Category: environment

Patience – UR doin it wrong

Since I work only 2 1/2 miles from home, we always feel like it is a shame that I have to drive. But, with Dallas weather often getting up to 100 degrees by 8 AM I can’t ride my bike because I would be a sweaty mess by the time I reached work. Also, it would take a significant amount of time due to the circuitous route through neighborhoods that I’d have to take to avoid major highways. But an electric scooter would be perfect because it would go faster than a bike and I wouldn’t be sweaty….or at least, not as much. Some sweat is pretty much a given, even if you’re only walking between the car and a building.

We did go look at some Vespa scooters, but it turns out that since they run on a mix of gasoline and can go at pretty high speeds, you actually need a motorcycle license for them, as well as insurance and vehicle registration. While we are keeping that in mind for the future, that is not our current intention. Plus, it would still use fossil fuel.

Then we found this ad on Craigslist. Oh yes, Craigslist has everything. Compost, hubcaps for our Mercedes, scooters….So yesterday we drove out to the suburb and took a test drive of the scooter and loved it! We had to talk to our community group first but now we are ready to buy it!! Unfortunately, there are timing issues and the matter of finding a truck to transport it home. The Mercedes is still in the shop and Christian is having to drop me off at work. It is supposed to rain on Friday. I am ready for the scooter RIGHT NOW!! I am really having trouble being patient.

“Green” kitty litter: SWheat Scoop

On my quest for a more “green” kitty litter, Real Simple Solution Seekers suggested I try Swheat Scoop Natural Wheat Litter. I was very excited about this working out.

Our litter boxes (2) are in a hallway closet in the house which leads to all bathrooms and bedrooms and also holds the washer and dryer where I spend a lot of time folding laundry, so odor control is the #1 concern.

I have tried Feline Pine in the past and it was a terrible failure. The odor was unbearable with two cats, and it wasn’t scoopable.

So, Swheat. They are correct, it is scoopable. It does clump. And the first day or so, it did control odor. But it was all downhill from there. After a while the ammonia smell was unbearable. And it apparently requires scooping EVERY SINGLE DAY in order to even maintain some of the odor control. After about 5 days, you have to change the the entire litter box out just so you can breathe in the vicinity, due to the ammonia and poo smells. At $5/box more than my usual Arm & Hammer kitty litter, I can’t afford to be changing 2 litter boxes every 5 days. My Arm & Hammer goes at least 10 days before needing to be completely changed, and it only has to be scooped about every 2-3 days.

Another problem with the Swheat was the tracking. The particles for Swheat are much larger than typical kitty litter. For some reason the mats we have outside the litter boxes didn’t catch Swheat like they do typical litter, and the cats were able to track it much farther into the hallway and the rest of the house. And because the particles are so large and sharp (they are wheat husks), when you step on them with bare feet it HURTS!

So, big thumbs down for Swheat. I had to go and buy another box of the old Arm & Hammer because I haven’t had time to go to the specialty pet store for more “green” options. I have one more brand I’d like to try and then I am afraid I will have to give up.