tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46055730161257616992024-02-19T07:20:58.845-08:00CC's Two CentsCChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03547125005010428823noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605573016125761699.post-44315154515769394612013-11-22T08:19:00.000-08:002013-11-22T08:19:01.033-08:00Breaking the Consumerism Addiction<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">As we're almost full-swing into the holiday season this year, I've been seeing several posts from friends online each week (since September!) about stores and commercials pushing the Christmas shopping season earlier and earlier. And while we all know what's going on here -- stores trying to get us to spend more money -- we fall for it because we love the holidays and can't wait to get into the "holiday spirit."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Before this year, I would have been a part of that, too. I love the holidays. And there's something about decorating your house and wrapping gifts for other that just feels good. So while I was never the one to go on a big shopping spree for the holiday season, I would definitely find myself in Target or at a street fair looking for some items to add some "holiday cheer" to my home. I mean really, who doesn't need a stuffed reindeer and another box of Christmas lights? (I happen to love both of these things!).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">This year has been different, though. Despite all of my friends' updates on the holiday shopping season, I haven't felt even the tiniest bit of desire to go out and buy. In fact, when the husband and I were in Ikea last week (sadly, we caved and went to buy new curtain rods for the house as part of our mad dash to get the house ready to move this weekend), I was so overwhelmed and grossed out by the mass consumption and cheaply made items all around me that I had to leave the store. Even the smell just seemed too much.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">I think it's partly because the <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/24/opinion/bangladesh-garment-workers/" target="_blank">Bangladeshi garment factory collapse</a> is still on my mind (Is any cute holiday sweater really worth 1,000 lives?), and partly because I'm so in the habit of getting what I need in other ways. But I think part of it, too, is the fact that I've broken a very real addiction that I and most of the country have with shopping. It's an addiction perpetuated by mass media -- when you see enough commercials for something, no matter how stupid you think it is, there is a part of your brain that becomes convinced that you need it (i.e. the $20-$40 rectangle of cheap felt that started the Snuggie craze). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Because I haven't been in the habit of buying things, I haven't really been spending any time in stores, and because I don't have television (our TV is only hooked up to a DVD player, but we're thinking of getting rid of both in the move) or listen to commercial radio, I haven't been seeing or hearing any commercials. And you know? With the absence of all of those distractions telling me what I must have and must buy for that low low price, I feel really content with what I have. I don't feel deprived or like I'm fighting any urges to go out and buy. After a few months of removing those distractions from my life, I honestly didn't even notice that they were gone. If it weren't for my friends posts about holiday shopping, I think I probably could have forgotten about that craze altogether. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Or to put it in pictures, because this post is getting a little long:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Aren't the holidays about this:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuyl3B_s6zEcpEuozbxmeMpfclNMrtDrdS84VSw-V2Adg_SZmMSW06GfLtgcB4HpS_E7RMkndpg7bVy_X7V6OjsJ0yX-VtNDX5C0D4F38yZdIgiS0UcZljmg_NIWVK3P4D_CMCznUUYkw/s1600/190913_10100261939652643_971895_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuyl3B_s6zEcpEuozbxmeMpfclNMrtDrdS84VSw-V2Adg_SZmMSW06GfLtgcB4HpS_E7RMkndpg7bVy_X7V6OjsJ0yX-VtNDX5C0D4F38yZdIgiS0UcZljmg_NIWVK3P4D_CMCznUUYkw/s320/190913_10100261939652643_971895_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> And this:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9sJwcURwCVLtsimEAPvdeF6NMCyb_1NK0TbfTOXEQsp2TXZ1a1ZfJUTOHgUPDS0OqCRrHRoIaGxFBtKJwg97MBAhDg-BmaHfhpCxw8JHjL_EJaad4VUBpw3Aj4kq7fEl366YGkh_BJy8/s1600/thanksgivingprep+033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9sJwcURwCVLtsimEAPvdeF6NMCyb_1NK0TbfTOXEQsp2TXZ1a1ZfJUTOHgUPDS0OqCRrHRoIaGxFBtKJwg97MBAhDg-BmaHfhpCxw8JHjL_EJaad4VUBpw3Aj4kq7fEl366YGkh_BJy8/s320/thanksgivingprep+033.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">And these:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzvhYG6uZbyTy7cZI9hgKc4mIMBK-EIBQNCKMukWxiBVXmVHevitsk57Ih7vRy1N82C9uzluGRMZXjWQGSYsrfOtoQa-GpRHm4RGnD2x8PHLpN_0Bd230FHspFzrSDve0XdBkKWEc6lts/s1600/9074959-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzvhYG6uZbyTy7cZI9hgKc4mIMBK-EIBQNCKMukWxiBVXmVHevitsk57Ih7vRy1N82C9uzluGRMZXjWQGSYsrfOtoQa-GpRHm4RGnD2x8PHLpN_0Bd230FHspFzrSDve0XdBkKWEc6lts/s320/9074959-large.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgATUHZOfgk9pxIDwEvMNh7oL0fLJKd_2di2efUoiqN9gitiCrkMZP2Rk_jxi1HRsheVJRzlbInXiMyxS-Q7CyTZp43L0dv8hcsAo4xnNZNS3sfrXxHfbVRbEGpCe_bcSUnhuKOE3eODns/s1600/index.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgATUHZOfgk9pxIDwEvMNh7oL0fLJKd_2di2efUoiqN9gitiCrkMZP2Rk_jxi1HRsheVJRzlbInXiMyxS-Q7CyTZp43L0dv8hcsAo4xnNZNS3sfrXxHfbVRbEGpCe_bcSUnhuKOE3eODns/s1600/index.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSc2mDEZwnYePA7X8NLXczVJlQ0gdUJjhumWJzZWtib3Aouu-ryDDyIn9iqQnJZeTM_HH63dSBz77z0xWfwypOcI2vu8isiShL2O8DgepCBkrarAoE5m8VPYRdNeyIzsYcCOeMeQWFmjE/s1600/star-of-bethlehem.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSc2mDEZwnYePA7X8NLXczVJlQ0gdUJjhumWJzZWtib3Aouu-ryDDyIn9iqQnJZeTM_HH63dSBz77z0xWfwypOcI2vu8isiShL2O8DgepCBkrarAoE5m8VPYRdNeyIzsYcCOeMeQWFmjE/s320/star-of-bethlehem.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Instead of this?:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiurM6x8CSKS9NdN4yHYsiF5u7UQt0QIwbH5zZYjjJfdfLDbjrzOzE9MtiCdP-9QsFsDMfVzB-H1n-oqprMgeXGFIPxK7qCBTYByRxdORJ17ou-hCoI4E1AinXCLcKX-JBgsjkIyOi_kGM/s1600/christmas-decorations-store-21158694.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiurM6x8CSKS9NdN4yHYsiF5u7UQt0QIwbH5zZYjjJfdfLDbjrzOzE9MtiCdP-9QsFsDMfVzB-H1n-oqprMgeXGFIPxK7qCBTYByRxdORJ17ou-hCoI4E1AinXCLcKX-JBgsjkIyOi_kGM/s320/christmas-decorations-store-21158694.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> I realized last week that I have really broken my addiction. It's a wonderful feeling with less clutter, less envy, less stress, more money, more quality time, and more peace and contentment. Now that's some real holiday cheer.</span>CChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03547125005010428823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605573016125761699.post-62456958167166224792013-11-19T08:18:00.002-08:002013-11-19T08:18:38.189-08:00Progress on the House!<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">So it turns out that working on a house doesn't leave much time for blogging, but I wanted to give you all a quick update on some of the progress we've made (More detailed before and after posts coming in the next few weeks!):</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Original backyard:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM6a2XpFX8fRmvdkS8OzAGaaRayy7RfR8mjoYV0dhbMQ-DIB3bBxABnm1ePYZcF2lnkBjCCwsLP8VXmN7a450_LMuFVCUwvxztuZdfyA9rSrJHD9c6Ej3_G0h_mNTmHYqILRpOlsQ6G_4/s1600/701121-1024wh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM6a2XpFX8fRmvdkS8OzAGaaRayy7RfR8mjoYV0dhbMQ-DIB3bBxABnm1ePYZcF2lnkBjCCwsLP8VXmN7a450_LMuFVCUwvxztuZdfyA9rSrJHD9c6Ej3_G0h_mNTmHYqILRpOlsQ6G_4/s320/701121-1024wh.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><i>Backyard that has been neglected for 15+ years</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><i> </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">The backyard was completely filled with ivy, bamboo, and blackberry (a trifecta!) It's definitely still a work in progress -- and I can write a whole post about some of the bizarre and awesome things we discovered while slicing through all of that greenery. I'm saving the after picture for a later post, but in the meantime, here's a picture of us with one of our first trees:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvJg9jD6vya3dmaXdcmIIamKV_IPnvwteHJjb6rHPziykjWzG4_yKtVA1qxvoOGRcRppGTJDWprpoW8fXpnIo327JbCXC7t5-pvpdJVHh8Z2KAGLYd7NaeuGnyyIoMS5FxAGhsOynWY-U/s1600/IMG_0848.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvJg9jD6vya3dmaXdcmIIamKV_IPnvwteHJjb6rHPziykjWzG4_yKtVA1qxvoOGRcRppGTJDWprpoW8fXpnIo327JbCXC7t5-pvpdJVHh8Z2KAGLYd7NaeuGnyyIoMS5FxAGhsOynWY-U/s320/IMG_0848.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><i>Me and Ellen with the key lime tree!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><i> </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">We've also been patching some walls:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">And removing others:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">All in all, the only thing we're contracting out is the foundation (I do not want to mess with that!). While it's been taking a lot of work, I have to say it feels good to do this kind of work ourselves -- it really feels like we're building our home together. Also a plus is all the money that we're saving by doing our own work, buying materials used, scavenging for materials on <a href="http://www.freecycle.org/" target="_blank">freecycle</a> and <a href="http://www.craigslist.org/" target="_blank">craigslist</a>, and the old-fashioned borrowing from your neighbors. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><i> </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">I can't wait to post our next updates! We're moving this week and it's all been a little hectic, but I'll have more pictures soon!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span>CChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03547125005010428823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605573016125761699.post-72299125157774622092013-10-16T09:16:00.002-07:002013-10-16T09:16:28.179-07:00Buy Nothing At All?<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">This man took the buy nothing new year to the next level: buy nothing at all! And he's been at it for 7 years now. We don't exactly share all of the same ideologies, but regardless, I thought this was an interesting read:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">http://banoosh.com/blog/2013/10/12/the-man-who-lives-without-money/ </span>CChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03547125005010428823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605573016125761699.post-22730082692955676542013-10-02T13:04:00.000-07:002013-10-03T07:39:04.517-07:00I'm Back!<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Hi blog,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I'm sorry I abandoned you for so many months!</span> <span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Just because I wasn't blogging, doesn't mean I fell off the "buy nothing new" bandwagon, it just means I was really busy and neglectful. I work at a school, so come "summer break" I'm typically not on the internet much, and with that combined with getting ready for a wedding, I just didn't have it in me to make the time to blog.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">So now that I'm married (Five days in, woo!) and we bought a new-to-us-but-actually-very-old house, I will have a lot to say as far as how we made the wedding work and how we will make the fixing up and remodeling work in a sustainable and responsible way. So stay tuned! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">PS: We just got an old clawfoot bathtub on Craigslist to fix up and add to our current disaster of a bathroom and I'm really excited about it! We also got a low flow toilet, bathroom window, and refrigerator from the ReStore, a used building supply store that benefits Habitat for Humanity. I think this might quickly become my new favorite store! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6po-zkPDZqAsN_B4bY5rGsk65DOCEulMPTSGQd1iNjrB3Rg2EOV84Q75R4fzn4oUTtRFV5AoVZM6Ey0Bi7pS5cufQynARkCBjt_eRAc7oD8Lt7Z3UIy0J0ylvFZdnRTJa91vQTV91DQ4/s1600/20131001_143328.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6po-zkPDZqAsN_B4bY5rGsk65DOCEulMPTSGQd1iNjrB3Rg2EOV84Q75R4fzn4oUTtRFV5AoVZM6Ey0Bi7pS5cufQynARkCBjt_eRAc7oD8Lt7Z3UIy0J0ylvFZdnRTJa91vQTV91DQ4/s320/20131001_143328.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Bringing home the new toilet. Please note that it is seat belted for safety :)</i></div>
CChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03547125005010428823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605573016125761699.post-36678833819891285842013-05-21T11:42:00.000-07:002013-05-21T11:42:17.822-07:00Responsibly Made Flower Girl Dresses<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">With only
four month until our wedding, planning is definitely in full swing, and I
am trying to get more and more creative in order to keep our wedding as
affordable and responsibly-sourced as possible. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Dresses
for our three flower girls have been throwing me for a bit of a loop --
I didn't want to buy from a big-box-store dress because of <a href="http://ccwishon.blogspot.com/2013/01/what-my-wallet-says-about-me.html" target="_blank">the environmental and social/public health implications</a>,
but I also needed to find three matching dresses (because apparently
you have to buy young sisters the same dress or they will fight over
them). And, of course, I'm on a budget.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">This is where <a href="http://www.etsy.com/" target="_blank">Etsy</a>,
which continually impresses me with its potential for awesomeness,
comes in. I love that Etsy gives me access to artists and tradespeople
in my larger community that I wouldn't have necessarily found using
google or walking around my neighborhood. (They also have lots of
"vintage" -- read: "used" -- finds). I think that often times when we
need "stuff," it can feel like there are no other options aside from the
big-box-stores or Goodwill, but Etsy is just one of many awesome
alternative options for more responsibly sourced items.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">After
a little searching, I found a woman in LA who will make three flower
girl dresses for us from a picture I sent her. And her price is more
affordable than the original retail price of the pictured dress. So I
saved money, supported a local tradeswoman, and did not support the
labor shipping practices that I feel strongly against. I'm going to go
ahead and call this a win. </span>CChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03547125005010428823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605573016125761699.post-51261602532589810432013-05-20T09:03:00.002-07:002013-05-20T09:03:54.410-07:00Homemade Organic Furniture, Part Two!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">I saw this wooden rocker and foot stool at a garage sale this weekend for $50 so I picked it up. The frame is awesome and sturdy, and will make a great base for an organic armchair! I'm pretty excited.</span><br />
CChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03547125005010428823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605573016125761699.post-845230400260819832013-05-08T11:45:00.001-07:002013-05-08T13:24:58.525-07:00Sure, I want to shop sustainably and responsibly, but how?<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">In the course of the "buy nothing new" year, I've found that there are some items that are just much, much harder to buy used. In particular, electronics. Sure, there's always craigslist or something from a friend of a friend, but people want to make sure they are buying something that works, and I totally get that. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">The Significant Other and I are both in the market for new phones right now, as our previous ones are just about dead. I bought him a phone off of ebay, which has been working great so far, but then today I just stumbled across this totally awesome alternative option:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_LLUbprCQydgMrRMD72tkUCBcYg_il7xDB4P4bZ6ngzrYDtxzZUB0Hh57KQpxb2K2ysQrTLk1sZmA6KfSQTlcWRGgL2V9ZjumSMWvf6-8UXgDMEF7xh2MtgRT4FAMQ00yWu9T5lVG9uA/s1600/Recellular-logo.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_LLUbprCQydgMrRMD72tkUCBcYg_il7xDB4P4bZ6ngzrYDtxzZUB0Hh57KQpxb2K2ysQrTLk1sZmA6KfSQTlcWRGgL2V9ZjumSMWvf6-8UXgDMEF7xh2MtgRT4FAMQ00yWu9T5lVG9uA/s1600/Recellular-logo.PNG" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><a href="http://www.recellular.com/" target="_blank">ReCellular</a> is a totally awesome, sustainability-conscious company that allows you to sell them old cell phones and also purchase discounted refurbished models (apparently, they also deal in laptops and netbooks). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Given how damaging <a href="http://www.ccwishon.blogspot.com/2013/01/disposable-consumerism-tech-edition.html" target="_blank">our consumer tech culture</a> is, I am super excited about this alternative for purchasing "new" electronics. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">This site is just one of many alternative options out there for people who want to find more sustainable and humane methods of purchasing. I've found that you really can find anything you could possibly need sustainably, it just sometimes requires a little extra research.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Don't have time to research? Check out my growing <a href="http://www.ccwishon.blogspot.com/2013/01/my-favorite-responsible-producers.html" target="_blank">list of responsible producers</a> and please, suggest any of your own favorites that may be missing! </span>CChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03547125005010428823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605573016125761699.post-50683877196068957382013-05-06T08:41:00.002-07:002013-05-06T08:41:28.889-07:00Social Accountability Audits are a "Fraud"<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">I needed to read this after my slip off the wagon last week. It's just another reminder that impulsive purchases that seem so harmless and insignificant to us here in the states can have detrimental and sometimes deadly effects on people in other countries.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Here is the article I just read:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/23/safety-inspections-social-audit-afl-cio_n_3134930.html" target="_blank">Safety Inspections by Social Audit Firms for U.S. Companies Called 'Facade' by Labor Groups</a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">From the article, about these "social auditing firms":</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">"Not only has it helped keep wages low and working conditions poor," the
report's foreword states of the auditing industry, "it has provided
public relations cover for producers whose disregard for health and
safety has cost hundreds of lives."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Many U.S. companies, including Apple and other tech and clothing manufacturers, use firms like these to satisfy our country's half-hearted concern for people in other countries. I say half-hearted, because if we, as a country, were truly concerned, we would put effort into changing the working conditions, not just hiring a company to tell us that it's all okay. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">It's a good reminder that every time I make a purchase without researching the origin of the product, I am supporting this system that marginalizes and endangers people across the world, and has taken thousands of lives.</span>CChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03547125005010428823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605573016125761699.post-57394214210329785012013-05-02T08:12:00.003-07:002013-05-02T08:13:30.913-07:00I Fell Off the Wagon<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">So after 4 months of buying nothing new, I fell off the wagon last week. Here's what I bought:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Swimsuit (Made in USA)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Undergarments (Made in USA and Europe)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Dress</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Two of these technically fall into my acceptable exceptions (Made in the USA), but I honestly didn't <i>need</i> any of these things. These were also all things I purchased for my wedding and/or honeymoon, which really makes me think about the pressures of the wedding industry and our consumer culture in general. Why do we feel the need to buy something shiny and new for these special occasions? Why am I being told to spend $$$$$$ on fancy new things for our wedding? Don't I already have nice dresses, swimsuits, and undergarments? And when did the process of shopping for wedding stuff become this all-important rite of passage for every bride to make a big deal of and share with her nearest and dearest (i.e. <i>Say Yes to the Dress</i> -- now there's a glorified monetary transaction)? </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Okay that's a lot of questions there, but all of this really has gotten me thinking about how we've completely commercialized and put price tags on these special occasions in our life. Isn't a wedding about love (both with your partner, and with your family and friends)? Isn't Mother's Day about celebrating the woman who gave you life? Aren't birthdays about celebrating the awesomeness of special friends and family? And don't even get me started on Christmas and Hanukkah. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">When did we start letting corporations sell us this idea of all this "necessary" stuff? The idea that you absolutely <i>must</i> purchase cute, themed tangible items for people on designated days of the year? And that you absolutely <i>must</i> have a new outfit for every special occasion? And that, if you are a bride, well then you absolutely <i>must</i> secure yourself a whole new wardrobe full of white dresses and bathing suits and shoes and bachelorette party apparel, etc.?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">This whole notion of the "stuff" that is linked to these holidays and celebrations is so new. Do you think people in the 1930's and 1940's bought new outfits for every wedding and birthday party? Or bought presents for everyone they knew at Christmas? Or even received presents for so many of these holidays that have now been totally commercialized (i.e. Easter, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day)? Giving a gift used to be a special and unexpected gesture of compassion and friendship, and now it's become a required part of nearly every major holiday and celebration. So much so that we make registries to tell people what to get us, because we know they're going to buy us something. (I guess that's part of what really bothers me about registries). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">So here I am to admit that, for a week or two there, I totally got sucked into this. I was sold the idea that my wedding would be less special if I didn't have "all the stuff," and I totally bought in. But now I'm seeing through the B.S. My wedding (and my life!) will be just as amazing, just as wonderful, just as special without "all the stuff" -- in fact, it might just even be better. </span>CChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03547125005010428823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605573016125761699.post-60642228101193765642013-04-23T08:35:00.002-07:002013-05-06T08:41:40.300-07:00Do-It-Yourself (and Buy Nothing New) Wedding Videography<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">So weddings are expensive! Really expensive. And I think wedding planning has felt challenging largely because many of the weddings I've seen and read about feel really wasteful (in terms of money and resources). There's probably a whole post I can write about this later. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Anyway, we decided that we wanted some video of our upcoming wedding, but didn't want to shell out $2,000+ for a videographer, so:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge6rS_donEb33JKyOsu05EHJ2nFGG-r9Ncl4FUqGTUg3nA9G_aoz9QjTzJ0CGzGgLUTqTqrCo-WVD69WMyw1RvSaK14O09x_h9h0kuMsU20TY9UXr9qLWPWIuHefKQ6yJ64qtVSzcZOnw/s1600/flipcam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge6rS_donEb33JKyOsu05EHJ2nFGG-r9Ncl4FUqGTUg3nA9G_aoz9QjTzJ0CGzGgLUTqTqrCo-WVD69WMyw1RvSaK14O09x_h9h0kuMsU20TY9UXr9qLWPWIuHefKQ6yJ64qtVSzcZOnw/s1600/flipcam.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">I bought a few used (and cheap!) flipcams to have get video clips throughout the day (which we can then have professionally edited -- this was totally inspired by my awesome friend <a href="http://www.kimskitchensink.com/" target="_blank">Kim</a>). As regular readers will know, I have strong feelings about the huge impact of <a href="http://www.ccwishon.blogspot.com/2013/01/disposable-consumerism-tech-edition.html" target="_blank">our culture of disposable technology</a></span> <span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">so, not only do I feel good about getting used electronics, which have no further environmental or socially irresponsible impact, but I also just save myself a good $1900+ on videos for our wedding. I call that a win!</span><br /><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>CChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03547125005010428823noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605573016125761699.post-7177604472140396782013-04-18T10:35:00.001-07:002013-04-23T08:30:52.937-07:00Getting Rich with Responsible Consumerism!<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">So something that I particularly am loving so far about the "<a href="http://ccwishon.blogspot.com/2013/01/where-will-my-two-cents-go-this-year.html" target="_blank">buy nothing new</a>" year is that, not only am I supporting my social and environmental values, but I am also saving a significant amount of money! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiunjdZ13oy9MWmw5b1jEjj-U_ASAo4ai-l89FVf2fWnqgz7enOquDY3Pu54XAbUXp8ut4qB4qJQ6CVHsA7jvV_eieEmFc1KTxQqFosG0ovoogTkdN42m0RGuc2j4m1QrDlgnewX0hGV2c/s1600/networth.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiunjdZ13oy9MWmw5b1jEjj-U_ASAo4ai-l89FVf2fWnqgz7enOquDY3Pu54XAbUXp8ut4qB4qJQ6CVHsA7jvV_eieEmFc1KTxQqFosG0ovoogTkdN42m0RGuc2j4m1QrDlgnewX0hGV2c/s320/networth.png" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">This is a graph of my net worth from the last few months. I've taken out the dollar amounts, but even without them you can see where my net worth was in December and January, when I started the "buy nothing new" year, and where it's grown to in just three months. I haven't gotten a raise or come into any money, and I haven't even sold any of the things I'm trying to get rid of yet, but my net worth from January to March grew almost $10,000.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">That's right, I just made $10,000 in three months just by cutting back the amount of "stuff" that I'm buying. And I really wasn't buying that much to begin with -- a few art supplies here, a shirt or two there, CVS runs for last minute things I needed -- but by cutting out a large portion of that and buying used for the things I still need, I've saved a substantial amount of money. And I expect this trend to continue (although realistically I know it will probably level out a bit).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">So really, who can afford <i>not</i> to be a conscious consumer? :) </span>CChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03547125005010428823noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605573016125761699.post-34689739111184853042013-04-15T08:17:00.000-07:002013-04-15T08:17:40.989-07:00Four (and a half) Month Update<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">So I'm now four and a half months in the "<a href="http://ccwishon.blogspot.com/2013/01/where-will-my-two-cents-go-this-year.html" target="_blank">Buy Nothing New</a></span>" <span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">year, and I've been neglecting the blog a little bit, so I want to post an update. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">As far as buying nothing new, things have been going great! I still struggle with gifts and how to navigate that, but I'm trying to get more and more creative.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">As far as buying in general, I think I've fallen off the wagon a little bit. Goodwill is my weakness, and I find that when I go in there and let myself look around (as opposed to just searching for exactly what I came in for), I tend to buy things that I don't really need.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">In the last two months I bought the following items at Goodwill:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">- Button down shirt for work</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">- Cute hat that I really didn't need</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">- Vases for centerpieces for the wedding</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">- Rubber duckies (which I ended up using for wedding stuff)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">- Three sweaters that I didn't need</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">- Picture frames that I didn't need</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">- And I almost bought a trumpet :)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">While it's awesome that I can find all of these great things at Goodwill (which is responsible for workers, the environment, and my bank account), I think I really need to re-visit the <a href="http://www.ccwishon.blogspot.com/2013/02/do-i-need-this.html" target="_blank">consumerism flowchart</a> that I wrote about earlier. All of this shopping is a little bit counter-productive to my de-cluttering initiative! It's time to get back on track!</span>CChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03547125005010428823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605573016125761699.post-76490647014401348012013-04-15T08:00:00.001-07:002013-04-15T08:00:37.869-07:00Buy Nothing New Wedding Update<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I have been largely away from the blog for a few weeks now, in part because I have been spending most of my free internet time planning for this upcoming wedding!</span> <span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">I'm really doing my best to put together a wedding that still reflects my values, and here's where I'm at right now:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Things I've figured out in a responsible/sustainable way(Blog posts coming soon!):</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">- Venue, food, photography</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">- Do-It-Yourself Videography</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">- My dress/ensemble</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">- Centerpieces (I love Goodwill!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Things I still haven't quite figured out how to do sustainably:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">- Future Husband's apparel (How do you multiple coordinating ties in a specific color family used?)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">- Gifts for the awesome people who are helping us out</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">- Other decorations and activities</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">- Flowers </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">If anyone has suggestion on any of these things, please let me know! I promise to come back and start blogging again very soon :)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> </span>CChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03547125005010428823noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605573016125761699.post-56120028590060273032013-03-28T13:52:00.000-07:002013-04-15T08:00:43.753-07:00Buy Nothing New Wedding!<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">As my real life friends already know, I got engaged this past weekend and I'm getting married in September of this year. Yay!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Since I have no intention of compromising on my "buy nothing new" year, I guess my upcoming wedding has just turned into a "buy nothing new" wedding!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Oooh, this just got interesting. </span>CChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03547125005010428823noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605573016125761699.post-15938994577015246112013-03-19T08:20:00.001-07:002013-03-19T08:20:41.525-07:00Turning an old dress into a new dress!<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">So the school district that I work for holds a teacher prom every year -- there's dancing, drinks, casino games, food, and (of course!) a prom king and queen. Davey and I went this year and it was 10,000 times better than actual prom was back in the day!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Not being a very fancy person, I needed a dress to wear to teacher prom and at first, I was sure that I didn't have anything in my closet. That is, until I found this dress in the very back corner:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikdQBXja5wNhUwvfQ47blplYMpbuc-3CVdMc_HNTVnRw6FU4fTVuXW6aWyxNT4qJNP9Ih5HazpK85J6vUypHg14NWeDtQJU_ky_9o8x1FWUfRv75sVfd-gacrsDUki_N8pT4MMQOTisPg/s1600/IMGP0207.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikdQBXja5wNhUwvfQ47blplYMpbuc-3CVdMc_HNTVnRw6FU4fTVuXW6aWyxNT4qJNP9Ih5HazpK85J6vUypHg14NWeDtQJU_ky_9o8x1FWUfRv75sVfd-gacrsDUki_N8pT4MMQOTisPg/s320/IMGP0207.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">This was the dress that I wore when I went to the Oscars in 8th grade, and while I love the color, it's really not something I would ever wear again. I had mostly just been holding onto it for sentimental reasons, and the off chance that I would need a floor length blue dress some day. Because I wanted to give this dress a second chance, and because of the rules of my "buy nothing new" year, I decided to make this dress above into this dress below:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg0VGzoUNHUuqOYJm0YSaR7eYjMvbRTXdcpxE1lgECR_XUxxksvxpFUoHT2IYX3nUkymuw_YdCHs7Nolh0N3Oj1bZnujbSjn2-sLW_dLaKgoDjI7AMNXm0mua16Tw2lgejk2nZp7G3nO0/s1600/IMGP0210.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg0VGzoUNHUuqOYJm0YSaR7eYjMvbRTXdcpxE1lgECR_XUxxksvxpFUoHT2IYX3nUkymuw_YdCHs7Nolh0N3Oj1bZnujbSjn2-sLW_dLaKgoDjI7AMNXm0mua16Tw2lgejk2nZp7G3nO0/s320/IMGP0210.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> <i>Picture of the front coming soon! We had cheesy prom portraits taken so I'll upload those when I get them :)</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><i><br /></i></span>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">I hemmed the floor-length skirt into a knee-length skirt, and then used the extra fabric to construct a bodice and sleeves. I had some awesome polka-dot ribbon laying around and decided to use that for a sash. (For the record, I am in no way a professional or even talented seamstress -- I didn't use a pattern or anything, just played around with my sewing machine until the dress looked good!)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">I ended up loving this dress so much that I am now totally inspired to alter other clothes that have been hanging in the back of my closet into items that I'll actually wear. For $0 I got a perfectly nice teacher prom dress and gave an old sentimental item new life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">I love the way that this "buy nothing new" year has forced me to become more creative and more resourceful, and find creative solutions that I never would have thought of before!</span></div>
CChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03547125005010428823noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605573016125761699.post-66765700803432637502013-03-12T09:08:00.002-07:002013-05-02T08:13:54.213-07:00"The things I consumed ended up consuming me"<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">An interesting and quick article about a man who realized the detrimental effects of all his "stuff" and found happiness in relationships and experiences :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/opinion/sunday/living-with-less-a-lot-less.html?_r=0</span>CChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03547125005010428823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605573016125761699.post-89554119521706320532013-03-04T09:44:00.000-08:002013-03-04T09:44:06.969-08:00Purchase #2<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">(To clarify, I'm using my "Purchase" posts to document all non-gift items that I've purchased, whether used or new. I'm not documenting gifts here or materials that I gathered for projects, as those are getting their own posts)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Over the weekend, I bought a used sewing machine:</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">My "New to Me" Sewing Machine! Original retail (back in the day) = $1,100. I paid $250.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">This was not an anticipated purchase. Sadly, I lent my sewing machine out to a friend a couple of months back, and when it was returned it was acting strange. I troubleshooted the best I could during the <a href="http://www.ccwishon.blogspot.com/2013/02/we-made-organic-couch.html" target="_blank">make your own couch</a></span> <span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">project, but when I started on my next project (altering some old clothes to make "new to me" clothes), it completely died. I took it in to get it fixed at this local vacuum and sewing machine repair shop (a totally amazing place), and the technician I spoke with said it would cost far more to fix than the machine is actually worth. :(</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">I have been interested in looking at a better machine for a couple of years now, but had no reason to ditch my old machine while it still worked. So when my old Singer finally bit the dust, I decided to see what used machines the store had on hand for sale. My "new to me" Pfaff machine is one of the best sewing machines ever made, and had always been a dream that was totally out of my price range, so I was very excited that this store just happened to have one for a reasonable price!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">It was also interesting to talk with the technician, who told me that almost all of the new machines now are being very cheaply produced in China and Thailand and that they are very poor quality. He says that these days he really only recommends buying used to his customers, which is pretty awesome. And why not, when you get such great quality for a more affordable price, while simultaneously withholding support from a production system that marginalizes workers and uses up natural resources?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">I worked on my alterations project yesterday (post coming soon!) on my "new to me" machine, and it is amazing! I can't wait to post all of the fun things I'm working on with this machine.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> </span>CChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03547125005010428823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605573016125761699.post-5571355522422752922013-02-27T09:59:00.001-08:002013-02-27T10:00:04.986-08:00Two Months Update<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">As of tomorrow, I am officially two months into the <a href="http://ccwishon.blogspot.com/2013/01/where-will-my-two-cents-go-this-year.html" target="_blank">"buy nothing new" year</a>, and so far, so good!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Despite <a href="http://www.ccwishon.blogspot.com/2013/02/happy-non-consumer-valentines-day.html" target="_blank">celebrating Valentine's Day</a> and going on a <a href="http://www.ccwishon.blogspot.com/2013/02/buy-nothing-new-vacation.html" target="_blank">vacation</a> thi</span>s <span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">month, I succeeded in not buying anything new for myself!* Yay!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">So here is what I bought this month:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">- Box of chocolates and newborn-sized hearts t-shirt for family who had a new baby and weren't able to go out and celebrate (gift)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">- Four pairs of shoes as a charitable donation (gift)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">- *A friend bought me a $2 pair of headphones from the gate at Virgin America so I wouldn't freak out on our flight home from vacation (I am phobic of flying!!). This was technically a gift, but could have been totally avoided if I had thought ahead and brought my own, so I'm partially counting this purchase.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">I feel like I did pretty well this month, and really wasn't tempted at all. In fact, I feel like I'm more or less "over" shopping at this point -- the <a href="http://www.ccwishon.blogspot.com/2013/02/off-gassing-its-as-gross-as-it-sounds.html" target="_blank">fumes in the stores</a> now make me nauseous, I've found more important things (to me) to spend my money on (or rather save my money for!), and I just don't want or need all the clutter. It's really freeing :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">As far as room for improvement, I think it still all comes down to planning ahead. If I had thought of it ahead of time, I could have gotten some of those gifts and donations used or homemade, and I definitely could have avoided the purchase of the $2 headphones. Let's see if I can do even better next month! </span>CChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03547125005010428823noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605573016125761699.post-47946925979764650802013-02-24T19:26:00.002-08:002013-02-24T19:27:13.360-08:00Do I Need This?<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I just stumbled across this on the internet and felt compelled to post this. It's how I feel about pretty much all new "stuff" right now, and is pretty hilarious:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Now just replace the word "panflute" with anything at all you are tempted to buy or debating getting rid of. I've realized that, chances are, if I haven't needed it before now, and if I am even contemplating getting rid of it, I probably don't need it. This flowchart is my new de-cluttering motto :)</span>CChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03547125005010428823noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605573016125761699.post-85597571704862424552013-02-24T11:09:00.000-08:002013-05-02T08:14:45.929-07:00Buy Nothing New Vacation!<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Sorry for disappearing so abruptly -- I was on vacation in Washington DC earlier this week and had a fabulous time!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Now I'm not one to go on vacation to go shopping, so my first vacation in the "buy nothing new" year wasn't too challenging, but it did make me more aware of my past vacation spending habits.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">We went to several of the Smithsonians and many of the national monuments, and every single one had its own gift shop. The Smithsonians had multiple gift shops per museum, and everywhere we went these little tourist shops seemed to be full of people. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Now I have a confession to make -- in the past, I would have been one of them. I used to (as in years ago) be a little obsessed with collecting, and convinced that I needed souvenirs to remember every cool place I'd ever been. In the last few years, I've started to get away from this as I've begun to de-clutter, but I would still find myself looking for a hat pin or postcard or some small trinket to memorialize the experience. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Why do we feel that we need physical objects to help us remember fun experiences? Is it because we're afraid we'll forget them? Or because we're drawn to the novelty of something we can't buy anywhere else? Is it to show off to friends all the cool things we've done?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">And then what happens to these trinkets? As I've been de-cluttering this year, I have come across several vacation souvenirs. It's probably the first time I've looked at many of them since the vacations they came from. Some of them are so random that I don't even remember where I got them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">And what about the souvenir-less vacations that I've taken? Are they any less special, do I remember them any less fondly because I didn't buy a little plastic Eiffel Tower, etc.? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Okay, so maybe I had way too long to think about this on the plane, but I'm grateful that I've come to a place where I don't feel that I need physical mementos to remind me of the special times in my life. Not that there's anything wrong with a souvenir here and there, but it's nice to feel less and less connected with objects, and more connected with the memories and experiences themselves. I think this is one of my favorite side effects of my "buy nothing new" year so far. </span></div>
CChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03547125005010428823noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605573016125761699.post-37456203680316564172013-02-14T09:45:00.000-08:002013-02-14T09:45:16.000-08:00Happy (Non-Consumer) Valentine's Day!<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! I know some people feel like Valentine's Day is purely a commercial holiday, but when you take all of the commercialism and consumerism out of it, you're left with just another day to celebrate your love :) That is exactly what the Significant Other and I will be doing tonight with homemade cards and a homemade candlelit dinner (no boxes of chocolates, imported roses, or cheesy gifts here! Although cheesy gifts can sometimes be pretty fun).</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnnql3fCn_dKIubPkAobMCM-kygy-mCdxVkDavzx8hOHXrRoOWF4VqELpf9nvkmu5kJKZMIeCQi3ynRqTUNNdxXC3j-eQ-XnEPt9XgVUflspMYKiuIy1gnkwtKZ9eQXoi0OEnL9o4n9xw/s1600/Photo0197.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnnql3fCn_dKIubPkAobMCM-kygy-mCdxVkDavzx8hOHXrRoOWF4VqELpf9nvkmu5kJKZMIeCQi3ynRqTUNNdxXC3j-eQ-XnEPt9XgVUflspMYKiuIy1gnkwtKZ9eQXoi0OEnL9o4n9xw/s320/Photo0197.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Above is my homemade card, that I had some fun making. I must say, it's really nice and relaxing not to have to worry about running out to buy gifts and cards and flowers and the whole shebang. I was worried about how I would handle holidays during the "buy nothing new" year, but I'm now thinking that maybe non-consumer holidays are the way to go after all :)</span>CChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03547125005010428823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605573016125761699.post-8867820286308491242013-02-12T09:48:00.002-08:002013-02-12T10:45:50.902-08:00We Made an Organic Couch!<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
Our organic, carcinogen-free, super hippie couch is finally done, and now I get to post about it! So here it is, how to make an organic sofa:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq9sNVVxDpoyjakxIWtd8888Xn6h6gX7yiuxoNh8mEKFOGTmt8oLtFq0VUxEK-v7weyZTRlr6aOsvs_y93AFoSnVnjLR8-8-HQKcYImVJLH44i9LeHHPN3ms2oaHuVJFYsjTTPPAk5Q6M/s1600/20130210_141238.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq9sNVVxDpoyjakxIWtd8888Xn6h6gX7yiuxoNh8mEKFOGTmt8oLtFq0VUxEK-v7weyZTRlr6aOsvs_y93AFoSnVnjLR8-8-HQKcYImVJLH44i9LeHHPN3ms2oaHuVJFYsjTTPPAk5Q6M/s320/20130210_141238.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<i>The Significant Other on the new couch!</i></div>
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So first here is a little background on why we wanted a new couch in the first place -- the couch we had before was a great find from a thrift store that I've had for a few years, but it was too short so we had been thinking about an upgrade for a while now. What really motivated the change, though, was a cancer scare a few months back that got us thinking about all the carcinogens in our houses -- particularly the toxic flame retardants that are in all furniture made in the last few decades and have been <i> </i>shown lately to be relatively dangerous (<a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/amywestervelt/2013/02/08/californias-fire-code-update-the-end-of-toxic-flame-retardants/" target="_blank">Here's a good summarizing article that also touches on the shifting policies around flame retardants</a>). Between the flame retardants and the toxic off-gassing, we knew we didn't want to get just any new or used couch. Unfortunately, organic couches start at $2,500 and only get more expensive from there, so that left us with one option -- construct our own!</div>
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So with off-gassing, flame retardants, environmental impact, and labor practices (and cost!) in mind, here are the materials we gathered to put together our new organic sofa:</div>
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<li>Wooden futon frame, used (Craigslist)</li>
<li>100% natural latex foam block, returned (used) and re-cut to our dimensions</li>
<li>Organic cotton batting (new, made in USA)</li>
<li>Upholstery fabric (new, made in USA)</li>
<li>Natural bamboo fiber for pillow stuffing (new, made in USA)</li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQZTORWhzmwZFyreVhsBJXcWnNPlgs3gMAP5U5NsBSd79B1Bjp-tiWF8f7ggldfb5i02ov_S3oKlbARE4_k0zmxiQfc7LxezgzgLMFH7FzGY6qEi3kFqHkYcPBngmGabUPnkGpDLcxBW8/s1600/20130101_142103.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQZTORWhzmwZFyreVhsBJXcWnNPlgs3gMAP5U5NsBSd79B1Bjp-tiWF8f7ggldfb5i02ov_S3oKlbARE4_k0zmxiQfc7LxezgzgLMFH7FzGY6qEi3kFqHkYcPBngmGabUPnkGpDLcxBW8/s320/20130101_142103.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Assembling the frame</i> </div>
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We assembled the frame, and the significant other made a few structural adjustments:</div>
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<i>The finished frame</i></div>
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The wood is great because of it's visual appeal and because of the vast difference in off-gassing, etc. versus a plastic, metal, or composite frame. Also, the foam works best on slats so that it can "breathe".</div>
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Next we got the natural latex foam -- I found a nearby store that sells 100% natural latex foam that is completely free from chemical additives and flame retardants and was able to buy a large block of foam from them for a discount because it had originally been custom cut for another customer and then returned because the size didn't work. So it was never really used, but it's purchase didn't initiate the production of a new item, which is kind of the best of both worlds. The company was able to re-cut the giant foam block into six smaller blocks, which we wrapped in organic cotton batting and covered in muslin to use as the cushions:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqsZSXpSyUqBs1C7BqailRVn7lsx5_tpO6eRkpLiu9_Z_B72AQhaRAoAfPYAM53vRR9K_mJHO-lDKOWth6fRkgYBQdUIy6ox3Ofzu0qJrT1TWdKXX8jPSrBiO4g7E13LwKv_ut4JcyD68/s1600/20130117_180558.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqsZSXpSyUqBs1C7BqailRVn7lsx5_tpO6eRkpLiu9_Z_B72AQhaRAoAfPYAM53vRR9K_mJHO-lDKOWth6fRkgYBQdUIy6ox3Ofzu0qJrT1TWdKXX8jPSrBiO4g7E13LwKv_ut4JcyD68/s320/20130117_180558.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Frame + Cushions!</i></div>
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The Significant Other picked out some upholstery fabric that was Made in the USA (woohoo!) and we then got to work on covering all the cushions:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhyphenhyphenDZ5RuWTnMGO6xqIgHqR0bBFXxRMoRq__FvKMvxht-Zbx6suSFa94e2eZxEdrds7nZVKikV8d_KB2oFO5_v96wK7RcFm5MSqiTjP4VTjXTX-mZoLPLE7FigYNeTMsL_-o6FyfIeGdno/s1600/20130120_125304.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhyphenhyphenDZ5RuWTnMGO6xqIgHqR0bBFXxRMoRq__FvKMvxht-Zbx6suSFa94e2eZxEdrds7nZVKikV8d_KB2oFO5_v96wK7RcFm5MSqiTjP4VTjXTX-mZoLPLE7FigYNeTMsL_-o6FyfIeGdno/s320/20130120_125304.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<i>By the way, I did do work on this, too, but just made the S.O. pose for the pictures :)</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgQB8ZeMSVGTlt0pl-7tEVl5ozkQ59VvXCRwFzToayOW8nMzAEPJqLSZRUMOlsneWVyOtm-rpujjc86ugc1fNYlN-mJMQAuqSN7YYL3GPDPDFPsUolR1IML9MmTT9EWj8Pg-nji15E5b8/s1600/20130120_182026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgQB8ZeMSVGTlt0pl-7tEVl5ozkQ59VvXCRwFzToayOW8nMzAEPJqLSZRUMOlsneWVyOtm-rpujjc86ugc1fNYlN-mJMQAuqSN7YYL3GPDPDFPsUolR1IML9MmTT9EWj8Pg-nji15E5b8/s320/20130120_182026.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>See, here I am sewing!</i></div>
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<i>Covered cushions!</i></div>
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Once the cushions were covered, the last step was to make pillows for the arms (to make it more comfortable and "couch-y" versus "futon-y") and a couple of throw pillows. I again used "Made in USA" fabric as well as domestically produced 100% natural bamboo fiber:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQll2iPpnsNpk24gLxJGSU6D5BlQ-xLEVFbclJCujH0fcYuNxfDEnEnksapHBttH1BYj4CGBb_OBB8qch0Cs_Z1PjEfOcMrc5CpX1Y34RUTBqg2xSyRIFguonTV_3DHu6fTNXmDk39pWQ/s1600/20130210_083829.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQll2iPpnsNpk24gLxJGSU6D5BlQ-xLEVFbclJCujH0fcYuNxfDEnEnksapHBttH1BYj4CGBb_OBB8qch0Cs_Z1PjEfOcMrc5CpX1Y34RUTBqg2xSyRIFguonTV_3DHu6fTNXmDk39pWQ/s320/20130210_083829.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here's what the arms look like now (a couple more pillows are coming soon):</div>
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I don't have a final picture of the whole couch because I ran out of stuffing for the last pillows (but didn't want to wait to post this!), but you can tell by that smile how much the Significant Other likes it already haha:</div>
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So that's our new couch! It's actually really comfortable, and ended up costing us less than a new couch from a department store would. It was somewhat challenging to find foam and batting that wasn't treated with flame retardants and other toxic additives, but I hope that that will all change soon as California continues to re-evaluate the necessity of these chemical additives in furniture.</div>
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Anyway, you may not be that impressed, but I am super excited about our responsibly made (by us!), environmentally friendly, non-toxic sofa. Next up, putting together an organic/non-toxic armchair!</div>
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(Also, this was our first time putting together anything like this, so I would love any feedback/suggestions/comments you may have!)</div>
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CChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03547125005010428823noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605573016125761699.post-32419133841442255042013-02-07T11:08:00.001-08:002013-02-07T11:09:47.218-08:00Off-Gassing (It's as gross as it sounds!)<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Wow, has it really been a week since I posted last? I guess when you're not buying things, there isn't always too much to report. I'm still going strong on the "buy nothing new" year, and despite the absence of "new and exciting" purchases in my life, I am quite happy, well-equipped, and generally content. The goodwill pile is also building up and I'm feeling just a little less stressed with every useless bit of clutter that I'm eliminating. Woohoo!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Anyway, I've been thinking a lot about off-gassing lately as the Significant Other and I have been building our couch (I know, I know, I need to post the pictures!). Part of the reason that we have been putting together a couch ourselves is to avoid exposure to the dangerous chemicals in flame retardants and other components of furniture. After a recent cancer scare, this is pretty important to us!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">There are so many dangerous chemicals in the air we breathe in our homes, cars, and offices these days. I used to love the "new car smell," until I realized it was just chemical off-gassing from all the new material in the car. I also went into a store the other day for the first time in 5 weeks or so and got a headache from all the off-gassing of the new products. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">The EPA confirms that indoor air is far more polluted than outdoor air, and a recent study found 300 foreign chemicals inside a newly furnished baby's room versus only 2 foreign chemicals right outside the window. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">You can check out an article about the study <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/01/19/the-indoor-pollution-threat-you-may-not-have-known-existed/" target="_blank">here</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">The article also suggests buying used as an important step in minimizing exposure to these synthetic and usually dangerous chemicals, so you know I like that. (Although used furniture still continues to off-gas -- at a much lower rate -- hence our decision to put together our couch ourselves!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Off-gassing is another interesting thing to consider when contemplating a new purchase. Do I really want to bring known carcinogens into my house, and support their continued use through my purchase? Just another motivator for me to stick with used and handmade!</span><br />
CChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03547125005010428823noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605573016125761699.post-20999731800787007872013-01-30T09:25:00.003-08:002013-02-27T09:39:24.621-08:00One Month Update<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Okay technically it will have been one month into my "buy nothing new" year tomorrow, but I felt like writing this post today, so I'm going to do it :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New;">What I bought this month:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New;"><a href="http://ccwishon.blogspot.com/2013/01/purchase-1.html" target="_blank">Digital camera</a> (used)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New;"><a href="http://ccwishon.blogspot.com/2013/01/challenge-1-gifts.html" target="_blank">Diapers and small bath toys</a> for baby shower gift (new)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New;">Fabric for <a href="http://www.ccwishon.blogspot.com/2013/02/we-made-organic-couch.html" target="_blank">make-your-own couch project</a> (new, made in USA)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New;">The digital camera was to replace my old camera that brokein August; the present was for a family member's baby shower (and you really can't buy diapers used!); and the fabric is the only new component of our couch that we are assembling in order to avoid purchasing an entirely new couch. I do feel like each purchase was needed and that I did my best to avoid buying new, but I definitely still see a lot of room for improvement here! (It also doesn't look so good that, after months of searching, I finally found a good used camera only two weeks into my "buy nothing new" year!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New;">So, one month in, how is this all going? I've found that, overall, it's not the big purchases that have been hard to cut down on (I wasn't really in the habit of "going shopping" and buying new clothes, shoes, etc.), but it's the little things (that sure do add up!) where I've noticed a real change. Instead of running over to Target or CVS for a lampshade or a glue stick or a pillow (these all came up this month), I'm getting more creative. I'm thinking about other ways I can make things work -- maybe by buying used or modifying something I already own or just trying a new approach. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New;">When the bigger things do come up (we need a new couch), I've gotten extra creative and have been able to get exactly what I need, almost entirely used (and for way cheaper!), just by planning ahead. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New;">I think the main difference with the <a href="http://ccwishon.blogspot.com/2013/01/where-will-my-two-cents-go-this-year.html" target="_blank">"buy nothing new" year</a> is that I can't really do last-minute shopping ("Oh shoot, we need a new couch/camera/pair of shoes/extension cord/etc., let's run over to Target/Best Buy/Payless/CVS/etc."), but really that's a change I have been wanting to make anyway. By thinking more about what I actually need and being more deliberate with my purchases, I will </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New;">a.) save money, b.) reduce the clutter, and c.) end up with something that I actually need vs. something that will do for now.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New;">So one month down, 11 more to go. I hope that next month I can come on here and tell you I bought nothing at all! And maybe give an update on that goodwill pile, as well, as I continue to de-clutter my life :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><br />CChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03547125005010428823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4605573016125761699.post-56236900143608782642013-01-29T08:23:00.001-08:002013-01-29T08:23:47.627-08:00Disposable Consumerism - Tech Edition<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Last week I vented a little about <a href="http://www.ccwishon.blogspot.com/2013/01/environmental-impact-of-disposable.html" target="_blank">the environmental impacts of disposable consumerism</a>. This week I just want to expand on this idea a little by mentioning a specific aspect about our disposable consumerism culture that drives me a little extra crazy -- the constant cycle of upgrading electronic devices. </span><br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">All the different natural resources and dangerous chemicals that go into cell phone production</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">It feels like, as a culture, we have placed <i>soo</i> much emphasis and importance on our cell phones, tablets, laptops, etc. They are "our lives," they go with us everywhere, and frankly, they are a status symbol. I guess this explains why we are constantly being told we need to upgrade to the newest, sleekest, smallest, coolest model. It seems most of the big companies these days cater to this mindset, coming out with "new and improved" phones every year or even more often (I'm looking at you, Apple!) and then convincing us that our lives absolutely cannot go on until we have 4G/Siri/Bluetooth/whatever the next cool thing is. And the result of this is that we have people standing in line for hours and sometimes days to upgrade their perfectly functional phone to the next "it" model. I mean really, how often have you heard of someone tryin<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">g to get their phone fixed before going out to purchase a new one? </span></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">The fact is</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> that now even our cell phones have become "disposable".</span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">So what's the environmental impact? On average, the U.S. now throws out 100 million cell phones every year. Not only is that a monumental waste, but because of the toxicity of some of the chemicals used in cell phone production, we are literally poisoning areas and communities all over the world with our e-waste.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></div>
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This really motivates me to make certain important changes in how I purchase and use electronic devices:</div>
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1.) If something breaks, I will first do all that I can to get it repaired/replace a part.</div>
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2.) If it isn't reparable, I will:</div>
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-- Purchase a refurbished model rather than new</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> -- Make sure to responsibly recycle the old electronic device.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">And honestly, I've come to the realization that I don't need or want the next "smartest" phone/tablet/etc. My current phone is only moderately intelligent -- it calls, it texts, and it can check my email in a pinch, and that's all I really need my phone to do :)</span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Thank you for letting me vent! Does this drive anyone else a little crazy?</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> </span>CChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03547125005010428823noreply@blogger.com0