StagersLIST

On a budget? Me too! Have you signed up for any of these money saving sites yet?

admin — Fri, 13 May 2011 20:41:48 +0000

All of the sites listed below will send you a daily email with a “deal” for a local business. The areas vary, so check them out to see if they include your home town! Recently I’ve purchased entry to Jump Sky High ($5, normally $10), as well as half price (or less) deals for local restaurants. There was even a deal for amazon.com (pay $10, get $20 worth of merchandise). Not bad!

Mamapedia even donates 5% of each purchase to the school of your choice!

I’m sure there are plenty more, which sites do you use to save some money? I’d love to know!

We’ve Committed to Meatless Monday!

admin — Fri, 13 May 2011 20:37:54 +0000

I have been speaking of late at local groups about Green, Sustainable organizations and what’s going on locally (which is a lot). My philosphy is that we all have to start where we are… whatever brings us to the awareness that we can do something starting from where we are today. We are all in this together, I don’t know of another planet that will support us, so making small changes en masse is a great way to make a difference. Along those lines, my slogan is “to do more tomorrow than I did today”… baby steps. It’s actually kind of fun to look for the next thing you can do that will not change your quality of life drastically but will make a big difference in impact locally and beyond.

As my daughter (Chris) and granddaughter (Rhiannon) are vegetarians, we are familiar with eating meatless, however we tend to fall back on the regular meat meals when we are rushed. Chris introduced us to the Meatless Monday (global movement!), and we have committed to going meatless at least one day a week. It’s really not that hard and it makes a big difference!

Now, does my husband (Bob) want Steak Saturday sometimes? Turkey Thursday? Sure. Are we going Cold Turkey (pun intended). No. We are committing to Meatless Monday. Check out their great website and all the yummy recipes.

A good way to start is to adapt your favorite chili or spaghetti sauce or other recipe and make it without the meat, often you can eat it just like that or add chunky chopped vegetables and/or beans and the taste and texture is not compromised. Let me know if you have any terrific recipes you have tried and liked!

A bit of information from their site:

“WHAT IS MEATLESS MONDAY?

An international movement to help people reduce their meat consumption by 15% to improve personal health and the health of the planet. We are a non-profit initiative of The Monday Campaigns, in association with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

WHY MEATLESS?

On average, Americans consume 8 ounces of meat per day – 45% more than the USDA recommends. Going meatless once a week can reduce your risk of chronic preventable conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. It can also help limit your carbon footprint and save precious resources like fresh water and fossil fuel.

WHY MONDAY?

Multiple studies have shown that periodic health prompts lead to positive behavior change. Monday is the beginning of the week, making it the perfect time to reevaluate our choices and set our intentions for the coming days. With a Meatless Monday, you have a scheduled, recurring reminder to start your week off on a nutritious note. And if this Monday passes you by, next week is another opportunity to focus on health!”

If we can do it, anyone can!

- Terrylynn Fisher

Toilet Paper – What’s all the fuss about toilet paper?

admin — Fri, 13 May 2011 20:34:56 +0000

Terrylynn’s AH HA MOMENTS – Did you know that Americans could save more than 400,000 trees if every family bought a roll of recycled toilet paper JUST ONCE?

WHAT CAN YOU DO? Buy a roll instead of your regular toilet paper.

Toilet Paper – What’s all the fuss about toilet paper?

A recent article from the Washington Post says that it’s a menace, an example of America’s excess. Well I don’t know about you but most people are not yet ready to give it up. SO what can we do? Well there are some new data that gives options about saving money on toilet paper and perhaps making wiser choices in the process.

Real Simple magazine November 09 issue talks about the cost of toilet paper. Remember the surveys asking consumers about going green and using sustainable products show that people are willing to go green and make better choices but that saving money is a huge motivator toward that effort.

A brief cost comparison of an Ultra Plush Toilet paper is that per 100 sheets it costs .48 cents. The double ply plush is .90 cents per 100 sheets. An alternate brand of Ultra soft is .63 cents per 100 sheets. BUT Seventh Generation 100% recycled is .28 cents per 100 sheets. For the at home family buying only 5% actually buy the recycled product. What does all this mean?

Plush U.S. toilet paper is usually made by chopping down and grinding up trees that were sometimes decades or even a century old. It’s slow going getting Americans and Europeans to make the switch to recycled goods. The largest tissue maker has signed a truce and promises to do better. But the larger battle goes on – the ultimate test is whether Americans and Europeans will go green when nobody is watching. The consumer wants softer paper, the environmentalists say “it’s only toilet paper”.

Market Research, Inc states that the three ply toilet paper sold 24 million packages in the past year, bringing in more than $144 million in revenues. Earlier this year, Consumer Reports did studies that tested toilet paper brands ultra plys and the recycled and the recycled were noted to be “not unpleasant”. But the three plys win out getting the highest rating. SO, what to do? Well, give a try to recycled paper when you have the opportunity, see if it’s palatable and perhaps we’ll realistically end up with the 40 or 50% recycled that will be the answer. For environmentalists that may not be enough, but as far as small steps to move the consumer in the right direction, it just might be an answer. But of course, that’s just my opinion.

For a website with more information and a link to a downloadable guide to purchasing recycled toilet paper and tissue click http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/campaigns/forests/tissueguide

This is the link straight to the guide which is printable to distribute to clients, friends and family http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/usa/press-center/reports4/tissueguide.pdf

Here is a website with special pricing on recycled toilet papers… http://www.bizrate.com/cleaning-supplies/marcal-toilet-paper

- Terrylynn Fisher, Realtor