When my lawn man comes, I have him save the grass clippings for me and I add those to the pile. Since I got the lawn done the first time this year a few weeks ago, I had a good amount of grass clippings.

My mother works at a library and has tons of unused newspapers, so i had stacks and stacks of them.

Today I went to the garden spot and finished layering it with newspaper to kill the weeds and grass. I had a lot of paper so I didnt even bother to unfold them, just a complete newspaper *plop* on the ground. They were nice and wet from the recent snow and rain, so I didnt have to soak them or anything. I covered an 8×10 foot area.

I then shoveled up the compost and spread it over the paper, and then dumped about 400 lbs of top soil and a big bag of peat moss on the compost. A little mixing and spreading with the rake and I am ready to go.
I want to expand the area, so I will work on adding to the soil over the next few weeks as my seedlings grow in their little peat pots. By mid April I should have a nice large area full of rich soil and worms. And the best thing is, it was almost FREE. Additionally, i recycled a lot of kitchen waste, grass clippings and newspaper. Waste not want not! It pleases me to be able to maximize what I have, I hate just throwing away leftover pieces of vegetables, old papers and so on. All the water and fertilizer that we spend on our lawns is just thrown away, using it for compost helps us to reclaim some of what we have put into them.

I have yet to come up with my garden plan, I think I will do square foot gardening to maximize my space.
More on that later

Some links-

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/homegarden/2008889169_zhom19gardennotill.html

http://www.no-dig-vegetablegarden.com/no-till-gardening.html

http://www.latimes.com/features/home/la-hm-nodig12-2008jun12,0,55177.story

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/2004-02-01/Ruth-Stouts-System.aspx

http://www.eartheasy.com/blog/2009/01/no-till-gardening/

- Jeff Yeager says the economic downturn is an opportunity for people to simplify their lives and be content with less.

Suggestions-

Yeager: More than 40 percent of the average American family household food budget is spent on meals prepared outside the home. You can cut that by 80 percent by cooking those same meals at home and you know, maybe recapture some family time around the dinner table.

Since my time is limited, I cook on weekends and store it for the week. I can make a few days supply of rice in the rice cooker and save it for later. If I do a few batches of food in each crockpot, thats my entrees for the week. And 30 minutes or so is all it takes to make a LOT of salad and stick it in plastic food containers.

Yeager: Yes. Here again, it’s what’s good for your pocketbook and good for the environment. Less than 2 percent of clothes that we throw away in America are worn out. The average family spends about $1,800 on clothing. Certainly most of us have more than enough stuff in our closet that we could go six months, even a year without buying new clothes.

I had to buy clothes after having a baby then losing weight and starting work. But I wear classic styles and have little if any need to update my wardrobe. I still wear shoes I bought 10 years ago, and they look good because I buy few things but of high quality. I dont need to buy anything for at LEAST a year.

My sister lives in DC, she will like this blog.
http://dcgoodwillfashions.blogspot.com/

But the rest of us, we have no excuse. As human beings we have an obligation to help others. We sometimes focus on the large things and when we feel overwhelmed and powerless, we give up and dont try. No one can do it all. I feel powerless when I consider the scope of the problems facing the earth. But all I can do is all that I can do.If I can help only those I encounter, then that is enough for me.

And how can I, a divorced mother whose income isn’t particularly high, help anyone? How can you, when times are so hard?

Lets start small. This week, if you are tempted to buy a soda, a coffee or a bottle of water- don’t!Maybe you cant even afford that, but you find a nickel here and a quarter there and somehow come up with a dollar.

Take that money and put it aside. Next time you go to the grocery store use that money and buy a bag of dried beans.

1 lb of  dry beans yields about 6 cups of cooked beans,this is equivalent to 25 ounces of meat protein. For 99 cents, the cost of a cheap bottle of water, you can provide the daily protein requirement for a school aged child. Compare that to the price of 24 ounces of steak or ground beef. Hot dogs, unless they are very poor quality, cost about $4/lb.

So if you read this today, can you and your friends take one dollar that you wouldn’t even miss and buy 1 lb of beans? Donate it to charity. If you cant afford to donate it, keep it and cook it!

Many of us dont have time to cook, I know being starved for time contributes to my grocery bill getting higher! Who has time to sit at home and cook dry beans?

I cook beans in the crockpot with no seasonings then store them in the fridge in plastic containers. But I eat them daily. If you dont eat them that frequently and have freezer space, they freeze well.
Cooking with Dry Beans- University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension in Lancaster County

Today’s Assignment- Find a dollar you would normally fritter away and buy a bag of dried beans and donate it to the needy.

Optional assignment- Buy a crockpot for yourself or someone busy. I have  a small one that will cook 1 lb of beans, it cost me $10 and it paid for itself in a week because on those hectic rushed worknights I wasnt stopping to get prepared or fast food.