Slow Steps for Greening Our Lives

So we've been in the slow process of greening our lives. One of the big problems stems from our living in an old apartment in an old city: there's already so much built-in inefficiency that we can't do anything about.

Maybe this then gives us greater imperative to do what little we can to reduce our impact. And so here I'll catalog the steps that we've found to be feasible given our lifestyles and housing circumstances.

Install CFLs. CFLs are cheap enough these days and easy to get. We even get brighter light with a lower wattage. For example, I replaced the 60 W incandescents in our standing lamps with 23 W or 25 W CFLs--equivalent to 100 W incandescents. They're brighter and now use less than half the electricity.

Insulate, weatherstrip. Insulate for all seasons. In the summer, it keeps the cool in; in the winter, it keeps the cold out.

Use less water. I filled three 20 oz. plastic Diet Coke bottles with water and placed them in the toilet tank. This reduces my water usage with each flush by half a gallon. Not so bad. We also follow the "if it's yellow (but not too yellow), let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down" rule. Turn off the faucet while your soaping your face or brushing your teeth. When doing dishes, I wet all the dishes, turn off the water, soap everything up, then rinse all the dishes at once.

Use more green cleaning products. I'm stil a bit wary of using non-Lysol-type cleaning products when cleaning up after cutting meats, etc. But for everything else, I use green cleaning spray.

Use dish rags instead of paper towels. Honestly, I use paper towels when I want, but I at least try to use the washable dish rags when I can--and when they're hygienic.

Use corn-based biodegradable poop bags. I know there are a lot of biodegradable poop bags out there--but when they all go into the landfill, there's not enough sun and water for the darn things to actually decompose. So I buy the corn-based ones: at least I'm not using oil to make plastic, and I'm supporting a company that implements eco-friendly production methods.

Unplug all power cords and switch off power strips when we leave for vacation.

Re-use paper. I always bring home and re-use any paper that's only printed on one side. I have an ink-jet, and that lets me use used paper. (Laser jets tend to have lots of trouble with used paper.) I also make little notepads by cutting used paper in quarters and eights and then stapling them into pads of 10-odd sheets for notes and to-do lists.

Use rechargeable batteries. I also have a Tivoli radio which runs on an internal rechargeable.

Buy organic and fair trade. Honestly, right now we only regularly buy organic eggs and coffee. When we can--financially--we'll buy other things organic and fair trade, but honestly it's tough when they're so much pricier.

Don't buy bottled water. Occasionally, we'll buy it out of convenience--for carrying, etc. But at home, we just use tap water, through a Brita filter.

Replace your shower head. I screwed off the old shower head and replaced it with a more efficient shower head that uses less water. Not a big deal. And then when we move out, I take it with me. Neat.

Ideas for Things to Do:

Have more house plants. These clean the air. Then I can also collect rain water or gray water to water them. Occasionally, throw used coffee grounds in for fertilizer.

The Towel Burrito

The great book "The Dog Bible" by Tracie Hotchner made a recommendation of a home-made dog toy: the towel burrito. I actually made one out of an old t-shirt, folded in half long-ways, and then rolled up and duct-taped tight. Ruki loves it. She can play tug, chews on it, throws it around, and plays chase with it. Best toy money can't buy!

Links for First-Time Home-Buying in Cambridge

So we're also looking to buy a place in Cambridge. Here's where I'm going to put a list of useful links for the process.

• First-Time Buyer Education Programs from the City of Cambridge


• First-Time Home Buyers' Guide to Taxes - From Boston.com and Bankrate


• First-Time Home Buyers Blog - from Move.com and Realtors.com


• How Much of a Mortgage Can You Afford? - from Fannie Mae.


• How much house can I afford? - from Yahoo! Real Estate and LendingTree.com.

Dog-Friendly Stores in Cambridge

I just figured that I'd start making a list of dog-friendly stores in Cambridge.

If a store sells food, then I believe by law pets aren't allowed. Otherwise, I won't enter a store with Ruki unless they welcome her in, or I see dog biscuits or water bowls inside. Also, if they sell dog items, they're *probably* dog-friendly.

I've excluded from this list the obvious pet stores.

Confirmed

• Tags, Porter Square. Doggie biscuits at the customer service counter.


• Porter Square Books, Porter Square. Caveat: Pets shouldn't go into the coffee bar area.


• Greenward, Mass Ave.


• Mint Julep, Harvard Square.


• American Apparel, Harvard Square.


• Black Ink, Harvard Square.


• Evergreen Cleaners, Mass Ave.


• Harvard Wine Shop, Mass Ave. But it may depend upon who's in the shop.


• Joie de Vivre, Mass Ave.

Seems Not

• Nomad, Mass Ave.

Infant Day Care in Cambridge

Haven't had much change on the Ruki-front. She's just great as always. But there's new news on the family front: We're having a baby. So, yeah, I'm researching infant day care in Cambridge. And since it took me so damn long to find these places, I figure I'll post my results on the Internets.

Here's a Google map with all the day care agencies that provide infant care in Cambridge:


View Larger Map

I also compiled a list with more information of all these day care center:

Associated Early Care & Education - Central School

43 ESSEX ST,CAMBRIDGE,MA 02139-2647

Capacity:67

Infant:Yes
Toddler:Yes
Pre-School:Yes

Associated Early Care and Education /Children's of Cambridge

243 HARVARD ST,CAMBRIDGE,MA 02139-2640

Capacity:68

Infant:Yes
Toddler:Yes
Pre-School:Yes

Bigelow Cooperative Day Care Center

ZERO GARDEN ST,CAMBRIDGE,MA 02138

Capacity:32

Infant:Yes
Toddler:Yes
Pre-School:Yes

Botanic Gardens Children's Center

26 ROBINSON ST,CAMBRIDGE,MA 02138-1404

Capacity:59

Infant:Yes
Toddler:Yes
Pre-School:Yes

Bright Horizons @ One Rogers Street

1 ROGERS ST,CAMBRIDGE,MA 02142-1209

Capacity:62

Infant:Yes
Toddler:Yes
Pre-School:Yes

Bright Horizons Children's Center University Park

129 FRANKLIN ST,CAMBRIDGE,MA 02139-4160

Capacity:61

Infant:Yes
Toddler:Yes
Pre-School:Yes

Bright Horizons Childrens Center- OKS

ONE KENDALL SQ BUILDING 1500,CAMBRIDGE,MA 02139

Capacity:97

Infant:Yes
Toddler:Yes
Pre-School:Yes

Children's Village

55 WHEELER ST,CAMBRIDGE,MA 02138-1192

Capacity:75

Infant:Yes
Toddler:Yes
Pre-School:Yes

Harvard Yard Child Care Center

25 FRANCIS AVE,CAMBRIDGE,MA 02138-2009

Capacity:58

Infant:Yes
Toddler:Yes
Pre-School:Yes

Moppets

7 CAMBRIDGEPARK DR,CAMBRIDGE,MA 02140-2309

Capacity:170

Infant:Yes
Toddler:Yes
Pre-School:Yes

Mulberry Child Care Center

725 CONCORD AVE,CAMBRIDGE,MA 02138-1040

Capacity:86

Infant:Yes
Toddler:Yes
Pre-School:Yes

Our Place

402 MASSACHUSETTS AVE,CAMBRIDGE,MA 02139-4132

Capacity:38

Infant:Yes
Toddler:Yes
Pre-School:Yes

Oxford Street Day Care Cooperative

25 FRANCIS AVE,CAMBRIDGE,MA 02138-2009

Capacity:39

Infant:Yes
Toddler:Yes
Pre-School:Yes

Peabody Terrace Children's Center

900 MEMORIAL DR,CAMBRIDGE,MA 02138-6237

Capacity:83

Infant:Yes
Toddler:Yes
Pre-School:Yes

Radcliffe Child Care Center

10 DEWOLF ST,CAMBRIDGE,MA 02138-6098

Capacity:60

Infant:Yes
Toddler:Yes
Pre-School:Yes

Technology Children's Center - Eastgate

60 WADSWORTH ST,CAMBRIDGE,MA 02142-1317

Capacity:43

Infant:Yes
Toddler:Yes
Pre-School:Yes

Technology Children's Center at Stata

32 VASSAR ST,CAMBRIDGE,MA 02139-4309

Capacity:82

Infant:Yes
Toddler:Yes
Pre-School:Yes

The Henry Buckner School

85 BISHOP ALLEN DR,CAMBRIDGE,MA 02139-3407

Capacity:79

Infant:Yes
Toddler:Yes
Pre-School:Yes

TSC Tot Child Care Center

55 BROADWAY DTS 94,CAMBRIDGE,MA 02142

Capacity:56

Infant:Yes
Toddler:Yes
Pre-School:Yes