Jun 22, 2012 | A better way, Creative weirdness
I was hoping to have more time to post some non-electronic toys from my childhood and compare them with what my kids will have this week. I ran out of time, but here’s a few photos of some toys I had. I’ll post what my kids played with when we return....
Jun 21, 2012 | A better way, Cultural chaos |
I sometimes say to my kids, “We’re having no electronics night.” Inevitably, one of them will start down the ‘electricity’ path, saying, “Oh, so we can’t use lights? How are you going to cook dinner without the stove?...
Jun 19, 2012 | A better way, Cultural chaos, Mini challenges |
Why wouldn’t anyone believe me when I said an ice cream sandwich, left at room temperature, would still look like an ice cream sandwich a day later? Well here it is. Almost 24 hours later, a little puffy in the center, but still very much intact. What is...
Jun 9, 2012 | A better way, Cultural chaos |
While grocery shopping a couple of nights ago, I found myself in a quandary. I’m a frugal shopper, although I dislike calling myself anything with the word “shopper” in it. I’m also a bit of an activist against plastic waste. I’m not a...
Jun 6, 2012 | A better way, Cultural chaos
Rethink shopping. I really am not a huge fan of shopping in most situations. We practice the ‘no impulse buys’ philosophy. If you see something you want, and you remember it 24 hours later, then you can go back and get it. This saves us HUGE amounts of...
Jun 4, 2012 | A better way, Downsizing |
Why didn’t I just say, “No thank you?” It was nice that the doctor gave each of my kids a plastic sports bottle, but I knew as he was offering them that we’re not keeping these. Why did I not speak up? Would it have been rude to say no? Do...
May 26, 2012 | A better way, Cultural chaos, Flashback, No retail shopping
It’s the one year anniversary since I finished the no retail shopping challenge. Why did I do the challenge? Straight from my original blog post: I wanted to live differently, meaning finding creative ways to not buy stuff I really don’t need, to share stuff...
Apr 9, 2012 | A better way, Cultural chaos |
Tomorrow is TOMS “one day without shoes” event. An event to create an awareness of the impact a pair of shoes can have on a child in need. Yes, I’ll be barefoot tomorrow. So will my son Joe, who has school tomorrow. I’m thinking his...
Nov 26, 2011 | A better way, Cultural chaos
Black Friday: So I didn’t go out for Black Friday like I did last year… to make fun of people shopping. Here’s the video from last year. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cPc36tqraw Small Business Saturday: Why is this after the big retailers get...
Oct 27, 2011 | A better way, Cultural chaos, Repurposed, Salvaged
I found a place of business a few days ago that models everything I believe in. The Grass Roots Eco Cleaners & Market is a wonderful place in Frisco that everyone should know about. So why is this place so great? The cleaning is eco-friendly The fixtures and...
Oct 6, 2011 | A better way, Cultural chaos, Downsizing, Just plain good
Over the past week, most of my blog efforts have been going to launching projectwarm.us. It might be crazy to try an collect 5,723 coats and blankets for the homeless by Thanksgiving, but that’s not going to stop us from trying! I started this with my friend...
Oct 2, 2011 | A better way, One year of downsizing, Save $
I’m on day 224 of 365 days in this challenge. Today marks a milestone, not in the days or numbers, but how I feel about this process. Difficulty. It’s increasingly more difficult to find areas in my house that I haven’t downsized. For some reason,...
Oct 1, 2011 | A better way, Cultural chaos, Trying to matter
My friend Lin called me a few days ago and asked me a simple question. “I have a few coats I want to donate. Do you know a good place where they can maybe help someone in need? Maybe a homeless shelter?” Well, if you’ve ever met Lin, she’s my...
Oct 1, 2011 | A better way, Cultural chaos |
For the first time in several months, I missed fast food. I was craving a Wendy’s chicken sandwich and fries. I was craving the food itself much more than the convenience of it, however that would be nice sometimes. My anti-fast food thing is more about the...
Sep 26, 2011 | A better way, Repurposed, Save $
My boys needed a sling bag for a school camping trip. Now the really great thing about this, is that I tried to buy one of these for them at the beginning of the school year. They both said they didn’t really need one and could find something else to use....
Sep 24, 2011 | A better way, Cultural chaos, Save $
Yes, that’s my thermostat. It’s reading 92°. No, I don’t want to turn my air conditioner back on. One cool day is all need to motivate me to turn it off until the heat is needed. I’m tired of the high electric bills. I’m fine in the...
Sep 17, 2011 | A better way, Ideas, Repurposed, Salvaged |
Yes, that’s a piece of art hanging on the wall outside, on my patio. I was painting this canvas in my garage, but the 100+ temperatures warped the wood frame. I still love the painting, and although I never finished it to my final idea, it’s now looking...
Sep 4, 2011 | A better way, Cultural chaos, Repurposed
I said, “No fast food through the end of the year.” Why? Mostly because of the wastefulness of it. The amount of disposable plastics, paper and styrofoam bothers me. We do fast food places out of convenience. I just wanted to see how badly I needed...
Aug 31, 2011 | A better way, Downsizing, Ideas |
I recently looked into downsizing my house. This idea came into my head for many reasons, which we can visit another time. I decided to do a little research and see if this was feasible. First, there’s a few things you should know about where I live. Frisco,...
Aug 8, 2011 | A better way, Cultural chaos, Just plain good, Read the fine print, Salvaged |
I got to participate in a really cool thing yesterday. New Dos and New Shoes at the Collin County Children’s Advocacy Center. Under-resourced kids got new shoes and new hairdos for going back to school. Several hairdressers got together to provide these...
Aug 4, 2011 | A better way, Cultural chaos, Read the fine print, Repurposed, Salvaged, Save $
Yes, it’s time to start preparing for back-to-school. My kids are in denial that they’re going back soon. I’m in denial that I have to spend a lot of money on school supplies. Of all the challenges a year of no retail shopping posed on our lives,...
Jul 25, 2011 | A better way, Mini challenges, Save $ |
My new mini-challenge… no fast food through the end of the year and no eating out for a month. (one exception: my friend’s birthday dinner) It pains me to see all of the paper waste from eating fast food. Not doing the fast food thing through the end of...
Jul 8, 2011 | A better way, Repurposed, Thrift store
Yes, I paid full price. Two times. But it was planned. As I said early on in the no retail shopping challenge, I would love to have a pair of TOMS shoes. I love what they’re doing and if I buy a pair of shoes, a child that is in need of shoes gets a pair....
Jul 7, 2011 | A better way
Since the no retail challenge ended over a month ago, I stil haven’t shopped retail very much. Shortly after it ended, I thought I would buy a car charger for my phone and a case to protect my iPad 2. No, I didn’t buy the iPad, I won it. I’ve been...
