Tonia | Itty Bitty Impact

Urban vs. Rural

Posted on28. Jul, 2010 by Tonia.

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Urban vs. Rural: Which is the better way to live? Silly question, in my opinion. In fact, I’m going to go ahead and say that one is not “better” than the other. We need both. There are too many different kinds of people in this world for a one-size-fits-all lifestyle or environment. But. But, no matter where you live- in the suburbs, or the big city, or the boonies- there are ways to be a good steward to the Earth and ways to not. And I do believe that some environments lend themselves to good stewardship a little easier than others.

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Featured on Going Home to Roost

Posted on23. Jul, 2010 by Tonia.

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What a nice surprise to wake up today and find out that one of the blogs I read dailyhas featured Itty Bitty Impact! Going Home to Roost is such a beautiful blog about all things handmade (diy projects, seasonal recipes, organic gardening, and ways to live a simpler life). The first time I stumbled upon it, I couldn’t help feeling like Bonnie was my long-lost-soul-sister. A big huge thank-you to Bonnie for sharing my blog with her readers! Keep up the great work over there in North Carolina!

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Itty Bits: Summer Daze

Posted on07. Jul, 2010 by Tonia.

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We found our dream hobby farm {and I mean, OMG this place is awesome} about an hour from Duluth, and we have not been able to get it off our minds ever since we first stumbled upon it. It is everything we have always talked about someday having. After much thought, we’ve decided to get our house on the market as quickly as possible, and make an offer on Perfect Magical Dream Farm.

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Interviewed by Simpler Living

Posted on23. Jun, 2010 by Tonia.

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Have you seen this blog? If not, hurry on over there! Naomi Seldin is a terrific writer who focuses on “living well with less” in her articles for timesunion.com. I have been a regular reader of hers for months now, ever since I found her on Twitter {follow her}…so I am beyond honored to be interviewed by her! Thank you, Naomi!

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Getting Married the Green Way II

Posted on02. Jun, 2010 by Tonia.

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I thought I would update you on the wedding plans and all the things we’re doing to make the event as low-impact as possible. During the planning process, so many challenges have arisen from the fact that we are avoiding disposable items like cups and flatware…and it has been a real struggle to not give in here or there/do things the easy way {read: the wasteful way}. But we’re sticking to our guns…

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Itty Bits: Spring Cleaning

Posted on17. May, 2010 by Tonia.

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We’re taking a little break from Cheri’s List in order to do some spring cleaning around our house and yard. And I bet you are busy spring cleaning and doing yard work as well, so instead of doing an Itty Bits Challenge this week, let’s skip right to some handy links from around the web to inspire you while you work.

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Homemade Cleaning Solutions

Posted on11. May, 2010 by Tonia.

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We’re whittling away at Cheri’s list. Today we’re going to make our own earth friendly cleaning solutions, because commercial cleaners are heavy on toxic chemicals, and consistently buying the eco-friendly brands is really darn expensive.

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How to Make Homemade Laundry Soap

Posted on08. May, 2010 by Tonia.

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Last week Cheri shared with us a list of things she is doing to reduce her impact on the environment. I decided we would try each of the things on her list, and show you all how to do them as well. First on the docket is how to make homemade laundry soap. This is such a great thing to do, the main reason being because store-bought laundry detergents have scary ingredients. They can include quaternary ammonium sodium carbonate, sodium alkyl benzene sulfonate, sodium silicate, bleach, and some phosphates. {The fact that my spell-checker thinks that half of those are not real words tells me that they certainly shouldn’t be going into our ground water by the gallons day after day.}

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Interviewed on We Live Simply

Posted on04. May, 2010 by Tonia.

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I am really excited and honored to share this with you all! Jonathan at We Live Simply interviewed me for his Five Questions With series the other day. It was so nice of him to share my blog with his readers and followers. As a newbie, I am extremely grateful for his interest in what I’m doing, and the exposure he gave me. Make sure you check out his blog– it is a daily read for me now. His posts are always original, thought-provoking and inspiring.

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Cheri’s List

Posted on29. Apr, 2010 by Tonia.

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I received a really nice letter from a friend and reader, Cheri. She shared with me some of the things her family does to decrease their daily impact on the environment. All of the items on her list are easy to implement into our lives– there’s really no reason not to. But because I know, from experience, that unless green lifestyle changes are easy as pie to implement, we ain’t gonna follow through with them, folks! So, I have decided to not only share her list of great ideas, but to also do the things on the list. Check back soon for a video series of me demonstrating the items on Cheri’s list, so that you can see how it’s all done, and hopefully also try it yourself. I will begin to post the videos next week!