The Walletless Workweek

Over the past two months, not one week has been remotely the same.  This has caused a slight bit of stress but has been exciting and well worth it.  The main cause?  Meeting and falling in love with a pretty amazing boy.  However, we've both noticed that over the past couple of weeks, our old respective routines have pretty much been abolished.

So, during a long drive back from a weekend getaway, we talked about routine and why we want to get back into it.  The main to reasons are our wallets and waistlines.  We've been eating out (and drinking out) far too often and though it has been fun, we both agree we can still be happy and in love and all that cute stuff without spending lots of money on delicious chicken livers, not so good German pork dishes, and on pints and pints of micro-brewed beer.  

Then, naturally, what followed next in the conversation was "what's for dinner?". We both agreed “something healthy, we're getting fat”.  I happened to find an old magazine article hidden in my what-to-read folder. The article, from Women's Health, is about buying and roasting one chicken and eating it in a different way every night, from Sunday to Thursday.

Since we were both tired from eating, drinking, and driving (obviously not at the same time) for roughly fourty-eight hours straight, having a menu for the next fives days AND very orderly shopping list in front of us was very appealing.  We decided to go for it.  I decided however that I wanted to take it a little farther- buy just what I think I might need for the rest of the week, which shouldn't be much more than dinner and maybe a bottle of wine or two, and not swiping my credit card again until Friday.

This is another experiment in my going-green adventure.  I have a feeling it is going to be difficult for me.  I am pretty good about bring lunch to work but at least once a week, I am tired and forget to pack lunch or my very persuasive co-worker coerces me into buying something delicious with him (it has not been fast food though since I stopped eating it, which by the way has been unbelievably easy and basically a mindless practice).   I see the lunch hour being a potential problem.  Running out of wine might also be another pitfall.

In addition to saving trips to the store and cutting on unnecessary consumption, I hope to save money this week.  In the article that sparked this blog entry, it claims all ingredients to make the 5 meals cost $28.00.  We are on way to the store now and after we get home, I will update the actual cost for what is needed and also what I bought that I determined necessary to be happy and content until Friday.  Here we go!

And so it goes...

So it has been a couple of weeks since my last blog entry but continuing on the being more ecofriendly path has been going pretty well.  The biggest current roadblock is actually not willpower or even remembering to be consistent (which is a pleasant surprise) but money.  I am making the transition from full time volunteer to full time employee but with a one month vacation in between.  The vacation was for the month of July and filled with expenses- like moving into a new apartment.  At first I was going to the local market (which I love and is a two-minute walk away) and even though I wouldn’t say it is that much more expensive than the grocery store, I end up spending more since it is all fresh and local.  At the grocery store, canned veggies are not very good but they are super cheap.  So, until I get my first paycheck (!) in two very long weeks, I am not going to be able to shop entirely there or at markets.

I’m finding that time is also a large factor in living a green lifestyle.  One, because it is time consuming to first off be knowledgeable about why certain normalcies are harmful to the planet and what is a solution that is not just different (becuase that often is just as bad but might sound better) but is actually a less energy consuming process.  I feel like I still have no idea what I am talking about when I try and explain to people why I think that being conscience and knowledgeable is important.   As a sidenote, why do people get annoyed by the fact that I decided to not buy new clothes or want to ask where my burger is from?

A second reason for time being an obstacle in the quest of green living is that it takes much more time to cook meals that are just from local ingredients.  Example, if you want to make a corn salad, it is way easier to open a can of corn than cook and cut fresh corn.  Anyone though will say corn is better if cooked though, but it takes longer.  Then though if you are eating local food, what to do if the ingredient is not local, like my own personal favorite fruit, olives.  You can look up substitutes or just go without.  That takes time though, more time than just grabbing a can of olives with no idea where they are from.  

Going forward, I want to spend more time researching and learning about what is good for our planet and why.  I also need (and do not really have a choice if I am going to keep this up) to eat local without going broke.  It should be an interesting journey!