The Eco Women often have email conversations in which they discuss, well, EVERYTHING under the sun. They like to share articles of interest with each other and debate new research findings. They tell each other about new things they’re trying and areas where they’re having difficulty.
Yes, it’s true. Even the Eco Women sometimes have problems being green. Generally, they find green-ness to be easy, but occasionally, there’s something that stymies them.
For example, Recycla and Enviro Girl once confessed that they don’t wear eco-friendly deodorant. And Recycla has been honest about her trials and tribulations with her mascara.
It has occurred to the Eco Women that if they sometimes have difficulty being the greenest they can be, that their fellow Eco Warriors might have some burning issues. So today is about troubleshooting — tell the Eco Women something you’re dealing with and, if possible, they will offer suggestions and advice.
This one is so silly because I feel I should know but I don’t. I had been composting my food scraps by directly digging them into the garden. But I have since had trouble with…er…varmits and have stopped. I have been thinking about investing in some sort of sealed composting container but have never used one. I have a lot of composting on a daily basis and wonder if it would make compost fast enough? I am just utterly confused about what to do and feel so guilty about throwing all these scraps out in the garbage.
I am going through something similar, so can tell you what I’m doing.
I have two sealed compost bins and have been filling them rapidly. Since I always seem to have a large amount of kitchen scraps and not as much yard stuff to add, I am also adding ripped-up newspapers and cardboard to the bins.
With all the leaves that have come down in the past two weeks, I’ve had plenty of additional organic matter and, last week, filled one bin to the brim. I mean, I really crammed those leaves in there.
I just checked on that bin’s progress this morning and discovered that there had been so much composting activity going on that the level of stuff had dropped by six inches. I’m going to give it a good stir this weekend and then add as many more leaves as I can fit in.
So, I guess what I’m saying is to go ahead and get a composting bin. Since it’s fall, you really won’t be using any compost for at least four or five months, so you have plenty of time to start working on your kitchen scraps and whatnot.
- Recycla/Jen
Preserving and canning foods. I’d like to move farther into the locavore philosophy, but my freezer isn’t big enough. Dehydrating doesn’t seem like the answer; I must learn to can.
Daisy, canning is pretty easy. I suggest starting by reading a good book. Among my collection, I have “Canning for Dummies” and I found it to be very helpful.
After that, I recommend getting good supplies. Not necessarily expensive, but appropriate to the task. For example, I once tried basic water canning using my largest stock pott. It worked, but it was a hassle not having the internal jar rack that water canners come with. Also, get a food funnel to make filling the jars neater and easier. Finally, you really need some of those gripper tong-thingies that you use to pull the jars out of the boiling water.
If you go to Amazon.com and do a search on canning books, a related search on the supplies will pop up. Take a look just so you can see the various options.
I thought I was doing pretty well until I took the quiz in my comment yesterday. If everyone lived like me, we would need 3 earth’s worth of resources. ouch! I need to stop feeling deflated and discouraged by this and find more ways to be green!
Robin, we’re here to help! Look through our archives or feel free to email or leave comments with questions.
Also, take a look at the Easy Eco Actions tab at the top. Are you doing everything on that list?
Daisy, I took a canning class at my church this summer and was amazed at how easy it is. I found supplies on craigslist really cheap and now have lots of pear jam from our pear tree.
RE: deodorant. I just stopped wearing it.