E-V-E-R-Y D-A-Y is an opportunity to learn something new!