Looking for the ideal EnviroMom hairstyle

So let's talk some more about hair. Specifically, the hair on our heads. One of the comments in Heather's post yesterday brings up a very practical point about hair-dryers: If we all had hairstyles that did not require blow-drying we could avoid the frustration of cheap hair-dryers that break super easily. Absolutely. No disputing that.

While my hair is not orange, it does bear striking similarities to Jane Jetson's style -- and you gotta know she's using a blow-dryer. So here's the thing: I think I look much better when I have a hairstyle that requires blow drying. And when my hair color is current (i.e., not exposing the horrifying silver-gray roots that make me look ancient and naturally spring from my middle-aged scalp). Now, I'm not super vain or anything. And I know I don't look like a movie star even on a good hair day. But I do notice that my mood is much better when I can look in the mirror and like what I see. Because every four weeks, when my gray roots begin to show, I start shunning the mirror. And my mood gets kind of dark. Or if I (heaven-forbid) go to bed with wet hair and wake up in the morning with crazy-ass cowlicks all over my head... Let's just say it's a bad way to start the day. Because at that point, no amount of blow drying can fix it.

I wonder how many hair dryers get trashed every day?

I would have never bought this crappy hair dryer. I knew the minute it came home from the store that it wouldn't last, and now I'm kicking myself for not demanding its immediate return. It was just like the Story of Stuff. Only $20 AND the cord retracts!? What a steal! Blargh. You cannot have a retractable cord in a tiny, cheap, plastic appliance like this and expect it to last. I mean, the action of retraction is too abrupt and rather violent (for lack of a better term) for such a small appliance. Of course something came loose inside, and of course the thing stopped working LESS THAN A YEAR LATER.

I actually tried taking it apart to see if somehow I could magically develop some electrical engineering know-how and fix it. Aha! There's the rub. You cannot take it apart. I got this far and then couldn't get the main section apart because of the tricky way they manufactured it. THEY (THEY!!) DON'T WANT YOU TO FIX IT. (You should see the size of my soapbox.) So now it's in the garbage can. All of the metals and wires and waste, it absolutely kills me. I would gladly pay $100 for a hair dryer -- more even! -- if I knew it would last 10-15 years. (Hmm, it appears they do sell $100 hair dryers. I wonder...) It could be that the inherent concept of a hand-held hair dryer -- small, overheated, light-weight -- is just an impossible product to build to last. I don't know. I cannot imagine not using a hair dryer. I have been assimilated.

Wah.

Green Hour (or approximately), short winter days and hibernation

Notice, if you will how gloriously dirty these two sets of feet are. They were photographed last summer. If you looked at my kids' feet today, the picture would tell a very different story. You'd see sock lint between their toes, pasty white skin that hasn't seen the light of day in months and nary a sandal blister in sight. And if I was daring enough to peel back my socks right now, it would be an even sorrier sight.

Thankfully, our ugly feet still work. I walked home from my Pilates class today, and had a split-second panic when I thought it was going to start raining. Of course, I had no raincoat or umbrella or hat. But just as quickly I realized that had real rain fell (it didn't), it's quite possible I wouldn't have melted. I don't know about you, but I have been struggling to get myself outside, my kids outside and celebrate the Green Hour on a regular basis during these short, dark, cold and often wet days of winter. So far today, I think I logged .25 Green Hour(s).

Tracking mileage: how much are you driving?

I was stunned to discover that I'm driving about 6,700 miles per year, which averages out to be about 129 miles per week. While it's below the national average of 9,000 per year, it's well above Portland's average of 4,403 miles per year (if these studies are to be believed.) I don't feel like I'm driving that much. Where the heck am I going? So I've started tracking the trips I'm taking and miles I'm driving each week to see where I'm going and how far I'm traveling. My hope is that I will learn something about my habits and become more conscientious about driving. There is always room for improvement.

Digital TV switchover and the potential for eWaste

I read a small blurb in the Sunday paper that made me happy: the government is looking to postpone the switch to digital TV in the US yet again. Oh please. Oh please. Generally, I'm not a procrastinator. But in this case, I have been.

Like most people in the nation, I knew the change was coming for about a year and a half: February 17, 2009. But I did not apply for any of those government-issued digital TV coupons (and now I understand they're all out -- but there's a waiting list!). I also am still unclear if we would need those set-top boxes. We have one very swanky newish TV that is flat-panel, high-def, blah-blah-blah (I'm just so uninterested in all that latest technology hoo-ha. I've pretty much left it all up to my geeky, techie husband to figure out what we will need for this new era of television, which may explain the procrastination factor). We have a bare-bones basic cable connection ($11/month). We also did a little experiment last week with rabbit ear antennas. We were able to tune in one local TV station that is already broadcasting digitally, but not very well, and only on one TV (not the fancy flat-panel one). So that option doesn't look promising.

I also tried to convince Heather that she will need the set-top converter box for her old TV (she also has basic cable). But I'm still confused. So I quizzed a cable guy the other day, and he said no to the boxes. But said our signal would be degraded even if we do subscribe to basic cable (huh? Then why am I subscribing?). To further complicate matters, our local cable provider, Comcast, was recently featured in an Oregonian article saying they're moving to digital even sooner than February, but somehow different. Oh, why does this have to be so darned confusing? Really, I'm not a Luddite.

Greening up our schools

Check out this video. Kelly Creek Elementary School in Gresham, Oregon won $250,000 from Ford to implement a whole bunch of eco-friendly changes, including Marmoleum flooring, CFL light bulbs, low-flow toilet fixtures and a new playground set made from recycled materials. It's pretty cool. They got the money because they had a passionate champion who wrote the winning essay -- the head custodian. It's every school's dream (or it should be).

Oregon schools just had millions of dollars cut from their budgets, so I suspect eco-friendly improvements like these are not high on the list. And of course not everyone can win a big old prize for their schools. So you end up focusing on the smaller things. Our elementary school has a Green Team, of which I'm an inactive member (next year will be better, I promise). At the start of the year they bought reusable water dispensers for school potlucks to replace the bottled water they use to sell. Signs about water conservation were hung in all the classrooms. There are plans to encourage parents to pack waste-free lunches, which is great. Small things, baby steps. It's really about all that can be done at this point.

I'm curious what other grade schools are doing. Switching to green cleaners? Getting rid of the antibacterial soaps? Installing solar panels? It's tough to make changes in a public school system, what with all the policies and expense involved. And you also have to get teachers on board. What changes have your schools successfully made, and what's in the works?

Freezing and storing onions (what about garlic?)

Onions are not my favorite vegetable, but I cook with them constantly. They are the base for soups, stir-frys and all manner of cooked meals. I don't really know anyone who enjoys slicing onions, me included. Though it seems everyone has a method for slicing onions without crying -- running a peeled onion under cold water; filling your mouth with water while you slice(!); putting it in the freezer for five minutes; using a very sharp knife to avoid crushing the cells and causing mist -- I've never tried or think to remember any of these suggestions. (Anyone have a tried and true method?) During the harvest months when Renee and I split a bin of CSA produce from a local farm, we always get a few onions in each bin. I tend to not cook with them as much in the warm months as in the cold months, so what to do with piles and piles of onions?

Bring your own durables restaurant-style: introducing the take-out kit

You might think I'd post about something profound today given the momentousness of yesterday's inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. Perhaps something about food safety and peanut butter (Is anyone as freaked out about this as I am?). But no.

Instead I tackle the small but troublesome topic of taking left-overs home from restaurants. This post fills me with chagrin, because I thought I had nailed this particular challenge when I tasked my memory-of-an-elephant 7-year-old with the important job of remembering to bring durables for our inevitable restaurant leftovers. But no. Apparently she has inherited some of her parents' forgetfulness genes after all. Or maybe it's that we don't eat out often enough to have had a chance to form a habit. Either way, we keep forgetting to bring our durables. And let me just tell you how big of a dork I feel like every time when we're mid-way through our entrees, and it dawns on me that there's no way we'll finish all the food on our plates and did I remember to bring the durables? No. Big fat no. The last time this happened to me the server brought out some boxes and then even gleefully offered us a plastic bag to hold it all! Boy, did I ever hang my head in shame. I was waiting for some reality show TV crew to spring from the wings and out me in a live broadcast: "So here's one of the EnviroMoms out to eat! How are you going to manage One Can A Month now? With all those disposable containers? Is this just the tip of the iceberg, EnviroMom? Hmmmm??" (Now you know what my nightmares are like).

Change

 

I am totally stealing this shirt from my husband.

Downsides of cold water, no-sort laundry method

Dear Cold-Wash, No-Sort Laundry Method,

I hate to say it, but I'm falling out of love with you. As with all passionate affairs, perhaps I jumped in too fast... I know I didn't pay attention to any of the warnings from friends...