Planet Home -- Book Review

On a whim, I began reading Planet Home in the hopes of learning a thing or two new about simplified living. There are so many books on the market these days about simplicity that it is difficult to find anything comprehensive or anything that ventures to offer something you did not learn from another green guru several books back.

Imagine how delighted I was when I found that Planet Home was not only a fine compendium of best practices in green living, but it was also one with new tips and ideas that I had never come across before. Granted, I am a novice at all this green business, but the book truly has a lot to offer. For example, in the chapter on food, Hollender includes a section about buying local and/or organic produce. The common-knowledge benefits of buying local and organic are addressed, but there are also guidelines about what produce to buy when you cannot find these options in your area. He gives a list of the "dirty dozen" -- produce you should always buy organic and the "clean fifteen" -- produce with the lowest pesticide residue. Tidbits like these separate Planet Home from a lot of other green books I have read.

What also separates Planet Home from other books is its understated philosophy about the environment and our relationship to it. Holland writes:

"There are plenty of resources available for people interested in 'eco-friendly' living. And primarily, Planet Home provides a road map for anyone who wants to green and clean a home. But the following pages go well beyond offering typical 'go green' advice. This book is an attempt to inspire us all to open our minds, expand our collective consciousness, and think without compartmentalizing."

In essence, he is writing about being green or, as others may call it, having a simplified life. It goes beyond thinking about something small like using energy-efficient bulbs to thinking about why saving energy is worthwhile in the first place. Is it anything more than the latest fashion in home accessories? Or is it a political statement, a social stance, a new way of thinking about one's part in the world in making the earth sustainable. Holland says all this without being preachy. Rather than proselytize, he gives reference to resources throughout the book. So, when you are ready or so inclined, the knowledge is there for the asking.

Planet Home's organization is useful because it makes the book a resource that you don't just want to stick up on your shelf. As your own green journey evolves (growing from changing one's light bulbs, for example, to changing one's habits of energy consumption), you will want to reread passages and follow up on leads to resources that perhaps you had not tried on your first reading.

Planet Home is a book I read after checking it out from the library. However, after reading it, I know I want a copy for my own collection. It is that good and that useful.

Strawberry Jam -- The Gateway Preserve

Recently, I have stepped into the forays of canning. It started with a simple purchase of strawberries. They were on sale, and I just could not walk away without buying some. When I got home, I realized that one problem would be that I would not eat them fast enough. I had already had strawberries from a previous purchase and I was still trying to eat my way through those. After a bit of searching and thought, I decided to use those extras to make strawberry jam.

There are dozens of recipes on the Internet, but the gist of them is the following:

--sugar

--hulled strawberries (cut off the tops)

--lemon juice (optional)

Another option is to add a bit of vanilla bean, but for me, this additional ingredient seemed like a bit of overkill. What more do delicious strawberries need than a little love and a few shakes of sugar?

Making the jam is simple: toss the berries in a saucepan over heat, mash to a pulp of your desired chunkiness, add sugar, and add lemon juice (optional). Then cook for 15-20 minutes until the sauce thickens. Pour the hot jam into canning jars and process in boiling water for 15 minutes.

If you plan to eat the jam right away, you do not even have to process it. Just wait for it to cool and spread over some hot buttered biscuits.

My one container of strawberries yielded a small jar with half a jar left over. The jam is not as thick as I would have liked, but after having made it once, I know I need only increase my cooking time next time to get it the way I want. With a process so simple, it is baffling why more people do not make their own jam.

The hugest expense is the startup cost. I did not have any jars or any tongs to hold a hot jar with, and I did not have a pot large enough to boil my jars in. After making an initial investment, the only other costs are ingredients.

With such success at my first attempt at canning, I know I have just made it very unlikely that I will ever buy another jar of jam from the grocery store again. I also hope to try other flavored jams and even other foods like relishes.

At first, I am sure it seems that going back to making food from scratch is like turning back the clock and taking a huge step away from simplicity. However, if simplicity means ridding your life of excess (like chemicals and extra fats found in prepared foods, for example), then cooking at home means less waste and less of the things you want in your foods.

Investing an extra 20 minutes to cut, chop, and heat just seems like a very simple way to become healthier and have a simplified life.

Simplifying Requires a Lifestyle Change

Simplifying one’s life requires a lifestyle change if you want to make it last. Lifestyle changes are often the hardest to make when you do not have social support. It can be difficult to say to friends who know you as someone who does one thing and tell them that you are trying to change your life to another.

Without trying to trivialize things, I liken the process of trying simplify one’s life to that of a substance abuser trying to stay on the straight and narrow. She has made up her mind that she will no longer resort to substances and old ways of thinking to solve her problems or find emotional or physical relief. So, instead, she works hard to set up her life for success: putting in place mechanisms that she can default to in times where she feels like she wants to go back to the old way of doing things.

Having social supports like friends who do not use substances and family members who will encourage her to stay on track are critical. The same is true for someone trying to make any other sort of lifestyle change.

Part of developing a simple lifestyle requires thinking about things in a different way. If a simplified life is to include elements of financial discipline, then one must begin to think differently about money. If it includes elements of reducing clutter, one must think differently about “things,” all the stuff surrounding a person that when left unchecked becomes a massive stagnating pile. If it includes being better about one’s impact on the environment, one must think differently about waste.

Having supportive friends and family can help you make the transition to a simple lifestyle. What makes things most difficult is when you have well-intentioned folks in your life who have not made the same commitment change as you have. These are the people who, for example, remember you as someone who did not recycle. They now think you are being a fanatic when you refuse buy yet another bottle of water and choose instead to refill old bottles and carry them with you everywhere.

“Stop being cheap and just buy another bottle,” some will say. “Look, I’ll even buy a bottle for you if you can’t afford it today.”

While well intentioned, these people, who may well be or have been your friends, fail to realize that it is the principle of not buying another bottle of water that helps you stick to your commitment. It will not always be easy to say no to friends and other acquaintances, but it will be worthwhile in the end.

There is also something else to remember. Like-minded people tend to find each other in a crowd. So, while for a season or two, it may seem that you are the only person in the world who wants to live a simplified life, the truth is that there are thousands, if not millions, of others who are living that life successfully. Just live the simplified life—shop where they shop, eat what they eat, do what they do—and soon you will find more than enough kindred folk who are equally as passionate about simplifying their lives as you are.

One major tenet of having a simplified life is having a supportive network of others who also share your goals and philosophy.

Ensure a Healthy Diet with an Open Mind

Recently, I began a challenge to see whether it were possible to save money at the grocery store with coupons while also maintaining a healthy diet. The journey also led me to think about other ways I ways could save.

First, stay away from packaged goods. This principle was, in fact, the impetus for beginning my coupon challenge. I found that most coupons advertised discounts on foods that were packaged rather than fresh or natural alternatives. Staying away from packaged foods keeps you away from the high sodium, high fat, and loaded “preservatives” in foods you often find a box.

Next, be open minded about what you eat. By now, most people realize that cooking at home is healthier and cheaper than eating out at a restaurant or buying packaged foods. An extension of that principle is opening one’s food palate to include a broader range of meats, grains, and vegetables while cooking. The concept is simple enough, but, unfortunately, many Americans are afraid to try new foods. They spend more and have poorer diets.

Lentils, quinoa, chickpeas, and other hearty but seldom used foods are great additions to a healthy diet and, for now, they are cheap. Grocery stores in many areas carry these items, and those stores that do not are a short trip away from those that do. The convenience of online grocery shopping also makes it possible for people in remote areas to have access to these foods.

Some people might say, however, that even with access to better food options, they still would not try new foods because they do know how to cook them. My response is that learning how to cook comes with practice. It can begin with a simple trip to the library. Trying a new recipe a week starts by just pulling a book from the shelf.

Upon finding a recipe you like, write it down on a card and create a home library of recipes. There really are no excuses for not experimenting with foods, cooking with new foods, and adding them to your diet.

Week 4: Living Healthy with Coupons Challenge

The final week of the coupon challenge is here at last. I set out to discover whether it was actually possible to have a healthful diet while primarily using coupons to help you save money on your grocery bill. As it turns out, using coupons is definitely effective at saving people money at the checkout. However, their utility lessens as the need to stock up on food decreases.

Last week, I noted that the only foodstuffs I needed to buy were fresh vegetables. This week, I managed to get by without going to the grocery store at all. Using canned and frozen vegetables, dried starches like rice and bulgar wheat, and a smattering of fruits, nuts, and cereal, I had a full week of meals without needing to head to the market.

While my case may be unique, it seems that using coupons is effective mostly when you have lots of groceries to buy on a regular basis and less effective once a stockpile of dried goods has been accumulated. For me, this outcome suggests that the use of coupons will be relevant for me only about once a month. That period could be even longer if I temper my food consumption.

Can a person eat healthy while using coupons? Yes. Are the savings sustainable? Only if you need to buy in bulk or stockpile tons of items.

SEE ALSO:

Coupons and Healthy Living

Week 1 -- Living Healthy with Coupons

Week 2 -- Living Healthy with Coupons

Week 3 -- Living Healthy with Coupons