Simple Living with Wanda Urbanska

Many of you know that I live a disconnected life in some respects. We do not have cable or satellite service, for a long time we had no land line for phone service (I needed to add this for business purposes, otherwise we still wouldn't!), and I refuse to indulge my children with cell phones, personal TV's or computers, and such. (Mind you that my mother and sister drive me nuts with the cell phone thing, but I don't see the need.)

Since we only receive local channels through our antenna reception we've gotten to know our statewide public television station fairly well. What a joy! I never knew what I was missing. So many of the shows pertain to our state, it's history and things to do. They also have other informative shows. This is where I found Wanda Urbanska.

If you haven't heard that name before I wouldn't be surprised. She has a 30 minute program entitled "Simple Living with Wanda Urbanska" and is author of several books on simplifying your life. (I can't give you a link to that page of her website because my security system says that there is a Trojan lurking there... please be careful when visiting her site. I'm sure they have no knowledge of this.)

Ms. Urbanska lives in NC with her husband and son. She strives to live a more simplistic and naturalistic life, while staying mainstream. Over the years I've found many tips and ideas on her shows that I've implemented into my life. I encourage you to discover more on this subject.

Recently, I was invited to attend a meeting at a local church where she was to speak. I couldn't have been more excited! I've admired her show for several years and to hear her speak in person was to be a true treat.

Hmmmm...how can I say this? I was mildly disappointed. Ms. Urbanska gave a PowerPoint presentation and brief talk of about 45 minutes. Her thought patterns lend to rambling tendencies and often she would get off subject and never return back.

She offered a question and answer session. Receiving only one question and answering it poorly, I'm glad it was only one. I'm hoping that she was having an off night, otherwise, I'd definitely stick to watching her show instead of the seminar setups.

What was the question?

"What can I do to reduce and make an impact at home without changing my entire lifestyle?"

My suggestions:

Begin with baby steps. If you attempt to completely change your lifestyle at once you'll often become frustrated and give up before achieving anything.

1. Turn off the water while brushing your teeth, conditioning your hair, and shaving your legs.




2. Only wash clothes when you have a full load, or be sure to change your "water level" setting accordingly.




3. Recycle as much as possible. Set up a recycling station in your kitchen, basement, or garage. Have bins for paper, plastic, and metal. Condition yourself & family to setting these things aside and keep them out of the landfill.




4. Start a compost bin. Keep a lidded plastic or metal container on your kitchen counter to collect coffee grounds, tea bags, egg shells, banana peels, & other non-bread/non-meat products. Transfer them into a larger compost bin or area in your yard to break down & use this as fertilizer for your plants!




5. Combine trips in your car. Plan your route before leaving the house. If you have to go downtown - hit the bank, grocery store, and post office that is downtown, versus your "normal" ones. I refuse to journey anywhere for just one thing, unless it's a dire emergency. This drives my dear hubby nuts, but it saves an amazing amount of gas & wear and tear on my car, not to mention putting less pollution into the air.




6. Use a washable water bottle. Fill it before you leave your home and at regular intervals during the day. Not only will you keep hundreds of plastic bottles out of the landfill, but you'll keep hundreds of extra dollars in your pocket over the year!

These are just a few to get you off to a good start. Experiment & see what works for you!

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By the way - Wanda was an inspiration for me to journey further into my efforts at simplifying. I mean no harm in my comments, as I truly enjoy the show!

Switch your lights off for Earth Hour!

This Saturday, March 28th, between 8:30pm and 9:30pm (your time zone) join other concerned citizens in turning off your lights! Yup, that means no computer, no television, no charging cell phones. Don't pass out...you can do it!

The thought behind this is to show support for taking action against global warming. Apparently data will be gathered on the changes in electricity use around the world during this time frame. They'll compare this to the same time last year and announce the difference at a Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this year.

If the usage comparison shows a decrease the Conference attendants will know that Earth's citizens want an improvement in how global warming is being handled. Of course, if an increase appears the attendants will presume that we don't care and they will continue on the same disastrous path they've been on for years.

Sign-up to show your support at the Earth Hour website. And, most importantly, TURN OFF THOSE LIGHTS and unplug those appliances!

Vanessa at Etsy reported about Earth Hour today, otherwise I wouldn't have known. Yet, another reason to love Etsy!

Where are all the calendars?

Yesterday, it occurred to me that my calendar was outdated. As I went to pull the old one down I realized that I only have one calendar this year and it's one that I purchased.

I don't know about the rest of you, but this is VERY strange in my home. Normally by this time of year I have a small stack awaiting placement - one for the pantry door, one for my desk, one for my son's room, one for my husband to put in the garage, and usually a few to take to work and pawn off on the guys there. However, this year I've received none. Odd because I still donate to the same causes, still shop at the same stores, and still have the same veterinarian.

Then it occurred to me. Perhaps this is yet another side effect from the economic downturn that we've experienced in America recently. Maybe those companies and organizations had to cut back on all of their "extras".

After a few moments I realized that this is probably a good thing. I always have more calendars than I need. That's the reason we have one to put in the garage (of all places!) Occasionally we receive solicitations for donations followed by gifts of labels, calendars, tote bags, umbrellas, etc... I must say that many of those gifts are met with a question in my heart. If these organizations truly need these funds, why do they spend money sending out gifts?

I present to you my list of good things that come from a lack of calendars:

• Money is saved by these businesses that can be put to better use elsewhere.



• I'm not out any time trying to farm out all of my excess calenders.



• Think about how many of these things end up unused and in the landfill!



• The cities will save recycling or dumping costs associated with disposal.



• Some printers use harmful chemicals in the manufacturing of printed material, so we avoid those chemicals being released into the environment.



• Think of all of the trees that will be saved by not printing all of that useless material!

Believe me, I also understand that there are economic repercussions from all of these companies not printing in excess. It will effect people from the logging companies to the printers, but I can't help but think that we Americans have lived an excessively wasteful lifestyle for many years.

I feel that it is a good thing that we are being forced to rethink our purchases and refocus on the truly important things. Sometimes the excesses get the best of us and we lose sight of the important parts of life because of it.

You facilitate cutting back in other ways as well! Do you receive far too many paper catalogs in the mail? Are some from companies you haven't purchased from in years or never purchased from? What about unsolicited credit card offers? Do you receive a mailbox full everyday?

Catalog Choice can help you remove yourself from the catalog lists and it's free! This program allows you to consolidate all of your removal data in one place and then they assist you with your removal requests. Or you can contact each company individually and make the same request.

Opt Out Prescreen can help eliminate those pesky credit card offers. I'm always afraid someone will sign up for one in my name if they get a hold of it.

I challenge you to rid yourself of all of the unwanted paper this year !