It Ain't Easy Being Green.......Or Is It?

When I accepted the job of environmental engineer for BD in March of 2011, and realized that I would need a small apartment Monday - Friday, I started thinking about how to furnish it. With Earth Day looming, I was inspired. Could I furnish my entire apartment with recycled goods?

It's a year later. How did my experiment turn out? I started by telling everyone what I was doing, so if they were getting rid of something they might think of me first. The kitchen was easy-we had plenty of dishes at home, enough plates, cups, silverware, rubbermaid containers, baking dishes, mixing bowls, a pitcher, utensils, kitchen towels, a coffee maker, spice rack, and even pictures for the wall. But as the year went by, I ended up buying 4 glass goblets at the dollar store, and 4 stoneware bowls for a $1 each at the grocery store. (I like pretty dishes; a family weakness.) I also bought a $12 wall hanging (Tweety Bird saying "weduce, weuse, wecycle" -- yes, I see the irony).

Poor Derek lost his queen sized bed since he was off enjoying school in Spain. (He isn't on the floor. He has the spare extra-long twin in his room.) I also brought spare night stands from the basement, and lamps given to me from my dad and sister. We had enough bedding. I didn't get the bed for 3 weeks so I borrowed a blow-up mattress for a while. Art work? If you've ever seen my house, you know I had plenty to spare. In fact, I was glad to bring some out of storage and get it back up on the wall.

The bathroom should not have needed anything, right? But I actually ended up spending money there. I had a shower curtain but it was fabric, so old, that it would not keep the water in and I got tired of mopping the floor. So I ended up buying a $4 vinyl shower curtain liner. I also needed a trash can, and it seems people don't have spare trash cans, so I ended up buying a green plastic can. $8 if I remember correctly. Didn't need towels or anything else, they came from home.

The living room was pretty empty at first. I brought a card table and a small, pretty Ethan Allen chair my sister gave me. I used a box as an end table, with a lamp on it. I had a spare 13 inch TV and a small radio brought from home for entertainment. But I was in luck! My nephew Andy was heading off to Boot Camp 3 weeks after I moved in, and offered me most of his apartment, at least until he had a place of his own. So I inherited a used sofa sectional, coffee table and end tables, nice rug, lamps, dining table and chairs, desk and book shelves and small dresser. And tons of kitchen spices; Andy, what were you thinking? Oh, don't forget the 52" plasma flat screen TV! I was happy to take care of that for him!

The house had mini-blinds, but I wanted some curtains to soften the place. I lost all control one night and spent $80 on curtains and rods. I was given a washer for the laundry room, but no one had a spare ironing board - until one week after I bought one. I spent $27 on the board, pad and cover.

Grand total: $139.00 If I had been REALLY dedicated, I could have done without the Tweety picture, the dishes, curtains, and held off on the ironing board. Without those, the cost would have been $12 everything I needed for a one-bedroom apartment.

What about when Andy got his own apartment? Yes, he did want that TV back, and some of the furniture. As it turned out, I found a smaller, efficiency apartment 5 months later that cost 1/2 as much, so I ended up moving and getting rid of stuff. I kept the easy chair-no couch needed when I'm here just 4 evenings a week. My mom loaned me a smaller, but servicable TV in place of Andy's. The card table works fine for me. I sold the washing machine for $50. I have bought a $13 3-drawer plastic storage unit for storing scrap-booking materials. (I joined a club one night a week for company and something to do).

My biggest impression from this year is just how much stuff we all have, and how little we really need to get through the day and the week. This year I resolve to learn to live even more simply. It feels good. Unlike Kermit, I can say it was pretty easy being green.

The nest has been reclaimed.

It has been over a year since my last blog post. Life hit me fast and furious and left me a little breathless for a while. I needed some perspective before I was ready to share.

Let's see, when I left this blog, my nest consisted of me, my husband, a college student, and a few assorted pets. I was establishing my life as a post-child-rearing adult career woman.

Things happened. My job ended just before Christmas in 2010. The college student moved away. I spent two months using the severance package's placement agency, found another position, and collected exactly one week of unemployment compensation. However, I had to find another nest. The new job was 85 miles away, and time and finances quickly showed that I needed to live near my work Monday through Friday. After 3 weeks in a hotel, I found an apartment, and set about creating a new nest. (That is worthy of it's own blog entry.)

So now my husband and I had two nests and assorted pets. Quiet, and busy. Then in June our son came home from his year abroad. Yeah! We had really missed him. He is a pretty quiet guy, and easy to have around.

The next nest addition was a surprise. Our 14 year old nephew came to live with us after his mother remarried and moved out of state. He wasn't thrilled with the new living arrangements, and we were approached about taking him in for a while. So Brian joined the family in July, and has been there ever since. Brian is 15 now, and has fast become one of the family. Even the cat seldom leaves him for me on the weekends any more.

In December our daughter, Lydia, and her girlfriend, Audrey, moved from Pennsylvania to Lincoln, and moved in with us for the time being. We're up to 6 people now, 3 pets, and my extra apartment 85 miles away.

Well, no wonder I haven't had much time for blogging.

A man I know once said that when your children leave home, it isn't so bad, because they leave the nest behind. That sounded good. But now I know that I prefer my full-to-overflowing nest. After all, isn't that what nests are all about? Welcome home, children.

Love, Mom