Tag Archives: Reduce

1st of the 3 “R’s”: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Cat "helping" sort my sewing supplies

Austerity Measures & Simplification

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The household crafting budgetary committee (ME) has reviewed the spending of the last couple months and has voted unanimously to impose austerity measures for the month of June.

For my part, Me-Made May ’12 was as much a challenge of production as it was a challenge of outfit creation. In order to meet my goal of 2 items per week, I knew that I would need to complete at least 4-6 new items that month. I am proud of my accomplishments, both in knitting, sewing, and pattern drafting. Yet, I think I will take the end of this challenge as a punctuation to this phase of sewing and evaluate my crafting priorities for the rest of the year.

The Crafting Budgetary committee’s decision to cut funding was based primarily on my spending habits when it comes to crafting (I don’t include it in my month budget). There isn’t the room (physical of fiscal) for new sewing and knitting supplies. I would like to make a couple of costumes for this year’s Ren Fair and convention circuit, but if I am not careful those projects can end up costing my $100 or more each. But sewing and knitting have is also become something of a distraction from other life priorities. Many people will attest to the meditative qualities of crafting, and that is something that I thrive on. But when I get home from work, I make a bee line to the sewing machine, and ignore other aspects of my life (chores, correspondence with friends, learning other skills, exercising, etc.). I’ve just enrolled in a certificate program for Autumn 2012, and that is going to drain my finances and my time.

There is also an issue of space and usability of the items I am creating. I’ve been struggling with my wardrobe for a while, and creating the MMM outfits forced me to confront my mediocre feelings about my wardrobe as a whole. I’ve tried multiple times to establish a different style, but my habits, behaviors, and comfort level usually reset my clothing style after a couple weeks. It is like hair cuts. It always comes back to the same default style that gets swept into a boring ponytail. (Note: we will see how long my current new haircut can maintain itself.)

The result is a closet with a few things that get worn a lot, and others that just look pretty on hangers. Some items no longer fit, some items never fit (but I swore I would get them altered). I noticed that the closet shelving is starting to buckle under the weight. So, before I create (or thrift) more clothing, I need to cull my existing wardrobe.

Thank goodness for the blogosphere:

The brains behind A Good Wardrobe, A Wardrobe, Reimagined, and Project 333 have all tackled similar issues. (These are my favorites so far, but these are not, by any means, the only blogs in the sewing/creative communities that are covering these topics.)

Lizz at A Good Wardrobe is taking the approach of creating unique, interchangeable wardrobes for each season based on a color palette. In addition to her sewing adventures, she spends some time contemplating what makes a good wardrobe and how to establish or find your personal style. It was through her blog that I stumbled upon the idea of a 30-piece core wardrobe.

I only recently started following Ali’s blog, A Wardrobe, Reimagined, but when I have time I want to go back and read her blog from the beginning. She has been on a journey  since 2010 to re-imagine her wardrobe and find her style, and I think I am where she was she began her blog. Also, her creations and thrift finds are inspiring. (Ali is co-hosting a June sew-along that encourages us to create one item in June that we will wear all summer. I MIGHT participate, since I already have all of the .) :)

The Project 333 allows 33 items for use each season (3 months at a time). The idea at the heart of this project is simplification and living with less–an idea that is in sync with my sustainability goals. If I look at what is in my laundry hamper, it is usually the same dozen shirts and the same three pants. I am unbelievably turned on by the idea of simplicity and living with less. I would like to be able to regularly wear the majority of what I own and maximize interchangeability of clothing and outfits. I’m going to give this 333 project a try. I’ll pack away the clothing that isn’t being used that season, and see if that makes choosing outfits in the morning easy. (Less selection = more happiness…yeah, there is science to back that up. Just listen to Radio Lab.)

My mantra: Need what I own and own only what I need (with a few exceptions for sentimental value).

Ultimately, when I’ve trimmed my clothes down to what I regularly use, I will be able to identify the gaps in my wardrobe and return to sewing, knitting, or thrifting as my means of procurement.

Come July, I plan to reunite with my craft supplies, with the hope of turning my existing fabric stash into Christmas gifts. For now, I’ll be simplifying the chaos that reigns inside my shelves and drawers.

paperkarma

Update on the Battle Against Junk Mail

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Over the last two weeks I have noticed a marked decline in junk mail addressed to me. I was told it would take up to 90 days to process the opt-out request, but it looks like most of my junk mail is gone just one month after opting-out.

Sure I still get occasional mailings from my alma mater, health insurance provider and Planned Parenthood, but these are organizations that I continue to have regular dealings with. I do wish they had electronic only marketing options, especially the organizations I donate to. I’d rather they spent their money on the services they provide and save some trees in the process.

Anyway, at the same time I was opting out of junk mail, a new smart phone app was hitting the iPhone and Android markets to help users with their junk mail problems. Apparently you take a photo of your junk mail, submit the photo, and follow a few steps to unsubscribe from the mailing list. Paperkarma was released in early February and according to Geek Wire, it was such a success that the developers are overwhelmed by the response and can’t keep up with the demands. What originally was intended to be a 24-hr response time now takes a few days.

I look forward to trying out the app, if junk mail sneaks through my opt-out filter, but right now I feel kinda bad about adding to the developer’s burden.

Featured image credit: PaperKarma.com

shoeclips_featured

Fashionable and Geeky: d20 shoe clips

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The Event: The [belated] Wizards of the Coast holiday party

The Shoes: A pair of heels bought during college that are on their last legs

The Dilemma: A personal stubborn unwillingness to spend money on mass-produced, disposable fashion shoes that would probably hurt my feet

The Solution: Handmade floral shoe clips! With d20′s! (inspired by Etsy vendors and multiple crafty tutorials on the interwebs)

Check out my post on Girlhack.com! It includes more photos of the creation process and links to the fabric flower and shoe clip tutorials that inspired me.

Image from washington-apa.org

Waste Not, Need Less

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Sometimes I think amidst climate change, carbon footprints, and other ”sustainable” buzzwords, we’ve lost track of the first environmental phrase we learned as kids: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

Western society seems to have embraced ”Recycle,” the easiest and (if I recall) the 3rd most crucial of the steps. Call me cynical, but I think recycling allows us to continue to consume products at the same rate we always have, except we can feel less guilty because we have found a “better” destination for the trash. Energy and material still went into the production of that product and the packaging.

“Reduce” was always meant to be the most important action we can take to protect the environment.

  • REDUCE how much stuff we buy;
  • REDUCE how many natural resources we consume; and
  • REDUCE how much trash we produce (through reuse and recycling);
  • to REDUCE our impact on the world around us.

Last year’s Sustainable-Me Challenge was focused on finding eco-alternatives to things I already bought or wanted to buy. But it had the unintended effect of reducing the amount of stuff I bought. Higher pricing and more difficulty finding some eco-alternatives caused me to just pass on some purchases. It made me aware of how “unnecessary” some of my purchases were, at least in relation to my general day-to-day survival. I have to begrudgingly tip my hat to the marketing and advertisement design teams out there. They have convinced me to buy a lot in the past.

I was again made aware of my past consumption habits when we were cleaning out the closet and the garage at the end of last year. The Goodwill pile was so big it required two full car trips (plus a third trip while I was home for Christmas and emptied a few large boxes in my parents’ basement). There were so many clothes that didn’t fit or didn’t coordinate with other wardrobe pieces. Again, I tip my hat to the manipulative ”SALE!” emails and in-store displays…

I think I want to reduce the amount of stuff I discard. I am embarrassed at how much unused stuff I donate each year. And then there was the entire batch of stew I just tossed out because the mold got to it before I did. I can continue to buy less stuff, but that is not the only behavior that produces waste. I want to know where the wasted stuff is coming from. So for the next few weeks I will keep track of what I throw away and how I dispose of it (garbage, recycle, disposal, compost). This will provide me with some baseline data for comparative purposes down the road. I’ll let you know what I find out.

 

My Battle Against Junk Mail

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I just took steps to reduce the amount of physical junk mail that is sent to my house. Too long have these credit card offers, coupons, and catalogs crowed my small mailbox and filled me with false excitement about recieving mail.

EDIT: A loyal reader has brought it to my attention that I failed to properly attribute my inspiration for this “freedom from junk mail” action. For more than a year my boyfriend has been subtely (and not-so-subtely) suggesting that I opt-out of junk mail. He had already freed himself from the junk mail deluge, yet he continued to haul unwanted mailings on a daily basis because I was too lazy (or busy, or forgetful) to opt-out myself.

Facts about junk mail:

  • Four million tons of junk mail produced a year in the United States alone;
  • 44 percent of all junk mail goes unopened and is put into a landfill, eventually;
  • 250,000 homes could be heated from burning a single day’s worth of junk mail in the United States;
  • Dont fill out warranty cards-that is how marketers get your information;
  • Paper production (general) annually uses 28 billion gallons of water and 100 million trees a year used for paper (Source: How Stuff  Works)

How Stuff Works (a podcast and blog) has a good article about the problems of junk mail and how you can reduce the amount you recieve: How Junk Mail Works. The Today Show webpage also has information about junk mail solutions.

I went to www.optoutprescreen.com and www.dmachoice.org and entered my information to stop credit offer solicitations, magizine offers, unwanted catalogs, and coupons from filling my mailbox. (CAVEAT: Opt Out PreScreen does require a social security number, because most of the credit marketers already have it…that is how they find you. You can choose not to provide your SSN to Opt Out PreScreen, but they can’t guarantee they will be able to find your records to remove them.) 

The online forms are short and easy to fill out. I did this all over breakfast. This opt-out process does not stop mail from groups you have business with. For example, I buy stuff from REI so this opt-out won’t stop their coupons or catalogs. Nor will charities I have donated to stop sending me mail…unless I specifically write to them and request it. So, if you have a lot of catalogs from companies you buy from, you may have to contact them individually. DMA Choice provides contact information for many companies.

It will take at least 30 to 90 days for these “opt-out” requests to take effect. Until the then, if you are feeling creative, why not turn that junk mail into some art? This woman did.