Part of my new environmentally sound lifestyle is to buy as much as possible second hand. The full levity of this decision won't be realized until I'm furnishing an apartment second hand (keep an eye out for that blog in a few weeks time), which, at this point, still sounds like a lot of kitschy fun.
Back in the day (also known as the awkward years), I did the majority of my clothes shopping at yard sales and thrift stores--and I looked it. That was the point. As I got older, however, my tastes in clothing sophiticated. Since being home, I've cruised by Pollux (my own mini kryptonite) a few times and fought the urge to enter...you know...just to browse. That'd be like letting a recovering alcoholic go into a bar...you know...just for the atmosphere. So, you can imagine my relief when I found myself at a garage sale scoring some wicked cute j. crew pants and a scarf.
Itching for some more second hand finds, I decided to check out the new Good Will of which I'd been hearing good things. As I entered the brand new, well lit, clean, airy store, my palms began to sweat and my pulse started to race (ok, so that may be an exageration, but the store is pretty impressive). I began to take a look at what GW had to offer, but found myself with a new mentallity. When I'd thrifted in the past, I had always been looking for costumes and shock value pieces. Now I was looking for staples to my wardrobe that would make people exclaim, "You got that at Good Will?!" A challange indeed, but one that added to the fun.
With a fist full of skirts, I made my way to the fitting room.
Skirt one: OK. A good find for two bucks, but I'll never feel cute wearing it. No.
Skirt two: A wrap around (a thrifter's best friend). Really cute, but too small. Fine if I stand completely still, but an embarrbassing moment waiting to happen. No.
Skirt three: Whoa! Hello Captain Dumpy. No.
Skirt four: Too small. No.
Skirt five: Wrap around. Great audition skirt (color: neon watermelon). Pockets! I love pockets! It fits. It's cute. It's half off $1.99? Yes!
I ended up leaving GW with said skirt and a new pocket book--only $3.80 lighter. Over all: extremely successful (although the sales lady looked at me as if I were mad when I told her I didn't need a bag. I could just carry it). Of course, I wasn't looking for something specific. That will be the real test of my second hand committment. For now, though, I'm content.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
I'm so embarrassed, I amost didn't post this...
It's my ecologicacl footprint.
http://www.myfootprint.org/
This site asks a few simple questions and then shows you the impact you're having on the earth. Thinking, "how bad could I really be?" I took the quiz. Turns out pretty bad. My footprint is 41 meaning that if everyone lived like me, we would need 9 1/2 planets to support it all!
"I don't have to post this on my blog," I thought. "Who has to know?" Then I realized everyone has to know. That's the point of this blog--taking responsibility for the impact I'm making and actively trying to better it.
So here I am. 41, and hell bent on changing.
Go Planet!
http://www.myfootprint.org/
This site asks a few simple questions and then shows you the impact you're having on the earth. Thinking, "how bad could I really be?" I took the quiz. Turns out pretty bad. My footprint is 41 meaning that if everyone lived like me, we would need 9 1/2 planets to support it all!
"I don't have to post this on my blog," I thought. "Who has to know?" Then I realized everyone has to know. That's the point of this blog--taking responsibility for the impact I'm making and actively trying to better it.
So here I am. 41, and hell bent on changing.
Go Planet!
Monday, September 17, 2007
Plastic
I'm starting with the link (thanks Carrie) this time. Read it, and then we'll talk.
http://www.bestlifeonline.com/cms/publish/travel-leisure/Our_oceans_are_turning_into_plastic_are_we.shtml
Alright. If you didn't read it (which you should), let me sum it up: 25% of the planet is covered in plastic by way of gyres (a giant circular oceanic surface current), which basically suck in the world's discarded plastic, and "except for...small amount[s]...every bit of plastic ever made still exists." That's a lot of effing plastic. On average, Americans toss 185 pounds of plastic per person every year, and plastic production is increasing exponentially, currently around 120 billion pounds (that's every year) in the U.S. alone.
If that's not enough to make one reevaluate the amount of plastic she uses, how about research that shows this discarded plastic is finding its way into our foodsorces and, thus, into our bodies, and the plastics we use to process and store our food is doing the same? This is believed to be a factor in, among other things, the rise in obecesity, cancer, and infertility.
So what are some simple things we can do to reduce our plastic consumption?:
*buy out of need not want
*buy second hand
*when buying new, buy quality so it'll last
*buy closer to the source
*buy products with eco friendly packaging
*why use disposable when there's reusable (think razors, water bottles, and flatware)?
*take your own bags to the grocery store. "Twenty-three countries, including Germany, South Africa, and Australia, have banned, taxed, or restricted the use of plastic bags." Let's catch up to the rest of the world. Vitamin cottage has great bags for 99 cents. They stand on their own for easy loaing and unloading, and they have straps long enough to sling over your shoulder but not so long they drag ground if in your hand. Plus, you probably didn't realize stores like Safeway charge 5 cents per plastic bag. That's money in the bank folks.
*don't use produce bags unless you have to (you don't need them for two apples or a bunch of bananas), and when you do use them, save them and use them next time. They store easily in a paper towel tube.
*Store food in glass or ceramic. Canning jars work great because they come in a varity of sizes and you can see what's in them, and they're reasonably priced.
*use tampons with cardboard applicators and paper wrappers
*do you really need that straw? What about the no-spill lid when you're sitting down to eat?
*Recycle. Notice, however, that recylcling is last on the list. This is because, unlike glass, plastic cannot be continueously melted down and reformed. When recycled, plastic is only used to make products like fleece, carpet, and wood substitute--not more plastic bottles. Thus, recycling plastic doesn't cut down on the need for new plastic to be produced. Check out this website for misconseptions about plastic recycling:
http://www.ecologycenter.org/ptf/misconceptions.html
check out this blog written by a woman going sans plastic for a year:
http://plasticfree.blogspot.com/
Clearly a basic list, but a good starting point of which to run with.
GO PLANET!
http://www.bestlifeonline.com/cms/publish/travel-leisure/Our_oceans_are_turning_into_plastic_are_we.shtml
Alright. If you didn't read it (which you should), let me sum it up: 25% of the planet is covered in plastic by way of gyres (a giant circular oceanic surface current), which basically suck in the world's discarded plastic, and "except for...small amount[s]...every bit of plastic ever made still exists." That's a lot of effing plastic. On average, Americans toss 185 pounds of plastic per person every year, and plastic production is increasing exponentially, currently around 120 billion pounds (that's every year) in the U.S. alone.
If that's not enough to make one reevaluate the amount of plastic she uses, how about research that shows this discarded plastic is finding its way into our foodsorces and, thus, into our bodies, and the plastics we use to process and store our food is doing the same? This is believed to be a factor in, among other things, the rise in obecesity, cancer, and infertility.
So what are some simple things we can do to reduce our plastic consumption?:
*buy out of need not want
*buy second hand
*when buying new, buy quality so it'll last
*buy closer to the source
*buy products with eco friendly packaging
*why use disposable when there's reusable (think razors, water bottles, and flatware)?
*take your own bags to the grocery store. "Twenty-three countries, including Germany, South Africa, and Australia, have banned, taxed, or restricted the use of plastic bags." Let's catch up to the rest of the world. Vitamin cottage has great bags for 99 cents. They stand on their own for easy loaing and unloading, and they have straps long enough to sling over your shoulder but not so long they drag ground if in your hand. Plus, you probably didn't realize stores like Safeway charge 5 cents per plastic bag. That's money in the bank folks.
*don't use produce bags unless you have to (you don't need them for two apples or a bunch of bananas), and when you do use them, save them and use them next time. They store easily in a paper towel tube.
*Store food in glass or ceramic. Canning jars work great because they come in a varity of sizes and you can see what's in them, and they're reasonably priced.
*use tampons with cardboard applicators and paper wrappers
*do you really need that straw? What about the no-spill lid when you're sitting down to eat?
*Recycle. Notice, however, that recylcling is last on the list. This is because, unlike glass, plastic cannot be continueously melted down and reformed. When recycled, plastic is only used to make products like fleece, carpet, and wood substitute--not more plastic bottles. Thus, recycling plastic doesn't cut down on the need for new plastic to be produced. Check out this website for misconseptions about plastic recycling:
http://www.ecologycenter.org/ptf/misconceptions.html
check out this blog written by a woman going sans plastic for a year:
http://plasticfree.blogspot.com/
Clearly a basic list, but a good starting point of which to run with.
GO PLANET!
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