Great kitchen finds from Goodwill

I remember reading about planned obsolescence many years ago in an American history textbook... I was stunned to realize that someone had the audacity (in the negative sense) to deliberately create products they knew wouldn't last, just to make more money.

So when I find second-hand items that I suspect may be years, if not decades, old that still work wonderfully, I'm thrilled.

Recently I found two at Goodwill. The first is a blender. Alas, my beloved Magic Bullet has stopped working. (While it's still under extended warranty, I'm not sure I can get it replaced. Hubby didn't screw the base on tightly enough once and liquid leaked into the gears). Since I love my smoothies, I knew I needed to find another blender quickly. I made the rounds to my favorite area thrift shops, finding several blenders that seemed cheaply made and upon testing, did not work very well. Then I found this one:


While Oster still makes blenders that look very similar, it's the kitchy yellow color that makes me suspect it dates back to the 1970's. And it works beautifully! The price: $7. Compare this to Oster's new blenders with glass rather than plastic jars (this one is glass), which run about $50.

The second item is a chopper. I've had two Ronco Chop-o-Matic choppers in my life, one that I owned before my marriage, and one that my husband purchased after we were married. Each of us had been convinced to by it by what seemed to be an amazing demonstration of the product's capability at a mall kiosk. In both cases, the product failed miserably. (Note that the average review on the Amazon link gives the product 1.5 stars! And most of the manual competitors listed on the page, except for the one by the always fabulous Kitchen Aid, fare little better in customer reviews).

So what did I find recently at Goodwill? This one:


This chopper is advertised around the web as a vintage product, with a glass jar, made in the USA by Gemco. The price at Goodwill: $4, compared to about $15 elsewhere. And again, it works amazingly well!

Reuse again... and again

I love second-hand shopping for numerous reasons, including the inexpensive prices, the ability to obtain higher quality goods that I could afford if they were new, and the fact that it's great for the environment.

For example, due to thrift shopping, my daughter received more gifts from her father and me than we could have privided her if we were buying new. We gave her a set of roller skates, a bigger bike, a boy Barbie, a dress, several cute tops and pants, and a Christmas teddy bear, all in excellent condition, for about $50 total.

Some object, however, that the second-hand market isn't practical for society at large since it always requires a first-hand market. That's true, but the complaint usually assumes a one-to-one relationship between the first-hand and second-hand market for each item. In other words, someone buys something new and donates or passes it on, then someone else gets it second-hand. Once the second person has finished with the item, that's the end of its life cycle.

Many items, however, can have multiple life cycles as long as they're still in good condition. Well-made, durable items like bikes and children's clothing (since kids tend to outgrow things quickly) can be passed on multiple times to multiple users before they're no longer in good condition.

Here's a good example: I purchased my daughter's old bike $8 from a thrift store two years ago. She has recently outgrown the bike and we found a larger one, in great condition, for $10 at Goodwill. It's very possible that either bike had multiple users (say, an older and younger sibling) before being donated and purchased by us.

One of my daughter's friends, two years older, also got a new bike for Christmas. Her mom and I planned at first to pass on both old bikes to younger children, but they were too big for the younger children we knew.

So I came up with an even better plan for passing on the two bikes. I had a meeting in Olympia today and had to pass through Lacey, where Alaffia, my favorite natural body care company, is based. Alaffia has a project, Bicycles for Education, in which they collect bikes from Washington residents to ship to Alaffia's founder's home country of Togo. These bikes make transportation to and from distant schools possible for many rural children who wouldn't otherwise be able to attend.

I dropped off both bikes at Alaffia's headquarters today and was able to have a follow-up conversation with them about hosting a bike drive at Marlene's Natural Market in Tacoma (which will take place in June). So you see, many items can be used not once, not twice, but again and again and again, for older children, younger children, and children across the world!

A bunch of cheap (and sometimes green) tips

Thrift store finds, repurposed for fruits and veggies:

~ Crocheted cloth squares, probably created as trivets or potholders, for scrubbing veggies, in place of plastic veggies scrubbers. I had tried a natural coconut coir veggie brush, but disliked it because it shed bristles and often bruised or damaged my produce. These squares are soft enough to prevent damage to produce, but have enough texture to scrub fruit and veggies well.
~ Cloth diapers for patting fruits and veggies dry after washing. They’re very absorbent, and it saves paper towels.

Cough medicine: In the moldy Northwest, I have been plagued by long-term coughs. This recipe is a great cough reliever: mix 1/2 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and 1/2 tablespoon of honey in 8 ounces of warm water, and drink.

Car dehydrator: I found this wonderful tip at The TangledNest.com blog. I had long wanted to try Condo Blue’s recipe for making orange essential oil, but couldn’t prevent my orange peels from molding while I was drying them out. Now I just place the peels in my car dashboard window on sunny days, and by the end of the day, I have hard, dry orange peels. And the car smells great while they’re drying! (Of course, in Washington State, I can only do this in the summer).

Reduce fat and sugar with water: Sometimes the most natural products in the store (not counting meat or produce), with the least additives, contain the most fat and sugar. Natural mayonnaise, for example, or real maple syrup. I have found that adding water to these is a good way to reduce the fat or sugar content, without the additives of the "lite" version. (I even read a suggestion on another blog recently: buy a half gallon of whole milk, pour it into a gallon jug, and add water. Presto, a gallon of reduced fat milk at reduced cost! It's one way to better afford organic milk).

Btw, you’ll often notice that in “lite” versions of products, water is the first or second ingredient anyway. All the additives are added in order to give it the same thickness or taste as the original product, or to prevent separation. So if you’re going to add water, it’s important to only do so with the quantity you’re going to use, right before you use it. It will be thinner, but if you eat it right away, it generally doesn’t separate or affect taste. Experiment to find out the ratio you like best: 4:1 (where 1 is water), 3:1, 2:1 or 1:1. Whichever you choose, you'll be stretching your budget by making the food item last longer, and you'll be reducing fat and/or sugar.

Homemade chocolate sauce: Add 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1/4 cup milk of your choice (regular, soy, almond, rice, etc.), and 1 tablespoon of a mild oil (I use canola) to a small glass bowl. Stir gently to coat the chips. Microwave on high for one minute. Remove from microwave and (optional) add 1/2 teaspoon of flavoring (I usually add peppermint extract). Stir until smooth. Serve immediately over fruit, ice cream, cake or other dessert of your choice. Yum!

Furnishing a home for less than $600

Three years ago, we moved from Boston to Tacoma to house-sit for military relatives who were being sent overseas. We sold or gave away everything we owned and moved west with only some clothes and personal possessions.

Since we always knew that one day our relatives would return and we'd need to move out, I have spent the last three years collecting items to furnish a household. And since we didn't have much money, I obtained virtually everything second-hand, from thrift stores, yard sales, Freecycle and gifts from friends.

We moved this weekend, and I want to share the costs to furnish our new household room by room.

Living room: sofa, easy chair, two bookcases, a TV stand, a TV, DVD player, two end tables, two lamps: $103.

Dining room: table and chairs, computer desk, computer: $133 (computer was $90)

Master bedroom: queen-sized bed (passed on from a friend), dresser, two nightstands, two lamps, exercise bike, file cabinet: $25

Child's bedroom: twin bed (passed on from a friend), dresser, nightstand, lamp, toy box, bookshelf, TV stand, TV/VCR (since kids' videos are much easier to obtain second-hand than kids' DVD's): $30

Kitchen: Too many items to count. We have a fully-furnished kitchen, including small appliances, dishes, flatware, cookware and bakeware. The only items purchased new were a large Teflon skillet my husband bought (because the stainless steel ones I bought used aren't big enough for some of the stuff he cooks); the Magic Bullet I got at a steal during an after Christmas sale at Costco; a cast-iron waffle iron (which still sticks, even though I've seasoned it four times); and a Kitchen Aid mixer, the only kitchen item I brought with us from Boston. My husband bought it for me during our first year of marriage in 2001, and since my mother has had the same Kitchen Aid mixer for 40+ years, I know they're quality-- so I wasn't about to give mine up!

All other kitchen items were purchased second-hand. Other than the microwave, which costs $20, everything was $10 or less, with most items costing less than $5. Estimated total spent on used items: $120. (New items were $40 + $40 + $20 + $60 = $160).

Household cost
Living room: $103
Dining room: $133
Master bedroom: $25
Child's room: $30
Kitchen: $120 (estimate)

Total: $411

Counting in the new items adds $140 to the total, including $100 spent in the kitchen (I'm not including the 10-year-old mixer, but only what we've purchased since coming to Tacoma), and $40 spent to purchase bathroom rugs and a shower curtain.

Grant total: $551

The best part is, everything works together. I really searched for quality items that were well-maintained rather than worrying about appearance, but everything looks good, too. I purchased a lot of dark wood items, and it happens to match the cabinetry in the apartment. It won't win any awards, but I think we have an attractive, cozy-looking home!

Why a sweeper is better than a vacuum!

On a recent visit to Value Village, I found a Dirt Devil Sweeper--one of those old fashioned sweepers that uses neither batteries nor electricity, just a pair of roller brushes and your own muscle strength. I don't know what it cost originally (do they even sell them anymore?), but I purchased the used model for four dollars.

I am notoriously lax about vacuuming (just ask my husband!). But I love this sweeper so much, it's inspiring me to use it often. Here, then, are the top reasons why an old-fashioned sweeper is better than a vacuum:

1) No need to unwrap a cord before using--just grab it and go.
2) It takes more energy to push than a vacuum, so it provides a good workout. If you're a busy mom like me who can't get to the gym, household exercise is a plus.
3) It's nice and quiet.
4) It doesn't accidently pull out of wall if you move too far from outlet.
5) No need to switch outlets when you move to a new room or location.
6) No bags to change--just open a small door on the side of the sweeper and dump.
7) It's a very green choice: it uses no energy (other than your own labor), and with no motor, it's unlikely to stop functioning.
8) When I'm finished, I don't have to wrap up a cord again.

None of those reasons are major in and of themselves, but when you add them up--no wonder I disliked vacuuming and love my old-fashioned sweeper!

Memorial Day Update:

Reason #9: When your guests leave late at night, you can use the sweeper to clean the carpet without waking your child or disturbing your neighbors downstairs!

Thrift store miracles!

I've had two of them recently, both at Value Village!

The elusive thumb brace
I currently have DeQuervain's tendonitis in my thumb and needed to purchase a thumb brace. After searching several pharmacies, I finally found one--the last one they had--at Fred Meyer.

Wearing the thumb brace is absolutely necessary when I'm on the computer, but I was running into trouble because I'd leave it at home, or at work. I needed two, I realized, one to leave in each location.

I checked Fred Meyer again, with no luck. I decided on a whim to check Value Village, which is right across the street. And miracle! They had a thumb brace, open but still in its original packaging and appearing brand new (as though the donor had bought it, tried it on, and then decided s/he didn't need it). It was only $3, compared to the $17 the new one had cost at Fred Meyer!

Replacing a salt shaker and pepper mill
The second miracle occurred today, just one week later. My in-laws for whom we've been housesitting are returning from their overseas tour of duty next month, so I've started thinking about how to repair or replace the few things we've damaged. One of the items is a salt shaker which we dropped and broke. It was part of a 10-inch tall, glass and stainless steel salt shaker and pepper mill set. Meanwhile, since we were no longer using it, the pepper mill has gotten a little rusty.

I searched at Bed, Bath & Beyond, Target and a specialty kitchen shop, with no luck. Not only did they not carry the same set, but the sets they did carry were all much smaller (4 to 7 inches tall) and expensive ($30-40 a set).

I had seen a small but very nice salt shaker/pepper mill set at Value Village, and decided that if I couldn't match the original, at least the replacement didn't have to cost me thirty plus dollars.

I stopped by Value Village today, and the set I had seen was no longer there. In its place: a 10-inch tall, glass and stainless steel salt shaker & pepper mill set. The exact same ones! They were a little dirty but otherwise in perfect condition. And they only cost $5 (actually, $3.50, after I used a 30% off coupon Value Village have given me in exchange for a recent donation). Another thrift store miracle!

Gotta love thrift shopping!

Think it's hard to find what you need at a thrift store? Think again. I often find that I have just as much (if not more) success looking for something I need at a thrift store than a mainstream department store.

Like kids everywhere, my daughter is growing so fast! She recently outgrew her boots, and a pair a hand-me-downs from a friend that are couple of sizes too big keep slipping off her feet. She's also taking swimming lessons, and her swimsuit is becoming too tight.

Boots are everywhere right now, but since it's neither the beginning nor end of the winter season, sales are unlikely. And who wants to pay full price? And where can you find swimsuits at this time of year? Maybe a sporting goods store, but I'd have to call around to know for sure.

Instead, my daughter and I went to Goodwill and Value Village today. We found a cute pair of boots in excellent condition in her exact size for $8 at Goodwill, but no swimsuits. At the end of one aisle in the girls' section of Value Village, however, there was a small selection of swimwear. We found a suit she likes that also fits well (with a little room to grow into) for just $4.

In fact, my daughter made another special find today. She has a wooden rocking chair we bought at Value Village for $7 about two years ago. Recently, she commented that she wishes her Baby Alive had a rocking chair, too. Guess what she found today for $2 at Goodwill? A doll-sized wooden rocking chair!

Maybe I like to shop after all...

A conversation with a coworker about my love of thrift shopping got me thinking.

When I was younger, I thought I didn't like shopping. My mom loves to shop, and used to take us out every weekend when we were kids to try on new clothes, jewelry, whatever. She often didn't buy things, especially if they were out of her price range. The fun was in the experience.

Well, I always hated that. So when I became an adult, I would only go shopping when I needed something in particular. I always had specific features in mind (but I didn't care about brand), and a maximum price I planned to spend. For example, "I need a pair of boots with a low heel that are warm and waterproof and stylish enough to wear to work, and I don't want to spend more than $60 on them." Then I'd go shopping for just that, and when I found it, I'd go home. None of this browsing around my mom used to do.

However, since I started thrift shopping in earnest (which really happened when I moved to Washington, since the thrift shops tend to be better here than the ones I left behind in Massachusetts), I have grown to love browsing, shopping for no other reason that "just because."

When I discussed this with my co-worker, I realized why. I always hated the feeling of seeing things I wanted to buy but couldn't afford. My mom doesn't care--for her, it's fun to see what's out there, whether or not she can actually buy it. But that frustration for me meant that shopping wasn't fun.

Thrift shopping is a very different experience. If I see something I like in a thrift store, I can almost always afford to buy it. I don't always indulge--either because I know the item is something I really wouldn't use, or because I've already spent enough (even second-hand shopping can add up after a while!). But I never feel that frustration of things being priced out of my budget, so browsing around is fun for me.

It's interesting to realize this about myself. I never thought about myself as much of a consumer, but maybe I am--just in a different way, or maybe even moreso than my mom.

What does this mean for being green? I'm not sure. Yes, thrift shopping is a green practice. But is being a big consumer while thrift shopping green or not? Something to ponder.

Black Friday/Saturday, thrift store style

Ok, I admit it. I didn't join the "Buy Nothing" boycott, and instead I went after-Thanksgiving shopping on both Friday and Saturday.

A couple of my stops were to big box stores. I spent $43 at Walmart (yeah, I know) for two toys, one of which will be my daughter's Christmas present from Santa, and another for a toy drive for needy children I'm participating in. I also went to Casual Male Big & Tall to buy my 6'7" hubby much-needed socks, gloves and slippers.

But most of our shopping was done at Goodwill and Value Village, and the deals were awesome! I bought several things for the kitchen, including a dish drainer, a wooden snack tray, a pizza tray, a cookie sheet, a vegetable peeler, a gravy boat, and a mini loaf pan, all in "like new" condition. We bought seven picture frames to frame my daughter's school photos to give as presents to relatives. My daughter bought a butterfly blanket and a cute set of toy animals. And at Goodwill, where everything was 50% off, we bought at least a dozen learning and art activities for my daughter, including magnetic wooden letters, math, phonics and rhyming flash cards, gel markers, a "make your own journal" craft kit, a wooden tic-tac-toe board, and more. Total spent: $47 for 43 items. What other Black Friday deals could possibly be this good?

Little things that make life easier, second-hand

One thing I love about thrift store and yard sale shopping is that I can find so many little things--things that I might never pay full price for, but that make life easier. Here are some recent example:

--A key case for 25 cents. I was tired of my keys piercing holes in my pockets and purses.

--A large bucket with a secure lid (this was the key feature) for $2.50, for soaking such things as my reusable menstrual pads without exposing them to others.

--Eight handkerchiefs for $4. This came in handy when I had a recent cold--I could use them with the five or so I already had, and wash them out each night. It was the first time I didn't need to rely on paper tissue when I was sick.

--My daughter's Halloween costume for $6. She wants to go as a doctor this year. At Goodwill, I found a plain women's white blouse with snaps down the front for $4 that, on my child, looks just like a doctor's jacket. Then I found both a real set and a toy set of a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff. Both sets were $2 each. Knowing my daughter (who wants to be a doctor when she grows up), she'd want the real set to actually hear heartbeats and be able to puff up the blood pressure cuff on someone's arm, so that's what I bought. (FYI, I'm to go as her patient this year. She will cover me in bandages).

--A stainless steel covered cake plate (round) and an oblong covered casserole/cake pan, $5 each. Now I no longer have to cover cakes and other dishes with foil and hope the icing or food doesn't get stuck to it.

--Two little silicone trays for $1, each with 12 small pumpkin molds in them. I think these were to either create pumpkin-shaped candies or pumpkin-shaped pieces of ice. Nevertheless, I have my own use for them: so that my daughter can mix paint colors together. If I allowed my daughter unrestricted access to her Crayola paints, we'd end up with 10 jars of muddy brown color. Instead, I pour a little of each color paint into different pumpkin holes, and she can mix them together to her heart's content.

--A beautiful, small but sturdy covered picnic basket for $3. I start a new job on Monday, and I will use it to carry a lunch plate, glass, mug, utensils, place mat and cloth napkins for easy and discreet storage under or near my desk.

--A large glass casserole dish lid for $1.50, which we are now using to cover food in the microwave. Our previous options were a plastic microwave cover (which deteriorates over time), or using plates (not the best, since they smash your food and can get too hot to easily remove), cloth napkins (messy) or paper towels (wasteful). This lid is a better alternative than all of the above. It sits high enough not to touch the food, and has a handle for easy lifting.

Bonus yard sale discovery: I wrote a while ago about being frustrated that I couldn't find anyone who could repair my leather purses. I buy them used (usually for $4-6) and have several now sitting in my closet because I always break the strap. Otherwise, these bags are all in great condition, and it seems a waste to have them sitting there gathering dust.

At a recent yard sale I visited, I noticed a "Tailoring and Clothes Repair" sign in the window of the home. I asked the woman about it, and she told me to step inside and talk to her husband, who is the tailor. I described my purses and asked if he could repair leather--and he can! I'll post again after I've had a bag repaired (provided the price is reasonable!).

How to have a (mostly) waste-free children's party

A few weeks ago, my daughter came up with a great idea: have a start-of-summer bubble party! We began planning a day in which her friends would gather at our house to blow bubbles, run through sprinklers, and drink bubbly milkshakes. The date we set is tomorrow (July 10th). When we first started planning, I wasn't sure it would work out, since the temps were about 60 degrees and we were wondering when summer would ever get here. Now that the mercury has hit 90, a party like this is an excellent suggestion. According to my daughter's daycare teacher, the kids there are so excited that the party is all they can talk about.

I started thinking about how I could make the party relatively waste-free, and here is what I came up with:

-- I purchased some durable, reusable plastic plates at Value Village (my favorite thrift store!) and durable, reusable plastic cups at a yard sale, to supplement the ones we already have that we use with my daughter. Cost: $2.50 for five plates and $2 for 8 cups.

-- Since we don't have a hand towel rack in our bathroom, we usually just dry our hands on our bath towels, and put out a roll of recycled paper towels when we have guests. So at Value Village, I bought a stand-alone twin hand towel rack and two sets of hand towels: a plain set for the kids, and a fancier set for when we have adult guests. Cost: $3.50 for the hand towel rack, and $3 for two sets of hand towels (so really, $1.50 for the set we'll use at the party).

-- We currently have a plain set of cloth napkins for everyday use, and a couple of fancier sets for guests. Because these are children (who tend to be messy), I needed some more plain napkins. I bought eight cloth napkins at Value Village for $4.

-- We bought a "bubble toy bonanza" kit that comes with all kinds of bubble wands and pipes. Because the kids are going to be putting their mouths on the pipes, I decided to have two bowls available outside: one filled with soapy dish water, and one with clean water with a little vinegar in it. The kids can swish their pipes in the sudsy bowl and rinse in the other bowl before passing a bubble pipe on to another child. No need for things like disposable wipes! Cost: $6 for the bubble toys, and to clean them: free.

-- I bought two durable, reusable vinyl tablecloths at yard sales. Cost: $1 for both.

-- As take-homes, the kids are going to get two things: a jar of bubbles, and a seashell they paint themselves. We spent July 4th at a cookout on Vashon Island and my daughter and I collected a bunch of large sun-bleached clam shells, which look gorgeous when painted. My daughter already has paint and brushes. Cost: $8 for 16 bottles of bubbles, and painted seashells: free.

Now, I did say this party would be mostly waste-free. Here are the areas where we'll still generate waste:

-- The various bags and containers for food and drinks, including hotdogs and buns, fruit, chips, juice, ice cream and milk (including non-dairy varieties for a few kids who are lactose-intolerant). I'm not yet at the place where I purchase all my food from farmer's markets and have milk delivered in glass bottles. However, I'll try to buy the largest sizes I can, recycle those containers or bags that are recyclable, and of course, use my reusable bags for shopping.

-- The plastic wrap around the packs of bubbles and bubble toys.

-- Plastic straws. It would be pretty tough to have young kids drinking milkshakes neatly and easily without them. Plus, it will help prevent brain freeze.

-- Invitations. We made really cute paper invitations with a clip art cat blowing bubbles. I know the "green" recommendation is e-vites, but c'mon, we're talking about 4-6 year olds here, the parents of whom, in some cases, I don't know very well. Thus, paper was the way to go.

So, for not much more than it would have cost to buy disposable napkins, plates, cups, paper towels, tablecloths and wipes, and with the added benefit of having these items available for future use, we will have a (mostly) waste-free kids' party. And I hope the kids' parents appreciate the take-home bubbles and pretty seashells rather than gift bags filled with cheap plastic toys!

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Update: The party was a hit! The one thing that didn't last long was the sprinkler--the kids started complaining they were cold after a few minutes (it wasn't quite as hot today as yesterday). But they loved blowing bubbles, painting the seashells, and drinking milkshakes! Interestingly, one of the parents gathered all the used straws and put them in a large container of soapy water. So that's one less area of waste for this party! And one parent commented that it was nice not to have their kids sent home with gift bags full of junk.

It's yard sale season!

I've posted a lot about my love for thrift shopping, but often as good--and sometimes better, in terms of deals--are yard sales. Folks here in Tacoma love to have yard sales. In Boston, it seemed like most of the yard sales were held by people who were moving or a group of families who combined to have one big sale, but here it seems like many folks have a regular yard sale every year after doing spring cleaning. This means, of course, that many sales don't have a large variety of items. However, it also means there are a lot of yard sales going on every weekend from May through October, and you can find many treasures if you hop around.

This past weekend, my daughter and I were able to hit four yard sales in the three miles we drove between home, the park and the library. One of the sales was to raise funds for a woman who is about to do the three-day breast cancer walk.

At the sales, I purchased a really nice four-slot, big-enough-for-bagels toaster in great working condtion for a dollar. My daughter found four cute summer tops in sizes 6 and 7 for a quarter each. A minor item I bought came in really handy already. For fifty cents, I got one of those squeegee and sponge things to clean your car windshield with, and needed it yesterday morning when I woke up to discover my car windshield covered with pollen, and my car out of windshield wiper fluid. I had to bypass a beautiful set of matching bookcases because I didn't have enough cash on me. But I know that as the summer goes on, there is more to come!

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* In terms of furnishing our future home, we're getting close. With a queen size bed and dresser given to us by a friend, a dining room table from Freecycle, and numerous items purchased from thrift shops and yard sales (toddler bed, dining room chairs, a sofa, recliner, dresser and matching night stands, end tables, lamps, microwave, toaster, toaster oven, pots and pans, set of dishes, set of flatware, cooking utensils, bakeware, casserole dishes, tablecloths and napkins, computer desk, bookshelves, TV), our future home will be pretty well furnished. The most expensive of any of the above items was the sofa, purchased at Value Village for $25. The vast majority of these items cost less than $10, and many were less than $3. All total, I've probably spent less than $250 over the last two years on these things.

Am I a consumer? Say it isn't so!

I recently discovered The Non-Consumer Advocate blog. The blogger had a recent post in which she included a Top Ten Ways You Know You’re a Non-Consumer quiz. I took the quiz and scored 8 out of 10. The two I didn't line up on were having a growing bank account (too many life difficulties for that to happen), and turning down free stuff.

I almost never turn down free stuff. I will if it's really cheap or badly damaged, or really have no use for it, but if it's free and I can think of a way to use it, I'll snap it up.

The quiz got me thinking: am I more of a consumer than I generally admit to being? Two recent incidents have made me pause.

One of the ways my consumerism comes out is with my daughter. I enjoy shopping for her far more than I ever enjoyed shopping for myself. It helps that she loves dressing up--much more than I did as a child--and that clothing and other items made for little girls are so cute.

Her fifth birthday is this week. Last Friday I took her to the Build-A-Bear Workshop at the Tacoma Mall. We first visited the place right after Christmas when we were completely broke and I promised her we'd come back around her birthday. We bought the cheapest bear they have ($10). However, once she had clothed her bear and added hair and accessories, the final cost was about $44.

I also went to Value Village today and bought clothes for her. This was for two reasons: because she already has the bear, I wanted another gift to give her on her actual birthday; and because she is growing so fast, she is unlikely to fit any of her clothes from last summer. For about $13, I bought her a dress, four outfits (top/shorts or top/skirt combos), two additional skirts and one additional pair of shorts.

It's much easier to justify the Value Village purchase than the bear. The former included items she needs, the price was right, the quality was good, and buying from a second-hand store is an environmentally smart choice. Furthermore, clothing is something she will naturally use again and again.

On the other hand, while my daughter loved the building a bear process, she hasn't shown much interest in the bear since we brought it home, preferring the dolls and stuffed animals she had before. So did I spend more money than I wanted to spend on something which she may not enjoy or play with much?

The second event is the closing of a local QFC store. They're selling their remaining inventory at drastically reduced prices, and they carry many natural and eco-friendly products. Well, I went in and spent about $100, which was far more than I wanted to spend. I got some very good deals which will save me money in the long run, such as Preserve razor refills for about 60 cents for a four-pack (I bought five) and Tom's of Maine deodorant sticks for about $1.59. But I'm still trying to figure out how I managed to spend so much.

My conclusion is that I can be a spender, if the price is really cheap or there is a sentimental value attached to the purchase (such as making a promise to my kid about returning to Build-a-Bear...). But I need to be more thoughtful about my shopping and spending, or I will end up with purchases I regret or buying more than I intend to.

Final reflections on No Impact Week

I've already talked about setting a goal to generate less trash by making changes to my daughter's snacks. Here are a few more random thoughts, in no particular order:

On consumption: Hubby recently got a short-term subscription to the Tacoma News-Tribune (I know, not very green. He was responding to a sales call). As a result, I now am able to do something I used to do all the time: read through the Sunday circulars and coupons, trying to find good deals. In doing so, I realize just how far I have stepped away from the consumer culture, because the vast majority of things advertised, I have no interest or plan to buy.

We buy all our clothing, toys, appliances and electronics second-hand, except for my 6'7" hubby, who is only able to shop at Casual Male Big & Tall or Men's Wearhouse two to three times a year when they're having big sales. (Note: one of my challenges/ goals is to try to find something he can wear at a thrift shop). So I can immediately dismiss ads for all these things.

With a few exceptions (Alaffia Everyday Shea body lotion, Trader Joe's TeaTree Tingle conditioner, Tom's of Maine deodorant, and KissMyFace sunscreen), I make our skin and hair care products, and use resuable menstrual pads. So drugstores are now places where we only buy perscription drugs, unless someone gets sick and needs something OTC. Thus, the drugstore ads don't apply.

Although I do read the supermarket circulars to see what's on sale, even the Sunday coupons are mostly useless. A few items I clip for: bread, cereal, cooking oil, vitamins and cold medicine. But we have very little use for most of the items in the coupons, such as frozen meals, Hamburger Helper, Pantene Pro-V conditioner, and the like.

It was kind of nice to know I've really come a long way in this area.

Eating local: This is an area where we could grow a lot. Although we have made strides by growing some of our own veggies and connecting with farmers and urban gardens in the area, we make a lot of our food choices based on what we like plus what is cheapest. Until our finances improve, cost still has to take a priority over local. However, I'm sure I can do better by learning more about local food menus and availability.

Transporation: My daughter and I did a lot more walking this week. We walked to and from the park several times (30 minutes each way), and we drove to the town center and parked and walked to each of our errands, which probably amounted to about an hour's worth of walking. We were tired at the end of it--4r and of course, several times I had to carry my daughter on my back. But walking a lot is getting easier, especially taking the steep hills to and from the park. We'll keep at it.

Energy: The house we live in is very cold: it is large, drafty, built into the side of a hill with eaves over most of the windows (which means very little sunlight), except for the two windows overlooking the Puget Sound which are so huge they also have a huge cooling effect. Great during the summer, terrible the rest of the year. Nevertheless, we're determined to not turn on the central heat unless we absolutely have to. We're doing what we did in Boston: huddling in one room with the doors shut and using a space heater. That's good for family closeness, too!

Preparing for winter

Our heating bills almost killed us last year. I may have posted about this before: we moved to Washington state to live in the home of military relatives who are overseas for several years. They told us that our heating and cooling costs should be cheaper than in Boston, because the area doesn't have the temperature extremes.

Reality is a little different. The house is cooler in the summer, by virtue of being built into the side of a hill (we have a big spider problem, though). However, Washington had one of the coldest winters and THE hottest summer on record this year. Add to that the fact that in Boston, we lived in a small apartment, and now we live in a large house with huge windows and an old, inefficient furnace. Our heating bills this winter were twice what they normally were in Boston during the winter, and five times what they were when we were striving to be energy efficent (described below).

Needless to say, we can't survive another winter with bills so high. So we are going to try something we did in Boston that reduced our heating costs by 60%. It will be tougher to do in a house, but fortunately, the temperatures here don't often drop below freezing, so I think it will be survivable.

In Boston, we turned our heat down to 55 degrees (except on the bitterly coldest days), and carried a space heater around from room to room as needed. This is what we're going to try this winter here.

I was able to get good deals on two Honeywell surround heat space heaters, purchasing one at Value Village for $8, and another at a moving sale for $5. These are good heaters because they're energy efficient, heat a wide space, have child safety features and automatic shut-off if tipped, and are small and light enough to be carried around easily. I've also found at yard sales and thrift shops such things as bathroom rugs and slipper socks. Now the challenge is making my husband and daughter wear sweaters. I'm always wrapping up, but they like to be freer than I do!

One other part of the plan: bubble wrap insulating our windows! I've heard it really works.

Thrift shopping bonanza

I haven't made a pitch recently for the National Thrift Store month petition, so here it is!

Yesterday, both Value Village and Goodwill had 50% off sales in honor of Labor Day, and daughter and I went shopping! Spending a total of $30, we bought:

-- Three kids' movies
-- Two books for daughter, and two for me
-- A hamper (a much needed item in our house!)
-- A purse for me, since the strap on my old one recently broke
-- An additional Brita pitcher and a popcorn bowl
-- Various clothing items for daughter, including winter boots, a leotard (she wants to take ballet), and two pairs of underwear
-- A necklace and jewelry case for daughter
-- The accessories to accompany my daughter's Halloween costume. My sister bought her a pink princess dress earlier this year, and we found some fairy wings that attach to her shoulders on an earlier thrift store trip. Yesterday, we were able to buy earrings, a necklace, a crown and a fairy wand to make the costume complete.

Among that list, there is one item I wish I didn't have to buy, and that's the purse. I now have in my closet three purses in great condition, except that the straps are broken. Not even the straps really, but the little piece of leather that attaches the strap to the purse itself. I have tried in vain to ask at tailor shops and shoe repair shops to see if they can fix them, and I've always been told no. In each case, it should be a relatively easy thing to fix, requiring only a few stitches if one has a heavy-duty sewing machine and thick thread. It just seems crazy that I should have to abandon decent handbags for want of a few stitches.

No Impact Man has written about this on occasion: the lack of people today who can repair things such as appliances, and how that negatively contributes to our throw-away society. I'm glad I found the new purse, but in the meantime, I'll hold on to the old ones in hope that someday I'll be able to have them repaired.

(*Note: my mother tried in vain to teach me how to sew by machine when I was twelve. I really wish I had been more adept, but even if I could sew, I'd need a heavy-duty machine that can handle leather. I can darn holes and sew on buttons by hand, however.)

Taking charge of our health

This has been on my mind a lot as the health care reform debate rages on. We're currently in a situation in which we're having difficulty accessing affordable health care. We started buying my husband's prescription meds at Walmart, because they offer them cheaply. Thankfully, my daughter and I are in good health.

Everyone needs access to affordable health care, because no one can can take such charge of their health that they never get sick. Cancer, accidents and chronic diseases can happen to even the most health conscious among us.

Having said that, however, it is important to take charge of our health to the degree that we can, while recognizing that we'll never prevent every possible bad outcome. And of course, "to the degree that we can" is partly contingent on cost and access to the things one needs to be healthy. Thus, what I write below is just what my family is doing.

Recently, I found a set of books at a local single-proprietor thrift shop, "The Story of the Eagle Books," published by the Centers for Disease Control. (Tangent: another plug for thrift store shopping! Please support the petition for a National Thrift Store Month).

These books were created for Native American children as diabetes prevention education, and include a group of young children being taught by Mr. Eagle and Miss Rabbit about eating healthy, exercising, and making good snack choices. Meanwhile, Mr. Coyote tries to trick the children into doing unhealthy things. Since my husband is diabetic and Type II diabetes runs in my family as well, I want to impress the importance of prevention to my daughter early. She, like most young children, would much prefer cookies and candy to vegetables, but she is starting to understand. As a side benefit, she is fascinated by the Coyote character and has taken to making up stories in which she and her daycare friends defeat the tricky Coyote.

Once I complained to a friend that my husband, who has had problems with diabetes, his heart, high blood pressure and cholesterol, almost never gets sick. Meanwhile, I have no chronic health problems but almost every year since I was eleven years old, I have come down with severe bronchitis or upper respiratory infections, often lasting for weeks or sometimes months (and yes, it has at times jeopardized my employment as I have often used up all my sick time). She remarked, "Maybe stress manifests in him in chronic diseases. It manifests in you in infectious diseases."

The only way for me to combat this is prevention. If I catch a cold, I have to recover as quickly as I can, or else the virus works its way down to my bronchial tubes and lungs and knocks me flat. I refuse to use antibiotics, because of concerns about their overuse; because my infections are almost always viral instead of bacterial (the former causes clear sputum, the latter colored sputum); and because I've gotten some pretty bad yeast infections after taking antibiotics in the past (since they also kill the good bacteria that keep yeast in a woman's body in check).

The only two years in which I did not get sick were early in my marriage. At the time, my husband was selling an antioxidant powder that you mix with water for a multilevel marketing company. He eventually had to get out of the business, as it was one of those in which you have to buy a certain amount of product each month, and if you don't sell enough to cover your costs, you lose money. However, during that time, he and I both regularly took the antioxidant, and I didn't get sick once. After he left the business, we stopped buying it, because it's expensive ($30 for a 30 day supply, times two).

Fast-forward to our move to Tacoma. Within a couple of months of moving here, I once more got very sick, missing a lot of work after being on the job a short time. I was so tired of this happening, I couldn't take it any more.

However, I found out that my local Trader Joe's carries Emergen-C. Like the stuff my husband used to sell, Emergen-C is a powder you mix with water that provides your body with a good dose of antioxidents. A bonus is the price ($7.99 at TJ's for a 30 day supply, compared to about $14 which it sells for in most stores). The downside is that it is probably synthetic, vs. the stuff hubby sold which was made from natural ingredients such as pine bark and red wine extract. But unless you're someone who can afford whole food vitamins (I'm not), then Emergen-C is a good substitute.

Since I started taking it, I haven't really been sick. I had maybe two very short-lived colds, and that's the real power for me: that a cold doesn't quickly turn into a bronchial or lung infection. The real test of success will be whether or not I can go a full year without illness. By October, I'll know.

What I'm doing overall to stay healthy is eating mostly (but not exclusively) vegetarian meals (some good sites for recipes include Vegan Lunch Box and Black Vegetarians--hat tip to my fellow blogger Black and Into Green).

I'm taking the following supplements, on alternating days: a multivitamin (Centrum A-Z) and lutein (for eyes); and on the following day, one packet of Emergen-C, a calcium tablet, and a teaspoon of codliver oil. The latter provides Vitamin D, which many people in the overcast Northwest don't get enough of (although we've had an exceptionally sunny spring and summer), as well as Omega-3, which most Americans period don't get enough of. I alternate in order to save money, as well as to make sure I'm not overdoing it on any given vitamin or mineral. Between Trader Joe's (Emergen-C $8 for 30; calcium $2.49 for 60), Grocery Outlet (Centrum $5 for 120), and Super Supplements (lutein $9 for 60 and $6 for 12 oz. of codliver oil), I am keeping the cost for this relatively low (and by alternating days, everything last twice as long; if you're doing the math, all of the above averages about $9 a month total for me). I also recognize that even this is too much for some people's budgets.

I'm also trying to exercise, although I have to admit that running after a four-year-old helps. :-)

Cute thrift store shopping story

I hadn't yet bought dear daughter a birthday present, and the one thing she's asked for is a GloE bear--a teddy bear that lights up when you squeeze it. So on the holiday yesterday, we headed for Toys R Us to buy one. Unfortunately, they were all sold out.

I also promised her a trip to our favorite thrift store, Value Village, where they were having a 50% off on all merchandise sale yesterday. So instead of one GloE bear, my daughter was able to get the following for her birthday:

* Two Care Bear dolls, one purple and one pink
* Two cute summer outfits, and a pretty top
* Two books
* A bracelet
* A video

In addition, Mommy got for herself:

* Three books
* A radio, so I can listen to music and progressive talk radio at work

All for $22!! So please support the petition for a National Thrift Store Month--my daughter thanks you!

Earth Day, thrift shopping, and water hauling (again)

Last Wednesday was Earth Day and I didn't post, because I wasn't able to do what I wanted to do for it until this weekend.

For most of my adult life, I scorned environmentalism, because I mistakenly thought it was about saving the whales or the trees, but not people. I was never an animal lover either; my parents never let us have pets, except for goldfish, I'm allergic to cats, and I've been bitten on several occasions by dogs.

It was only when I was pregnant and learning about the environmental threats to fetuses, babies and young children, that I began to realize that caring about the environment IS caring about people. Humans reap the consequences of environmental damage just like the rest of nature.

A next step in my journey, I think, is to care as much about the rest of nature as I care about people. I'll never become one of those environmentalists who think that humanity should just die out to save the rest of the planet, but I am growing in my understanding that the rest of creation is valuable in its own right and worthy of concern.

I'd like my daughter to have a greter appreciation for nature than I did, so I decided that I wanted to buy a bird feeder so she could watch birds in our yard. I was partly inspired by catching sight of a blue jay in our yard last week, which flew away before my daughter was able to see it.

I was able to purchase a bird feeder for $7 at Value Village (cue my plug for the National Thrift Store Month petition!). My daughter had a ball playing with the wild bird seed we purchased and pouring it into the feeder, and her dad helped her tie it to a tree. So now we're just waiting to see if we get any visitors. The bird food bag says to be patient, it may take a few weeks for the birds to realize it's there.

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Update on water hauling: Dear Daughter no longer uses her hamper (also purchased at Value Village thrift store!) for her dirty clothes, since she discovered that she can turn it over and use it to climb upon and reach for things. (She now uses a cardboard box instead). So I left her bathwater in the tub last night, and this morning, I took her hamper, filled it with the tub water using the bathroom wastebasket, and carried it outside to water the trees, shrubs and flowers in the front yard. It took me three trips and about a half hour. Hubby saw me and said, "That's weird. Cute, but weird!" :) But hey, if it helps save water and helps our plants, it's worth it. I just have to stay motivated to do it, because I could easily get lazy about it.

We've planted!

Today I got serious about developing my green thumb. I've already had two mishaps this season--first was the newly-sprouted basil plant that hubby knocked over. Second was the sunflower seeds that my daughter and I planted a few weeks ago that never sprouted but molded instead. Turns out that there was no drainage hole in the container, and nothing in the instructions telling me to add one. And duh, maybe I should have known, but I didn't.

In any case, now I know a lot more (as a result of doing a lot of reading, and speaking with folks from the University of Washington's Master Gardener program). So today my daughter and I planted lettuce, basil, chives, parsley, and more sunflowers, using seed starter kits. The sunflower kit once more had no drainage hole, but this time we added it. In about two more weeks, we'll start our tomato seeds, and that will be it for this year, except for a fall lettuce planting. After everything sprouts and grows a few inches (in about a month's time), they should be ready to be transplanted outdoors. If we do well this year, next year I'll add additional veggies.

The good news is that by chance I picked the right lettuce. I just grabbed a pack that said, "loose leaf," because I heard that if you can pick it by the leaf, you can harvest it faster than lettuce that grows by the head. It turns out that I picked black seed simpson lettuce, which is a heirloom variety, meaning it was originally grown in an earlier period of human history, before mass-scale agriculture. Many people are trying to preserve heirloom crops, which often can't be purchased in grocery stores. Black seed simpson apparently is one of the tastiest lettuces and easiest to grow (although fragile for transporting, which is why stores don't carry it).

The bad news is that our huge backyard and beautiful terrace, with the great view of Puget Sound, face north, the orientation which provides edibles with the least amount of sunlight. In addition, our only big, unobstructed windows also face north. According to the UW gardeners, we therefore need to place our containers in our tiny southern-facing front yard if we want them to get enough sun. In the meantime, the seeds starts are in one of the northern-facing windows, since that's the only place they can go, and I have a desk lamp with a swivel head shining on them to provide additional light.

Oh, and by the way: the lamp (and several of my gardening supplies) were purchased at local thirft shops. So this is another plug to encourage you to sign the petition for a National Thrift Shop Month. :)