NEEA

Unplug stuff you're not using regularly! "Vampire draw" is real. Here in the PNW, you can often avoid heating and cooling in the shoulder months by opening and closing windows and blinds strategically

Impact Investing will allow me to put my money where my values are!

I've been saving and investing as much as I could from the time I started working (actually... I opened my first investment account as a teenager), but considering the impact of my investment choices has never been on my radar. I had heard about the concept, but it always seemed like a pretty big risk (I try to avoid buying individual stocks,...

Being outside, especially as the weather begins to change, can provide a mental reset and help reduce stress. Walking through the woods or at some of Portland's nature parka reminds me that, even though we are in the city, there are so many accessible natural areas close by.

I took some time to find out which items can go to the Rebuilding Center, to see if we can donate any items from the house remodel before adding to the landfill. We also have some items to take to Free Geek.  Know your resources for what can be reused!

Where do we draw a line for a zero waste meal? Food waste during prep? Packaging? Transport? Food waste before partially prepared food got to me? What about human waste? Water waste when cleaning, and dumping detergents and fragrances into our water? Composting unusable parts? Wasted energy when cooking? So many aspects of waste to meditate on.

Ideas for incorporating the other "R's:": I am looking at the number of subscriptions I have to consider whether I can reduce the number of them.  I have taken in favorite shoes to repair vs. replace.  I have also taken in broken jewelry to a bead shop to have it restrung or reworked.  I dry a lot of my clothes on a clothesline in...

Free, fresh, seasonal, hyper-locally-grown food? What's not to like?! I'll definitely be checking out a couple of the spots on FallingFruit.

I brought my jars and cloth bags with me to the co-op where I could buy my oats, syrup and rice in bulk without using disposable plastics.

One thing I do when I forget to bring a bag to the store (or maybe I wasn't planning on going to the store), is to accept a paper bag. I then re-use the paper bags in the compost bin in my kitchen to cut down on the mess in the brown container from the city that goes under the sink. The paper bags go into the compost and help add to the mix.