My sustainable home - kinda

It has been a dream of mine to have a home that was completely self sufficient. In that what we needed to run the house would come from the land itself.
Oh I was going to buy 10 acres of land - build a beyond eco house and become an advocate in my self affirming little home.
BUT - well lots of things happened. From not being able to get a building loan, to needing a home to live in, to a realistic evaluation of my time to "build" such home. SO... I know own a traditional home in the middle of town.

But the dream is not dead - there is so much opportunity in anyone's home to reduce your environmental impact - so the dream has been adjusted.
It has been a interesting journey to understand our impact as a family, what we have been able to change, what remains to be a challenge and what is in the pipeline.

WATER

Fortunately we live in a state that not only rains a lot, but one can capture your own water from your roof for use. The first thing we did was turn off the sprinklers.  They aren't needed 9 months out of the year. This alone along with our practices of full dishwasher, laundry, short showers and letting it mellow. means out water use is very low. In fact we don't come close to the minimum water charge on our bill thus paying only fees each month.

The next great project was putting in 3 - 50 gallon rain barrels off the south east side of the house. We were shocked to learn how fast they fill up - one rain storm and they were full. We use this water for watering trees and plants around the house.

ENERGY
This topic is in the pipeline list. Future projects include adding solar tubes to the bathrooms which have no windows and solar hot water... But that will be another year or so.

WASTE
This has been the most interesting topic for me. We have a great practice of reusing and recycling as much waste a possible. Such that we throwout maybe a 1/2 a garbage bag a week. And you know what is in it? Soft plastics... What I need to do is set up another bin for these and take them into Portland next time I go to recycle them since they can't be recycled here.

And we compost - we bought 2 composters so that one could be doing its composting thing while we use the other. Well with the yard work, the chicken shavings, grass and our kitchen compost - we have filled them both up.
We are lucky because Andy's parents live on a farm about 14 miles away and we end up taking all of our yard waste up there. But if we didn't we wouldn't have space for it.

FUN
We also got chickens for eggs and their manure for our garden.  We ripped up the front
lawn and put in raised beds and plants a fig and a plum tree.

All of these project have an impact for sure and we will keep going on other projects, but it is surprising, even to me, how reliant I am on the city for water, energy and hauling away my waste. It makes me think about how far away we are as a society from sustainability. BUT I like how it makes me think - what do I use, how can I use less, and how can my behaviors change to reduce my impact.
A work in progress and a journey worth taking. 

Guest Blog - Approaching parenting in a sustainable way

This blog post comes from my sister - Samara Bassett. Samara is a high school teacher and wonderful mother to my adorable little niece.  This is a great post on values and creativity.

There are many challenges you face as a first time parent. Amongst the sleepless nights and endless questions I felt an overwhelming pressure to make the “right decisions” for my daughter. Thankfully time and experience have taught me to trust my instincts and no decisions are forever. As long as my husband and I keep our values and goals in our hearts and make decisions with love; hopefully our daughter will learn and grow into a happy productive woman. It was a priority for us to approach parenting in a sustainable way. I anticipated this would be a challenge amazingly sustainable parenting has not only been simple but also economical.

• Our cloth diapers have saved us hundreds of dollars and kept hundreds of diapers out of the landfills. 
• Making my daughter’s baby food gives us piece of mind that we are giving her pure nutritious food that costs us a fraction of the jars and processed foods in the stores. 
• I can also make wise choices in terms of her toys and clothes. 
• Thankfully we live in a family filled area so there are of of opportunities to buy used which saves us money and saves a lot of plastic from ending up in the landfill. 

I have even gotten creative with some of her toys. The following was inspired by a play kitchen I saw on pinterest as you can see from the very close resemblance. I half assed looked on craigslist for a TV stand but couldn’t find that special item. Then driving to meet a friend I saw a TV stand out on the side of the road. I forced my husband to pull a u-turn so we could grab it. It always amazes me what I have found on the side of the road.

I brought my treasure into the high school where I teach and begged the wood shop teacher Tim to help me transform it. I left it with him and 2 hours later he had built shelves, built the microwave door and stove doors and cut out the sink hole. I was blown away with what he did in such a short time; I guess that’s why he’s the pro. At this point I decided to try to complete this project using recycled or used items. Amazingly I was almost able to completely do it. The stove knobs came from an appliance repair shop. The kitchen sink (bowl) and curtain (dress) came from the local thrift store. The white and blue paint came from our stash in the garage. I did have to buy a tiny pot of black paint, the number stickers and shellac new. Overall I love how it turned out. My little girl plays with it all the time and her friends are drawn to it every time we have play dates. I did notice I forgot to put a zero on the microwave console when we were trying to microwave my girls “apple soup” for 60 seconds, adds to the charm.

 The best part it the whole project cost considerably less than buying a new play kitchen. I think the total was around $60, not counting the case of beer I bought Tim.

If you are interested in making your own - Here is the link for directions

Nice

When you are your own boss, you have to be your own marketing and PR person too.

So I wanted to share an article about an award I co-won with a colleague of mine Greg Scott from Mountain Equipment Co-op.

A huge honor from an amazing group of people I am humbled daily to work with, from the Outdoor Industry Association Sustainability Working Group.

Read the press release: Outstanding Contribution to the OIA SWG 

Enjoy!

Nicole's guide to the Holidays

Hello Everyone

I know you are going shopping. So I wanted to arm you with some things to think about when you purchase your gifts in the next few weeks.

We live in a time, where we have more than enough, so here is the theme...

Buy Less, Buy Better

Buy Less

Save yourself some money, giving a gift does not have to be a new THING.

• Give of gift of something homemade or something you don't use any more
• Give a gift of chores - wash your friend's floor, watch their kids for a night, rake their lawn, help them paint a room they always have wanted to do... the list is endless.
• Give the gift of appreciation - sit down for 10 minutes and write a note to someone about how much they mean to you. Think about how wonderful it feels to be appreciated.

Buy Better

• Buy used. I was in a Goodwill the other day and found some beautiful items that I know friends would appreciate, used is the new black.
• Buy organic - it can be food or clothing, but this gift is not only a nice treat for the receiver, but also for the farmers and the communities who grow organic crops.
• Buy Fair Trade. This is not charity, it is about good and fair business being done all the time. Each time you support Fair Trade you are directly helping workers at the lowest levels of the supply chain gain access to a better living.

My Favorite brands right now:

PACT - All organic and super cute T's, socks and underwear.

prAna - prAna is offering more organic and Fair Trade styles than the company ever has before. You will love the designs.

NAU - I am a huge fan and appreciate all of the work that goes into the designs of their products, and the contents are recycled, organic or TENCEL.

Metiseko - this amazing company is a French couple living in Vietnam who are focusing on all organic cotton and silk styles. I got to meet them when I was there 2 years ago. Amazing products. 

Green e-bay - e-bay has a specific site for all things green - worth checking out especially if you have kids.

The Body Shop - continues to innovate around sustainable innovation for farmers and customers around the globe. And I LOVE the smell of pink grapefruit!

Share your favorite sustainably designed products for the holidays. 

Thanks and gratitude

I like that there is a holiday where we stop and give thanks, if you think of it there is a holiday where we stop and express our love to. Yes they both have been commercialized beyond belief, but the essence is there and that'a all you have to focus on if you want.

Every day I am so grateful for everything in my life. I have a wonderful network of friends and family, an adoring husband, a beautiful home and community and I do work that I find incredibly meaningful.

Interestingly enough I am spending this Thanksgiving in an airport on my way to Bonn Germany to attend an International conference on sustainability in the organics industry.  I must admit, I would rather be at home with a hot coco watching a movie with Andy or enjoying a feast with our friends. But it turns out that outside of the USA, this day is just a Thursday. So off I go.

With every experience there is an opportunity to learn. This trip will be an easy one for me to turn off my knowing brain and absorb information. Although I have been working in the field of sustainability - the topic is so broad that I always have something to learn. And specifically this trip is more about the principles and standards of organic.  The momentum in this industry is incredible, as everyone working in it is already living their values and the passion and drive is front and center. There is never any "we can't or it won't work". It is about the HOW, WHEN, WHAT IF...
I am inspired constantly, so on this Thanksgiving day I am grateful also for the opportunity to continue to learn and be inspired.

Happy Thanksgiving all. 

Innovation

So much has been going on, my blogging has suffered.

But I have found a moment to write and one thing that has been following me through my journeys this summer - INNOVATION.

The first story that sparked this idea was an amazing visit with my friend Maura Dilley. Maura is an ideas person with a deep knowledge in sustainability - we spent the afternoon walking and talking about what it is going to take to bring the world to living by the principles of sustainability. We didn't solve the world's problem by any stretch, but we did talk about what it will take to bring about real innovation.
Not innovation where we change the color of an existing design or make stuff less bad, but where we live differently and let go of the fear that controls our bad habits and behaviors.
Super inspiring...

The second story is a good friend is starting up a new company, he called me to talk about sustainability and asked the best question EVER. He said "Nicole if you were to start it all over again, what would you recommend to a brand new company?" Luckily it was a easy question to answer.
I said I would build my business on the principles of The Natural Step Framework.  So we set up an opportunity where I spent a few hours with his team and we walked through the Natural Step for their new company. It was an AMAZING experience. The ideas that everyone came up with were innovative, different, pushed the boundaries of the way we live currently, the way a business could operate.
It made me believe that there is innovation out there, ready to be taken and implemented and to change the way we live.

Inspiration to keep going

I will be honest with you - I am not a saint. I know hard to believe eh?  Well not really.
So while I do have strong values and a passion for sustainability, I don't have perfect days.

I was feeling a little bummed out that both work and personal sustainability efforts were feeling a bit stalled of late.  Trying to get past habits and bad behaviors that we all get accustomed to that is leading the unsustainable life style we are cranking on.

Well I spent a few days a couple of days ago up in Nelson BC where one of my sisters lives full time and my other sister lives part time.  Nelson is one of this magical places that embodies contradictions: clear cuts and hippies, conservatives and liberals, insane athletes and a whole lotta coffee. It is everything that is there that gives the area its culture and flavor of passion.
I had the pleasure of being inspired and reminded that life can be what ever you want to make it and you will still be successful and live a full life. I was also reminded that what I do does mean something and not in what I do just for work, but how I live my life. That when I make decisions to buy local, from a coop, organic, fair trade, or Nothing, I am making a difference and creating a world that I think helps more people than less.

So I am taking this inspiration to the streets - yep join in!
I am calling on everyone to make a decision to change a single behavior that they didn't think they every could and just do it.
Ideas? What about:
- Never using a take out cup
- Buying only organic milk
- Buying only Fair Trade coffee
- Checking out craig's list for purchases before getting something new
- Building a drying rack and stop using the dryer.

Want some more inspiration? Leave a comment telling the world what your commitment will be and for the rest of the month all names will be put into a draw for a $100 gift card to prAna. Yep I am now buying your sweet sustainability love. But I have a feeling you are going to be greatly inspired and see the difference that you make!

Can't wait to hear your ideas... OH wait - what's mine. No more cheese unless it is organic. Ack - this one ain't easy. I love cheese and Organic cheese is spendy - but time to put my money where my mouth is...