Rather than focusing just on food on Fridays, as per Sharon's food storage quickiesI think I'm going to look at everything that I've done during the week to increase my preparedness for whatever's coming.
Food:
- dehydrated mushrooms
- bought corn meal, brown rice, peanut butter, large cabbage, 10 lbs carrots, 15 lbs potatos, 10 lbs yellow onions, ramen, oats
- bought canning supplies - canning jars, extra lids, magnetic wand, jar lifter
Home:
- bought cast iron pan (thrift store)
- bought air mattress (WalMart)
- bought flashlight (Circuit City)
- bought hand-crank radio (Circuit City)
Clothing:
- bought two thick, warm wool sweaters (thrift store)
- worked on wool fingerless gloves
Books:
- bought "The Book of Whole Grains" and "Putting Food By"
- borrowed "The Encyclopedia of Country Living", "Practical Skills", "The Complete Book of Small Batch Preserving", and "Local Flavours"
Community:
- talked with some friends about post-carbon activism
- researching local food security groups and the local food co-op
Friday, November 28, 2008
Confessions
I have to make a confession. Maybe even a few confessions.
I haven't bought anything on Buy Nothing Day for a decade now. Now, I live in Canada, where we don't have Black Friday per se, so it's perhaps not a big deal as it is in the US. But, on principle, I've gone along with it because I do have issues with consumption. These issues range from the extremely personal to the more widely social, but I've always taken some pride in my lower-consumption life, both in general and on Buy Nothing Day.
But I bought stuff today. And not only that, but I bought something from WalMart today.
(The horror...the horror.)
The things that I bought were all on my list of preparations that I want to make just in case. But I still don't feel so good about them, and I don't know if it's shopping in general that's getting to me, or shopping new instead of used, or shopping specifically on BND.
All told I spent about $75 today. I bought an air mattress, because I have a friend coming to stay with me for a few weeks, and need a place for her to sleep. I've also wanted one for awhile now, just in case people need to come stay with me if things go south. It's not an ideal solution, but I have room for this, and it's easily portable. I also bought a hand-crank radio and a flashlight to keep around for emergencies (happily, both on clearance and fairly cheap). And, finally, in an effort to start in on one of my competence projects, I picked up canning jars, a magnetic wand, extra lids, and a jar lifter so I can start learning how to preserve food.
I don't think there's much here that I should feel that badly about. I bought what I needed, and only things that I'd been planning to buy for awhile now (admittedly, I wasn't planning to get he radio today, but it was on my list, and newly on sale). But overall this is something that I feel fairly pleased about.
Happily, I do this very infrequently. My so-called shopping sprees are always of things that I need and usually happen annually, and that I can live with. Ideally, I'd like it to stop altogether. I'd prefer to have smaller local stores where I can get what I need from people that I know at least a bit. I'd rather buy from people I know, and businesses that I can feel comfortable with.
I wonder now if maybe it's not that I feel guilty, but that I find the whole shopping experience to be wretched. In general, I still find myself hating shopping, and especially hating shopping for things that are new and buried in the back of a huge overstocked store with underpaid employees. Part of my hatred comes from walking into a store and seeing so much stuff - on the shelves, being bought - and regretting the huge focus on consumption in our society. Part of it is hating being around crowds of people, and and another part is the helplessness of not being able to find what I want. And, part of it is probably a result of the horrible news of a WalMart employee killed this morning by stampeding customers. I understand that people are feeling the crunch this year, but this form of consumption - extreme, driven, and more concerned with stuff than with people - horifies me, and leaves me wanting even less involvement in the system han I had before, minimal as it was. I didn't hear this story until after I got home today, but it reaffirms my desire to find even more ways to buy locally and from smaller companies, and to not buy into any of the highly problematic elements of consumption.
I haven't bought anything on Buy Nothing Day for a decade now. Now, I live in Canada, where we don't have Black Friday per se, so it's perhaps not a big deal as it is in the US. But, on principle, I've gone along with it because I do have issues with consumption. These issues range from the extremely personal to the more widely social, but I've always taken some pride in my lower-consumption life, both in general and on Buy Nothing Day.
But I bought stuff today. And not only that, but I bought something from WalMart today.
(The horror...the horror.)
The things that I bought were all on my list of preparations that I want to make just in case. But I still don't feel so good about them, and I don't know if it's shopping in general that's getting to me, or shopping new instead of used, or shopping specifically on BND.
All told I spent about $75 today. I bought an air mattress, because I have a friend coming to stay with me for a few weeks, and need a place for her to sleep. I've also wanted one for awhile now, just in case people need to come stay with me if things go south. It's not an ideal solution, but I have room for this, and it's easily portable. I also bought a hand-crank radio and a flashlight to keep around for emergencies (happily, both on clearance and fairly cheap). And, finally, in an effort to start in on one of my competence projects, I picked up canning jars, a magnetic wand, extra lids, and a jar lifter so I can start learning how to preserve food.
I don't think there's much here that I should feel that badly about. I bought what I needed, and only things that I'd been planning to buy for awhile now (admittedly, I wasn't planning to get he radio today, but it was on my list, and newly on sale). But overall this is something that I feel fairly pleased about.
Happily, I do this very infrequently. My so-called shopping sprees are always of things that I need and usually happen annually, and that I can live with. Ideally, I'd like it to stop altogether. I'd prefer to have smaller local stores where I can get what I need from people that I know at least a bit. I'd rather buy from people I know, and businesses that I can feel comfortable with.
I wonder now if maybe it's not that I feel guilty, but that I find the whole shopping experience to be wretched. In general, I still find myself hating shopping, and especially hating shopping for things that are new and buried in the back of a huge overstocked store with underpaid employees. Part of my hatred comes from walking into a store and seeing so much stuff - on the shelves, being bought - and regretting the huge focus on consumption in our society. Part of it is hating being around crowds of people, and and another part is the helplessness of not being able to find what I want. And, part of it is probably a result of the horrible news of a WalMart employee killed this morning by stampeding customers. I understand that people are feeling the crunch this year, but this form of consumption - extreme, driven, and more concerned with stuff than with people - horifies me, and leaves me wanting even less involvement in the system han I had before, minimal as it was. I didn't hear this story until after I got home today, but it reaffirms my desire to find even more ways to buy locally and from smaller companies, and to not buy into any of the highly problematic elements of consumption.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Ecological footprint
I had a bit of trouble getting to sleep last night, and so I sat up for a bit with some ecological footprint calculators. I knew going into it that the numbers wouldn't be pretty. In the past six months I've flown to England (for a wonderful summer program and, while I regret the ecological implications, I don't regret the program at all), as well as to British Columbia (ostensibly for a family wedding, but more to see my Nanna, who's been rather ill for the last year - better to fly out for a party than a funeral, I think.) But, they were even less pretty than I hoped, and for the first time I sat down and actively tried to figure out why that is.
Part of the issue is that I live alone. No matter how much I reduce my consumption, use less energy and less water, and change all of the small details about how I live, living alone hurts my footprint, even in a medium-sized apartment. Another part is that I use the bus a lot, not just to get to school, but to go see my boyfriend, who lives over 500 km away. I've pretty much eliminated flying there, which is a good thing, but the travel is still not such a good thing, although I'm hoping that can be remedied soon. The trouble is, at this point in time, these are things that are difficult for me to change, much as I would like to. I'm working on it, but it is slow.
The other thing (although not the biggest by quite a stretch), and the one that's probably easiest for me is food. I'm vegetarian, but I am rather fond of cheese and eggs, which ups my numbers. I also don't live all that close to a farmer's market, and most of my food comes from the supermarket, which isn't always known for its local food options. But, out of all the things to change, this is the one that I can start immediately and most easily, so I took food on as my afternoon project.
Since I was heading out anyway, I first decided to go to the Goodwill bookstore up the street. Happily, I came away with a copy of "Putting Food By". It's an older one, so I'm going to double check the canning standards, but I'm excited about having instructions and recipes for preserving foods now.
I then wandered over to the grocery store. At best, foods are labelled with their province or country of origin, so I decided to stick to those grown in Ontario. It's not a perfect solution, but better than nothing for now. I wound up with a large cabbage, 10 pounds each of potatoes, yellow onions, and carrots, and a bag of empire apples. Other options were squash, rutabega, and turnips, although I left those alone for now. I found it harder to go with local foods when I was working on my food stores. I picked up peanut butter, a large bag of cornmeal, and brown rice, none of which are local. They'll be added to my food stores for future use.
I don't know if this was entirely a success. Some staples - like pasta and peanut butter - seem to be a lot harder to find locally grown. I haven't started looking for eggs or cheese yet, since I have rather a lot of that in the fridge from a past grocery shopping trip. I'm sure it's not impossible, and I'm going to look harder, but I was hoping for better. Fresh stuff, however, seemed to be relatively easy, so long as I was willing to walk past the citrus and less hardy greens at the front of the store. I'm going to keep looking, but in the meantime, I'm going to settle in and make myself a barbeque potato and carrot casserole where at least half the ingredients are local.
Part of the issue is that I live alone. No matter how much I reduce my consumption, use less energy and less water, and change all of the small details about how I live, living alone hurts my footprint, even in a medium-sized apartment. Another part is that I use the bus a lot, not just to get to school, but to go see my boyfriend, who lives over 500 km away. I've pretty much eliminated flying there, which is a good thing, but the travel is still not such a good thing, although I'm hoping that can be remedied soon. The trouble is, at this point in time, these are things that are difficult for me to change, much as I would like to. I'm working on it, but it is slow.
The other thing (although not the biggest by quite a stretch), and the one that's probably easiest for me is food. I'm vegetarian, but I am rather fond of cheese and eggs, which ups my numbers. I also don't live all that close to a farmer's market, and most of my food comes from the supermarket, which isn't always known for its local food options. But, out of all the things to change, this is the one that I can start immediately and most easily, so I took food on as my afternoon project.
Since I was heading out anyway, I first decided to go to the Goodwill bookstore up the street. Happily, I came away with a copy of "Putting Food By". It's an older one, so I'm going to double check the canning standards, but I'm excited about having instructions and recipes for preserving foods now.
I then wandered over to the grocery store. At best, foods are labelled with their province or country of origin, so I decided to stick to those grown in Ontario. It's not a perfect solution, but better than nothing for now. I wound up with a large cabbage, 10 pounds each of potatoes, yellow onions, and carrots, and a bag of empire apples. Other options were squash, rutabega, and turnips, although I left those alone for now. I found it harder to go with local foods when I was working on my food stores. I picked up peanut butter, a large bag of cornmeal, and brown rice, none of which are local. They'll be added to my food stores for future use.
I don't know if this was entirely a success. Some staples - like pasta and peanut butter - seem to be a lot harder to find locally grown. I haven't started looking for eggs or cheese yet, since I have rather a lot of that in the fridge from a past grocery shopping trip. I'm sure it's not impossible, and I'm going to look harder, but I was hoping for better. Fresh stuff, however, seemed to be relatively easy, so long as I was willing to walk past the citrus and less hardy greens at the front of the store. I'm going to keep looking, but in the meantime, I'm going to settle in and make myself a barbeque potato and carrot casserole where at least half the ingredients are local.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Overwhelmed
I'm nearly done my grading, which means that I actually have time! To myself! This afternoon!
Theoretically, I should be working on my dissertation-thing, but I have a long list of Peak Oil prep kind of things to do, and I suspect that I should spend some time on that.
The trouble is, the list is, as I said, long. And as a result, I find it incredibly overwhelming to decide what to do first. Do I stay in, order a grain mill, dehydrate some of the produce in my fridge, and then read up on how to raise chickens? Or, do I head out to the thrift store with an eye to picking up some blankets, and maybe some more yarn or a cast iron pan? Or, do I head out to the local hardware store and see about getting an air mattress, the components for my worm composter, and a maglight to serve as both flashlight and weapon? Stopping on the way, of course, for a hand crank radio? Or, do I just make an extended grocery store trip with my bundle buggy and haul home extra rations of rice, potatos, and long-keeping root veggies?
I dunno - I could do any of them, and will do them all eventually. I'm just feeling rather overwhelmed now by all that I feel that I have to do. And, the fact that this is grading time, and end of the semester time, and holiday time really isn't helping matters any. I'll get over it - probably in fairly short order - but this isn't always an easy thing to do, and I think it's worth writing out the hard and the troubling and the problematic things as much as the good ones.
Theoretically, I should be working on my dissertation-thing, but I have a long list of Peak Oil prep kind of things to do, and I suspect that I should spend some time on that.
The trouble is, the list is, as I said, long. And as a result, I find it incredibly overwhelming to decide what to do first. Do I stay in, order a grain mill, dehydrate some of the produce in my fridge, and then read up on how to raise chickens? Or, do I head out to the thrift store with an eye to picking up some blankets, and maybe some more yarn or a cast iron pan? Or, do I head out to the local hardware store and see about getting an air mattress, the components for my worm composter, and a maglight to serve as both flashlight and weapon? Stopping on the way, of course, for a hand crank radio? Or, do I just make an extended grocery store trip with my bundle buggy and haul home extra rations of rice, potatos, and long-keeping root veggies?
I dunno - I could do any of them, and will do them all eventually. I'm just feeling rather overwhelmed now by all that I feel that I have to do. And, the fact that this is grading time, and end of the semester time, and holiday time really isn't helping matters any. I'll get over it - probably in fairly short order - but this isn't always an easy thing to do, and I think it's worth writing out the hard and the troubling and the problematic things as much as the good ones.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Words from the wise
Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.
- William Morris
- William Morris
The decluttering saga
In addition to my apartment, I'm also trying to declutter other areas of my life. Tonight, since I'm feeling tired and kind of short on energy, I settled down in bed with my laptop and decluttered my blog list. I tend to add new blogs that catch my interest whenever I run across them, but this means that the lists grow fast and, in some cases, while a post may have attracted me, the blog as a whole isn't really my thing,
So, I went through and deleted over half of them. It's not a huge thing, but it saves me time reading them, sorting through them, and just clicking on even the ones I'm not that interested in so they won't be on the unread list anymore. And, it feels good - one more little step, and one more little thing that's a bit more in control.
So, I went through and deleted over half of them. It's not a huge thing, but it saves me time reading them, sorting through them, and just clicking on even the ones I'm not that interested in so they won't be on the unread list anymore. And, it feels good - one more little step, and one more little thing that's a bit more in control.
New blankets
Whenever I'm over at the library these days (which, admittedly, is quite a lot since I keep ordering books that I hope will help me expand my skills and knowledge a bit more), I stop by the local thrift store. Really, I don't much like it. I think many of its things are overpriced, and it kind of depresses me in general. But, thrift stores are one of the few places to get the dishes that my mom collects and that are the only thing we're allowed to get her as gifts, so I check every time I'm around.
I found four of her plates this time, which was lovely and will be great for Christmas, but even lovelier was what I found in the bedding section. I've been looking for a nice wool blanket for awhile now. My dream one is Hudson's Bay four point blanket (the white with the coloured stripes), but that's pretty much a pipe dream, since they tend to be very expensive be they new or old. In general, I really just want them to keep me warm in the winter, and because they wear so well, but I'd been coming up empty.
And today, I found two wool blankets. First, a lovely throw sized blanket in wool from originally from Ikea, which will be much used as I work and read on the couch. In addition, I found a full sized trapper-ish blanket in dusty pink to go on the bed. The cost? $14 for the two of them, and no Riot 4 Austerity points, since they came from the thrift store. I don't shop much anymore, and although it's hugely embarassing for me to be so excited by consumption, I'm really very pleased with these - I've spent the evening in bed wrapped in the pink one already, and it's kept me very warm indeed. I don't have pictures right now, but hopefully soon.
True, these are more things that I'm bringing into my apartment, but I think they're worth it. They're warm, and useful, and something I've been looking for for awhile now. And despite my efforts in non-consumption, this is consumption that I can certainly live with.
I found four of her plates this time, which was lovely and will be great for Christmas, but even lovelier was what I found in the bedding section. I've been looking for a nice wool blanket for awhile now. My dream one is Hudson's Bay four point blanket (the white with the coloured stripes), but that's pretty much a pipe dream, since they tend to be very expensive be they new or old. In general, I really just want them to keep me warm in the winter, and because they wear so well, but I'd been coming up empty.
And today, I found two wool blankets. First, a lovely throw sized blanket in wool from originally from Ikea, which will be much used as I work and read on the couch. In addition, I found a full sized trapper-ish blanket in dusty pink to go on the bed. The cost? $14 for the two of them, and no Riot 4 Austerity points, since they came from the thrift store. I don't shop much anymore, and although it's hugely embarassing for me to be so excited by consumption, I'm really very pleased with these - I've spent the evening in bed wrapped in the pink one already, and it's kept me very warm indeed. I don't have pictures right now, but hopefully soon.
True, these are more things that I'm bringing into my apartment, but I think they're worth it. They're warm, and useful, and something I've been looking for for awhile now. And despite my efforts in non-consumption, this is consumption that I can certainly live with.
The Competence Project
Over at Casaubon's Book, Sharon's set up the Competence Project, getting people to start new projects that will increase their competence in a variety of areas from sewing and knitting to plumbing and woodworking.
I love the idea, and have been thinking about where to start, especially given the rather long list of projects I'd like to work on and have been pondering for what seems like ages. There are some things I’d like to do that aren’t really practical right now, now that there are many inches of snow on the ground, so that narrows it down a bit, though. Also, I’ve searched for classes that are local to me without much to show for it, especially in things I’m interested in. So, I’ll be starting with things that I can learn/do fairly easily on my own.
First, I’d like to learn to sew a better, which will hopefully come in handy for three sub-projects. One, I was to sew reusable shopping bags for the upcoming holidays to wrap gifts in, and as gifts in and of themselves. Two, I want to finally make some resuable cloth pads, especially since I have most if not all of the materials. And third, I want to make a quilt out of old wool clothes, despite never having made a quilt before.
Second, I have a source for worms, and would like to finally get that worm composter I keep thinking about set up and running. I've sent out an email to a local source for worms, and hopefully that will come through. In the meantime, I'm going to start setting up the composter itself, and hope to pick up the materials for that this week.
Third, I’d like to learn to can food. Being that it’s snowy, I don’t really know what I could can that’s “fresh”, but I’m hoping to somehow find someone local to show me how to do this without killing myself. I may search someone out through the local community services agency, or possibly through one of the many freebie online sites where one can advertise such things. But for this I really want someone who knows what they're doing to show me the ropes.
Unfortunately, many of the other things I’d like to learn I can’t actually do in my apartment - fussing with the plumbing, wiring, or anything else home maintenance-ish is frowned upon in a rented apartment. I suppose that I could read up on what I’m interested in and then offer up my help in return for people teaching me things here and there. But, for now I think this is probably a good start. And, once I get these going, there are always more to work on as well.
I love the idea, and have been thinking about where to start, especially given the rather long list of projects I'd like to work on and have been pondering for what seems like ages. There are some things I’d like to do that aren’t really practical right now, now that there are many inches of snow on the ground, so that narrows it down a bit, though. Also, I’ve searched for classes that are local to me without much to show for it, especially in things I’m interested in. So, I’ll be starting with things that I can learn/do fairly easily on my own.
First, I’d like to learn to sew a better, which will hopefully come in handy for three sub-projects. One, I was to sew reusable shopping bags for the upcoming holidays to wrap gifts in, and as gifts in and of themselves. Two, I want to finally make some resuable cloth pads, especially since I have most if not all of the materials. And third, I want to make a quilt out of old wool clothes, despite never having made a quilt before.
Second, I have a source for worms, and would like to finally get that worm composter I keep thinking about set up and running. I've sent out an email to a local source for worms, and hopefully that will come through. In the meantime, I'm going to start setting up the composter itself, and hope to pick up the materials for that this week.
Third, I’d like to learn to can food. Being that it’s snowy, I don’t really know what I could can that’s “fresh”, but I’m hoping to somehow find someone local to show me how to do this without killing myself. I may search someone out through the local community services agency, or possibly through one of the many freebie online sites where one can advertise such things. But for this I really want someone who knows what they're doing to show me the ropes.
Unfortunately, many of the other things I’d like to learn I can’t actually do in my apartment - fussing with the plumbing, wiring, or anything else home maintenance-ish is frowned upon in a rented apartment. I suppose that I could read up on what I’m interested in and then offer up my help in return for people teaching me things here and there. But, for now I think this is probably a good start. And, once I get these going, there are always more to work on as well.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Daharja at Cluttercut has asked about changes that people have been making for the better in their lives, especially in terms of saving money and doing things ourselves.
I've always been pretty frugal (some would say cheap), so I have a lot of habits that I don't even really think about more that probably date back to my days in undergrad, if not earlier. While I've always lived within my means, those means have never been huge (especially now with grad school funding), and so I've tried to find ways to not only live within my means, but to live well within my means.
One thing I started doing early on was shopping at thrift stores. Now, admittedly, when I started I was pretty excited by the prices, and did wind up buying some things that I probably didn't need, but overall I did save a fair amount of money. I still always check out thrift stores when I need something, and have bought everything from clothes and shoes to book and dishes there, all at very low prices. Money stays in my pocket, I get to support a charity, and things stay out of landfills.
I also started figuring out what I could do without, or do with less of. A lot of vanity products got scrapped on this one - hair goo of various types, nailpolish and remover, fancy moisturizer. Dinners out got scrapped to - I now only eat dinner out when out of town friends are in town, and even then I've cut it down more by offering to cook at my place. I started getting basic haircuts that grow out well - I can now get my haircut close to home by a lovely woman who charges me $15, much less than half of a salon haircut (which always felt like a huge rip-off, given the simplicity of my hair.)
I don't have a car. Now, admittedly, this one is sometimes a pain, especially when hauling groceries. But I don't need one - I have a bus pass, a bike, and good walking shoes, which seem to do me just fine. For grocery trips I also have a bundle buggy (one of those little wheeled wire carts) that I found outside the trash at my apartment building.
I eat low on the food chain. When I'm away from home or out for dinner I'll eat some fish. But, other than that, I eat primarily vegan at home. My version of vegan is high in whole grains and fruits and veggies. I eat little dairy, which is pretty expensive, and not much in the way of processed foods either, which are also expensive. While not quite the cheapest of all meals, I am concerned about health, and am willing to pay a bit more for good, wholesome food. But, overall, it's pretty cheap. Where possible, I buy local or organic, and grains and beans I buy dry, so as to not have to pay for shipping the water that usually comes along with them.
Finally, I look for activities that are cheap or, better yet, free to keep me busy (although it's not like I have all that much free time.) I've started playing my guitar again, I knit (not exactly free, but very practical), I attend free concerts, movies, and lectures at the library, I go for walks, and I hang out with friends. It's low key, but it suits me, and it means a minimum of travel and expense. And, in some cases, I'm even building up some useful skills.
Of course, there are things that I'm willing to spend money on, especially if I can't find them second hand - good tools, truly useful books, quality materials, organic food, and things that will last me a long time. But overall these purchases are pretty rare, and I think my other efforts more than make up for them.
So, I ask the question to you now? What changes are you making?
I've always been pretty frugal (some would say cheap), so I have a lot of habits that I don't even really think about more that probably date back to my days in undergrad, if not earlier. While I've always lived within my means, those means have never been huge (especially now with grad school funding), and so I've tried to find ways to not only live within my means, but to live well within my means.
One thing I started doing early on was shopping at thrift stores. Now, admittedly, when I started I was pretty excited by the prices, and did wind up buying some things that I probably didn't need, but overall I did save a fair amount of money. I still always check out thrift stores when I need something, and have bought everything from clothes and shoes to book and dishes there, all at very low prices. Money stays in my pocket, I get to support a charity, and things stay out of landfills.
I also started figuring out what I could do without, or do with less of. A lot of vanity products got scrapped on this one - hair goo of various types, nailpolish and remover, fancy moisturizer. Dinners out got scrapped to - I now only eat dinner out when out of town friends are in town, and even then I've cut it down more by offering to cook at my place. I started getting basic haircuts that grow out well - I can now get my haircut close to home by a lovely woman who charges me $15, much less than half of a salon haircut (which always felt like a huge rip-off, given the simplicity of my hair.)
I don't have a car. Now, admittedly, this one is sometimes a pain, especially when hauling groceries. But I don't need one - I have a bus pass, a bike, and good walking shoes, which seem to do me just fine. For grocery trips I also have a bundle buggy (one of those little wheeled wire carts) that I found outside the trash at my apartment building.
I eat low on the food chain. When I'm away from home or out for dinner I'll eat some fish. But, other than that, I eat primarily vegan at home. My version of vegan is high in whole grains and fruits and veggies. I eat little dairy, which is pretty expensive, and not much in the way of processed foods either, which are also expensive. While not quite the cheapest of all meals, I am concerned about health, and am willing to pay a bit more for good, wholesome food. But, overall, it's pretty cheap. Where possible, I buy local or organic, and grains and beans I buy dry, so as to not have to pay for shipping the water that usually comes along with them.
Finally, I look for activities that are cheap or, better yet, free to keep me busy (although it's not like I have all that much free time.) I've started playing my guitar again, I knit (not exactly free, but very practical), I attend free concerts, movies, and lectures at the library, I go for walks, and I hang out with friends. It's low key, but it suits me, and it means a minimum of travel and expense. And, in some cases, I'm even building up some useful skills.
Of course, there are things that I'm willing to spend money on, especially if I can't find them second hand - good tools, truly useful books, quality materials, organic food, and things that will last me a long time. But overall these purchases are pretty rare, and I think my other efforts more than make up for them.
So, I ask the question to you now? What changes are you making?
Saturday, November 8, 2008
The decluttering saga
In all the talk about peak oil and sustainable living, there's a lot of talk of things that we should have on hand. I'm totally on board with this perspective, and am working on my own list of things that should probably be making their way into my life. But one of the things that has me worried here is where I'm going to put it all. While I think it's hugely important to think about the things that we're likely to need, I think it's equally important to think about where we're going to put it all.
So, one of the things I've been working on recently is decluttering my apartment. While a concern for storing more things is in there, there are a really a few reasons for this. First, I've just been feeling like I have too much stuff - it's been getting a bit claustrphobic around here. At the same time, I also have it in my head that someday I'd like to own my own tiny house, and the amount of stuff that I have will just never, ever fit. Finally, I've also been feeling like I don't have enough room for things that are most important, both in terms of activities and things. It's hard sometimes, especially when everything is both cluttered and untidy, to find room for yoga, or to get my guitar out, or even to have friends over if I haven't cleaned.
In addition, with all of this stuff around, I don't have as much room for the things that are becoming more important, like extra food, cast iron pots, or the grain mill that I want to buy.
So, I've decided that, in terms of my stuff, I want to clean out a bunch of things, and then want to replace some (just some!) of the somewhat frivilous with that which is truly necessary. I've already pulled together one large pile of things - large enough to fill the back of my folk's small SUV this weekend, with seats folded down, when dad was visiting - that has already made its way to the local Goodwill donation centre. In this load, I gave away clothes that just won't ever be worn by me (which came from the thrift store in the first place, so I don't feel so very bad about sending them back), impractical books, dishes that are also too impractical to use (tiny juice classes and baby sugar spoons come to mind), and a whole lot of other things that are just taking up space that could be better used by me and possibly a few things to make my life a bit more sustainable.
Admittedly, with the pile gone things already feel a lot better. A three by five foot pile of boxes and garbage bags in the middle of the floor takes up a lot of space, which didn't really add to my feelings about the state of my living space. But theres a bit more room now, and a few less things out now that there's space to put them away. I managed to clear enough room in my closets that I no longer need a freestanding unit to house all of my sheets, and enough books made their way out the door that the remaining ones all fit on my shelves properly.
I know that I still have a lot left to do - there are more books that should be out the door, as well as kitchen things (exploding pyrex, anyone?), odd and unworn clothing, and goodness knows what lurking in the corners of my apartment. But this feels like a good start. I'm looking forward to spending more time in my home, and in hopefully having people over for pot lucks, hearty dinners, and low-energy activities like board games and cards. And once I have more space, I'm looking forward to figuring out a few carefully researched and well made goods to bring into my home to help me live the life that I want to lead. I have a few ideas here, but I'm thinking that that wish list should be an upcoming post.
So, one of the things I've been working on recently is decluttering my apartment. While a concern for storing more things is in there, there are a really a few reasons for this. First, I've just been feeling like I have too much stuff - it's been getting a bit claustrphobic around here. At the same time, I also have it in my head that someday I'd like to own my own tiny house, and the amount of stuff that I have will just never, ever fit. Finally, I've also been feeling like I don't have enough room for things that are most important, both in terms of activities and things. It's hard sometimes, especially when everything is both cluttered and untidy, to find room for yoga, or to get my guitar out, or even to have friends over if I haven't cleaned.
In addition, with all of this stuff around, I don't have as much room for the things that are becoming more important, like extra food, cast iron pots, or the grain mill that I want to buy.
So, I've decided that, in terms of my stuff, I want to clean out a bunch of things, and then want to replace some (just some!) of the somewhat frivilous with that which is truly necessary. I've already pulled together one large pile of things - large enough to fill the back of my folk's small SUV this weekend, with seats folded down, when dad was visiting - that has already made its way to the local Goodwill donation centre. In this load, I gave away clothes that just won't ever be worn by me (which came from the thrift store in the first place, so I don't feel so very bad about sending them back), impractical books, dishes that are also too impractical to use (tiny juice classes and baby sugar spoons come to mind), and a whole lot of other things that are just taking up space that could be better used by me and possibly a few things to make my life a bit more sustainable.
Admittedly, with the pile gone things already feel a lot better. A three by five foot pile of boxes and garbage bags in the middle of the floor takes up a lot of space, which didn't really add to my feelings about the state of my living space. But theres a bit more room now, and a few less things out now that there's space to put them away. I managed to clear enough room in my closets that I no longer need a freestanding unit to house all of my sheets, and enough books made their way out the door that the remaining ones all fit on my shelves properly.
I know that I still have a lot left to do - there are more books that should be out the door, as well as kitchen things (exploding pyrex, anyone?), odd and unworn clothing, and goodness knows what lurking in the corners of my apartment. But this feels like a good start. I'm looking forward to spending more time in my home, and in hopefully having people over for pot lucks, hearty dinners, and low-energy activities like board games and cards. And once I have more space, I'm looking forward to figuring out a few carefully researched and well made goods to bring into my home to help me live the life that I want to lead. I have a few ideas here, but I'm thinking that that wish list should be an upcoming post.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Budgeting the budget
Despite the fact that "budget" frequently seems to be a dirtly word, redolant of self-denial, I have a budget that I try to stick to. I'm generally pretty good about it too - I know how much my rent, utilities, and other expenses should be. But sometimes, I don't stick to the budget and, this morning, I'm thinking about why that is, and why that's not necessarily such a bad thing.
First, let me say that I have savings and I live beneath my means (although, admittedly, my means are grad school funding and therefore not very much). Going over budget here or there isn't going to break me, and isn't even going to require dipping into savings. Sure, it means I put a little less away in a month, but I'm not convinced this is always a bad thing.
This morning I woke up really nauseous. I've started taking iron pills at my doctor's request, as well as a large quantity of B12. Iron and B12 are not easy on the stomach, even when take with meals, and feeling icky is a common side effect. I didn't want to take an anti-nausea drug, so I tottered over to the grocery store to pick up ginger and a few things that weren't available at the other store where I went shopping the other day. I got what I needed - skim milk powder, oats, brown sugar, ginger, and orange juice (not a usual purchase, but helps the iron to absorb better - but then I picked up some extra things as well. After many weeks without, they had tahini in stock again, so I picked up a tub of that. They also had cheese on sale for almost half price, so I bought some of that to freeze. I also found one lone bag of red cargo rice, which I've never seen before - because it has way more iron than most other rice, and I like trying new things, that came home with me as well. I finished up with some extra eggs, tortilla wraps, a box of sale clementines, pasta, and super-cheap canned soup.
All told, what should have been a $20 shopping trip came out over $50. My usual food budget is $100 per month, and right now, including my one-day early shopping trip, I'm at $75 this early in the month. Now, none of these things are items that I wouldn't buy anyway. For the most part, they're fairly healthy, and will even last me awhile - there's nothing in that list that will get consumed completely this week, and most of it will last for awhile - the skim milk alone lasts for a good six months at the rate that I use it.
It still unsettles me to go over budget, though. So I was thinking about it this morning as I was walking home (which also helped me to not think about how sore my poor arms were.)
First, I don't mind going over budget a bit in the name of stocking up. Not everything I bought is going to be stockpiled, but the rice will be, as will the tahini, oats, and some of the canned items. My pantry is getting close to maximum capacity, but I feel better having this food around. As an added bonus, when I'm too busy to shop, there's something to eat and I don't have to rely on take-out.
Second, I don't mind paying a bit more a month to stock up on things while they're on sale. I was delighted to find the cheese on sale today, especially since my boyfriend is coming to visit and we like to make pizza. What we don't use (which will still be a lot) will be frozen and, at the rate I use it, will last quite some time. Rather than having to buy cheese at full price when I really want it, having it on hand can save me a bit of money.
Third, I don't generally mind going over budget (so long as I can relatively comfortably afford it) on things that add to my health. I certainly didn't mind spending money on iron and B12 supplements the other day, and I also don't mind buying food that's going to help me stay healthy. I don't normally buy orange juice (when did it get so expensive?!), but if it helps me absorb iron better, then I'm willing to spring for it. I picked up the red rice specifically because of its iron content - it's not as cheap as plain white rice, but for a lot more iron, I can justify the bit of extra cost.
Finally, it's likely that I can compensate for these extra expenses over the course of the month. If I know how much I've spent already, I can avoid grocery trips a bit more, or try to spread them out a bit further. I can eat a bit less while eating more nutrient rich foods, or eat from my stores just a little bit more to balance it. But, for now, I think the most important thing is to maintain my health and build up some stores of food, so this isn't really coming into play as much right now as it used to.
If I didn't have the money, this wouldn't be an option. If I had to do this on credit...well, I probably wouldn't. And I know for people who can't afford it that this just isn't possible, good justifications or not. But, with that said, while I love having a budget to follow, there are also instances where sticking to a budget may be too limiting. I'm pleased with what I got today, and although I like sticking to a budget, I'm rather glad that I didn't in this case. I certainly don't recommend going over all the time, but in some cases it might not be a bad idea to budget just how much I rely on the budget.
First, let me say that I have savings and I live beneath my means (although, admittedly, my means are grad school funding and therefore not very much). Going over budget here or there isn't going to break me, and isn't even going to require dipping into savings. Sure, it means I put a little less away in a month, but I'm not convinced this is always a bad thing.
This morning I woke up really nauseous. I've started taking iron pills at my doctor's request, as well as a large quantity of B12. Iron and B12 are not easy on the stomach, even when take with meals, and feeling icky is a common side effect. I didn't want to take an anti-nausea drug, so I tottered over to the grocery store to pick up ginger and a few things that weren't available at the other store where I went shopping the other day. I got what I needed - skim milk powder, oats, brown sugar, ginger, and orange juice (not a usual purchase, but helps the iron to absorb better - but then I picked up some extra things as well. After many weeks without, they had tahini in stock again, so I picked up a tub of that. They also had cheese on sale for almost half price, so I bought some of that to freeze. I also found one lone bag of red cargo rice, which I've never seen before - because it has way more iron than most other rice, and I like trying new things, that came home with me as well. I finished up with some extra eggs, tortilla wraps, a box of sale clementines, pasta, and super-cheap canned soup.
All told, what should have been a $20 shopping trip came out over $50. My usual food budget is $100 per month, and right now, including my one-day early shopping trip, I'm at $75 this early in the month. Now, none of these things are items that I wouldn't buy anyway. For the most part, they're fairly healthy, and will even last me awhile - there's nothing in that list that will get consumed completely this week, and most of it will last for awhile - the skim milk alone lasts for a good six months at the rate that I use it.
It still unsettles me to go over budget, though. So I was thinking about it this morning as I was walking home (which also helped me to not think about how sore my poor arms were.)
First, I don't mind going over budget a bit in the name of stocking up. Not everything I bought is going to be stockpiled, but the rice will be, as will the tahini, oats, and some of the canned items. My pantry is getting close to maximum capacity, but I feel better having this food around. As an added bonus, when I'm too busy to shop, there's something to eat and I don't have to rely on take-out.
Second, I don't mind paying a bit more a month to stock up on things while they're on sale. I was delighted to find the cheese on sale today, especially since my boyfriend is coming to visit and we like to make pizza. What we don't use (which will still be a lot) will be frozen and, at the rate I use it, will last quite some time. Rather than having to buy cheese at full price when I really want it, having it on hand can save me a bit of money.
Third, I don't generally mind going over budget (so long as I can relatively comfortably afford it) on things that add to my health. I certainly didn't mind spending money on iron and B12 supplements the other day, and I also don't mind buying food that's going to help me stay healthy. I don't normally buy orange juice (when did it get so expensive?!), but if it helps me absorb iron better, then I'm willing to spring for it. I picked up the red rice specifically because of its iron content - it's not as cheap as plain white rice, but for a lot more iron, I can justify the bit of extra cost.
Finally, it's likely that I can compensate for these extra expenses over the course of the month. If I know how much I've spent already, I can avoid grocery trips a bit more, or try to spread them out a bit further. I can eat a bit less while eating more nutrient rich foods, or eat from my stores just a little bit more to balance it. But, for now, I think the most important thing is to maintain my health and build up some stores of food, so this isn't really coming into play as much right now as it used to.
If I didn't have the money, this wouldn't be an option. If I had to do this on credit...well, I probably wouldn't. And I know for people who can't afford it that this just isn't possible, good justifications or not. But, with that said, while I love having a budget to follow, there are also instances where sticking to a budget may be too limiting. I'm pleased with what I got today, and although I like sticking to a budget, I'm rather glad that I didn't in this case. I certainly don't recommend going over all the time, but in some cases it might not be a bad idea to budget just how much I rely on the budget.
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