So Glad I Have My Job

I laughed more today than I usually laugh at a stand-up comedy routine. I love my job.

Two best lines from today:
Me: Who are these people? (Pointing to a picture.)
Student: They're PILGRIMS, Mrs. Macy. That's why you're an English teacher.

Student to another student: Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's violates all public speaking codes of conduct to HIT an audience member.

Anyway, I promised myself that I would share my ideas about reducing, reusing, and recycling this month, and I'm feeling like a nag. Since I've already hit 92% on my resolutions, according to my chart on the Happiness Toolbox, I'm not going to push it as much.

Meanwhile, I am thinking loving thoughts for all those people out there suffering from depression. I encountered one today, and I will spend my weekend worrying about this person.

Recycled Art

I have been playing with some recycled materials for a craft project. Not being able to buy anything makes me look around for more available materials. In particular, I am covering a binder and using an old wool jacket for part of the design.

This process got me thinking about recycled art, so I spent some time browsing web pages of recycled art galleries.

Here's one I found that had a wide variety of artists. They have both crafts and what I could consider art. This piece made me giggle.

I thought this glass kitchen ware was pretty cool.

And I had fun shopping Etsy stores trying to find a present for a friend who is very eco-friendly herself and who also happens to write. I finally found this, but if your birthday is in early February and your name is Terri and you are a vegetarian, don't follow that link.

So that's enough of my link-heavy post. Wish I knew if I could use other people's images in my own blog legally and ethically.

Happy day, everyone.

Ethical Shopping

On top of trying to shop in an environmentally friendly manner, I am also trying to shop in a more human friendly manner. For me, this means shopping for fair trade products or products that are made in the U.S. and therefore under strong labor laws.

Well, I haven't been shopping at all, but I have been browsing online, trying to find stores that sell fair trade products. It isn't as easy I expected. I mean, I could buy this or these, but neither suit my style.

But I finally found a store that has what they call "organic, eco-friendly, and fair trade fashion" all for a relatively reasonable price, especially when you shop the sales. Where can you enjoy "organic, eco-friendly, and fair trade fashion," you ask? It's called Fair Indigo. Check it out.

Smile!

This last week has been rough, so I've been avoiding blogging at the risk of sounding whiney. I am still reading and thoroughly enjoying The Happiness Project. Gretchen Rubin is inspiring in her self-reflection and her structured method to acheiving happiness. I respond to that kind of thing. I do wonder how she can sometimes state facts and studies without actually citing them, but there must be something I am missing. Oh, and if you're looking for a good gym-read, this is it. It's engaging while also being a very light and easy read.

Meanwhile, I am still not shopping, still turning off lights, still encouraging my daughter and my students to recycle and whatnot. I am surprised at how easy this month has progressed in terms of me not shopping. I am liking the quieter weekends sans Old Navy, Target, and Famous Footwear. Things seem slower around here when we're not spending three hours of a perfectly good weekend day shopping for socks for one kid, a sweater for the other, nylons for me, and . . . well, we don't spend a lot of time shopping for Jason. He doesn't want much, and when he does want something, it's usually fast because he runs into Best Buy knowing exactly what game or headphone set he wants.

I am excited that I have a plan for the first charity project of the year for DD and me. We are going to work at The Educator's Closet hanging and organizing clothes. The Educator's Closet serves two functions: They take old office supplies and house them for educators to use, and they also organize clothing drives, coat drives, etc. for local families in need. I think this is a great starting project for the two of us. We'll be doing one a month for 2010.

And for my enviro sharing for the day: Did you know that "[r]ecycling 1 ton of plastic saves 7.4 cubic yards of landfill space?" 'Tis true, according to Earth 911.

***

I have a lot to smile about - kisses from my kids, the smell of herbs on my hands, and the approaching three-day weekend. What's making you smile these days?

Interesting Energy Tidbit

The authors of the web page Energy Audits, Energy Efficient Homes, Save Energy, Energy Conservation, Building Green, Sustainability state that "[i]f you add together all of the areas where wind moves into most homes from the outside it is like leaving a window open 6”or more. Air leaks waste as much as 30-40% of a home's energy intake. Your home's energy efficiency will improve vastly by properly sealing cracks, crevices, gaps that allow air to pass directly into a home's conditioned space through the exterior of the structure."

I am trying to pay more attention to the overall energy efficiency of my home. In one of our bathrooms, you can feel the air come in under the door. In fact, in the fall, leave somehow make their way in.

I may actually get an energy audit. It's one of those things that will cost money up front, but hopefully in the long run will save money and be more environmentally friendly.

How energy efficient is your home?

» Consumerism vs. minimalism | mnmlist.com

On the mnmlist web page, the author has written an article on how to be more minimalist in your approach to shopping. I like his ideas:

» Consumerism vs. minimalism mnmlist.com:

"Learn to be more conscious of my impulses when I'm ready to buy something."
For the first few months of no shopping, I found myself accidentally paying for impulse buys before I realized that it conflicted with my resolution. The more often I practice low impact months, the easier it becomes to avoid impulse purchases.

"Learn to pause, and to breathe, to let the physical desire wane."
Being mindful of the physical sensations I get from shopping not only allow me to make more appropriate shopping choices, but it also is a practice in everyday mindfulness and awareness of the body. I get lots of benefits from being aware of the thrill I get from shopping. Before I started this, I wasn't even aware that I got any thrill from shopping.

"Force myself to wait, if the purchase isn't an absolute necessity."
That's what my entire month forces me to do. It's amazing how much I think I need when I am in the store and seeing color and shape. At home, it doesn't seem so necessary.

"Let myself think about it, and analyze whether it's something I really need to buy. Often the answer is no. "
I am still working on this.

"Slowly improve upon this, over time, as I always make mistakes."
One of my newer mottos is to cut everyone, myself included, some slack.

So which of these quotes most speaks to you?

The Happiness Project Toolbox

I am trying out the Happiness Project toolbox for 2010. It's a place where you can create resolutions, checklists, etc. It's a pretty interesting site. I am doing as the site creator did and devoting each month to a different area of my life. Here is my schedule for 2010:

Jan: Consumption and Ownership
Feb: Love and Community
Mar: Energy
Apr: Money
May: Mindfulness
June: Order and Simplicity
Jul: Health and Well-Being
Aug: Creativity and Fun
Sep: Family
Oct: Friends
Nov: Attitude
Dec: Giving

I have some other plans for the year, but more to come on that later. Hopefully, posting this here will keep me honest.

I am a complete nerd in that charts, lists, and check lists really motivate me into action. Because I like having goals and concrete methods of measuring those goals, this kind of project works really well for me. My husband, I'm sure, would roll his eyes. He could never view his life as a series of lists. And that's why he complements me so nicely.

Happy new year and here's to having a plan.

Acquisition Versus Living

I have been reading a lot about consumption patterns, simplifying, and intentions. Recently, I stumbled upon the following quote from Zen Habits:

How to Want Very Little: "What you need to do is learn to get lost in activities rather than acquisition. Instead of being strung along by the latest gizmo, learn to transplant that process into an outlet such as writing, music or drawing. Focus on doing interesting things rather than buying interesting things."

It is true that most Americans easily get lost in acquisition. I see it in my own family on a regular basis. It isn't that we even want the item so much as we want the high we get when we acquire something new. You can read about this in the book Hooked!: Buddhist Writing on Greed, Desire and the Urge to Consume.

In the communities surrounding both of my hobbies, stashing is encouraged. "Stashing," it should be noted, is nothing but a euphemism for hoarding. In the sewing world, we encourage one another to stash (hoard) fabric; in the paper crafting world, we encourage one another to stash (hoard) paper and embellishments. I found myself spending more time shopping for fabric, patterns, books and crafting items than I was spending time on the actual crafts themselves. Completely ridiculous, really, but it was my pattern. My low-impact months have taught me to spend less time in the crafting stores, more time in my crafting space doing crafts. More time with my kids, less time shopping for them. More time reading less time in Borders.

I know you're probably thinking that I have stated the obvious, but when you mindlessly go about life, you miss the obvious, which is why I think committing to a month of no shopping is a worthy endeavor. It forces mindfulness.

So that is my goal for this low-impact month - to really focus on doing more things I enjoy and less time in stores.

Happy new year!

Ridiculously Easy Pie Recipe

I am going to a party this afternoon and was asked to bring a dessert. As you may know, I am a disaster in the kitchen, but I'm working on improving that status/reputation.

So I decided to start with a simple dessert. I am taking this yummy creamy lemon pie. It's incredibly simple:

• Graham cracker pie crust
• Small can of sweetened condensed milk
• Tub of cool whip
• Small can of frozen lemonade defrosted (I had to use a half of a larger size because the small cans weren't available)

Whip together the condensed milk, cool whip, and defrosted lemonade and spread into pie crust. Twirl it around so it looks pretty.

Done!