The Things I Do for Free

Well, I'm really not allowed to spend money this month.  So far, it's been gas, groceries and a few pizzas from the Pizza Peel because I was too tired to cook dinner last night.  So that means only 1 thing: a super-easy-super-free Spring Break for the kiddos.

One simple way of being consumerism-free this week has been the child-care exchange.  A good friend of ours keeps our kids while we go to small group and we keep hers during school hours when he's on break. It is amazing that no money has to change hands and we simply get to meet one another's needs where they are.  The thought alone that she would keep my 2 wild ones, for no pay, during breakdown time is phenomenal.

Another way is the activities we have chosen.  Feeling a need to guard myself from a house full of restless toddler/preschoolers, I checked my favorite site, Charlotte on the Cheap to see what all was going on this week.  We found that:

On Tuesday, Ben and Jerry's was hosting a "Free Scoop Day" 12pm-8pm.  And yes, we did arrive at 11:45am, eager for our share.  The kids were stoked and so was I.  I even met a mother who told me her 2 sons were only allowed 1 hour there and at 12:20 when we left, were on scoop #5.  I kid you not.  But, in the spirit of things, we moved on after having only what we needed.  (And we all really really need some ice cream from time to time).

We also spent the earlier part of the morning dying eggs.  As opposed to another PAS egg dye kit, we chose to use what we had: water, vinegar and food coloring (which we only use on super special occasions!). 

EGG DYE:

1 cup white/apple cider vinegar (we buy white in bulk and use for cleaning and other projects)

1 1/2 teaspoon (or more) food coloring

1 1/2 cup hot water

 The eggs we dyed came from our chickens and numbered 17 total!  We had no need to rush to Food Lion and grab some eggs and a dye kit that greeted us as we entered the door.  Instead, we learned a lesson in resourcefulness (though the resourcefulness of dying food for decoration is debatable) and utilized what we already had in abundance.  And, I dare say, they turned out beautifully.

And now, let's talk about all you see in this picture.  The eggs are sitting atop paper strips from an encyclopedia picked up at Free Store Charlotte, which was obviously free.  The chairs are also from the Free Store last year and cost $2 each.  I vowed not to buy dining room chairs unless they were  under $5/each.  I painted them finally and there they are.  The table cloth (bed sheet) and 2 blue mason jars came from Value Village, totaling $5, and the glass dish was given to me by my mother, because she has a tendency to remind me of my need as a woman for such dainty things.

On Wednesday, we found an Easter Egg hunt at the Harris YMCA which also was free to both members and non members.  The kids enjoyed a picnic lunch ( complete with dumpstered grapes and handmade cloth napkins from Olive O Home ) and some fun time running around.

Please don't get me wrong: This is not a "look what I can do" as much as it is "Look what we all can do".  In our preschool handbook last year, there was a page that said that as a family, get in the habit of going places without spending money and not letting each outing be contingent on what you would purchase.  That honestly took me a while to get my head around.  BUT... it can be done.  It should be done.  Maybe today or tomorrow, reconsider one thing or outing you think you need.  Odds are, you'll be excited about what other creative solutions you can come up with!  

Anti-Consumerism April: Round 2: FIGHT!

This is it.  Year 2 of Anti-Consumerism April.  I'm still trying to wrap my head around what this should look like for me.  Last year, I said I could buy nothing new.  This year, I'm saying nothing at all.  From now until the end of the month.  No new shoes, clothes, craft stuffs... nothin'.  And let's be clear: last year I was not successful.  So, I'm pullin' myself up by my bootstraps and am making it happen.

One way I "celebrated" today, just to ring it all in, was making my second and third batches of homemade cleaning supplies.  That's one way to be mindful.  (I wanted to say "one way to stick it to the man" but decided to be a tad bit more positive, and to let this be about personal mindfulness, and not all the negativity that I want so badly to fight).  I've been hoping that, instead of being so ANTI this-or-that, I would be PRO-something, so as to send some more positive energy out.  Kind of like the concept of instead of being "anti-war, be pro-peace".

So, here are a few EASY recipes you can use to try to consume less corporate products and things that are down-right bad for you and the earth.

Laundry Powder:
1 Cup Borax
1 Cup Washing Soda
1 Bar Soap, finely grated

Mix all three ingredients and viola! Use 1 tablespoon/load.  It should last about 48 loads.

Now the funny thing, is that to make this, I had to use *gasp* corporate products.  But the beauty of it is that I am able to use far less.  A box of borax will yield up to 10-12 laundry mixes, and the washing soda up to 10.

Dishwasher Powder:
1 Cup Borax
1 Cup Washing Soda
1 Cup Kosher Salt

Mix all three ingredients and, again, viola!  Use 1 tablespoon/load and it will yield about 48 loads.

Part of the cool thing about this is that you can make really neat hostess gifts (for those of you, like my mother, who feel this sort of thing necessary), wedding shower gifts or any other type of gift.  Whip it all up, throw it in a mason jar (which you can very easily find 2nd hand), put some ribbon and fabric on it and you have created a thoughtful and mindful gift.

I made both of these with my kids today and put the finished product in reusable containers.  Don't get me wrong: I'm not necessarily trying to be "green" or any of the other things that go along with this type of behavior.  What I am trying to do, however, is rethink my buying habits and what my buying habits teach my kids.  It feels really good to be truly involved in my daily experience, as opposed to buying in to what a commercial tells me I need to buy and what needs to go with what I just bought and where to buy it again.

This month, I hope to think through my buying habits with food, gas, items for my children and home, and anything else I find myself pulling out my 6 square inches of plastic for on a daily basis.  If you've got any ideas, let me know.  In the words of some show my kids watch on PBS "The more you know, the more you grow."

Just real quick

I have to go to work- not "got" to but "get" to (any Greg Baty fans will understand the reference)- in like 56 minutes so I'll make it quick.

About 5 minutes ago, I read a blog called "Living life Intentionally" that a guy I went to college  with and his wife write.  I realize I spend an awful lot of my thought-time being in a negative space.  Even reading their title made me want to do better, to live with intention and purpose.  So, at least today, I'll follow their lead a make a top-5 thankfulness list, just to get my Saturday going in the right direction.

1. Friends.  Good.  Bad.  Same. Different.  Having relationships outside the nuclear family that I don't "got" to have but "get" to have.  I'm thankful for the challenges they bring and the healing, all in the same breath.
2. My neighborhood and the amazing people that are a part of it.  God is really doing something big here. It's nice to remember how much he cares. And that our sweet friends, Kala and John Michael are coming to scope the place out to see if they want to be a part of it soon!  Eek!
3. My little antique store job.
4. Coffee.  Dark, black, bold coffee.
5. My hot, caring, forgiving, human-not-faking-it husband, who watches documentaries that compel him to dumpster $200 worth of delicious food, clean, cook and store it all, plays beautiful music as our children dance, says he doesn't have 20 minutes to run with me but has an extra 20 to sleep (ahem. he is in bed right now with that excuse), and thinks that the only way to have a good time is if bowling is involved.  We screw up lots and lots and lots (times like a million) but I know God is doing something and has a unique purpose for us being together and I know we are slowly getting there.

So there, negative energy.  Take some positivity today.

Oh, and I'll add #6:
6. Gold nail polish.  Sheesh.  Who knew?

Control

First thing's first.  I wish I could play The Faint's "Control"or Death Cab's "The New Year" as you read this blog, like you could on Xanga.  Oh well, these times, they are a' changin'.  Anyway:

Something big is starting to bug me.  Something trendy, something cliche, something, well, pinned.  Is is all the 2012 hoopla?  Not really.  Is it my need to clean and organize?  Kinda, but not in this case.  Is it Al Gore?  Usually.  Isn't the warm winter his fault, anyway?  Actually,  tt's those dang bucket lists on Pinterest!  (Can I get a "I know, right?!?!?"). They are EVERYWHERE.

And don't get me wrong.  I love a good list and have quite a few friends who can attest to it.  I even love a good bucket list.  Like: I will paint my chairs in the dining room before I die.  I will sew 1 more garment before I die.  I will go a week without arguing with my husband before I die.  (It's true.  We did last week, suckas.)  But the ones that really get me are "Meet Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen." "Be on Glee."  Or, get this one, "Have a white Christmas."

Maybe it's just me.  Maybe I'm the only one they bother.  Maybe you're looking at them thinking "What's the big deal?  I've loved the Olsen twins since '87.  I'm tryna meet 'em, too."

It's not that I hate MK&A, Glee (bc I totally Hulu it from time to time), or don't yearn for Bing Crosby's beautifully attributed White Christmas.  The issue is that it's completely unrealistic to hope for these things!  So what?  You put it on a list to meet some celebrities.  You go to LA (because isn't that where all cool people live), you chase down said celebrity, only to be chased down by security.  You go to NY (because it snows there on Miracle on 34th Street) only to find it to be an unseasonably warm winter and will be a bold 45 degrees December 25th.

I don't think my semi-goals are better than anyone else's.  I don't think that admiring people and wanting to meet them is stupid.  But I do think it is a manifestation of how we live our lives.  We go around, from day to day, making our plans based on something over which we have completely no control.

I can't help it if the Olsen's aren't dying for a shopping trip and cocktails with me. (But let's get real.  They probably are.)
I can't help it if I audition for Glee and don't make it. (Which I will not be doing, by the way.)
I can't help it if I show up to a cooler climate on Christmas and it's sunny.  (A wise man once said "You can paint a pretty picnic but you can't predict the weather."  I think it was in like '01.  And I think he also said "Hey, ya")

I guess I can't have control over other people's goals.  :)  But I want to have goals that I can reach.  What if I really was living for something that was out of my control?  I can control whether or not I go and pick  up paint and paint my chairs, God willing and the creek don't rise.  I can control whether or not my sewing machine stays in my closet.  I can control whether or not I choose to engage in arguments or simply conversations with those closest to me.

Our problems begin when we put our hopes, our goals and our worth in someone else's possession.  If you have goals, great!  But make them be something you have control over.  Sometimes it's simply a matter of rearranging your words: "Be brave enough to speak to the Olsen's, should I see them in person." "Audition for Glee and be proud of my results." "Be grateful for each Christmas I spend with those I love, no matter the temperature."  I know it sounds silly, but I truly believe that when we change our hearts, our minds, our goals, we change our destinies.  

So go write some goals.  Some good goals.  Some attainable ones, that you have control over.  Even if it starts with "write a list of goals with 1 item on it." Check.