Teenager for a Day

Excerpts from two conversations I overheard yesterday:


Conversation 1 (overheard at the supermarket)

Woman A: “Hi (Woman B). Are you ready for Christmas?”

Woman B: “Oh my gosh no. My shopping is nowhere near done. And then there’s getting the house ready for my in-laws visiting from Toronto. Between work, the kids’ hockey and the transit strike, I have no idea how I will squeeze it all in”. Woman B sighs.



Conversation 2 (overheard at the library)

Teenager A: “Hey (Teenager B), so how’s it going? Are you excited for Christmas yet?”

Teenager B: “Oh yeah. My mom’s family will be visiting from Europe. I can’t wait to see them! It’s been so long. I miss my cousins a lot”.


Made me want to be one of thoses teenagers for a minute, and feel "excited " instead of "ready". No worrying if the house is clean, and the baking and shopping done. Maybe we should all take a page out of their book and focus on what really matters? I know for one that when my sister who lives in Montreal shows up on the 23rd, all thoughts of what I haven’t managed to do yet will vanish as I give her a big hug and look forward to catching up with her over the next few days.

Word of the Day and Other News

Are you ready for it? It's... Frugalista. It means “a person who lives a frugal lifestyle but stays fashionable and healthy by swapping clothes, buying secondhand, growing own produce etc.". So I'm adopting it. I'd much rather call myself that than be described as cheap, frugal, or even economical. (Though while we are still on the topic of confessions, I must admit that I there are some areas of frugality with which is still struggle, namely my hair, but that's another story).


And in other news...

(That's me these days)

Our local transit union went on strike on at 12:01 Wednesday morning, which means that a great deal of our time has been spent in the Big White Beast (my pet name for our "car"), ferrying Ecopapa to and from work, picking up and driving home the eco-tots' caregiver, all in very dense, smog producing traffic and with three eco-tots each voicing their toddler opinion on the matter in the back seats. Needless to say, it's left me feeling slightly grinchy and with little time to dream up blog posts (and quite frankly dreaming of the days when we owned a second car - I know, me very bad. But at least in my dreams it's a hybrid). Unlike Toronto and Montreal we have no subway system, which in cases like this would make many an Ottawan's life much easier. Sad indeed.

Green Confessions

Forgive us readers for we have sinned. You see, we have just hired a snow removal company to clear the snow from our driveway this winter. I know, I know, how very un-green of us. Obviously being parents of multiples and living in the suburbs (for now), this isn't our only green sin. But, while some sins are almost inevitable, this one doesn't seem like an obvious choice. But, between an injured shoulder (mine) and ecopapa working full time, and co-parenting our three eco-tots AND getting the house ready to sell after Christmas AND because we really value what little sleep we do get, this decision was a necessary evil. So there, I've confessed. I feel a whole lot better already. Next year will be different, I promise. Are there any little green sins you'd like to confess? Oh come on, I know you do!

Ethical Spending in this Economy

While there has been growing interest and commitment to ethical shoppping in the last years, our tough economic times will certainly put pressure on many and cause them to re-evaluate their spending, especially on "green" items which usually are at a premium cost.

Some have embraced ethical shopping (or lack thereof if you're truly embracing a minimalist lifestyle) out of deep personal conviction, others because "green is the new black" - a cool fad to go along with, and still others a little bit of both, going along with the fad and along the way developping a new awareness of the impact of their decisions on our planet earth.

Whatever the motivations though, our shrinking economy is sure to present a few spending dilemmas to many. Faced with an ever-stretching family budget, how do you decide whether to keep splurging on fair trade, organic coffee or revert back to your more moderately-priced, generic old standby? How do you justify spending $12 a bottle for environmentally friendly laundry detergent when you can get twice the amount of a popular brand for half the price at Costco? What about that 100-mile Christmas turkey which will certainly cost more than your average Butterball?

So, are more or less of your dollars going towards green purchases? Or, has nothing changed?

Large Family in Small Space - Part One of Many

This is likely the first of many installments in the “eco-family’s great downsizing adventure”.

When I posted last March about our plans to downsize to a smaller home in the city it still seemed very distant. But with the foundation of our new house having been poured, and talks of putting the house we currently live in on the market, it’s all of a sudden become very real. Next September we’ll be doing the exact opposite of what most people in our stage of life usually do; though judging by articles I have been reading lately, the trend is on the rise. Instead of up sizing, we’ll be trading our larger home in the suburbs for the convenience of city living and the benefit of reducing our ecological footprint in a smaller house.

I have to say that having become accustomed to our 2,800 sq. ft (plus finished basement and in-law suite) home, I am little scared of how we’ll manage to squeeze ourselves, our three children, and our big fluffy golden retriever in a space half that size. Obviously, during the next months we will be in full purge mode. We’ve actually already started. It’s amazing how much stuff we’ve collected in only six years of being here. And, although we’ve got a ways to go before we’re streamlined enough to move into our new digs, I feel lighter and freer already.

I did a quick online search to see if anyone else was doing something similar and found a slew people living large in small spaces and blogging about it (here and here and here for example). In fact, there is a whole movement of people living in tiny spaces, and a host of resources who cater to them. Suddenly confronted with stories of people living in tiny, 140 sq. ft. homes (granted they are usually single or childless couples), our 1400 sq. ft. town home (1900 sq. ft. if you count the family room and office downstairs) seems downright palatial! It’s all about keeping only the essentials and making whatever space you’ve got work for you. That’s exactly what we had in mind when we were house hunting and in the end, we’re going to end up with a home where every square inch is put to good use, unlike here where we basically live in the kitchen, family room and bedrooms and where the rest of the house goes mostly unused. Even though in our new house the family room is in the basement, the open stairway at the back of the house which has windows stretching from below ground level to the ceiling, should provide plenty of natural light on that lower level. And, we’ve opted to have an additional room and full bathroom finished down there to accommodate guests and also to serve as home office.

I do think that I will miss my large kitchen – I am a chef at heart, and there’s nothing I like more than having space to spread out and cook up a storm. Entertaining might also be a challenge since our dining room will be a more modest size. We can presently sit about 10-12 very comfortably in our dining room, and coming from large extended families, we do so on a regular basis. I have a feeling Sunday dinners will be considerably cozier and intimate.

Another required feature was outdoor space where the kids could play safely and where we would be able to plant a large enough garden. Not easy if you’re buying in the city, especially a new property. At the end of the day, after much arm twisting (and having to drop another huge chunk of cash!), we managed to snag the largest lot in the subdivision which is about 43 feet and change in width, and 126 feet in depth. That should give us a considerable side yard (we have an end unit) and about 35 feet at the back. So, not rolling green pastures, but lovely additional outdoor living space. Add to that three good size bedrooms, three full bathrooms and a powder room and we should be able to all live more than comfortably in our new home.

This weekend we will be transitioning the boys into one bedroom in anticipation of our move next September. Lucky Ecogirl gets to keep her own room. When they were first born, all three babies shared a crib (we slept in the same room) and then they eventually shared a bedroom. As they grew and as our need for a full night’s sleep became more and more desperate we gave them each their own bedroom in the hopes that they would sleep through the night. Alas, while one is now an amazing sleeper, the other two still tag team and wake up at 2am wanting kisses from Ecopapa. So bringing the boys together again in one bedroom should be interesting. Wish us luck (and some sleep)!

Oh, and if anyone has any purging advice, we're all ears!

photo courtesy of Tumbleweed Tiny House Company

And the Winner is...

Congratulations Myla (*name edited to screen name), you are the winner of our Lunapads giveaway. The correct answer was Garret, Aiden and Genevieve (or Gigi). Myla, please send me your coordinates and I will make sure you receive your kit.

We got lots of answers and I wish I could have given you all a kit, because lets face it, every gal deserves her very own Lunapads! Don't forget though, you can still get your kit at a special discounted price over at Lunapads. Just enter the promo code "ecomama" during the checkout process to get 10% off your purchase.