Nifty, Thrifty, and Counter Cultural

I woke up this morning ready to tell you why you should shop at thrift stores and consignment shops rather than buy new. But I don't have to, because even if you don't know already, other writers have exhausted the topic all over the interwebs.

If you'd like some basics:
Want to Be Eco-Friendly? Visit a Thrift Store
Green Shopping: Don't Say 'Eww' to Thrift Stores

For some reason, there's this cultural aversion to buying at thrift stores. The advent of the consignment shop seems to be alleviating this some, but as a culture we have a long way to go. People seem to think there's something shameful or nasty about buying used.

I say ABSURD!  :D

Some points to ponder:

• The minute I wear something, it's used. If I don't want to wear used clothing, I might as well start throwing every outfit away after the first wear.
• Anyone can walk into a department store and put on what the headless mannequin is modeling. It takes creativity and ingenuity to create new outfits from thrift/consignment stores. Would I rather be a dummy or a designer?
• The creative possibilities are endless at the thrift shop, you aren't hemmed in (pun!) by this year's soon to be out of style fashion. I have a plethora of eras/designers/styles/sizes to choose from. Just wait until you see the amazing 1960's polyester dress I'm getting ready to turn into throw pillows!
• While shopping can be an utterly depressing endeavor  because of the expense and the fit of clothing (at least, if you're me it can be), thrift shopping is an exciting adventure. I'm not constrained by price or love handles. If I can imagine it, I can make it. At the thrift store, I conform the clothes to my body, rather than agonizing over how my body doesn't conform to the standard. 

Yesterday I showed you the swegwarmers I made out of a thrift store sweater. I plan on using a bit of ribbon to finish off the sleeve holes of that same sweater and turn it into a little hooded vest for Girl 1.

 I spent 2 dollars on that sweater at the thrift store. A quick Google for legwarmers shows that they cost anywhere from $5-$32 (what?!?) a pair. While Google did find a used girls hooded sweater vest for $3.99, most cost $16-$20. One thrift store purchase and I saved $6.99-$50.00. 

Adorable clothes, cheap prices, low carbon footprint, and I'm keeping textile waste out of the landfill?

Skadoosh!

Miss Scarlett and a little foot-stamping.

In response to my frustration at not knowing how to eat local and organic, my sister-in-law told me about a little store called Brown Box Organics. Yesterday while Boy 3 was at his gymnastics class, Girl 1 and I did a little local market reconnaissance. It is a beautiful shop and the staff is really friendly and helpful. They have local, organic, non-GMO foods, and I learned a lot just roaming the aisles. I ended up buying a leek and a bag of Chippery BBQ chips. 

What I'm learning is, I picked the wrong time of year to try and go local and organic. It's funny how what a late-onset realization this is. It's winter, and I'm out looking for fresh, local, organic produce. I am so detached from the growing cycle, and from where my food comes from. I have no idea what grows well in Idaho. I have no clue what is in season and what isn't. I think that's probably true of a lot of people. So now I have some catching up to do. I keep having flashbacks to the days when I used to read Jean M. Auel and her Ayla adventures. I thought that longing for greens was a cave person only problem. Turns out there's like, this whole natural cycle. Duh.

Looking back over my No Impact Week posts, I realize that I spend a lot of time being frustrated. I want to live this perfect green lifestyle NOW. I get so frustrated by what I don't know, what doesn't work, or what we can't afford. And the more I research the more I realize just how very expensive the food part of the green lifestyle can get. I am not saying it isn't worth it, I'm just saying there's no way we can go whole hog right off the bat. We just can't afford it.

Doing things in baby steps means not every aspect of our lives are green all the time. I worry about hypocrisy a lot, the need to be consistent is part of my identity, and I don't want to be accused of lying, cheating, or not living up to my values. I want to do things right, and I'm tempted to give up when I can't do it perfectly. There was a good article about this today on TreeHugger: In Defense of Hypocrisy- In Search of the Sustainable Double Standard

So, here are some truths and then I'm just going to move on and stop judging myself so harshly:

• We have a ton of plastic bags in the basement. The things are like herpes, easy to get, impossible to get rid of. I can't throw them out, but I often fail to remember to bring my reusables. 
• I bought Kraft Macaroni & Cheese this week, along with a slew of other non-organic processed foods. When one lunch of mac & cheese requires 4 boxes to feed the fam, I can't afford Annie's all the time. I buy what I can, when I can, but I can't do it all at once.
• We use disposable baby wipes. Not going to quit that, it's too cumbersome and gross. Sometimes we use disposable diapers. 
• The laundry room is disgusting again. 
• My compost heap is frozen. I am failing on that one.
• I love my gadgets, my iPod and laptop and such. I use them a lot.

I'm sure there are a million more failures, but the thing is, every day I try to improve something. I'm not giving up, and I'm probably going to crap out more often than I succeed, but every day I try. If I'm inconsistent? Oh. Well. Tomorrow is another day. Fiddle dee dee? Maybe. But at least I give a damn enough to try.