Idea for local phone books

This is what I think we need. A website entitled "mylocalphonebook.com". For each city, you would have "mylocalphonebook.com/richmond-tx/". Everything for that city would then fall under that heading. You could have commercial listings, personal listings, community areas for clubs and organizations, city and government offices--everything in one spot and maintained so it is always up-to-date, keyword searchable, linked to mapping sites like Google Maps or Google Earth. People could write reviews or recommendations for local businesses, rate services--this needs more thought to flesh it out, but I think this is what we should do to get completely away from paper phone books that are usually out of date and never seem to have exactly what you are looking for.

My two cents worth for the day.

Phone Book Rant

Seven phone books in six months. (Make that TEN-I just opened my front door and found three more on the step--what a waste!)??? We have lived in this house six months and so far have received seven (now ten) phone books--greater Houston area, Yellowbook, YPOne, the Real Yellow Pages, etc. Every time I turn around, I see another phone book wrapped in plastic out in the drive way. The reality is that I rarely ever use a phone book anymore. I look online for everything. I think we should have an option, when we have our phones installed, that we can request NOT to receive phone books. 

Think about how much is wasted on phone books...paper and ink to print them, plastic to wrap them, gas to deliver them. Granted, somebody has a paid job dropping them off and I wouldn't want to take anyone's job away, but perhaps that job could instead be a position for a person to update an online phone book...one that is always current and easily searchable, lets me comment on and rate local businesses, gives me a list of the most highly rated local businesses for different categories, etc. Instead of web sites that are just electronic versions of paper books, let's reverse that. Make the electronic versions the best and most recent and nix the paper versions altogether unless a person specifically requests one when they get their phones. If anyone knows of such a service, please share!!

I have found one good use for the big Houston phone books, however. They are great for pressing flowers.

Meet Miss Clara, Recessionista Extraordinaire

My mom and I got the biggest kick out of Miss Clara and her wise advise for cooking and living on a budget--so timely for us right now, as it was for her back in the Great Depression. My grandparents lived through the Depression, but unfortunately, we did not capture all that wisdom before they were gone. I think Miss Clara's family has done a wonderful thing helping her put together her website, blog and videos. We should all make more of an effort to record and archive the wisdom of our elders for future generations to enjoy. My mom just completed "Grandmother Remembers" books for my two boys, both in their twenties, and they loved them. I have no doubt that, as they get older and perhaps have families of their own, these books will grow in sentimental value. 

Fire Defensibility

I'm learning things today that I have never had to think about before. The wind has been AWFUL here in Richmond (as have my allergies) and we've had some grass fires around Austin in the news lately.    The Firewise movement started as an effort to help homeowners protect their lives and property in the event of a wildfire. Even here in Texas, given the drought in some areas of the state and the high winds we sometimes experience, Firewise principles could save homes and lives. 

The house we are moving to in New Mexico is in an area that is rated very dangerous for wildfires. As I was looking for information on gardening in New Mexico, I began to learn that landscaping can save your house, and your butt, in areas that are subject to wildfires. The New Mexico State Forestry Division has a web page devoted to strategies for making your house more defensible in the event of a fire and provides lists of plants that are fire resistant. One of the first things we will have to do is establish a Zone 1 around our house. It has been empty for several years and the brush and dry grass have accumulated way to close to the house. We are on a hill, and fire loves to run uphill, so it will be particularly critical on the downhill side of the house. One more thing on my to-do list.

Having Thrifty Fun

I found a new website that looks promising. It has ideas and forums for sharing ways to live more economically. Thrifty Fun includes forums for coupon exchange, seed exchange, and sharing tips. I clicked through it and found several good ideas like this one for re-using/recycling glass jars.