Introducing to you our very talented guest writer for today, Kendall! You may already know Kendall as my husband. For those of you who don’t know him, I will tell you that he is a great man and the type of person that makes you better just by being around him. For this, and many other reasons, I am happy that he is joining us today. As an avid sports fan he shares both his extensive wisdom and passionate rants over at VIGILANTE SPORTS. While he writes about all things sports, he has a special place for Cubs and Mariners baseball, Michigan college football, and the Chicago Bears. Today we happily welcome him as a guest writer to One/Change.

I’ve not been without a TV in my home ever. When I was growing up I had a TV in my bedroom. A couple of weeks ago my wife and I decided to do an experiment to see what it would be like to remove the TV from our home. How would our interactions change? Would it be the pure bliss that we have heard about from people who don’t own a TV?

Well, let me start with this. Mollie and I don’t really watch a lot of TV. The TV is mainly used for watching DVDs and sporting events. There are a few shows that we’ve gotten into (we both like LOST, and I’m a sucker for Survivor), but other than that the TV isn’t really on. We knew going in that it probably wouldn’t be a huge change, but we wanted to see.

So what happened? Well, 2 weeks ago last Sunday we took the TV down to the storage unit in our basement and locked it up. It had been a pretty focal part of our living room, so we stacked books where it had been. At first it wasn’t a very big deal. We didn’t feel like we were missing anything because it was normal for us to go days without turning it on. There’s something about a long day of work, and a desire to just veg-out that made me long for our TV. Early on in the experiment I found out that I have turned to TV for an easy way to check out of the world. I don’t really like that, and spent the rest of the 2 weeks thinking about that and developing other ways to relax, sans television. I feel the need to confess that we did watch a couple movies on my computer during the experiment. But that really isn’t what the experiment was about.

I’d say that the biggest change was not watching baseball games on TV. Mollie and I both really enjoy following the Cubs and the Mariners, so this was a stretch for both of us. But this past weekend I went to the Mariners game on Saturday with a friend and then on Sunday Mollie and I went together. We decided that if they were in town and we wanted to watch the game, that we could just hop a bus, or walk to Safeco Field, and take in the game in person (bleacher seats are only $7).

So what have I learned from this experiment?

• My wife and I talk more when there isn’t a TV in the house. When it’s easy to just turn on the TV to watch a game, or a movie we’re more likely to do that than talk and listen to each other. This has been the biggest takeaway for me.
• Not having a TV forces me to be more creative. I have to think about what I want to spend my time doing? Going to the park? Going for a walk? Reading? Thinking?
• I really do enjoy watching sports on TV. I miss watching baseball.
• It wouldn’t be as big of a sacrifice as I thought to get rid of our TV.

As of right now (we’re 2 days past our original 2 week time period) the TV is still in the basement. There isn’t anything tugging at me to bring it up. I’m sure we will, but it does feel nice to have it not be something that MUST happen. I think the experiment has caused me to see television for what it is, a luxury item. I don’t need it. I do enjoy parts of having it (mainly watching sports, I can watch movies on my computer). I think the experiment was a success.

If something in you twinged, or tickled when you started reading this, I’d say think about making some sort of change to your TV habits. If you’re someone who watches a lot of TV and couldn’t even consider putting in the basement, maybe try to ration your TV watching. Or cover your TV with a blanket or a scarf to remove it’s prominence in your living space. If you already don’t watch too much TV, consider removing it for a short period of time. See how it makes you feel. What you like and dislike about it. It’s really helped me see my relationship with television more clearly.

Coming home from your local farmer’s market with a basket of fresh veggies, fruit, and maybe for us carnivores, some ethical meat choices. One of my favorite parts of summer are the simple meals prepared by cutting up a few fresh veggies, maybe grilling some meat, and polishing it all off with a bowl or strawberries or maybe even a peach cobbler.
With our boards and counters getting so much use it is important to keep them clean. The answer to keeping our counters and cutting boards clean IS NOT bleach. My southern friends, more than any other people I know, LOVE bleach. They love feeling like they have killed every last germ and they even love the way bleach smells. Because I care about the health and well being of my dear friends I am going to share a few alternative cleaning recipes.

Here are a few germ-killing solutions for your cutting board and your counters from Care2:

Plain Old Soap and Water:
The Environmental Protection Agency notes that soap and hot water kill bacteria. Wash the cutting board with soap and water (note: use real liquid soap, such as Dr. Bronner’s); it is effective to do this using a good scrub brush, to get into all the nooks and crannies.

Hydrogen peroxide and white distilled vinegar:
Wash your board with hydrogen peroxide followed by straight white distilled vinegar. Leaving each one to rest on the cutting board for 10 minutes or so before rinsing. (The smell of the vinegar will dissipate.)

A straight 5 percent solution of vinegar—such as you can buy in the supermarket—kills 99 percent of bacteria, 82 percent of mold, and 80 percent of germs (viruses).

Lavender antibacterial spray:
If you like the smell of lavender, make an antibacterial spray by mixing about 20 drops of the pure essential oil of lavender to 1 cup of water in a spray bottle. Shake to blend. Spray on the cutting board and don’t rinse.

New research is proving that the old folk recipes using herbs and essential oils to kill germs, such as those used by 14th century doctors during the Black Plague, were based on good science. Many essential oils, such as the oils of lavender and thyme, are more antiseptic than phenol, the industry standard. Research is also showing that antibacterial plant oils may not cause drug resistance, as could be the case with common chemical disinfectants. The essential oil-based spray, below, leaves a lovely, clean scent. It is a good choice to use for misting your cutting board after use.

Ingredients:

1. Get outside, sweat, and catch every breeze you can.
2. Sit, lay, sleep, rest, read, and chat under the shade of a tree.
3. Water. Drinks lots of it and find some body of water to swim, splash, sit, or dangle your feet in. We took a walk to The Sound and dipped our feet in the deliciously, cold, clear water.
4. Enjoy little treats. Make some iced tea. Eat popsicles and ice cream/frozen yogurt. Fill up on cucumber sandwiches and slices of watermelon.
5. Go on a long, slow, gentle walk visiting your favorite places.
6. Adjust your attitude. Come to terms with the fact that you are just. going. to. be. hot. When you try to fight weather you lose. If you live in Seattle you just know that you are going to get wet, everyone is. Just put on a rain jacket and keep going about your life. It is not the end of the world to have frizzy, rain jacket hair or wet legs. If you live in Texas just know that you are going to be hot, everyone is. If you try to fight it you are going to be miserable and you. are. going. to. lose. Cranking air conditioners is only going to keep making the world warmer (Ahem…global warming and we all know how that is going to turn out.)
7. Cool off before bed with a short “slow cool” rinse. This means you start off with luke warm water and continue to make it colder until it is as cold as you can stand it. Dry off. Get in bed.

Directions:

1. Slowly combine the ingredients* above on a hot, summer day along with a generous amount of (aluminum-free) deodorant and (paraben-free) sunblock. Continue to mix until the days become cooler.

*Add more of the ingredients you love and adjust the mixture to your environment. If you have to stay indoors to work replace going outside with opening ALL your windows and doors, add some Jon Mellencamp music, and mix in as many of the ingredients as possible.

It has been a while since I have done a Take Action post, but thanks to a couple of e-mails from Environmental Working Group (EWG), and a Worsted Witch reminder I have gotten my act together to let you all know about a quick and easy way for you all to help support organic farming.

EWG is very close to their goal of 30,000 signatures, but they are still a couple thousand short. Follow this link to the petition page and take 1 minute to fill out your information (name, e-mail address, and zip-code…seriously, that is all) and press the “Sign now!” button.

“The farm bill, which is reexamined approximately every five years—it’s come around again in 2007—determines which U.S. crops will be subsidized by the government, and which will not.” ¹ “Congress is about to vote on a new Farm Bill, which could be the first to include fair funding for organics.” ² You taking the time to sign this petition gets us a step closer to this happening!

You have until Sunday, July 15th to do this.  Thank you for your support!

¹Jasmine, Worsted Witch; ²EWG

One of the changes I have made lately is eating in-season local food. It is kind of bizarre, funny, ironic, and telling that it is soooooo difficult to find year round, in-season, local, organic food. This used to be the norm. People used to just eat year round in-season organic food and it didn’t have to be labeled as such.

However, with those struggles behind me for a couple of months, I get to enjoy the bounty of summer and fall. It is a wonderful and easy time to find local, in-season food. If you are looking for a fun outing to go on with friends or family I would highly recommend finding an organic (or one that is sustainable and chemical free) farm that lets you go and pick your own food. It really is just a great way to spend a day. Talking with the farmers, being outside, harvesting food, and enjoying great company (or solitude–sometimes a person just needs quiet, outdoor time). You can make this a regular thing or a one-time-berry-picking-adventure. Either way is great.

This weekend Kendall and I are planning on a berry-picking-adventure. Since our decision to eat local year round, I have been saving jars to do some canning and jam making. There is really no point in going out and buying a bunch of expensive jars. Save the jam, pickle, olive, salsa, and whatever else kind of jars of food you buy, and refill them with you own homemade goodness (this is a kill-two-birds-with-one-stone kind of thing since we are also trying to reduce our trash).

I will post some delicious berry recipes for you all to enjoy. To find a farm near you go to local harvest or do some google-ing.  If you feel up for a little work call ahead to see if they could use any volunteers for the day you are planning on being on the farm (it will be more helpful for them if they know you are coming because they will be able to plan their day accordingly).