Trees and 100% Replanted Replant What You Use

Each of us uses an average of 65 cubic feet of wood every year - equivalent to six 12-14" diameter trees - in paper and wood products. Worldwide, tree harvesting far outstrips replanting, threatening the clean water, air supplies, and livelihoods of many people. How can you help? You can replant the trees you use, quickly and easily, by joining the 100% Replanted program.

Reduce - Reuse - Recycle - REPLANT.

Please click on the link below and do your part in the effort to replant trees worldwide.
100% Replanted ... Replant What You Use

The Importance and Value of Trees

Since the beginning, trees have furnished us with two of life's essentials, food and oxygen. As we evolved, they provided additional necessities such as shelter, medicine, and tools. Today, their value continues to increase and more benefits of trees are being discovered as their role expands to satisfy the needs created by our modern lifestyles.

This article comes from:
http://www.savatree.com/birch-tree.html

Community and Social Value

Trees are an important part of every community. Our streets, parks, playgrounds and backyards are lined with trees that create a peaceful, aesthetically pleasing environment. Trees increase our quality of life by bringing natural elements and wildlife habitats into urban settings. We gather under the cool shade they provide during outdoor activities with family and friends. Many neighborhoods are also the home of very old trees that serve as historic landmarks and a great source of town pride.

In addition, architectural and engineering functions are served by your community's trees. They frame landscapes, create beautiful backgrounds and enhance building designs. Trees can provide privacy, emphasize beautiful views, and screen unsightly areas. Noise from roadways and other urban activities is muffled by well-placed trees that serve as sound barriers. As a matter of fact, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency states that trees can reduce bothersome noise by up to 50% and mask unwanted noises with pleasant, natural sounds. Using trees in cities to deflect the sunlight reduces the heat island effect caused by pavement and commercial buildings.

Ecological and Environmental Value

Trees contribute to their environment by providing oxygen, improving air quality, climate amelioration, conserving water, preserving soil, and supporting wildlife. During the process of photosynthesis, trees take in carbon dioxide and produce the oxygen we breathe. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, "One acre of forest absorbs six tons of carbon dioxide and puts out four tons of oxygen. This is enough to meet the annual needs of 18 people." Trees, shrubs and turf also filter air by removing dust and absorbing other pollutants like carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. After trees intercept unhealthy particles, rain washes them to the ground.

Trees control climate by moderating the effects of the sun, rain and wind. Leaves absorb and filter the sun's radiant energy, keeping things cool in summer. Trees also preserve warmth by providing a screen from harsh wind. In addition to influencing wind speed and direction, they shield us from the downfall of rain, sleet and hail. Trees also lower the air temperature and reduce the heat intensity of the greenhouse effect by maintaining low levels of carbon dioxide.

Both above and below ground, trees are essential to the eco-systems in which they reside. Far reaching roots hold soil in place and fight erosion. Trees absorb and store rainwater which reduce runoff and sediment deposit after storms. This helps the ground water supply recharge, prevents the transport of chemicals into streams and prevents flooding. Fallen leaves make excellent compost that enriches soil.

Many animals, including elephants, koalas and giraffes eat leaves for nourishment. Flowers are eaten by monkeys, and nectar is a favorite of birds, bats and many insects. Animals also eat much of the same fruit that we enjoy This process helps disperse seeds over great distances. Of course, hundreds of living creatures call trees their home. Leaf-covered branches keep many animals, such as birds and squirrels, out of the reach of predators.

Personal and Spiritual Value

The main reason we like trees is because they are both beautiful and majestic. No two are alike. Different species display a seemingly endless variety of shapes, forms, textures and vibrant colors. Even individual trees vary their appearance throughout the course of the year as the seasons change. The strength, long lifespan and regal stature of trees give them a monument-like quality. Most of us react to the presence of trees with a pleasant, relaxed, comfortable feeling. In fact, many people plant trees as living memorials of life-changing events.

Trees help record the history of your family as they grow and develop alongside you and your kids. We often make an emotional connection with trees we plant or become personally attached to the ones that we see every day. These strong bonds are evidenced by the hundreds of groups and organizations across the country that go to great lengths to protect and save particularly large or historic trees from the dangers of modern development. How many of your childhood memories include the trees in your backyard or old neighborhood? The sentimental value of a special tree is simply immeasurable.

Practical and Commercial Value

Trees have supported and sustained life throughout our existence. They have a wide variety of practical and commercial uses. Wood was the very first fuel, and is still used for cooking and heating by about half of the world's population. Trees provide timber for building construction, furniture manufacture, tools, sporting equipment, and thousands of household items. Wood pulp is used to make paper.

We are all aware of apples, oranges and the countless other fruits and nuts provided by trees, as well as the tasty syrup of North American sugar maples. But did you know the bark of some trees can be made into cork and is a source of chemicals and medicines? Quinine and aspirin are both made from bark extracts. The inner bark of some trees contains latex, the main ingredient of rubber. How many more uses can you name?

Property Value and Economic Value

Individual trees and shrubs have value and contribute to savings, but it is the collective influence of a well-maintained landscape that makes a real economic impact and has the greatest effect on property value. Direct economic benefits come from a savings in energy costs. Cooling costs are reduced in a tree-shaded home, and heating costs lowered when a tree serves as a windbreak. According to the USDA Forest Service, "Trees properly placed around buildings can reduce air conditioning needs by 30% and save 20-50 percent in energy used for heating."

Property values of homes with well-maintained landscapes are up to 20% higher than others. Here are some eye-opening facts and statistics regarding the effect of healthy trees and shrubs:

• Homes with "excellent" landscaping can expect a sale price 6-7% higher than equivalent houses with "good" landscaping. Improving "average" to "good" landscaping can result in a 4-5% increase.
  - Clemson University
• Landscaping can bring a recovery value of 100-200% at selling time. (Kitchen remodeling brings 75-125%, bathroom remodeling 20-120%)
  - Money Magazine
• A mature tree can have an appraised value between $1000 and $10,000.
  - Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers
• 99% of real estate appraisers concurred that landscaping enhances the sales appeal of real estate. 
  - Trendnomics, National Gardening Association
• 98% of realtors believe that mature trees have a "strong or moderate impact" on the salability of homes listed for over $250,000 (83% believe the same for homes listed under $150,000).
  - American Forests, Arbor National Mortgage

Food Preps For The Financially Challenged

'Christmas is Coming Home to Glasgow' by Carol Laula - "FUNofficial" Video

Isochronic tone stimulation: Pineal Gland (30min)

Maximize Your Pantry from My Family Prepared

The following article is one of the best I've found for fitting a lot of food storage into a small space.The article comes from the web site: My Family Prepared, and was written by Michelle.



Maximize Your Pantry

After a discussion with some neighbors about 'where I put all of my food storage' I have had quiet a few requests for friends to come and view my pantry.  It is apparently hard to believe that I can really fit that much in there.

So... this post is all about
how to maximize the space in your pantry
(according to me).

This is my kitchen:

I would say my corner pantry is the average size for those in their first home.

As you can see, cabinet space is limited, so I squeeze as much into my pantry as possible.

First, there are 3 major rules that I keep in mind:
1) Same Sized Containers
2) Everything in Boxes
3) Hidden, but accessible

Having things in the same sized containers allows you to store more.  You can easily stack up/down, side/side, front/back better if everything is the same shape and size.

When everything is kept in boxes you are able to maneuver a large amount of items at one time.  It also helps to prevent dents/damage, and keeps everything tidy and uniform, which makes proper rotation easier.

Hidden but accessible refers to the fact that not everything has to be at a fingertips grasp.  There are things in my pantry that I only use every 6 months - so I make sure those items are put in the very back, and on the bottom, if possible.

This will all make more sense as you read on.

We will be moving from the bottom up.

Most pantry floors are seriously overlooked.

I like to use poly buckets on the bottom - they are sturdy enough to allow me to stack things on top of them, and I can fit enough to have a large variety of different foods.  Everything I have in a poly bucket I have in a smaller container that is easily accessible for everyday use.  That way, the only time I have to access them is to refill my container.
 
Be sure to put the items you use the LEAST amount in the back.

I can fit a total of 12 poly buckets in my pantry, but I have a 3 drawer unit that takes up the space of 2.

 

Remember to fill  in all of the gaps if possible.  I have a gallon of vinegar in the very back corner, with an extra tub of shortening on top.

Tall skinny items can be placed in between the buckets (pictured: cooking spray, 5 lbs. honey).

 

I also have 2 gallons of oil that can fit on the floor as well.

And I can still access everything at this point.

The other thing to note is that my poly buckets are all the same height.  Buckets can be 2" taller and 2" shorter than the ones I have.  Like I said before, the same size allows me to stack more things on top.

On all of my poly buckets I store my bottled goods.  Leaving them in the box prevents breakage, and allows easy maneuvering.

 There is the perfect amount of space to fit 7 dozen quarts.

 

 That gallon of vinegar is stacked on top of the oil.  Behind that, Parmesan cheese is stacked on top of the cooking spray.

**If you don't can or don't have bottles, use this space for other heavy objects like bottled water, appliances  or canned goods (stacked 3 high).

On top of my quart jars I stack my 1/2 pint jars and other small canned goods.

Again, everything is in a box so I can easily move it around or pull it out to restock.

 

In front of all of those, I can fit a dozen pint sized jars, as well as a basket of onions and a basket of potatoes (I'll get to that picture later).

So just to recap.  On the floor alone I can fit:

- 10 poly buckets = 250+ lbs. of food

- 2 gallons of vinegar

- 2 gallons of oil

- 20 lbs. of honey

- 5 lbs. shortening

- 5 cans of cooking spray

- 5 cans Parmesan cheese

- 7 dozen quart jars (84 bottles)

- up to 3 dozen 1/2 pint jars (36 bottles)

- 3 dozen smaller canned goods (36 cans)

- 1 dozen pint jars

- 25 lbs. of potatoes

- 10 lbs. onions

- 3 drawer unit that stores all of my: jello and pudding mixes, seasoning packets, bags, drink mixes, towels/aprons, and any other miscellaneous items.

And if it seems like it is impossible to get to anything you are totally wrong.  Because everything is in a box, it takes be around 10 seconds to get to everything - unless it is the very back corner bucket, and in that case it takes me 1 minute.  The time is well worth the amount of food you can put in there.

Now on to the bottom shelf: Canned goods.

I use a plethora of boxes to keep them organized.  Leaving the front lip in place ensures that they don't get knocked off the shelf, but I remove the back lip so I can stack them all the way to the wall.

 

You can easily fit 7 boxes, which leaves exactly enough space in 2 different locations to fit 1 row of cans:

This will allow you to have one row for every type of canned good (25 rows).

This also helps rotate through properly.  Every time I need something, I take it from the front.  Whenever I am restocking, I put it in the back.

With a single layer, you can fit about 11 dozen cans (132), depending on the size of cans you purchase.

However, each time I restock I will double layer, so realistically I always have about 150 cans.  I don't dare to double stack everything for fear of the shelf breaking, but there are always a couple rows that are.  (And my shelves are not bowing at all).

Now that those are in I can fit those pint jars, potatoes and onions I was talking about earlier:

On to the next shelf: PASTA and SNACKS.
I love Barilla pasta, and it just so happens to come in a box, which is convenient for stacking and also refrains the noodles from breaking.
Same idea with the canned goods, I keep them in a box with rows (easy rotation), and each row is a different variety:

I can accommodate 9 rows of pasta (various sizes) on one side of the shelf this way.
Without stacking anything on top of the rows, I fit about 65 boxes/bags of noodles.  When I have Raman I usually stack those in their box on top of the other varieties.

**Egg noodles don't come in boxes, so I have those bags lined up inside of a shoebox (in the back corner).  Shoe boxes are the perfect size for bagged pasta.   

On the other half of that shelf I keep all of our snack items:

 Crackers (and other boxed items) are stacked straight against the wall and then side to side in front.
I have storage containers that stack for various types of nuts, candy, and cookies.
Multivitamins line up against the wall.  Everything is placed this way to make for better rotation - the oldest stuff goes in front so we end up eating it first.

The shelf above that is for Breakfast Items:
If you line the back wall and stack on top (not shown in pic, but just like the crackers), I can fit 12 boxes of cereal.  I also have 2 one gallon containers that fit other cereals like granola.
On the other side I can stack 6 boxes of instant oatmeal, with syrup and dehydrated hash browns in front of them.

In the back corner of that shelf I stack from floor to ceiling my cake boxes(7-8) and stuffing mixes (5).  Take from the top, restock from the bottom - again, it is all about rotating.
In front of those I stack boxes of hot chocolate mixes, hard taco shells, and any other boxed item.
To the side; spaghetti sauce.

The other half of that shelf is for spices.
I like to use the big Costco sized containers.  You can fit 20 of them into an old Raman noodle box.
I write the contents' name on the top of the lid so I can easily find what I am looking for.
 I also put things like Panko, Bread crumbs, cornflake crumbs, dehydrated onions and bell peppers in older containers to keep everything the same size.  I can fit about 36 of these of the shelf.

The top shelf is where I keep all of my #10 cans.
I reuse my old cans for things like chocolate chips, marshmallows, brown and powdered sugars, popcorn kernels, misc. grains, etc.

I have two rows that are double stacked, which means I can fit 20 #10 cans.

In the top back corner I have a box that I keep all of my 'backup' and replacement items.

This consists mostly of condiments:

Next to that are more containers of things like oats, specialty rice, and pretty much anything else that doesn't have a home:

As well as my crock pot and popcorn maker, which are hidden by garbage bags and chips most of the time.

And thats it!

Most shelves have plenty of room in front for various items like potato chips, peanut butter, honey, and other things that we go through.

Point being, having a small home is no excuse for not having food storage.

With your pantry alone, I believe you can store a 1-3 month supply of everything, with some items even up to a year supply.

With that said, here is everything I can fit into my pantry:

- 10 poly buckets = 250+ lbs. of food

- 2 gallons of vinegar

- 2 gallons of oil

- 20 lbs. of honey

- 5 lbs. shortening

- 5 cans of cooking spray

- 5 cans Parmesan cheese

- 7 dozen quart jars (84 bottles)

- 1 dozen pint jars

- up to 3 dozen 1/2 pint jars (36 bottles)

- 3 dozen smaller canned goods (36 cans)

- 12 dozen regular canned goods (144 cans)

- 25 lbs. of potatoes

- 10 lbs. onions

- 65 bags/pounds of pasta
- 12 boxes snack items (crackers/fruit snacks)
- around 10 lbs. nuts/raisins/craisins
- potato chips
- 5 lbs. peanut butter/nutella
- 5 lbs. candy
- 12 boxes cereal
- 2 gallons granola
- 6 boxes instant oatmeal
- 1 gallon dehydrated hashbrowns
- 1/2 gallon maple syrup
- 10 lbs. spaghetti sauce
- 5 boxes stuffing mix
- 7 cake/brownie mixes
- ~10 misc. boxes (taco shells)
- 36 large spice containers
- 20 count of #10 cans
- Miscellaneous condiments
- 10 lbs. of misc. grains/food
- Appliances (crockpot and popcorn maker)
- Garbage bags, other random items

http://myfamilyprepared.blogspot.com

Keeping Your Job in a Bad Economy

My very first suggestion, for anyone seriously worried about job loss, is to check your attitude. By that I mean, are you a complainer, the office gossip, a feisty person who is difficult to get along with, or a backbiter? If so, you might want to remember that you work with people, people who can fire you because you don't get along well with your co-workers.

If your boss has to choose between firing two equally competent workers, one of them a negative person always causing trouble, and the other a person who gets along with everyone and speaks positively about the company, management, and his or her co-workers, which of the two do you think the boss is going to fire? The negative one that's who! 

So, get a grip on your attitude, your gossiping, complaining, and any negative talk about other people you work with or the company you work for, because it can seriously hurt your chances of holding onto your job.

Get yourself noticed, but in a good way. You want management to see that you work hard, do the job they hired you to do, and then some.

What you don't want is to get noticed for coming in late, taking extra long lunches or breaks, or for dressing in any way that is not appropriate for the job you do.

So cleanliness counts, both your clothes and you, and especially watch out for bad breath. No one likes to be around someone with bad breath. 

Ladies should avoid excessive or too blatant makeup, and everyone should wear their hair in ways that fit with their companies policies and image. This is not the time to dye your hair green or stick thirteen studs through your body. Keep those things for after work.

Take care of the basics-arrive on time or a bit early every day, don't take lunches or breaks that are longer than the time you are allotted, and stay off the phone for personal calls. This includes using your own cell phone while at work. People notice these things, and you could get reported to the boss. Just the thing you don't want.

Add to your skills and your value to the company you work for whenever you can. Take courses in whatever is being offered that will make you more valuable at work. This depends on the kind of work you do of course, so whatever that is, you know the things that would help make you an employee that management can't do without.

Bring in business for your company even if that isn't your job, and make sure people know about it.

Look for areas in your company that need improvement and offer suggestions to fix them. Even if management doesn't use your ideas they will remember that you had them.

Network with all the valuable people in your company whenever possible. You don't need to become their best friend but hang around with them every chance you get. Some of their glory may rub off on you. Plus, you can learn from them. Maybe watching how the company "stars" operate can teach you how to do some shining of your own.

Take good care of yourself when you're not at work, get enough sleep, exercise, eat properly, and have some fun and relaxation on your days off. 

Be prepared in case you do get laid off, it can happen to anyone. You'll have a bit more peace of mind if you are prepared for any eventuality, including losing the job you are working so hard to hold on to.

Keep your resume updated, and be aware of what is happening in your field. Don't, however, actually job hunt while you are at work in your current job. That could lead to getting you fired if your boss hears about it.

Start a savings program immediately. Try to save several months income if you can, because it could take months to get another job and you'll feel a lot easier in your mind with a bit of a cushion behind you.

This might be a good time to take on a part-time or weekend job, doing anything you can find that interests you. If you do lose your main job, at least you'd still have the income from your part-time job. Having a side hustle or secondary income just makes sense during times like this.