Would you love of cup of AMAZING coffee every morning, save a tremendous amount of MONEY and live HEALTHIER while being more SUSTAINABLE?

Let us start with your coffee maker. If you use a coffee maker, then you are using electricity. Also coffee makers are being made with cheaper plastics to have a lower price tag. That cheap plastic holding boiling hot water can leach a soupy chemical mix into your coffee. Your health will not be affected tomorrow, but over your life time, why risk those carcinogens being a contributing problem.

So let us do away with the coffee maker and immediately save at least $120.00 off your electric bill per year and remove another plastic source that can have harmful elements.

The solution for not using a coffee maker is a French Press coffee maker, which will be a major contributing factor to a better tasting coffee! French Press coffee makers come in various sizes to make just one mug or up to 8 to 10 cups of coffee. The French Press you buy must have tempered GLASS, not plastic, because only three things DO NOT put carcinogens into our food or drink and that is Glass, Wax Paper, and Porcelain.

Another ingredient to making the best coffee in the world is Hand Ground coffee beans. Again your Hand Grinder must have a tempered GLASS container and a Porcelain Stone to grind the beans. With glass and porcelain there is no retention of smell because they are easier to clean. Also when you manually grind your coffee beans you get a consistent size, cut, and texture, so all the solubles can be extracted evenly. This is a major contributing factor to taste. Electric steel-cut coffee bean grinders can add a metal like taste and they pulverize the beans. Thus the fragments and small particles causes a result where different amounts of coffee solubles are extracted.Thereby sacrificing an even creation of flavor.

Finally, have a non-plastic, non-aluminum Travel Mug. Stainless steel or better still, a porcelain or old fashion Thermos with glass inside. They keep coffee hot the longest and are readily available online.

Making coffee was always 100% manual and when electricity came along that process was no longer acceptable. However, today energy is no longer cheap and we have only one Earth. So why not consider putting real flavor back into your cup of coffee by making coffee the original way? You will be saving so much more all around.

    It is the beginning of October and we’re already seeing “Christmas” in all the stores. What happened to all the time we had to get the house ready for the holidays? But don’t dwell on yesterday – it’s gone and tomorrow isn’t quite here, which leaves us with TODAY. 

    So here’s a suggested TODAY “to-do” list to help you keep time with the time you have left:
    • If you are considering renovations such as kitchen, bath or any major construction, and you have not begun, don’t expect to be finished for this holiday season. Get started, but aim for spring completion so you can prepare appropriately.
    • Experienced professionals (designers, architects, licensed contractors) can help you expedite your project as well as offer options you not have known existed.
    • Make sure all contracted sources put in writing the expected time frame for completion or delivery. Start now interviewing the team and shop for items needed, but be flexible (remember the cheapest price may not be the best).  
    • Establish realistic budget parameters and if it’s a big project, explore avenues for financing, allowing time for approvals. If you’re planning to “do it yourself”, make a realistic schedule for your smaller projects, and then add for contingencies.  
    • Make time to clean up the clutter, throw out stuff, and organize your space before you begin. It will go faster during the completion phase. (If there’s a dumpster on site, use it, or if need be, get one!) 

Some more tips to save time and money:
    • When decorating public spaces, (living room, dining room, den and foyer) start with area rugs to help you define space, pattern, and color. Create a new look, even if you’re keeping “oldies but goodies.”
    • When decorating bedrooms, start with the bedding (often sold with coordinating draperies) to establish wall and carpet color. Try to stay monochromatic (1 color family) on walls and floors, especially if you like to change from winter velvet to summer patchwork. New furniture may or may not be in the immediate plan, but make sure your new purchases will stand the test of time.
    • When decorating rooms for kids, remember, they grow and their rooms should grow with them.  Make major purchases carefully and with an eye to tomorrow so you won’t have to spend time and money looking for new furniture in a few years.  
    • Make your choices in a timely manner – but don’t be an impulse shopper.  What’s “in” today may be “out” tomorrow. If you want to be a little funky, do it with accessories that can be easily or inexpensively changed.

Enjoy the process of decorating. It really can be fun, enriching and a worthwhile use of your time.