At the same time, I’ve been busy launching a brand-new site that has its own bright future: LoveandTrash.com!

It’s a project with some of my very good friends. We’re calling it “a DIY blog for people who do things differently.” There’s a ton of content, some very fun stuff, and lots of “actionable inspiration” to get you motivated.

The truth is, the more I traveled, the more I found that while I love traveling, my true passion was more on the environmental/DIY track. Love and Trash gives that passion a voice, and I couldn’t be more excited about it.

So stop by and check it out! I think you’ll like it. LoveandTrash.com

Related posts:

1. CONTEST: Name That Site!
2. The 5 Principles of Living Green on the Cheap (as demonstrated by Nicole and Kevin)
3. Save the World, Ride a Bike

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: alternative, art, buy nothing, community, environment, featured posts, freegan, garbage, green living, how-to, recycling, reuse, starving artists

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Related posts:

1. One Year Ago: Earthship Landing
2. Things I Learned: Can/Bottle Walls
3. R.E.A.C.H. Earthship Community, a pictorial

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: adventure, alternative, biotecture, buy nothing, earthships, ecotourism, energy-efficient, environment, featured posts, green building, lumber, New Mexico, outdoors, sustainable, Taos, travel, video, vigas, volunteer, voluntourism

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UPDATE: Polls are closed! And the winner is…

LOVEANDTRASH.COM

We’ll be launching in just a few weeks. (Don’t know what this is about? Read below…)

Big news from Raggedy Annarchy and Jessica The Hun:
We’re launching a new blog
dedicated to
creativity, radical interdependence
and
how to be awesome for cheap.

This will be a place where YOU can show off your projects, promote your friends’ good work, and pick up new ideas. It’s dedicated to the little things we all do in our lives: to guerrilla gardeners and creative welders; to bike riders and secondhand fashionistas; to fire dancers, banjo pickers, amateur collagists and part-time poets.

Name That Site → WIN

Now through Saturday 3/6, leave a comment below with your name suggestion! We’ll pick the finalists, and run a vote next week.

If your suggestion becomes the name of this new site, you get a one-year Flickr Pro account, or a year’s subscription to one of these mags: Juxtapoz, Make, Wired, National Geographic or Popular Science. Your choice.

Need some inspiration? Here are some examples of what we’ll be publishing:

art video bikes general food pr0n zombies unicorns sewing lessons motivation ridiculous recycling poetry	photos fashion recipes (vegan and meatatarian) clowns weird welding inspiration transmogrification music lots and lots of art fabulous trash
…and whatever else YOU come up with.

Please note:
1. We get to suggest names too. If our suggestion wins, we keep the prize.
2. You can check to see whether your name idea is available: click here and search for your domain name.

OK GO.
Comment below to win!

Related posts:

1. ANNOUNCING: Love And Trash
2. The 5 Principles of Living Green on the Cheap (as demonstrated by Nicole and Kevin)
3. Friday Photos! Art From Trash

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2010. | Permalink | 56 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: alternative, art, contest, diy, featured posts, freegan, garbage, gardening, green living, how-to, prize, prizes, recycling, reuse, starving artists, sustainable, zombies

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photo by Russ Roca of The Path Less Pedaled

I discovered Tammy Strobel (of RowdyKittens) early on in my journey, and she’s been a continual inspiration. Her simple-living tips and car-free lifestyle, all documented with great photos and useful information, got me through more than one situation—and I expect to keep learning from her for a long time to come.

Now, Tammy’s released her first e-book, Simply Car-Free: How to Pedal Toward Financial Freedom and a Healthier Life.

Simply Car-Free is an excellent, real-world, homespun resource for anyone who wants to get more serious about cycling and spend less time in traffic. I highly recommend you download a copy. It’s cheap, too: $9.95 for the first 500 customers, and $12.99 thereafter.

The book is full of extremely knowledgeable and useful info on why, how, when and where to ride your bike. There are also some great tips and facts you’ve probably never heard before. For example:

Sitting down and honestly analyzing the cost of our car was shocking. The car payment, interest, insurance, gas, maintenance and more added up to about $7,000 per year. The average American spends $8,000 a year on their car.

Also inspirational: Tammy’s own story of how she and her partner Logan switched from driving to riding, and what the process was like for a self-described “normal middle-class” suburban couple.

I started out biking 5 miles a week and slowly increased the number of miles I rode on weekends. Before I knew it, I was going for all-day bike rides that were between 30 and 50 miles. Anything is possible, just remember to take it slow.

Want more? Yes, trust me, you do. Check out the first three chapters for free here. Then buy the book, and support Tammy’s awesome lifestyle and excellent work!

(legally required) DISCLOSURE: I got a free advance copy of this e-book for the purpose of reviewing it. Neener neener.

Related posts:

1. 5 (and a half!) free things to do in Asheville
2. The 5 Principles of Living Green on the Cheap (as demonstrated by Nicole and Kevin)
3. Change the World, Ride a Bike

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: adventure, alternative, bike, car-free, e-book, ebook, ecotravel, energy-efficient, environment, featured posts, green living, sustainable, transportation, travel

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In honor of Valentine’s Day, guest blogger The Apocalyptic Housewife is back with a dose of romantic realism—and a freegan Valentine idea.

I’ve been married a long, long time.

My husband loves me, loves us, and hates ‘compulsory holidays’. He also hates Facebook.

But he’s a great guy: he always gives me something special for non-compulsory occasions, like a $100 pillow when he noticed I’d been cracking my neck for weeks. And when a persistent, Facebook-obsessed friend finally copied a quiz into email and sent it to him, he answered it.

I was copied on the email, so I peeked.

“What would ______ say is your favorite scent?”

“My wife’s pillowcase.”

The Inspiration

On Thursday, M. had to leave for work immediately following a, umm, ‘nap’. I had the day off.

“I hate getting up now. Look at how even my t-shirt is mocking me”

After M. showered, dressed and left for work, I took my after-glow-anointed neck and my shrug and my cat onto the sofa for a nap. ZZzzzzzzzzmmmmmmmmmm.

When I awoke, I noticed that M. had left his old headphone bag in the trash. My brain leapt from headset to sewing machine to pillowcase, like a pinball lighting up the ’tilt’ sign.

If you try this at home, don’t leave out the ‘nap’ part;
your idea will undoubtedly be even better.

I already had Grandma’s ancient creaking sewing machine set up on the kitchen table where I made this bitchin’ shrug (pictured above) out of a bagged-out sweater and Brother Dennis’ dia de los muertos heart.

I had been meaning to make some Pillowcase Dresses for Haitian Relief, but my sewing skillz needed some brushing up—ie, I was ready to sacrifice a pillowcase for practice.

How to Make a Pillowcase Headphone Bag

You’ll need:
• A standard pillowcase
• A string (shoelaces work great)
• Scissors
• Iron
• Sewing machine, or needle+thread+dedication

1. Cut the pillowcase roughly in half lengthwise, and remove the hemmed section. You should have a long-ish strip of fabric, sewn on two sides. Cut it down more if you like.

2. Fold down the long edge. Turn down twice to make a casing, which should be wide enough that your string slides through easily. Iron to make a straight edge.

For best results, use a press-cloth.

For lousy results, iron directly onto a vinyl tablecloth, which is guaranteed to melt all over your iron.

3. Sew along the folded edge, using a zigzag stitch, and thread the string through. This will be the mouth of the bag, and the drawstring to pull it closed.

If you have trouble, attach a safety pin to one end of the string: it’ll be easier to thread that way.

Since I wanted this bag to remind M. of  my side of the bed while he’s using his headset at work, I used the shoelace that he teases the kitties with.

What’s a catnap without a cat?! And, look! Hearts!

4. Turn the pillowcase inside out, and sew along the open edge leaving the drawstring casing open. You should now have an inside-out bag.

5. Turn the bag right-side out and admire your handiwork.

The finished bag. It fits neatly into a backpack, holds a standard headset comfortably, and reminds M. of his warm, sleepy wife. Also, it cost NOTHING.

(Except for a new tablecloth.)

Happy Valentine’s Day, world! Go do something half-assed and whole-hearted. It’s worked pretty well for us.

Related posts:

1. CONTEST: Name That Site!
2. The 5 Principles of Living Green on the Cheap (as demonstrated by Nicole and Kevin)
3. The Apocalyptic Housewife Goes Seedbombing

© raggedyannarchy for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: alternative, buy nothing, craft, diy, featured posts, freegan, green living, how-to, love, reuse, romance, sewing, sustainable, valentine's day

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We all know we should be eating local, organic produce. And we know why: it’s healthier, it supports the local community, it doesn’t get shipped around the world on oil-spilling ships…

But buying local is inconvenient. In order to get what your neighbors are selling, you have to go to the farmer’s market (or—gasp—to the farm itself!) We Americans are creatures of comfort, we work dawn to dusk, and most of us don’t really “do” farmer’s markets. We’d rather go to a big store that has everything we need, so we can spend as little time buying food as possible.

So, most people still buy fruit from South America via Whole Foods. Environmentally egregious? Perhaps, but it’s easy.

Hana Newcomb sorts produce for CSA members at Potomac Vegetable Farms in Virginia

That’s why local farmers came up with the CSA.

It stands for “Community Supported Agriculture”. The concept is simple: you pay a weekly/monthly fee, and get a box of fresh, local food delivered to your door.

Farmers refer to this as buying a “share” of their harvest. The harvest is divided evenly between everyone who chips in for the CSA subscription. If enough people participate, the farm does well and there’s plenty of food to go around. This helps keeps farms afloat, and it gets consumers more involved with their food and their community.

This one’s a no-brainer, kids. CSAs are (usually) affordable; they support local growers; they help the environment while improving your health—and you don’t have to get off the couch (except, okay, to answer the frickin’ door).

The time to act is now! CSA subscriptions are usually sold at the beginning of each year, with priority going to existing members. New subscriptions for the best CSAs can be scarce, and get bought up quickly.

Now, don’t get me wrong: we all ought to be waking up bright and early Sunday mornings, grabbing our reusable cloth bags, and walking down to the neighborhood open-air market to shop. But for most of us, that’s neither possible nor golly bloody likely. So cut yourself a break, sign up for that CSA box, and enjoy a year’s worth of real, healthy, good food with no guilt attached.

You can thank me after the sweet corn and tomatoes start rolling in.

Related posts:

1. 6 Reasons to hit the farmer’s market this weekend
2. Farming on Sand
3. Try This at Home: Join a community garden

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: community, csa, energy-efficient, environment, farm, featured posts, food, organic, sustainable

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Somewhere in California, a blighted, mosquito-vector abandoned property is about to get an echinacea dose via seedbomb.

Seedbombing combines elements of childhood disgruntled mudbomb-hurling; the balance of meticulousness and zen that good gardeners possess; and my own forte, the invisibility and vigilance of a sniper.

It also requires a certain attitude. The first step to seedbombing is:

1. Understand that a job worth doing is worth doing crappily.

(...)
Read the rest of The Apocalyptic Housewife Goes Seedbombing (711 words)

© raggedyannarchy for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2009. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: adventure, alternative, buy nothing, diy, environment, featured posts, freegan, gardening, guerrilla gardening, how-to, nature, outdoors

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GOOD writes:

The average American is both overweight and spends more than 100 hours per year commuting, the vast majority of those hours being spent in a car. Are those numbers correlated? Could we help reduce our societal weight gain by encouraging more commutes by bike or foot?

Click for interactive graphic

The vertical bars represent 13 different nations, arranged left-to-right from most obese to least. Yes, of course the United States leads the fray. 66.7% of us are overweight, yay team!

Green represents the percentage of commuting trips by bike; orange represents foot trips.

Interestingly, Germany is the next fattest country at 66.5% overweight, yet they have much more active commutes. Must be all the Bier und Bratwurst, eh Deutschland?

Canada and Australia commute less actively than we do, but manage not to gorge themselves on cream and sugar coffee and cake muffins while driving; they both come in just under 50% overweight.

So where in the U.S. do the highest percentage of people commute by bike? That distinction goes to Portland, Oregon. This is even more impressive when you factor in the high prevalence of skinny jeans in the PDX: it’s hard to imagine how they even manage to get on their bikes, but they’re doin’ it! Keep fighting, Portland!

Related posts:

1. RECOMMENDED: Simply Car-Free
2. Change the World, Ride a Bike
3. SURPRISE! “Carbon Offsetting” Doesn’t Work.

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: bike, commute, cycling, energy-efficient, exercise, featured posts, foot, information, obesity, overweight, statistics, sustainable, transportation

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Okay, it might not be so summery this weekend—
still, New York’s Union Square market will be open for Thanksgiving business.

Sure, farmer’s markets are a great idea. But admit it: you were planning to buy all your Thanksgiving food at the big-box store. Here’s why this weekend is the perfect time to change your plans and shop local.

(...)
Read the rest of 6 Reasons to hit the farmer’s market this weekend (251 words)

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: environment, ethics, family, farm, farmers market, feast, food, garden, holiday, market, organic, shopping, thanksgiving

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I ain’t gonna lie, I was scared to visit New York. Somewhere in my small-town hippie-chick psyche, I was convinced that city would eat me alive, and spit me out broke onto a westward-bound highway.

But my poverty and naïveté have never stopped me before, right? So I headed for the Big Cheese, and (thanks to good buddies Landry, YP & Eggie) found myself in safe and luxurious Brooklyn digs. All that was left, then, was for me to tackle Manhattan.

I saddled up The Navigator and hopped a subway, and soon became enthronged in the teeming masses of New York.

(...)
Read the rest of Chicken in the City (934 words)

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2009. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: adventure, alternative, art, buy nothing, chickens, counterculture, diy, eco travel, ecotourism, ecotravel, featured posts, freegan, green living, hiking, how-to, New York, outsider art, photography, rubber chicken, starving artists, superhero, transportation, travel, walking

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