Hello ~ I bought ten acres in a rural are twenty five years ago, & have dealt with many of the issues on this forum. I'd like to add my comments re recyclables: If you find yourself with a lot of non-recyclable 'garbbage' it's often a sign you are eating things that are *not healthful.* These days, most *aware* non-vegetarians now realize the hazzards of corporate-produced meat ~ & the presence of heavy metals, like mercury, in seafood. So either raise some rabbits (easily done, even in the city!), or chickens for meat--or stop buying meat on styrofoam trays! Change your grocery shopping habits: take shopping bags along--filled with your own reusable plastic bags, etc. Buy in bulk when possible ~ cheaper &, if you buy organic, much healthier & more *delicious. Re-think products you buy & use in your homes: Years ago I learned that baking soda & vinegar were safe & inexpensive replacements for nearly all household cleaning products! Chemical cleaners are seldom needed & harmful to you & your environment. Baking soda will scrub a tub or sink, remove odors from the refrig, & makes an excellent substitute for toothpaste ~ & now we've learned that fluoride in toothpaste is carcinogenic, it's best avoided ~ & one more item stays out of a land fill. Nothing cleans & shines windows & glass better than vinegar & water; use wadded newspaper to shine the glass! It can't be beat. Once you begin shopping regularly at bulk/health food stores, you'll learn to take along your own jars & containers: for bulk honey, peanut butter, cooking oil, soy sauce, even shampoo & lotions, etc. Take stock of your recyclables--& one by one--try to replace items by 'bulk buy' or making at home. Years ago I noticed yogurt tubs comprised the bulk of my plastic recyclables. I've since made yogurt at home with organic milk ~ a process that takes only *minutes & requires nothing more than clean jars, a floating thermometer, & a small picnic cooler. Voila! Now, must head out to replant the strawberry bed! Just my 2 cents, LOL-- Cheers!

In case some of you may be interested in recycling T.P., here`s a thread related to that issue that appeared several years ago ... and caused some levity among the denizens of this place. Actually, though it was billed as `recycle`, that`s after goods have undergone some reprocessing ... but in this case, it was reuse of the T.P., as no further processing had been involved. Some time ago it was on about p. 14, I think, but then was reetreaded and now is on about p. 6. But I`ll include a link to save you the trouble of searching for a report of a research project on recycling (but it was actually `reusing`) toilet paper. http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/saving/msg0602255426560.html?27 Sorry - there`s usually a place to put the link that requires you only to click on it, but there wasn`t such available this time, to here`s the link ... but you`ll have to highlight it. Good wishes for success in practising frugality: it pays well. Grandma used to say that a penny saved is a penny earned, but Grandma was only partly right. As most of the stuff that I buy isn`t income tax deductible and I`m in 25% tax bracket, I must earn pre-tax $1.33 in order to produce the equivalent of saving $1.00 on some purchase that I`m considering. But - wait a minute. Most of us have to pay sales tax, and in our case there`s some that goes to the province and some that goes to the feds ... about 13 cents on the dollar. So, in order to earn the equivalent of the $1.00 not spent, plus 13 cents sales tax, I must earn a hair over $1.50! Yikes!! ole joyful

The ad that I saw was for a certain brand of double-duty ... sorry, "double-ply" toilet tissue. Maybe they could sew their own clothes from that ... and discard them after use? (Does anyone remember my story 10+ years ago something like, "First research result: successful recycling of toilet paper!"? which resulted from a game at our over a hundred-year-old family reunion?) Having no earphones ... I didn't hear the story. Cut a big chunk of cardboard, run a slot about half way in from one side, hang it over the clothes line, with a weight on the bottom to keep it stable. He had some trouble keeping stable while travelling that line - aided by some formidable lashing of the tail. Then see how he tries to find a way around it ... and he likely will succeed. Bird feeder managers can tell some weird stories of their escapades with squirrels. ole joyfuelled

It depends on what I buy. My daughter and I both do the Keto way of eating, and often there are free books available for our Kindles. So I'll share the book so she can get it, or so others who are wondering what the heck I'm eating can download it for free and see I'm really not killing myself. LOL And as someone else said, sometimes you just find and awesome deal that you want to let others know about in case they may be interested as well, and they won't miss out. I don't share all my purchases on Amazon. Just now and then.