Toilet Paper Subscription

After yesterday's jumble of activities and my frustrations over Brent taking the van to the Dr, I have simmered down a bit and I am ready to keep doing the best we can do. It is, after all, all anyone can do.


Bike Commuting
Brent did bike to work yesterday. He had a lot of video equipment to return, so he loaded it all in the trailer, which worked out well. He has also been having a lot of issues with his gears and chain slipping. It doesn't make the hills any easier. When he was in Elkins he had the chain tightened and the derailleur looked over. We may be in the market for a new bike soon. Not how I care to spend the money I am working hard to save and navigate, but it might be a necessary move that will save us more in the end.

Today Brent biked into work, but I sent him to run the errands as well. The children were just not getting it together this morning for me to take them out and I didn't see why Brent couldn't add an extra 30 minutes to his commute. I must give him a lot of praise for this adventure, because he is the one who will be doing most of the biking now that he is home. I sent him out to make deposits at the bank and to pick up three bags of produce from our CSA farmers. What a trooper of a husband. He emailed me to say it was all done, but the bike is still having problems. A new bike is a great solution, but without having sold the van, all the new income is already spoken for.

The recycling that is not picked up by our curbside company needs to be taken to a downtown drop off location, which happens to be at the same parking lot as our CSA. I did not send the recycling with Brent. I decided to either wait until I am going downtown next, or wait until we are in the car again.

Shopping for Over Sized Items
We are due for groceries again. I managed the entire second half of July without any major grocery trips. I got things like milk, bananas and bread as needed. I purchased ingredients for the meal co-op, but nothing beyond. Now our list is reading things like toilet paper, cat litter, olive oil, popcorn, and school supplies. Some of these are heavy and bulky items. They concern me greatly.

A month or more ago I found My Plastic-free Life when I was reading the blog component of No Impact Man. My Plastic-free Life, as you can see if you clicked on the link, had discovered a plastic free toilet paper, which is cheaper per sheet than what I typically buy at Kroger, even with a coupon. I followed the blogs advice and got an Amazon subscription to toilet paper. I feel very classy.

At least I feel that having USPS deliver my toilet paper is a bit less obvious than trucking it three miles across town on my bike.

The cat litter is going to prove to be difficult. Ordering it online was not less expensive because of shipping weight. It would only be more convenient. Any solutions out there? I would like to keep buying 20-40lbs at a time, but that is going to really add to the drag on the bike, especially if we add a child or more groceries. We may just have to opt for a lighter bag and buy more often with coupons to maximize our savings.

School supplies. I ordered lunch boxes and backpacks on line this week. The other little items like calculators, rulers, pens, and notebooks are being scavenged for around the house first. Other items I actually asked my savvy shopping sister Shannon to hunt down for us and I would pay her for her troubles and for shipping.

The rest. Well I guess someone will be going to Kroger soon. Brent?