Dirt Chic

A Summer's Haul... Eesh

How did I get through the summer, ending with two bags of scarves, 3 bags of books, a box of glass ice cream cups, and 2 new pieces of luggage?

Thrifting, that's how.

It occurred to me yesterday that while it is a huge blessing to be living in one place for the next three years, I have to be careful to not keep adding to the mix of stuff I have.  

It will soon be time to renew and refine my purging ethos.  I just can't do it while everything is strewn all over.

I think a Dirt Chic party is in order.

Why the Silence? (From Mary)

I have not posted for a really long time.  Part of the reason is because we have had the plague.

Here is a rendering of my family this spring.  I was incredibly surprised we weren't the first to contract Swine Flu.  So look for a series from me this fall on how to survive illness with kids. It was really fun having my sewer broken at the same time too. Good thing it was still cold so I could put all of our towels on the back porch without offending anyone. :)

My second reason for not posting is beacause of my severe depression that has gotten out of control since Lucy's birth.  I only mention it because I feel that these things should be out in the open so that we can all help love one another.  It's hard being a mom and being depressed most of the time.

My third reason for not posting is a really good one.  I have started taking some serious action to get some of my children's books polished up and sent out.  It's alot of work.  So I think that it would be really fun to document my journey. Maybe I will get published sooner than later.

I have started a course from The Institute of Children's Literature. 

Here it is in all it's glory.  :) So, I will start a new post when I finish this one on my journey into the field of writing for Children.

--Mary

Plastic Creations

I made a new tote this past weekend... not because I needed one, but because once one learns how to fuse plastic bags into a sewing material one needs to sew that new material into something!

Hence, 

a Sturdy Shopping Tote:

a Useful Zip Pouch:

Likewise, I've had a ball of plarn (plastic yarn- instructions here) sitting around for awhile now and I finally got brave enough to attempt making something with it. 

I -- after about a half hour-- remembered how to cast on, and started knitting what I think will turn out to be something resembling this:

 (instructions here)

If you're looking for something to do with all those plastic bags stashed under your sink (or wherever you stash them... I know you stash them somewhere!)  Go grab some and your iron or scissors and try out a new crafting material!

Let the Sunshine In.

I feel like this today.

So of course, I also feel like this!

Semester is over, big tasks done.  I even cleaned out the most dreaded part of my house today.  Yes, we move again at some point in the next few months, but I think I've finally got in under control.

In other news, I've also finally obliterated my spendthriftery.  That is another reason to feel like I do.  I've been extra-frugal-feeling lately, and it's been great.  And I'll be sharing all the little and big things with you.  I promise.  And don't forget Dirt Chic Wardrobe.

Getting Rid of Everything?

I recently felt smote with guilt about my possessions.  This has been a semi-frequent occurrence this year, as I survey everything I own, and note how much of it is... well, what I really note in these situations is a) how valuable some of it is and b) how I figure others will consider it extraneous.

Not the best mindset, I suppose.  For one, none of it is THAT valuable... truly.  Nothing I own, save my wedding ring, is worthy more than $100.  (Well, except my car, but that doesn't count, as I can't really get rid of that, nor want to!)  I know that I've used credit to buy plenty of it, but I don't know if I would get what I paid for most of it.  Then, I think about how others live.  Some others.  I admit that I was a little bit relieved when I was helping some friends move and saw they had as much stuff in their moving van as hubby and I (you know who you are ;).  (Granted, they have 3 in their family, we only 2.  And Biff the pug.)  But still, I have plenty of "collectibles".  I have lots of clothing and accessories I can't all wear right now.

I do routinely "purge" my belongings or if not purge, go through everything with a "fine-tooth comb" and either take it to Goodwill or attempt to sell it.  I think my output exceeds my input.  Still, I've found myself this last week just questioning whether or not I should just try to get rid of stuff en masse.  It was a knee-jerk reaction to feeling a money crunch (and guilt at my credit-card debt), but I still figured the question was worth at least grappling with.

My main hold-up, when I think in these terms, is will I regret it later?  In some ways, yes, in some ways, no.  Then I go ahead and make piles of things.  And then I think about all the work that will go into trying to sell most of it.

And then the moment of truth comes: I'd much rather pursue other goals right now than to try to sell everything.  

At some point, I might need to, or I might really want to.  Right now, it's not even about ignoring the knee-jerk reaction.  It's about knowing when to draw the frugal line.  I bet I could get rid of a ton of stuff.  But that's not necessarily the point.  

So, off to writing plays and reading books.  :)

--Arwen

When You are Buying Your Fruit Think on This....

I went grocery shopping last night and I decided against buying the blueberries from Chile. Why? BecauseI am reading an awesome book.  It has been really inspiring to me in many ways.  I thought I might share a few tidbits with you. 

"Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, this book (released May 2007) tells the story of how our family was changed by one year of deliberately eating food produced in the place where we live. Barbara wrote the central narrative; Steven's sidebars dig deeper into various aspects of food-production science and industry; Camille's brief essays offer a nineteen-year-old's perspective on the local-food project, plus nutritional information, meal plans and recipes." 

Here is an article by one of the co-authors that really struck home with me. 

Oily Food

Americans put almost as much fossil fuel into our refrigerators as our cars.   We’re consuming about 400 gallons of oil a year per citizen – about 17% of our nation’s energy use – for agriculture, a close second to our vehicular use.  Tractors, combines, harvesters, irrigation, sprayers, tillers, balers, and other equipment all use petroleum.  Even bigger gas guzzlers on the farm are not the machines, but so-called inputs.  Synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides use oil and natural gas as their starting materials, and in their manufacturing.  More than a quarter of all farming energy goes into synthetic fertilizers.

But getting the crop from seed to harvest takes only one fifth of the total oil used for our food.  The lion’s share is consumed during the trip from the farm to your plate.  Each food item in a typical U.S. meal has traveled an average of 1500 miles.  In addition to direct transport, other fuel-thirsty steps include processing (drying, milling, cutting, sorting, baking), packaging, warehousing and refrigeration.  Energy calories consumed by production, packaging and shipping far outweigh the energy calories we receive from the food.

A quick way to improve food-related fuel economy would be to buy a quart of motor oil and drink it.  More palatable options are available.  If every U.S. citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country’s oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week.  That’s not gallons, but barrels.  Small changes in buying habits can make big differences.  Becoming a less energy-dependent nation may just need to start with a good breakfast.

Steven L. Hopp

You can visit their website at animalvegetablemiracle.com for lots of great links to local foods. I think my next step will be buying local meats.

--Mary

 

Fumbling Towards Green, Part One

Found in Blueprint:

This is very nice, I like it - that's why I'm keeping it around.  My little sister, bless her, commanded my parents to start recycling, and my mom, being a very stylish and design-minded person, did not want a nasty mess of bags and cans in her house, and was sort of at a loss for ideas.  She ended up getting a large, 3-compartment hamper that more or less matches the kitchen.  

For the time being, this is how I recycle.

It looks a little messier than it is.  And it's actually missing our garbage can, which hangs out here, as well.  This is how I recycle:

-Find a place to recycle.*

-Determine if the item's recyclable.*

-Rinse out the things that need to be rinsed.*

-Put all the non-paper stuff in the orange bin, and when it's full, put a trash bag over it (one I recycle, as well - when I've taken it to the recycling dumpster I just bring it right back and keep using it for the same purpose), and turn it over.  When the orange bin is full a second time, it's time to head to the recycling location.

-Put all the paper stuff in a massive IKEA bag.  We recycle paper religiously.  Unless it has plastic attached to it (like many envelopes), it goes in the bag.  Which is good, as I'm a writer and a lover of magazines, so my paper consumption bothers me at times.

*Finding a place to recycle.  Well, this can take some creativity.  Some wonderful communities have systems already in place, you can contact your local governmental agency, ask a neighbor, consult the internet/yellow pages.  Sometimes you have to buy a bin - a blue one, often enough.  Some places you have to physically transport it, as we have to do in our current apartment - there's a big center for it in a church parking lot, but we actually dump it in a recycling dumpster in a school parking lot.  Perhaps we're not supposed to, but we do pay taxes.  So there.  When we lived in Chicago, our particular building didn't have the giant blue dumpsters, so we would just stick it in our neighbors'.  (Well, hubby did it, I was too neurotic.)  

*Every community has different things they recycle.  You can tell if something's recyclable because it has the little arrow-triangle symbol, w/a number in it.  

*As hubby points out, water is an endangered resource, as well, so I tend to let things that need to be rinsed & are messy in the sink, or by the sink - and after I've washed a load of dishes will let them soak in that water.  Or if I'm just using the dishwasher, I'll add them last.

Particular items:

*I've started to "recycle" glass jars.  We have a lot of plastic food storage but it cracks and breaks, and is not always abundant.  I'm actually looking to find ways to use these jars for other things - like making candles in them, perhaps, or storing other items.  I know they're heavier than plastic and potentially hazardous if they break, but I don't want to pass up a good use.

*If I can, I get a massive bottle of one item to dispense into smaller ones, such as with shampoo, hand soap, etc.  Actually, I'm trying to get away from buying so many bath products - by making my own, or using something economical like soap, which is super-fun to make.  When recycling these items, I usually have to fill them with water and let them sit - lotion is tricky to rinse out.

I've found that it's good to keep the recycling in the IKEA bags, as when we lived in Chicago, and just stuck them out on the back porch when they got to be ugly or put them in the cleaning closet.  You can certainly stack a bag full of containers in the bag of papers.  

Chicago really showed me how much we can and should recycle.  We took that out at least once a week, whereas the garbage didn't have to be taken out nearly as often.  A worthwhile endeavor.  (We have yet to really need to sort things - that can be done at the place of recycling, just wear rubber gloves to keep clean.  It might sound time-consuming, but you'll get used to it quickly.  Just do it as fast as possible.)

Anyone have awesome recycling tips or ideas?

(Thanks to Jennie for the post idea! :)

--Arwen

Weight Loss Can Be Frugal: Tidbits!

Ok, in semi-particular order, some "last" thoughts on weightloss, and some tips.

*Diet books.  When I was an older adolescent, the whole low-fat thing was the craze, and I was trying to lose weight, and all I could think about was how miserable a life I was going to lead.  No, I take that back - all I thought about were plates stacked with Oreos and that commercial with Shaq as a genie sitting on top a giant mound of fast food.  Mary introduced me to the Weigh Down Diet, which was a mix of a practical weight loss idea (eat less, enjoy it more, etc.) w/spiritual principles.  I never got past the weight-loss part (I'm not dissing spiritual principles, but that wasn't really the root of my weight "problem"), but that was fine - I've been anchored by the "quantity" principle ever since (though I differ w/the author on the quality part, and the exercise part).  So, with diet books - I just take what I can and leave the rest.  On that note, I was at Barnes & Noble yesterday and saw the big bad new diet book out - but it doesn't actually look bad.  Some "common sense" stuff, with the inclusion of hypnosis.  ???  Get it at the library if you want to read it - don't spend money on this stuff!  :)

*Pills.  I pretty much feel like if you can't do it without 'em... well, some people need the accountability, the feeling like they're getting a boost.  I'm not knocking that.  But I'm not into it.  I don't know about all the different pills, but I do know that most of them WILL help but then you have to deal w/the expense of them, and then the fallout from when you go off them: weight gain.  Not cool.  Just get into caffeine if you want a helpful substance, honestly.  (In moderate amounts, of course.)

*Eat what you like.  But don't go gonzo.  I don't try to "max out" each meal w/delicious food - but I try to keep each meal interesting enough.  Find new and easy and fun ways to make healthy things.  Lots of magazines do features on re-making classic recipes, like mac n' cheese, into healthier versions.  Cooking Light is amazing.  Taste of Home has a healthy magazine, too.  And you don't even have to subscribe - just get recipes from their websites!

*Don't let people bully you into eating.  This is trickier if you are used to certain ways of eating with your family.  But if you make new parameters for yourself, tell your family about them, instead of just trying to implement them quietly.  They don't have to do the same, but hopefully they will get it, and maybe even help you out.  If they don't, box their ears.  :)  That is my strategy.  I've mentioned some uphill-battle type situations.  I still have them.  Everybody has different ways of approaching food and eating, but what gets me are the people who think there should be a standardized way.  Once again, I don't expect people to conform to my eating, but a little flexibility should be involved.  I try to eat a small snack if I am starving and dinner w/my hubby is two hours away.  But if I don't want to eat breakfast and someone routinely tries to get me to do so, supreme tact is involved at first - but at some point, the truth must be told.  I eat when I'm hungry.  I don't buy into the way of life some people have, where they just don't eat or forget too.  Sometimes that's necessary - but not regularly.  I'm a beast when I don't eat.  So I just try to think ahead, so that I'm not inconveniencing reasonable people.  But if they're unreasonable... sheesh!

*Holidays.  I think the problem here is not a pig-out day, but a pig-out season.  I sort of approached the Christmas season w/a pig-out mentality.  What saved me was my routine, my exercise, and my habits.  I didn't eat 3-4 big meals a day, usually just one.  I kept exercising.  I might've ate more than usual, but I practiced small ways to scale back.  Holidays are not about free-for-alls, one way or the other.  I do realize that certain seasons lend to weight loss or gain - but winter is not a real problem for me, because I am still exercising, and try to find other ways to keep me interested in life.  It doesn't hurt that I enjoy indoor life - but seriously, food has been a "kick" for me, as have other things.  So I find different kicks.  I read great books and interesting magazines.  I watch things I really like on DVD - like M*A*S*H.  I read up on how to make things that interest me, like salsa and lip balm.  Etc.  I write.  A lot.

*Fullness.  Fullness is subtle.  Fullness is a habit.  Learn to pay attention to your body.  I love eating meals w/good friends that I haven't talked to in awhile, because I find myself talking more and eating over the course of a longer period of time.  This is fun.  But here I must address a key concept of my "doing what works" for me.  I've read (most recently, in the current issue of Real Simple) this principle many places: do not do something while you're eating.  Like read, or watch tv.  I just can't do that, personally.  I know it's tied to eating slowly, which is a great trick when you're learning about what fullness means to your body.  But I'm not a slow eater.  I'm not.  Period.  So sometimes I can get full in about a minute.  This is fine with me.  And I need to read when I'm eating by myself.  This is fine w/me, also.  If having a distraction makes you eat more, then don't be distracted.  But if I have a half sandwich in front of me, I know I can eat that while reading, and then be done.  If I have a huge plate of pasta, maybe not so much.  But fullness (like true hunger - which takes different forms) is subtle, and by that I mean that if you wait for it to knock you over the head, you've gone too far.  Figure out what it is.  A good rule of thumb, taken from my hubby: if it doesn't taste good anymore, stop.  (Now of course, it always tastes good.  But if it's dulled in its potency, you know you're just eating to eat it.  See Hunger, below.)

*Hunger.  Sometimes it's obvious.  Sometimes it's just feeling tired.  Sometimes it feels like your body is eating itself.  Sometimes it's not even hunger, but your mind tricking your body into feeling that way as an excuse to eat.  A big indicator, for me: if I eat and the food tastes AWESOME, like a big huge MIRACLE, I'm hungry.  If not, stop, wait.  Chew gum or something.  Distract yourself.  Exercise.  

*Exercise.  I've mentioned that I don't like exercise.  It's not even that so much as I have a short attention span for it.  I also have felt like it's lame and worthless (exacerbated by those stupid calorie-counters on workout machines).  A turning point for me was reading about how building muscle makes the body a more efficient calorie-burning machine.  So even if you're not exercising all the time, your body is burning more calories.  Score.  And, you'll need more calories if you work out, which means more food.  And, food tastes great after I exercise... once I get hungry. :)  I personally can't exercise first thing, I need caffeine.  And if I'm starving, I eat, and then exercise, or else I just drag through it.  Thankfully, my schedule permits me to exercise whenever, but whenever's fine.  Do it at the time that works for you.

*Jump-start meal.  I love the jump-start meal.  See my post about re-setting, it's right there.  I like to start the day w/a very small breakfast.  I don't have extreme evidence to back this up, but I feel like if I just have this small meal, it gets my metabolism going, and about an hour later, I want a more sizable meal, and this sets the tone for the day.  If I have a massive breakfast to start, it throws me off (mentally, at the very least - but most likely metabolically, too).  Don't forget nuts, either.  They are a great way to stave off hunger if you're waiting for a meal.  Not a ton of them, mind you.  But enough.

*Don't keep stuff around.  I'm not advocating purging your pantry/fridge of everything you like, because you have to learn self-control at some point, but I know what keeps me going back to the cookie jar, so to speak.  My personal "problem" foods are mini chocolate candies (Snickers, Reese's cups, etc.), cookies (right now we have mint Double Stuf Oreos and man, they're going fast), kettle chips, Thai food... so I find that it's best not to keep stuff like that around on a regular basis, because I just eat them.  It's okay to have them around sometimes, but just not all the time.  Can you see why Halloween and post-Halloween is a bit of a problem?  My hubby "needs" snacks when he's close to a big test, and I understand this, but if he wanted stuff all the time... problem.

*Buffets.  Well, yeah.  I find when I go to buffets (or have to, as often is the case for family outings) the best thing I can do is a) accept I won't be hungry for awhile and b) get the stuff I like.  Sometimes this means I end up being a bit wasteful.  But I just end up going back for the stuff that's extremely tasty.  Take really small portions of stuff unless you know it's awesome.  Honestly, I think buffets are the best thing ever.  (On a level. :)  I love being able to get JUST WHAT I WANT.  I get a lot of flack sometimes for only eating what I like.  I do not clean my plate, unless my plate is very small.  I eat the choice things first.  This is directly opposite of how I grew up, and is once again a thankful reminder from Weigh Down.  I used to "eat around" the favorite/best parts.  Bad idea.  Cut to the chase!  Enjoy yourself!

So that is all, for now.  If I've not addressed something, let me know.  I hope you find incredible success!  I certainly know it's possible.  I enjoy the skin I'm in, I have a much more balanced way of doing things.  Find your custom fit.

Weight Loss Can Be Frugal: A Few More Milestones

So we moved - to Chicago.  Where I more or less spent a year floundering around, trying to figure out what the heck I was doing, and neither I or hubby having a real handle on where we were going.  Sound dangerous?  Yes - for my waistline, etc.

I didn't keep close track (was scared to) but knew I was gaining weight.  Didn't precisely help that I had a desk job at a restaurant company, which was good at feeding us candy and everything else (though they had a fountain machine w/Diet Coke... bliss...).  I mostly charted my gain in my clothes.  I'm not a wearer of tight clothes, in general - doesn't look good on me (perhaps other people w/curves can relate).  So when certain pairs of pants got snug, I got mad.

After the new year I got back on track - I also had a new job, a server job, so was on my feet a lot.  Spring was around the corner.  I started losing weight again, just doing my Walk Away the Pounds and not pigging out.  The ol' mixed nuts trick saved me many times at work, when we were busy busy and I was starving starving.  I tried to keep massive amounts of snackage out of the house.  I cut down my wine consumption.

We got back to Kankakee for the summer - phew.  I pretty much stopped exercising, as we were all over the place, and didn't have a lot of space to call our own.  I finally stopped my excessive pop consumption, on vacation, at that.  We were in Wyoming w/Carra and her fam, camping.  I had bought a French press, and we bought some coffee in Laramie.  It didn't take much for me to get used to it - I wish all foodstuffs were this way, I will probably NEVER like raw tomatoes, celery, black olives.  There are things worth getting used to, and then there are things that are torture for individuals to eat.  I am certainly interested in why this is - must pester my scientific hubby.

Then, we moved to Carbondale.  I will tell you, I noted the last dregs of immature behavior still nibbling at me: while I was no longer a) pigging out, b) purchasing goods excessively or c) feeling generally unhinged and without purpose, I was still 1) drinking too much and 2) not sure of the next steps for myself.

So, I stopped drinking too much.  And while that is not an admission to alcoholism or chemical dependency, it's a total testament to how it is easy to get into bad habits that become ingrained in your way of dealing with things - MUCH LIKE OVEREATING. :)  It did help to just be here, and to get into a schedule.  But, choices are choices.

Something I never could get my head around as a teenager, as well as for most of my young adult life, was the value of diligence.  My dad would bother me about it a lot, but I pretty much blew him off.  But I, like a lot of people, just wanted things when I wanted them, which is understandable - but not ultimately useful, productive, profitable, etc.  I did not make the connection between a kind of rote, "mindless" activity and personal progress.  But, I've figured it out, a bit.  I've got a kind of diligence going.  I more or less learned some Type A behaviors in grad school, and have twisted them more healthfully into my life, to my advantage.  Such as

* exercising.  I just do it.  I don't think about it - like how I don't want to all the time.

* stopping when I'm full.  This has gotten less and less hard the longer I do it.  (More on that later.)

* finding other things to do with my time, like working on hobbies, or my career goals.  

These things are all inter-related.  I also have to be diligent in other areas - but it all feeds into the same thing: growing up.  Making things happen.  Sacrificing now, to get something later.  But, at the same time, accepting my humanity and not freaking out or giving up when I don't do everything the way I want to or think I should.  Weight loss, in essence, is "just doing it," but also figuring out beforehand, and on the way, why you are who you are.  And being crafty and clever about who it is you want to be.

Next: Tidbits!

--Arwen

Dirt Chic Wardrobe: Now Open!

Please head on over to Dirt Chic Wardrobe!

On it I will be re-posting some things in the Dirt Chic archive, but with plenty new features and ideas, in the Dirt Chic style - artful frugality!

Some highlights:

* How to save on all kinds of grooming items: perfume, makeup, skincare, body care.  

* DIY experimentation, but especially the kind for those of us who don't have a lot of time, and/OR a lot of skills

* Off-beat and vintage fashion, and how to go about making up a wardrobe in the cheapest possible way.

If you have any fashion/grooming/accessories questions, or posts you would like me to do, please comment there or send me an e-mail at arwen@dirtchic.com.  I know that how we look is important, and it's great to approach it with a frugal, yet fashionable mindset.  So log on and enjoy!