Home http://www.coolmom.org daily 1 2010-11-05T16:05:42Z What CoolMom Means to Me http://www.coolmom.org/blog/what-coolmom-means-to-me We recently asked some of our members what CoolMom means to them. Here is one member's response. We would love to hear from you. Please share what CoolMom means to you in our comment section. “Save The Whales”

That’s what my daughter Margaux says when we leave the lights on. Her concept of CoolMom is pretty basic—making sure people and animals have a safe and clean environment to live. How? Turning off lights, composting, growing our garden, recycling. She sees it as her personal mission (and sometimes can even get a bit militant about it!)

For me, CoolMom has broadened my world. My husband and I already composted, turned off lights, used the longer lasting lightbulbs, used low or no VOC paint, etc. However, I wasn’t paying attention to how so many everyday actions can affect change on a global scale. I’m more attuned to political issues such as health care. I have learned about organic gardening and lawn care. What does this have to do with CoolMom? CoolMom is a touchstone—it’s become a place where I can learn how to do more to save our environment, sometimes by doing less. It is a community of women who are passionate and are actively addressing issues that though they seem too big or far away from my everyday life, really do affect how I live now and into the future. CoolMom is my support structure to doing what I say, not just saying what I do.

]]> No publisher colleen cooke 2012-02-20T22:12:06Z Blog Entry Urban Farm Handbook Challenge http://www.coolmom.org/blog/urban-farm-handbook-challenge In helping promote the Urban Farm Handbook, CoolMom is also helping promote one of the author's, Annette Cottrell, creative ways of engaging folks in those first steps in becoming an urban farmer... the Urban Farm Handbook Challenge! About the Book

The Urban Farm Handbook is a comprehensive guide for city-dwellers on how to wean themselves from commercial supermarkets, the authors map a plan for how to manage a busy, urban family life with home-grown foods, shared community efforts, and easy yet healthful practices.

More than just a few ideas about gardening and raising chickens, The Urban Farm Handbook uses stories, charts, grocery lists, recipes, and calendars to inform and instruct. As busy urbanites who have learned how to do everything from making cheese and curing meat to collaborating with neighbors on a food bartering system, the authors share their own food journeys along with those of local producers and consumers who are changing the food systems in the Pacific Northwest.

Stay tuned for a special discount on the book and a free download for Chapter 4, Growing Your Own, coming Earth Day Weekend!

About the Challenge

Annette Cottrell has pulled together a years worth of urban farming challenges, with each challenge having three levels of difficulty so people can either try something new at a slow pace, or dive in deeper into something they’ve already tried.

The challenge will take place starting in February and will continue for a year. Twelve months, eleven challenges and one reflection month, all on your schedule and at your level of ease.

For example for the month of February the challenge is on soil building. It’s too early to garden outdoors in most parts of the country but we can ready our soil. You’ll learn about worm bins, green manures, composting, biochar and amendments with some fun prizes thrown in for random winners.

Annette has rounded up some wonderful bloggers to help host monthly challenges too!

To find out more about the Urban Farm Handbook Challenge, check out Annette's Blog at Sustainableeats.com and dare to take the challenge!

]]> No publisher Terri Glabberson 2012-02-10T23:10:00Z Blog Entry From Old to New: Household Items to Fitness Equipment http://www.coolmom.org/blog/from-old-to-new-household-items-to-fitness-equipment To help you with your New Year's Resolution to become fitter. Here is an idea that might help you meet your goals and not cost you a bundle in gym fees or equipment. Did you make any New Year’s Resolutions this January? If you did, there is a good chance that at least one of those resolutions involved losing weight, exercising more, or both. It can be a challenge for parents to find the extra time and money for a gym membership, and you may not be eager to spend more money on exercise equipment that may end up collecting dust. I remember recycling my elliptical trainer into a clothes rack and using dumbbells as doorstops. This year, I’m going a healthier direction and recycling household objects into exercise equipment.

I found a slideshow of 12 great ideas for using everyday objects to make your own weights, benches, and suspension systems on Fitbie, the MSN.com fitness site.

The new uses include:

  • Filling water bottles with sand to use as dumbbells for bicep curls or shoulder presses.
  • Repurposing ropes or towels for doing inverted rows and suspended push-ups.
  • Turning a basketball into a medicine ball for doing push-ups that really focus your core.

Filling a PVC pipe with water or sand to make a slosh pipe – my favorite new piece of equipment of late.  It’s used like a barbell, but the moving fluid or sand means that you have to use your core and every other muscle in your body to maintain stability. There are lots of websites and Youtube videos showing you how to make and use a slosh pipe.

]]> No publisher Audrey Querns 2012-01-20T18:17:10Z Blog Entry New Year's Resolutions http://www.coolmom.org/blog/new-years-resolutions This Bainbridge CoolMom reduced her consumption by making a *New Year's Resolution to cut back on what, how and when she purchased items. You may learn some helpful lessons from this Cool Mom! Jessica loves New Year's Resolutions, but last year, she was tired of the old standards (exercise more, lose weight)! Inspired by some of her co-workers at IslandWood to try to reduce her overall consumption, she made a New Year's resolution not to buy anything new for the entire year.

She established her own self-imposed rules: (1) she could buy food, cleaning products, and hygiene items, (2) she could buy one new item each month, and (3) she could accept unsolicited gifts. In addition, her husband was allowed to purchase personal items for himself or for their family, but Jessica was not allowed to be involved in any of the decisions or purchasing.

Jessica has only bought nine new things this entire year! Every new item she purchased was either a gift for a family member or a necessity for her two children.  Some of the items she bought included a balloon for a birthday party, a book for her cousin's baby shower, and a pack of bottles for her one-year old. Sticking to her New Year's Resolution forced Jessica to get creative in a number of situations. For example, when she found out in April that she was pregnant, she borrowed maternity clothes from other moms.  When Jessica and her husband bought a new house, she was tempted to buy new curtains and furniture but resisted the urge.  She used tools such as Freecycle.com or Bainbridge Island's online Mom's Group to seek out necessary items like a double stroller and bassinet.

According to Jessica, she learned:

  • how little you need to consume as an individual.
  • that there is a difference between ‘wanting' and ‘needing' things.
  • that there are a lot of things she used to purchase impulsively but discovered later that she didn't need or want.
  • that while it may feel good to buy new clothes and shoes, there is much more satisfaction in knowing you are being kind and gentle to the earth.
  • how to live a simpler lifestyle and focus on what REALLY matters.
  • that many things can have a second or third life after one person is done with them.

Jessica was tempted to buy new items many times, but her husband, family, and friends supported and encouraged her to stick to her New Year's Resolution. She succeeded! She feels like she has set a good example for her children so they can start to learn that they do not need to live a consumptive lifestyle to be happy, and she knows that her experience has shaped significant life habits that she will carry on throughout the rest of her life. Jessica hopes that her story will inspire others to make similar commitments and choices this New Year. As stated on a bumper sticker, "The best things in life aren't things." Happy New Year!

*This article was first posted in 2009.

]]> No publisher Kirsten McCaa 2012-01-20T17:57:53Z Blog Entry