Questions...

[sarahmichigan]

1. For those of you who make mashed potatoes- what's your process? I don't mean a recipe, but I mean things like: Do you peel first, then boil, or vice versa? Do you use a hand masher or a food processor? Etc.

2.  For those of you who are interested in frugality, simplicity and/or environmental living, tell me one or two things you know are in line with those values but which you just can't bring yourself to do. For instance, some people who are super frugal just can't give up going out to lunch during the work day because they need to get away from the office. Or maybe you're really environmentally conscious but you just can't live with your thermostat turned any lower than 70 degrees. Mine? I hate throwing away lots of paper facial tissues, but I just cannot bring myself to use a handkerchief. With my allergies, I'd be going through three or four a day, and having snotty rags in my pockets would just totally gross me out. (To compensate, I AM thinking of starting to bring a cloth napkin with me to work in place of the two or three paper towels I typically go through each day at lunch.)

3. Dammit, I had a third question, but it has escaped me...

Comments

[simianpower.livejournal.com]

2. I try to lower the heat when I leave the house and raise it when I get back, but I forget a lot. I also want to re-use plastic bottles (Gatorade, etc) as water bottles, but I'm very bad at that. I've done it, but not nearly as much as I want to.

[aedifica]

I've been told that's actually a bad idea, as the type of plastic used for those bottles tends to harbor bacteria after it's been used. I recommend a bottle made for reuse, instead.

[sarahmichigan.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've heard that, too, but I've also heard it's hype by the bottled water companies. Of course they don't want you to just fill those bottles with tap water. As long as you wash them regularly, no harm, no foul. I do throw them out if they begin to get a mineral build-up or start smelling bad, though.

[airsucker.livejournal.com]

There are studies that say those bottles from bottles water aren't good to reuse because after a while, the plastic starts breaking down. A reusable water bottle can be had for pretty cheap and if most people are like us, we already have a bunch from various promotions that were free anyway.

[sarahmichigan.livejournal.com]

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/petbottles.asp

I kind of concede the point, but not really?

[airsucker.livejournal.com]

I was going to copy and quote part of their rebuttal, here, but their site won't let me copy and paste (as useful as it is, I hate their pop-uppy site).

They did not deny that there is a chemical that gets leached out of plastic and is under EPA safe levels. I don't entirely trust those safe levels and the EPA isn't what it was before our current president.

So not all of what I've read may be true, but I had heard of the bisomething-A chemical, which might be true.

Re: I kind of concede the point, but not really?

[sarahmichigan.livejournal.com]

I understand what you're saying, but I'm not sure how that makes regular reusable plastic water bottles any safer. Depending on what type of plastic (#7, I think?) there's more chance of chemicals leaching out from reusable water bottles than single-used bottled water bottles.

Re: I kind of concede the point, but not really?

[mogwar.livejournal.com]

We have some nice reusable metal water bottles I picked up at Whole Foods. They were kinda expensive, but very sturdy and easier to clean than plastic. They come from Switzerland.