Welcome to Bugs and Brooms!

I was hoping to post this before we left but it was more than a little hectic trying to pack for the 3 of us and deal with boarding our dogs and make arrangements for our cats while we are gone.  So I didn’t get it posted and now I have very limited access to the Internet…  Anyway, we are taking a long planned for and much needed vacation at the beach!  DD and I have been on business trips with DH and have been able to enjoy so wonderful places while he worked and often took a couple of extra days to enjoy the areas as a family.  But we have never been on an official vacation as a family - DH and I didn’t even take a honeymoon so this is a great event for us!  We have been very excited about the trip for months and have put back money for a long time to make it happen.  And, so far, it has been so worth it!  DD is having a blast and DH and I are more relaxed than we have been in a very long time.  With the financial situation we are stretching our dollars to the max and eating in A LOT but the price of gas is much better than we anticipated.  So, I will try to check in while we are away but if I don’t, I will get back on track when we get back.  I still have plenty of posts I need to cover on the economy, etc., so lots to do!  But enjoying the weather and the family time is all that I have on my mind right now!  Hope you are all having a great week!

Tags: Consumerism, Family and Friends, Money Matters by
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I have been wanting to write a post about the economy but I just can’t get my head around what has been happening.  So, I thought I would get your input and see what you think.  I have listed 10 questions below and I hope you will take a few minutes to read them and then provide an answer - just your thoughts.  I will take a look at all of the comments and then try to write a post that includes your thoughts and ideas.  Let’s have some fun with this one - it is your chance to BLOG so get to posting!

1. Have you been negatively impacted by the recent economic crisis?  If so, please explain how - stock investments, credit crunch, job loss, etc.  If you have not been impacted yet, do you think you will be and, if so, how?
2. Do you think the decline in the US economy has been the result of irresponsible consumer spending, government oversight or lack thereof, Wall Street greed, poor CEO management of big corporations, global economic decline, other?  Talk about the ones that you think are responsible for the problems and why.
3. I recently heard someone indicate that the problems may be the result of economic terrorism due to suspicious timing of sell-offs in the market.  Do you think this is possible in our country?  If so, who do you think would be involved - domestic terrorists, international terrorists, a very sick college kid doing a hack job, other?  And why would someone or some group want to do this?
4. Do you think the economic rescue plan will eventually stabilize the economy?  How do you feel about the fact the taxpayers will probably end up covering the cost?  What about all of the so-called goodies in the plan - do you think those should have been left out and dealt with separately? 
5. With the election only a few short weeks away, do you think one candidate or the other has the best plan to stimulate the economy?  Which one and why?  And do you think either candidate will be able to keep their campaign promises in light of the current situation?  Why or why not?  And please keep your responses respective to both candidates.
6. Considering all that has happened, do you trust government to protect you from future problems?  Why or why not? 
7. Do you think one political party is responsible for the problems or are all Washington insiders to blame?  Who?  Why or why not?  If not Washington, then who?
8. Do you have a better idea on how we can fix the problems?  Should the market have been allowed to correct itself?  Why or why not?
9. Are you concerned about the potential of too much government intervention turning the US into a socialist country or would you like to live in a socialist country?  Why or why not?
10. With all of the negatives associated with the economic crisis, have you seen any positives?  Fall in gas prices, opportunity to buy stock, etc?

OK - that is a lot but I really want some feedback so just comment away and answer the questions that you want to - you don’t have to cover them all!  Let’s see how people are really feeling about the economy!

Tags: Consumerism, Money Matters, Politics, Voting by
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I have been more than a little remiss about keeping up with my own No Trash Challenge.  It is not that I have totally blown the plan but I certainly had a couple of weeks that were not worth of discussing (or I was just too embarrassed to admit to the carnage)! 

The main problem that I faced was the preparation for our yard sale and the subsequent cleaning out that ensued.  I won’t bore you with all of the details but it wasn’t pretty!  And the sad thing is, when the yard sale only brought a grand total of 4 customers over 2 days, we gave up.  We packed the clothes back up and took them to Goodwill.  I had a gazillion books that I had accumulated over the years and we donated those to the Monroe County Public Library.  And there are still things in the garage that need to be taken to Goodwill or other charities or given away to friends and family.  But, we have made a significant impact on our clutter and just have a few more things to go through before we can claim victory!

So, I haven’t been able to get down to one container every 2 months but I am still managing one per month (with the exception of the yard sale, clutter clear out, garage organizing garbage).  But I am still determined to do better and we are working on other improvements in our waste generation such as our compost bin.  No longer does our food waste go in the trash - we now have a large container next to the kitchen sink that is used to collect all scraps (with the exception of meat - we try to keep it out of the compost to prevent rodents from moving in).  We are still working to reduce our packaging by buying in bulk, not using plastic bags for every single item, and by reusing as many containers as possible (laundry and dishwashing, etc.).  We have also converted to bar soap for shampoo and bath which will eliminate those plastic containers that we have routinely purchased for personal hygiene.  And DH got a new, double-edge, safety razor for Father’s Day (though back ordered so it didn’t arrive until last week) that will last the rest of his life and only requires the blade to be changed once in a blue moon.

Anyway, that is our update.  I will start doing monthly posts on this instead of weekly (which hasn’t happened in a while anyway)!  And I am still planning on some cool prize drawing for those that are participating so jump in if you want to give it a try!  There are several other posts on ways that we have cut back on our trash that you can read about - just see the links on the Challenge post!

Tags: 'Farm life', Consumerism, Frugal Living, Gardening, Green Living, Simple Living, Simple and Green by
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This is my very first giveaway and I am very excited about it!!  A while back I wrote a post about a great new website based in Boston that helps consumers find products and services that are both good and green!  The site is Izzitgreen.com and the folks there have sent me some great goodies that I want to pass on to my readers!  I have izzitgreen t-shirts, stickers* to help spread the word, and organic, bees wax lip balm!  I also received a super water bottle but I am too selfish to give that one away!!!

I know that consuming isn’t great for the environment.  I have discussed this in previous posts as have the green blogging superheroes Arduous, Green Bean, Crunchy Chicken, and No Impact Man to name just a few.  But unless you are going to live completely away from civilization, consuming is a part of life.  But, we can make responsible choices and izzitgreen.com provides tools to help us choose the best product or service for ourselves while making wise decisions for our environment!

So how do you get in on the free goodies?  Well, izzitgreen.com is only running a beta version of their site in the Boston area right now but will hopefully expand to other cities in the near future.  If you go to their site and register (it only takes a minute) not only will you be eligible for my free giveaway, but izzitgreen will provide one local, organic meal to someone in need through the Feed the Hungry program!  It is a win, win, and eat scenario!  So, go to the izzitgreen site, register to feed a hungry person, and then leave a comment on this post so that I know you have registered!  First come, first serve on all the stuff and I will cover the postage!  Wow - free stuff that is REALLY FREE!!!  Act fast - there is a limited supply of all items!  When you post your comment that you have registered, include your t-shirt size so that I can keep track of how many I have left of each size!

Don’t delay!  If you have registered with izzitgreen previously, you are still eligible - just leave me a comment on this post!  Here are the steps to claim your goodies:

1. Go to izzitgreen.com and register - this is on the honor system!
2. Leave a comment on this post that you have registered - you must leave a comment here so that I will know that you registered!

Good luck to all!!!

* Stickers should only be used on your personal property such as a car window.  Please do not post stickers in public places like street signs, etc.  We don’t want to give izzitgreen a bad name by not thinking about the consequences of our actions.  Generating trash is not the goal here so just be considerate to the environment and your neighbor when posting any stickers regardless of the message!

Tags: Consumerism, Give Back, Green Living by
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