It's almost holiday time and many of us have already started thinking about procuring, making and/or purchasing gifts for our loved ones and colleagues. I heard a great segment on NPR the other day about ways to cut down on paper waste when wrapping gifts - since most commercially produced gift wrapping products are not recyclable!!
Well, Omicron is here and, so, it seems, we are back indoors with ourselves and our stuff! As much as I view my home as my refuge, I also feel oppressed by the various deserted projects I have attempted to complete throughout the pandemic - not to mention the areas of my home that require (continued) attention: maintenance, deep cleaning,
[...]OK, I admit it, I've written about this topic a time or two in the past. The truth is that this is an ongoing issue in my own household. Many of us in the 21st find ourselves surrounded by too much stuff, at a loss for how it got there, and how to (responsibly) dispose of it. In addition, as a realtor and self proclaimed homebody, I know
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It's wonderful to live in a community like Northampton, which values the idea of repurposing. Between local clothing swaps, consignment stores, the re-center and local recycling events - we Northamptonites (and other local communities) like to do our part in the effort to reduce/reuse/recycle. This time of year where we celebrate our [...]
I love finding a new home for the items that I no longer use. This morning, on my way to take the kids to school, I put my carefully culled boxes of outgrown (by kids) or rarely worn (by me) clothing on our curb to be picked up by the [...]
Over lunch with my husband today, I subtly mentioned to him that the credit card bill next month might be a bit higher than usual. Instead of being disgruntled, the way he can be when I don't forewarn him, he said "thank you for letting me know". I was glad to have gotten that piece of news off of my chest, but I am still feeling a bit [...]
On this cold and rainy/sleety spring day (I use the term "spring" loosely) I am contemplating an article in the Daily Hampshire Gazette this week about the potential ban of single use plastic bags in the city [...]
Good news! It seems that we can expect to see lower electricity bills, and perhaps lower gas bills, imminently here in the Pioneer Valley. I must say, I still hear the voice of my own parent's resonating in my ears with demands to "turn of the lights when you leave a room!". I have, of course, carried on the same tradition with my own [...]