Uses for olive oil other than the kitchen

If you remember, my Roman-wanna-be husband once wrote a post about shaving with olive oil. In the dry winter months, I’ve found other uses for it too.

Memories attached to “stuff”…

It is truly amazing the emotions and memories that attach themselves to things we own like tentacles of an amoeba. Swaying, reaching and gently wrapping their tentacles around the objects, they stir such anxiety,  we are  unable to part with that watch, that necklace, that embroidered handkerchief. If we give up the product, we will in turn forget the comforting memories that lie washed in the soft light of our happy memory banks.

Like these tissues I’ve held onto since 1997.

Catching rainwater off the roof

Oh, the buckets, the buckets.

My in-laws utilize the tumble washer. Washing a load uses 15 gallons, rinsing a load uses 15 gallons. For 2 full-time working adults, who aren’t home to flush all day, their water bill in 2011 equaled no more than $15 to $20 a month.

I find that impressive.

I am home all day, though. So I picked up a few water ideas from my green mother. Yes, she is actually green. You should see her thumbs.

Shaving with sunscreen

My husband found some old tanning oil from his college days. How he ends up keeping this stuff…..

Ways to save on your water bill

This comes straight off the Georgia Department of Community Affairs poster where I used to pay my water bill at City Hall:

Plastic never goes away…

We hear so much about a plastic free lifestyle for a reason…
This video puts it all in perspective.
(July is plastic-free month. I did not know this.)

Turn off the water

I owe learning this lesson to my sister.

Ode to Red Solo Cup and a disposable society

Have any of you heard the country song about the Red Solo cup? It’s catchy and funny and great writing, but it’s the ultimate ode to a disposable lifestyle.

Why can’t you still “get lucky and proceed to party” from a glass instead of a red plastic cup? The song mentions it takes about 14 years for the cup to break down. The depressing thing is…that’s about right.

10 year-round energy saving tips

From the Power bill…. 🙂

The trouble with jars…

Rather than store our bulk goods or my homemade snacks in plastic containers, I’ve been keeping any jars I buy or have bought in the past. (I have quite a little collection now.)  They look so pretty and uniform and it’s easy to snatch a glance and know exactly what I need or what I’m low on. The only trouble is they seem to hold dearly to the smell of whatever they contained before…