It’s okay. We all do it. We judge things we don’t understand. But…a simple life is not a burden, it’s a blessing.

Brett Wilson, mega millionaire from the show Dragon’s Den couldn’t have put it more eloquently in advice to his son:

If you want to have a happy and easy life, have simple needs

Those are not his exact words, but you get the sentiment. Creating a simple life is about creating a life you can enjoy without too many things getting in the way. When you complicate your life you have to spend time dealing with the complication.

Here’s an example:

Person A maintains 2 cars, a 3000 square foot house with a hefty mortgage and eats out every lunch and several times a week because they don’t have the energy to cook. To maintain that house and the job for it, they have to have a full wardrobe and various communication gadgets.

1. car costs – $25,000 each over 5 years or $500 monthly
2. car maintenance and insurance – $500 monthly
3. mortgage & insurance costs – $2500 monthly
4. eating out – $500
5. wardrobe & extras – $500
6. gadgets & communication – $500

Okay, that’s $5000 and it doesn’t even cover a full budget. It’s not an unreasonable estimate.

Person B doesn’t maintain a car, instead they go use Autoshare and work from home several days a week. They bring lunch and entertain guests at their 950 square foot house, which they rent. They maintain a minimum casual wardrobe with used items at about and control their gadgets to internet, skype and a cellphone.

1. transportation – $200
2. entertainment – $200
3. housing – $1500
4. wardrobe – $50
5. communication – $150

Okay, that’s about $2100 a month. A big difference. Person B has simplified their life and their needs. They are probably much less stressed and have a better chance of saving money and earning equity than person A. Person A is likely going into debt further each month!

Who would you say has a life that is a burden? Probably person A. Oh, and the carbon footprint of person B is substantially lower than Person B. They are making a difference in the world by the lifestyle they choose.

So, before you think simplifying your needs and cutting costs is a burden – think twice. Simplifying is very liberating. It buys you time and energy, something missing in society today!

When we view media online the following list just touches the tip of what is available to replace traditional media such as television, radio, newspaper and other print media:

1. documentation
2. forms
3. data collection
4. storage
5. print publication (newspapers, books, magazines, classifieds,mailers,directories)
6. advertising
7. photos & graphics
8. audio
9. visual media
10. games
11. post
12. banking
13. learning
14. social events and meetings
15. communication
16. telecommuting

The result of the above list (which is far from complete)

• no paper (in theory) – blackberries, iPads, Kindles, cellphones, etc. could eliminate the need for paper completely. Even for legal documentation.
• no harmful ink or chemicals
• less packaging with less materials being shipped – just go online to look up your info
• gas & harmful pollutants reduced -  delivery, commute (at an average of 3 hours driving a day).

There are business savings in the form of  cost and effectiveness too.

• Postage and delivery costs lowered
• Response time improves
• Market exposure is increased and can be targeted
• Client relationship improved (real time, high accessibility)
• Flexibility & convenience  ensured – 24 and 7
• Enhanced quality of product, reduced cost to distribute & produce

The newspaper industry has seen a dramatic decline in the use of paper for print since the inception of the internet. Every year. In scale large circulation and distribution saves money and the environment – in a big way. No longer do we need to consume vast amounts of paper and use large distribution channels that create harmful emissions.

We have choices. Plenty of them. Now it’s a matter of adjusting and using them effectively.

Many of you probably remember your mother or grandmother darning your socks. Items were made to last – quality lasts though it usually costs more, so when an item broke it was important to stretch the value. Why not take on that mentality again?

Sometimes it just might be time but someone else would probably be willing to repair it. Instead of just throwing it out find someone that is willing to take your broken items and fix it. Don’t just throw it in the garbage!

Almost every item in your house that is broken could be repaired or reused. If it is the remnants of a broken glass it can be recycled. Garbage just doesn’t need to be created.

Almost all of my garbage (probably 99%) is from excess packaging that has been created by the manufacturer. For example the plastic wrapping on cheese. I reuse my bread bags and everything I can think of. I am doing my best to eliminate or reduce everything by seeking and creating options.

So before you throw something out think about repairing it, donating it, finding an alternative use or not buying the product in the first place. Next week we will talk about the final R – recycle.

Ingredients:

• condensed milk – 1 can
• vanilla – bean, powder or liquid
• carob, cocoa or chocolate (I used my coffee syrup from my coffee liqueur recipe which had carob & coffee)
• 2 cup cream (I used 5% or light cream)
• 2 cup liquor (I used Rye Whiskey, but you can use Irish Whiskey)

Tools:

• mixing bowl
• whisk or blender (I used a hand blender)
• clean bottle
• funnel
• measuring cup

Directions:

1. Put all the ingredients in the mixing bowl and blend.
2. pour into sterilized bottles
3. store in fridge (should last for 4-6 weeks)
4. Drink

Another easy recipe. Great in your coffee or on ice. Done in about 5 minutes and it saves about $25 a bottle. Tastes the same.

Christmas is a time of sharing, celebrating and giving form many.  The commercial aspects of Christmas have turned in to a frenzy of purchasing that defeats the purpose. Think of all the things you have and consider pay it forward Christmas gifts this year.

For the person that has everything, perhaps it time to look at gifts that help others. Consider purchasing a donation or an item that gives to a charity for your family members or friends. This is a green a gift as you can give. During no time of the year should anyone be homeless, hungry or alone – especially children. Therefore the gift of food and warmth is extra special and sharing your joy with a family or individual in need of those things is precious.

gifts from a charity

Charity village has an excellent list of non profit organizations that offer a gift and raise money for various causes. They have broken it down into multiple categories.

gifts that sponsor or donate a charity

Another list of credible charities that are related or designed for Christmas giving and poverty can be found at All Things Christmas and of course Santa has various programs that he sponsors and has made a list for you.

donation to charity

In every city there are countless local charities that help your neighbours – the people that live in your town. You know the local groups. The foodbanks, the homeless shelters,  give a gift to a child programs, the clothes for poor and so many more. Why not pick one? Food, money, clothes and various items you no longer need could make someone very happy at Christmas. Forget about spring cleaning or the garage sale next summer. Now is the time to go and do it.

Okay, this post ended up being a little more preachy than I wanted it to but the sentiments are meant to inspire you to rethink even just a portion of your Christmas frenzy and share the wealth just a little bit. What better way to be happy than to spread a little joy to someone else.

simple siment – save the dregs from your coffee in a jar and add vanilla and you will create a rich coffee base.

Ingredients:

• the water from coffee dregs 1 cup
• brown sugar (I used organic dark brown) 1 cup
• vanilla – bean, powder or liquid (add it to the dregs to infuse flavour)
• carob, cocoa or chocolate (I used unsweetened carob chips to get a glycerin type effect in the syrup)
• 1 cup liquor (I used Rye Whiskey, but you can use rum or vodka)

Tools:

• Jar for steeping the dregs
• saucepan
• sifter or cheese cloth
• wooden spoon
• clean bottle (perhaps a kahlua bottle)
• funnel
• measuring cup

Directions:

1. save the dregs from your coffee for as long as you want in a large glass container in your fridge. Add the vanilla to infuse the flavour.
2. pour the liquid coffee into a saucepan but first filter it with your choice of devices (I actually used my old “metal coffee filter”
3. add your chocolate flavour and some extra vanilla and the sugar and bring to a gentle boil until the sugar and carob is melted.
4. remove from heat and let cool (to stay green, keep it out of the fridge as you should not add hot items to your fridge – they change the temperature and use energy)
5. add your liquor
6. store in fridge for 10-20 days

There you go. Simple. And just in time for Christmas. Tastes great added to your coffee, over a little ice or my favourite is with a little ice and milk. Enjoy.

Next week, I’ll give you a quick recipe for Irish Cream that is even more simple than this one…and tastier.

When you buy a house, you take the time to make sure the environment is going to be one that is safe, clean and are pretty careful of how you part with your money. The same care should be taken in all the smaller purchases – they add up and have a big impact on the environment.

In an earlier post I offered 12 tips to reduce office paper consumption but today, we are going to look at the impact of paper products as a whole. Changing from disposable products to reusable is simple and very cost effective. I probably don’t have to mention facts about forest destruction and the energy (which produces CO2 gas) used for paper production – but I will. In Canada alone, over 500, 000 acres of forest are destroyed to create these products for you – that’s every year.

So what can you do?

• consider replacing all your paper plates and cups with real ones
• bring a portable travel mug with you everywhere
• use a handkerchief, wash cloth, napkin and rag instead of tissue paper and paper towel
• if you use a paper product, buy recycled and chlorine free
• there is even family cloths, a toilet paper alternative – not for everyone

Here are some questions for you. What else can you do? Consider what products you buy when you buy a paper product.

1. Is it recycled paper?
2. Is the packaging excessive & can it be recycled?
3. Can you reduce how much you use?
4. Is it chlorine free in the process used to make it?
5. Does the company have a good track record for environment and community support? There are a few sites that can help you find out such as BadBuster and Greenwashing.
6. Want to discover healthy, green products – check out GoodGuide.

A few minutes of research and time is all it takes. Simple changes, huge impact. The overall impact of disposable paper products on the environment is just one step to change. Please share some tips, ideas and tricks on how we can change our paper consumption habits for a greener planet.

Many of us have moved beyond garage sales and classified ads to find or get rid of items we no longer need. We now go to common resources like Craigslist and Kijiji to discover bargains and sell our stuff.

But did you know, the savvy world wide web has moved beyond list serves and classifieds. There are many new sites taking a bite out of your budget and keeping items from landfill. Stuff that just shouldn’t be thrown out.

Here are just some of the many free communities designed to help you find or get rid of your stuff.

1. Freecycle - the original site for recycling your stuff. With 6 million people and growing this is not just a passing phase. It’s a way to offer or find free stuff – helping people and the environment in the process. I am a member of a local group and it is an easy way to get rid of things to people locally and sometimes find an item you need, even free tickets.
2. Kashless - only available in the US, but Kashless has a system that lets users offer or get free stuff in their local area and offers rewards for your participation to.
3. Rehash - want to swap your clothes? Rehash is a way to help you trade clothes and accessories online.
4. SwapSity – currently only in Canada. As the name implies it is a bartering community that will let you swap your skills and stuff. They also occasionally host local swap meets.
5. swaptree - let’s you trade books, music, dvd’s and videos. Only in the US.
6. neighborrow – helps you find a neighbor to borrow or loan your stuff. Set up as a community, could be used by Universities or groups to help members.
7. greenbarter - is a community where business helps business, small or large by keeping track of services offered and trading like skills to save money.
8. loanables - brings together people who have worthwhile items to loan out and people who want to borrow them.  Best of all, it’s free!
9. swapaskill - swap what you can give or do for what you need.
10. throwplace - take what you need and throw what you don’t. You can choose to donate to charity, international charity, business, individuals or put your item up for grabs. The Internets landfill alternative.
11. boxcycle - find or list your used boxes for moving, storing or shipping. Currently only in the US.

Those are just a few of the great programs out there. Use them if you are green conscious or if you need to save a buck. For the next spotlight we will look at resources to help you recycle or figure out how to recycle and reuse an item.

1. Can help the bank account – especially if you embrace the premise of less consumption.
2. Good for the health – with all the extra local walking you will do
3. Save gas money – and with the price of gas now, that’s a big one
4. Save food costs – you really can spend less with a garden and cooking from scratch
5. Improve the quality of your food intake and hence your health
6. Reduce debt load – which will lead to a reduction in stress and a little more freedom.
7. Tax deductions and credits for greening your home.
8. Keeps the environment cleaner for future generations – and the current ones.
9. Reduces waste and landfill – who wants everything to go in a landfill
10. Efficiency…you will have more time if you start to look at a green approach to doing things
11. Competitive advantage for businesses – people now want to buy green but watch out for green washing.
12. You will sharpen your mind and become a little more aware of the world around you – a good learning curve for everyone

There you have it a dirty dozen of some simple advantages of going green. I’ll try to put up several of these little reminders on various topics for you every month.

Garden after Planting

My initial thoughts when deciding on vegetables was to pick items that I love to eat and then I moved into the healthy choice vegatables to maximize my return. But as I sat and thought about it (and humbled myself to my 83 year old landlord, who has been planting his whole life), I realized that it was about planting a vegetable garden that will grow with the biggest bounty. It is also important to figure out how to utilize the space effectively. I can buy vegetables fresh at the markets that are plentiful and inexpensive.

I decided to pick a few of my favorites. For me, I love zuchinni and tomotoes, so I had to have lots of them in place. I have 12 beefsteak, 8 cherry and 4 plum tomoto plants. Zuchinni is hearty so I should get plenty out of my 7 plants. Since the garden is next to a fence, I planted snow peas, so they can weave up the fence.

Herbs for Cooking

I then planted 5 rows about 4 feet wide of lettuce, spinach, swiss chard, beets and similar items. I threw in some experiments with strawberries, gladiolas (flowers are delicious and edible) and then added some herbs including cillantro, basil, parsley, fennel, dill and mint. Chives and onions also exist around the parameter of the garden. These ward off slugs and insects.

Reduce Waste with Compost

We also used a mulch from the compost we make. This compost is rich and we know it is good from the quality of food we eat that goes into it. Almost everything in our house gets recycled and composting is one fo the best ways to reduce garbage to almost nothing, about one small bag every two weeks. Reducing consumption is another way…buy less, buy with less packaging, bring your own bags, buy fresh produce (and forget about putting them in a plastic bag or bring your own). Some simple steps.

So what are the benefits of planting a vegetable garden?

Well, apart from the obvious of getting fresh vegetables here’s the true value of a veggie garden:

1. The food is fresh and you know the source is chemical free
2. The quality of the food – straight from the garden to your mouth
3. The distance the food travels – distance to travel is almost nil, except for travel to get plants
4. Investment offers good return – $50 worth of plants should save 4 to 10 times the cost ($2-500)
5. Constant care is not necessary, some weeding and watering every few days if the weather is dry will only take a few hours of time.
6. Time spent per week is less than a couple hours and the fresh air and exercise is good for you
7. Veggies can be jarred, frozen and made into sauces, preserves and various goodies to last the winter and act as gifts
8. Gardening is about growth and the personal growth from the success is very rewarding

Those are just some of the many benefits. I’m sure with a bit of effort we can find a lot more. I encourage you to comment with some of the benefits of planting a vegetable garden can offer and let me know about your success. I will post some pictures as the garden grows and at season end discuss the harvest and successes of this years project. It may be June but it’s not too late to start a garden….go, go, before it’s too late. You will thank me later.

It’s time to stop drinking bottled water. Actually, it was time when it was first introduced. There has been a lot of talk about the benefits, or lack thereof, of bottle water. But more importantly, the issue of waste and landfill has been a highlight in many municipalities and they have banished the use of bottled water.

So what is bottled water? Usually bottled water is simply water that is put in a sealed plastic container. That plastic container is toxic. There is no evidence that suggests it is safer than tap water and in fact many of the bottled waters come straight from the tap. They contain bacteria, though not harmful, that increase with the shelf life of the bottled water.

Some bottled water is mineral water and contains nutrients that are helpful. Generally, and there are two sides of the fence on this, mineral water has some benefits and will offer you a healthier alternative. Often these come in glass containers to reduce toxicity and increase shelf life.

We probably shouldn’t stop at bottled water but also look at juice, pop and other liquid items. After all they contribute to the same landfill and packaging issues. Here are a few facts to consider:

• Bottling water can lead to shortages in water (and this effects the environment too)
• Transportation of the water increases climate change (and it’s big business with big impact)
• Landfill costs are too high in terms of finance and eco-sensitivity. In Canada it is estimated that over 50% of bottles do not get recycled – that’s over 65 million containers a year!
• Water is not something we should pay for – it is necessary to survive
• As mentioned, there is no evidence that it is safer and better for you, in fact the contrary is plausible

What bottled water is good for – emergencies! Try to buy it in the glass containers for this.

Water in general is good for you. So what can I do instead?  Whether drinking it from the tap or a bottle it doesn’t make a difference. If you are worried about health benefits or the quality coming from your piping, then make sure you have new plumbing and run the tap for about 30 seconds to eliminate sitting bacteria from the pipes.It is also suggested to get a UV filter for under your sink. Inexpensive models are available. Then you simply replace the filter every so often.

You can also buy a filtered canister for your fridge, though some argue that this filters out some of the good minerals too. Consider getting a metal water bottle to take with you to work or when you are active. Keeping a spare in the car is good for emergencies.

So when you are trying to quench your thirst next, think of the best thing you can do and the impact you will have in making those choices. A few minutes of planning ahead will not only save your wallet but also the planet. If you stop drinking bottled water, a simple act, you will help to make a difference.

Here’s a bakers dozen for you:

1. Double sided – Use both sides of the paper
2. Ask yourself – Do I need to print this?
3. Print a single copy and pass it around?
4. collect scrap and use it as note paper
5. format documents and make sure they are ready for print
6. keep a recycle box near desk
7. have a paper recycle station
8. choose environmentally friendly paper
9. print in black and white
10. get an efficient printer
11. use recycled ink
12. turn it off when you aren’t using it
13. Send an email

Commercial waste is responsible for 70% of the garbage in Canada (and most countries have high figures). . Toronto consumers only produce 30% of the waste, yet they are targeted with programs that make them pay. In fact the commercial buildings and offices have fewer regulations and guidelines – it’s much more simple, they are simply asked to pay for the cost of removal. They could use a private company that doesn’t care what happens to it. Reducing paper consumption is a good start, any act of green helps.

So if you reduce paper consumption in the office, you will have a positive impact on the environment. Challenge your office to implement a paper reduction strategy. Spread the word and care for the world.