2/22/12
Labels:
frugality
,
Saving money
Freebies are everywhere. If you’re trying to live frugally, making freebies a key part of your arsenal can boost your savings as well as adding fun to your life.
Taking advantage of freebies doesn’t mean you never pay for entertainment or luxuries. On the contrary: it can help ‘free up’ the necessary funds to splurge on higher priced events and items that enrich your life: theatre tickets, a ride in a hot air balloon, a gorgeous sustainable garment for a special event.
Below I’ve identified many great sources of regular freebies. Sometimes freebies will be listed on a website, but you’ll need to do some of your own digging to get the most out of free.
Libraries are one of the original homes of free. DVDs, CDs, magazines, books and in some cases ebooks – it’s all there! Many libraries allow you to suggest a purchase, which you can then reserve. Libraries often run free cultural events, such as author talks, that are listed on their websites; some hold free film screenings. And you can always peruse the daily paper in your local library if you don’t want the expense of buying it.
Local area websites. There are a growing number of websites dedicated to listing free events in local areas. For example, Weekend Notes lists free things to do in many Australian and New Zealand cities as well as East London, Edinburgh, New York and Singapore. If you’re in or going to London, there’s Free London events. White Hat lists events in Melbourne, many of them free. A simple Google check of free events in your area should throw up some sites; subscribe to their feeds for regular updates.
Museums. Museums are often free, or provide free admission to concession card holders. Don’t just restrict yourself to your state or regional museums – smaller specialist museums can offer interesting cultural experiences. In Melbourne, for example, the Immigration Museum, the Melbourne Museum and Scienceworks are free for children and concession card holders.
Universities. Become a polymath by attending the many free public lectures that unis hold throughout the academic year, covering a huge range of subjects from theatre in ancient Athens and the impact of the GFC to how to build a sustainable city. Online faculty events-calendars and newsletters are good places to start your search.
Galleries. Large state galleries often have a number of free exhibitions as well as paying ones. They also often hold free floor talks – check websites for details. Small galleries offer challenging and fascinating art that you can view for nothing. Pinpoint a few in one area and go on a gallery crawl.
Local councils may offer many types of free events. They sometimes run free fitness classes. My local council, for example, offers free yoga, chi gong and tai chi classes, in parks during summer and indoors during winter. In 2011 it ran workshops and presentations on how to keep chickens, how to create edible gardens, and gardening in small spaces. Melbourne City Council has just announced it will run free dance classes monthly in the City Square or similar venue. Some councils offer free business networking events.
Many local councils also hold free outdoor concerts and cultural events during the warmer months.
Local festivals often include a host of free entertainment, talks and workshops.
Meet-ups. Meetup is an online bulletin board for events and gatherings of all stripes taking place in dozens of places across the world. Not all of the events are free; some are workshops and classes, and some group outings cost money, but there are cafe meet-ups where you only pay for what you consume. Start your own meet-up!
Informal business networking meet-ups that aren’t organised for profit don’t necessarily cost anything apart from what you buy at the cafe or bar. For example, Flying Solo, a website for Australia’s microbusiness community, provides a forum for its members to organise informal meet-ups in their local area.
Bookstores often hold free author talks and book launches – you might score some cheap wine and munchies if you’re lucky.
Free film websites. Word-of-mouth is a vital means by which film distribution companies advertise their offerings. Preview screenings of films can now be accessed on the web from sites such as GetScreening.com and SeeFilmFirst.
City parks sometimes hold free events in summer such as free guided walks. For example, the Royal Botanical Gardens in Melbourne offers a free Summer Discovery Walk.
Neighbourhood houses sometimes run free or very cheap classes - check the websites of those in your local area.
Until next time!
Read More
Things You Get for Free: Making the Most of Free Events in Your Area
Freebies are everywhere. If you’re trying to live frugally, making freebies a key part of your arsenal can boost your savings as well as adding fun to your life.
Taking advantage of freebies doesn’t mean you never pay for entertainment or luxuries. On the contrary: it can help ‘free up’ the necessary funds to splurge on higher priced events and items that enrich your life: theatre tickets, a ride in a hot air balloon, a gorgeous sustainable garment for a special event.
Below I’ve identified many great sources of regular freebies. Sometimes freebies will be listed on a website, but you’ll need to do some of your own digging to get the most out of free.
Libraries are one of the original homes of free. DVDs, CDs, magazines, books and in some cases ebooks – it’s all there! Many libraries allow you to suggest a purchase, which you can then reserve. Libraries often run free cultural events, such as author talks, that are listed on their websites; some hold free film screenings. And you can always peruse the daily paper in your local library if you don’t want the expense of buying it.
Local area websites. There are a growing number of websites dedicated to listing free events in local areas. For example, Weekend Notes lists free things to do in many Australian and New Zealand cities as well as East London, Edinburgh, New York and Singapore. If you’re in or going to London, there’s Free London events. White Hat lists events in Melbourne, many of them free. A simple Google check of free events in your area should throw up some sites; subscribe to their feeds for regular updates.
Museums. Museums are often free, or provide free admission to concession card holders. Don’t just restrict yourself to your state or regional museums – smaller specialist museums can offer interesting cultural experiences. In Melbourne, for example, the Immigration Museum, the Melbourne Museum and Scienceworks are free for children and concession card holders.
Universities. Become a polymath by attending the many free public lectures that unis hold throughout the academic year, covering a huge range of subjects from theatre in ancient Athens and the impact of the GFC to how to build a sustainable city. Online faculty events-calendars and newsletters are good places to start your search.
Galleries. Large state galleries often have a number of free exhibitions as well as paying ones. They also often hold free floor talks – check websites for details. Small galleries offer challenging and fascinating art that you can view for nothing. Pinpoint a few in one area and go on a gallery crawl.
Local councils may offer many types of free events. They sometimes run free fitness classes. My local council, for example, offers free yoga, chi gong and tai chi classes, in parks during summer and indoors during winter. In 2011 it ran workshops and presentations on how to keep chickens, how to create edible gardens, and gardening in small spaces. Melbourne City Council has just announced it will run free dance classes monthly in the City Square or similar venue. Some councils offer free business networking events.
Many local councils also hold free outdoor concerts and cultural events during the warmer months.
Local festivals often include a host of free entertainment, talks and workshops.
Meet-ups. Meetup is an online bulletin board for events and gatherings of all stripes taking place in dozens of places across the world. Not all of the events are free; some are workshops and classes, and some group outings cost money, but there are cafe meet-ups where you only pay for what you consume. Start your own meet-up!
Informal business networking meet-ups that aren’t organised for profit don’t necessarily cost anything apart from what you buy at the cafe or bar. For example, Flying Solo, a website for Australia’s microbusiness community, provides a forum for its members to organise informal meet-ups in their local area.
Bookstores often hold free author talks and book launches – you might score some cheap wine and munchies if you’re lucky.
Free film websites. Word-of-mouth is a vital means by which film distribution companies advertise their offerings. Preview screenings of films can now be accessed on the web from sites such as GetScreening.com and SeeFilmFirst.
City parks sometimes hold free events in summer such as free guided walks. For example, the Royal Botanical Gardens in Melbourne offers a free Summer Discovery Walk.
Neighbourhood houses sometimes run free or very cheap classes - check the websites of those in your local area.
Until next time!
If you enjoyed this blog entry, you might also like How to Be Frugal when Your Friends Aren’t and Be a Creative Stinge – 12 Great Tips for Cutting Your Spending and Saving Money.
2/15/12
Labels:
Bargains
,
Budget shopping
,
Decorating
,
Saving money
,
Secondhand goods
6. Because they’re so cheap, you can buy a lot of pictures and play around with them. Group many together for maximum impact. The image below, from Kitsch Cafe, shows how effective a grouping of floral and landscape pictures can be.
8. Kitsch is environmentally friendly. Decorating your walls with kitsch prints is a great way to recycle and reuse. For every kitsch print on your wall, one less new print needs to be generated!
Read More
Decorating on a Budget? Nine Reasons to Discover the Delights of Kitsch Prints
If you want to decorate on a small budget, you can’t go past kitsch. Kitsch prints in particular are an incredibly cheap (not to mention cheerful!) way to decorate.
As a style kitsch is unfairly derided. Wikipedia describes a typical kitsch object as ‘an inferior, tasteless copy’ of an existing style of art, one that is ‘cheap and mass-produced’, ‘aesthetically deficient’ and overly sentimental. Yet in the last ten years I’ve developed a huge love of kitsch, particularly when it comes in the form of originality-challenged pictures. These ‘bad taste’ items are now the first thing I look for when I go on one of my op shop (thrift store) crawls.
As a style kitsch is unfairly derided. Wikipedia describes a typical kitsch object as ‘an inferior, tasteless copy’ of an existing style of art, one that is ‘cheap and mass-produced’, ‘aesthetically deficient’ and overly sentimental. Yet in the last ten years I’ve developed a huge love of kitsch, particularly when it comes in the form of originality-challenged pictures. These ‘bad taste’ items are now the first thing I look for when I go on one of my op shop (thrift store) crawls.
Below are nine reasons to use kitsch pictures to add colour and fun to your rooms. Most of the pics are kitsch prints I’ve amassed (‘collected’ just doesn't seem the right word!).
1. Kitsch pictures work on two levels – irony and visual display. Kitsch demonstrates a sense of humour, but the colours and designs should also complement your decor. I only buy pictures whose colours and designs attract me, no matter how daggy the pictures may be.
1. Kitsch pictures work on two levels – irony and visual display. Kitsch demonstrates a sense of humour, but the colours and designs should also complement your decor. I only buy pictures whose colours and designs attract me, no matter how daggy the pictures may be.
2. Hardly anyone else is buying them so they’re dirt cheap. Kitsch pictures are too old to be modern and too recent to be retro but they will graduate to retro in a few years’ time. Buying them now will put you ahead of the pack! Of course, one person’s kitsch is another person’s retro. Some of my pictures, such as the one above, could be described as retro, kitsch or both. You can also stumble across cheap kitsch paintings that are originals, but they’re harder to find.
3. Kitch is fun! Kitsch pictures give a lighthearted, playful tone to your decorating.
4. Kitsch prints are everywhere, so they’re easy to find. Op shops are full of them. They’re on eBay, can be found at garage/yard sales and auction houses, and are probably hiding out in the garages and sheds of your friends and rellies.
5. Kitsch prints go well with many different decorating styles and eras. They’re often fairly bland, and can be safely paired with all kinds of decor for an eclectic look, as shown below.
5. Kitsch prints go well with many different decorating styles and eras. They’re often fairly bland, and can be safely paired with all kinds of decor for an eclectic look, as shown below.
6. Because they’re so cheap, you can buy a lot of pictures and play around with them. Group many together for maximum impact. The image below, from Kitsch Cafe, shows how effective a grouping of floral and landscape pictures can be.
7. Kitsch prints are easy to let go of. If you get sick of your kitsch prints, your taste changes or your decorating budget expands to embrace, say, emerging artists, the low cost of kitsch prints means you won’t be mired in regret about wasted money. And you should be able to offload your prints easily to the op shop or your council hard rubbish collection, or by selling them on eBay or at a garage sale.
8. Kitsch is environmentally friendly. Decorating your walls with kitsch prints is a great way to recycle and reuse. For every kitsch print on your wall, one less new print needs to be generated!
9. Kitsch prints are easy to upcycle. If you’re crafty it’s easy to upcycle the wooden frames of kitsch prints, eg by painting, stripping or shabby chic-ing them.
Do you have a fondness for kitsch? Got some tips for finding and making the most of kitsch prints? Please feel free to comment!
Until next time!
If you enjoyed this blog entry, you might also like Inspired Thrifting: What Makes a Good Find at the Op Shop or Thrift Store?
2/8/12
Labels:
Decision making
,
Intuition
,
Large purchases
,
Renovating
,
Research
,
Waiting
It wasn’t until later that he thought to consult his friend Alan, a builder. It was lucky he did. Not only had he got the type of flooring wrong – chipboard absorbs moisture, so it’s not suitable for roof cavities – but the flooring structure wasn’t strong enough for the purpose. It would put too much weight on the ceiling joists, which would lead to sagging. The floor needed to be underpinned by load-bearing timber. The flooring Chris needed and that he ultimately bought with his friend’s guidance was thick board covered by malamite; with the supporting timber underneath, the floor ended up being 15 cm thick.
Acting on Alan’s advice, Chris also put a safety fence around the entrance to which the folding ladder was attached.
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The Tale of an Attic: Thinking before You Renovate
Our homes are our castles. They’re the place on Earth we have the most control over, so it’s no wonder we want to make them as comfortable and right for us as possible. But things can go wrong if we don’t take the time to consider all the factors involved. Below is a shopping story that illustrates the importance of biding your time and getting all the facts when it comes to home renovation.
An architect friend of mine, who I’ll call Chris, had a ripper idea while he was having the tiles fixed on his roof. Why not create more space in his house by turning the attic into a proper room? A study with a relaxed feel that he could escape to when he needed to get some work done? His Edwardian red brick home had generous living areas but his two daughters were growing up. They currently shared a bedroom but were clamouring for their own rooms, and his tiny study near the kitchen would soon be lost forever.
The attic wasn’t a proper room at that stage, just a space between the ceiling and the roof – but there was easily enough height to stand up in, so it could be done. The entrance hole was large and situated in the main hallway of the house.
The attic wasn’t a proper room at that stage, just a space between the ceiling and the roof – but there was easily enough height to stand up in, so it could be done. The entrance hole was large and situated in the main hallway of the house.
Chris didn’t think too much about what the job would involve. Because he was an architect, he assumed he had the expertise to oversee the job himself, and he wanted to do it cheaply. He bought a fold-down extension ladder and had it installed. Then he purchased some cheap flooring – chipboard – and paid someone to install it.
It wasn’t until later that he thought to consult his friend Alan, a builder. It was lucky he did. Not only had he got the type of flooring wrong – chipboard absorbs moisture, so it’s not suitable for roof cavities – but the flooring structure wasn’t strong enough for the purpose. It would put too much weight on the ceiling joists, which would lead to sagging. The floor needed to be underpinned by load-bearing timber. The flooring Chris needed and that he ultimately bought with his friend’s guidance was thick board covered by malamite; with the supporting timber underneath, the floor ended up being 15 cm thick.
Acting on Alan’s advice, Chris also put a safety fence around the entrance to which the folding ladder was attached.
The tale ended happily. The room is now a study, complete with mood lighting, built-in drawers, cupboards and desk. It has a lovely attic-y feel. But in ripping the floor out and starting again, Chris ended up spending more money than he needed to. In trying to save both time and money, he’d wasted both.
This story illustrates just how important it is, when you want to do any sort of redecorating that involves purchasing, to bide your time.
Just as we sometimes give in to impulsive shopping, so we also act impulsively when we want to make major changes such as renovating our homes. It’s vital to carry out research, but sometimes the information we need isn’t available instantly. Perhaps Chris had wanted to contact Alan right away but couldn’t. Or perhaps he feared that if he took Alan’s advice, the whole thing would get too complicated (and too expensive!).
It’s especially difficult to take your time when you’ve been undecided for a while and then you finally make a decision. It’s natural to want to start right away and ask questions later.
What lessons can be taken from Chris's experience?
- Listen to yourself when you want to dive straight into a home renovation project. Perhaps there are things you need to consider that you’re not aware of yet. Think about what they are, and where you might get the right information.
- Before you begin, wait until you’ve considered all the factors involved; wait until you have all the information you need. Think about the plan for your project as a puzzle for which you need all the pieces before completing. Ask yourself if you have all the pieces before you begin to carry out your plan.
- Consult with someone who can see the whole picture. Individual tradespeople quoting on their own jobs won’t necessarily consider every factor; they may be concerned only with their piece of the puzzle. Even if they are aware of other considerations, some (not all) may fail to inform you of the ultimate requirements and costs because they want to provide a cheap quote.
- Develop ‘negative capability’. The poet John Keats coined this term to describe the state of uncertainty and unknowing in which creativity manifests itself. When it comes to making big changes to our homes, being open to uncertainty can help us determine the type and extent of research we have to do and all the factors we need to take into account.
- By all means be organised and use your rational mind. But also let your inner self guide you, when it comes to both the changes you decide to make and the people you contract to help you carry them out.
- Above all, keep your mind (and your ears) open!
Until next time!
If you enjoyed this blog entry, you might also like Steps to Take before You Buy a Big-Ticket Item.
2/5/12
Labels:
Buying green
,
Ethical shopping
,
Recycling
The other day I found the plastic top of a takeaway coffee that had blown into my front yard.
As I picked it up I thought of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which I’d just been reading about. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a floating soup of 100 million tons of garbage, 90 per cent of which is plastic, in the North Pacific. It’s impossible to estimate the area accurately; one study found it to be twice the size of Hawaii. In 2010, similar patches of decomposed plastic debris were found in the North Atlantic and in the Indian Ocean.
While navies and commercial shopping are partly responsible, it’s estimated that perhaps 80 per cent of marine plastic originated on land as litter and industrial waste. Some of it has been dumped on the beach and in rivers or streams, and some has been blown away from landfill, or while being transported to landfill. Water bottles and plastic bags are the most familiar part of the problem – for example, US citizens consume an estimated 50 billion bottles of water per annum, and the annual figure for the globe is around 200 billion bottles – but the plastics in the garbage patches range from pocket combs, tampon applicators and toothbrushes to fishing nets, detergent bottles and toys.
Bits of this waterlogged mass of rubbish end up in the stomachs or around the necks of birds, turtles, whales, seals and other sea creatures, many of which die slow and horrible deaths from starvation, strangulation or suffocation. It’s likely that over 100,000 marine mammals and turtles and hundreds of thousands of sea birds die each year due to marine debris, including plastic. Scientific American describes some of the effects on sea life of coming into contact with plastic: ‘fur seals entangled by nylon nets, sea otters choking on polyethylene six-pack rings, and plastic bags or toys stuck in the guts of sea turtles’. More information about marine debris and what’s being done to clean it up can be found on the NOAA website.
Large pieces of plastic debris are just one aspect of the problem. Estimates for the time it takes various kinds of plastics to decompose range from 20 to 1000 years. They don’t biodegrade – get broken down by microbes – in any reasonable amount of time, but they do photodegrade, breaking down into smaller and smaller pieces. Much of the plastic in the ocean consists of tiny fragments that are less than 1 cm in size, some of them microscopic. These fragments release toxic chemicals into the ocean and into the food chain. Tiny marine organisms ingest the particles and these organisms are then eaten by fish, which in turn are eaten by humans.
A problem like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch can seem overwhelming; individual actions aren’t ever going to solve it on their own. It would take government action and regulation on a global scale to simply stop the situation getting worse, by legislating for less use and greater recycling of plastics, for example. In the meantime, though, it’s surprisingly easy to cut down on your own consumption of plastic, and there are plenty of resources if you want to advocate for tougher regulations.
Below are some simple ways to reduce the use of plastic in your life, reuse it where possible, and recycle the plastic you can’t reuse. (There are also some more ‘hard core’ suggestions.)
* Put plastic containers in your recycling bin. There are many different types of plastics, and not all can be recycled. In the US, UK and Australia, local authorities usually allow some kinds of hard plastic such as drink bottles in their curbside recycling services, but the types of plastics they recycle will vary – check the website of your local authority. A Plastics Identification Code (used internationally) is stamped on plastic containers to indicate their type. According to Clean Up Australia, most local councils here recycle plastics labelled 1, 2, and 3, but many are now extending their recycling programs to include plastics labelled 4 to 7. Clean the containers before you put them in the bin.
* Recycle your plastic bags at recycling drop-off points in your area. Plastic bag recycling stations are now increasingly common. As well as supermarket plastic bags and the heavier store bags, packaging film is normally recyclable at these stations (eg plastic packaging for paper towels, toilet paper and junk mail), as well as drycleaning plastic. Cling wrap, compostable bags and prepackaged food bags, including frozen food bags and prewashed salad bags, normally can’t be included. It’s important that you only put in clean bags.
If you’re in the USA you can locate plastic bag recycling stations in your area at plasticbagrecycling.org or www.earth911.com. In the UK, some supermarkets offer plastic bag recycling; find a station near you at RecycleNow. In Australia you can drop your plastic bags off at your local supermarket.
* Wash and recycle dirty plastic bags rather than throwing them out. The thought of washing a plastic bag is a put-off for some. It’s not hard – turn the bag inside out and give it a quick rinse under the tap, wiping it as you go. Dry your bags on the line or on a clothes rack, using pegs to attach them. Plastic bags with meaty or fishy residue can be washed in hot, soapy water.
* Use your spare plastic bags around the house. Here are some great ideas for making use of spare plastic bags.
* Compost your unused food scraps. You’ll generate less rubbish and therefore need to use fewer plastic bags for household waste. Many options for outdoor and indoor compost bins are now available.
* Don’t assume that so-called ‘biodegradable’ and ‘degradable’ plastic bags are the answer. These bags may cause more problems than they solve. Oxo-degradable bags, for example, contain toxic metals that may not biodegrade at all. Even fully compostable bags require light and heat in order to biodegrade efficiently, which they won’t get if they end up in landfill or the ocean. They can also cause harm if they are included in plastic bag recycling systems.
* Buy fewer plastic toys. Consider reducing the number of plastic toys you buy for your children. Join a toy library, and buy eco-friendly toys where possible. Here’s a good article on eco-friendly dolls.
* Don’t buy exfoliants that include plastic. Unbelievably, minute granules of plastic are now used in some exfoliants! These can end up in the water supply and make their way to the oceans. Don’t buy exfoliants that include ‘micro-fine’ polyethylene granules, polyethylene ‘micro-spheres’, polyethylene ‘beads’, or just plain polyethylene.
* Stop buying plastic water bottles. Plastic water bottles can be reused several times as long as they haven’t been heated and you wash them with soap and water and allow them to dry before refilling. Better still, buy an aluminium drink container. It’s worth paying more for a good-quality bottle – a couple of years ago I bought a cheap aluminium water bottle that leaked water into my bag from the get-go.
* Buy a reusable takeaway coffee container. Look forward to your daily hit of takeaway coffee? Bring your own reusable takeaway coffee cup to the cafe.
* Reuse bubble wrap. If you receive something in the mail packed with bubble wrap, store it and reuse it as packaging in your own parcels.
* Reuse straws. Wash straws or better still, buy a non-throwaway straw. Alternatives include aluminium and glass straws.
* Stop using plastic film for keeping food fresh. Other options for covering food in the fridge include silicon lids, or simply putting a dinner or bread plate over a container of food. Use wax paper for wrapping sandwiches.
* Reuse plastic food containers. Buy your dips from delis and market stalls that serve the dip from bulk containers, and bring your own containers. (You can also buy slices of unwrapped cheese from deli counters.) When you buy takeaway food, bring your own used takeaway container. Used dip and takeaway containers are great for storing food in the freezer. There are dozens of uses for margarine and yoghurt containers; here’s a good list.
Extreme plastic reduction
* Recycle your toothbrush. Once you start becoming aware of how much plastic is needlessly thrown away, even tossing a toothbrush in the bin may start to feel wrong. Alternatives include a company that turns your used toothbrush into picnic tables, one that offers a toothbrush with replaceable heads, and sustainable toothbrushes made from bamboo, wood and cellulose. Some of these ideas can be found here.
* Use your own plastic containers for liquid goods. Buy your liquid goods such as shampoo and conditioner in bulk at food co-ops, health food stores, or speciality bulk stores, and bring your own used shampoo bottles to store them in.
* Buy your dry goods loose, and bring your own plastic bags to carry them. You can find grains, flours, nuts, seeds and pulses at produce and farmers markets, as well as food co-ops and health food stores.
* Bring your own plastic bag when buying meat and fish. Wash your used plastic bags and take them with you for wrapping meat and fish when you go to the butchers, fishmonger or supermarket.
* Use newspaper to wrap wet or smelly rubbish that you can’t compost. I remember my parents doing this when I was young, before plastic bags were widely used for rubbish in Australia.
Suggestions for taking action
* Pressure your local authority to widen the scope of its plastics recycling, eg by recycling plastic food containers if it doesn't already.
* Organise for your town or city to become plastic bag free.
* Pressure your state or federal environment minister to create stronger regulations for the use and recycling of plastic in manufacturing and packaging.
Organisations
These organisations and websites aim to decrease the use of plastics and stop them polluting our environment.
USA
Plastic Pollution Coalition Berkeley California
Australia
Planet Ark
Clean Up Australia
UK
Waste Watch
WRAP
RecycleNow
Help with a plastic-free lifestyle
Life without Plastic
Ethically sourced alternatives to plastic products
Plastic Manners
The blog of a woman who decided to try to live without plastic
Until next time!
Read More
Plastic Not So Fantastic - Tips for Using Less Plastic
As I picked it up I thought of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which I’d just been reading about. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a floating soup of 100 million tons of garbage, 90 per cent of which is plastic, in the North Pacific. It’s impossible to estimate the area accurately; one study found it to be twice the size of Hawaii. In 2010, similar patches of decomposed plastic debris were found in the North Atlantic and in the Indian Ocean.
While navies and commercial shopping are partly responsible, it’s estimated that perhaps 80 per cent of marine plastic originated on land as litter and industrial waste. Some of it has been dumped on the beach and in rivers or streams, and some has been blown away from landfill, or while being transported to landfill. Water bottles and plastic bags are the most familiar part of the problem – for example, US citizens consume an estimated 50 billion bottles of water per annum, and the annual figure for the globe is around 200 billion bottles – but the plastics in the garbage patches range from pocket combs, tampon applicators and toothbrushes to fishing nets, detergent bottles and toys.
Bits of this waterlogged mass of rubbish end up in the stomachs or around the necks of birds, turtles, whales, seals and other sea creatures, many of which die slow and horrible deaths from starvation, strangulation or suffocation. It’s likely that over 100,000 marine mammals and turtles and hundreds of thousands of sea birds die each year due to marine debris, including plastic. Scientific American describes some of the effects on sea life of coming into contact with plastic: ‘fur seals entangled by nylon nets, sea otters choking on polyethylene six-pack rings, and plastic bags or toys stuck in the guts of sea turtles’. More information about marine debris and what’s being done to clean it up can be found on the NOAA website.
Large pieces of plastic debris are just one aspect of the problem. Estimates for the time it takes various kinds of plastics to decompose range from 20 to 1000 years. They don’t biodegrade – get broken down by microbes – in any reasonable amount of time, but they do photodegrade, breaking down into smaller and smaller pieces. Much of the plastic in the ocean consists of tiny fragments that are less than 1 cm in size, some of them microscopic. These fragments release toxic chemicals into the ocean and into the food chain. Tiny marine organisms ingest the particles and these organisms are then eaten by fish, which in turn are eaten by humans.
A problem like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch can seem overwhelming; individual actions aren’t ever going to solve it on their own. It would take government action and regulation on a global scale to simply stop the situation getting worse, by legislating for less use and greater recycling of plastics, for example. In the meantime, though, it’s surprisingly easy to cut down on your own consumption of plastic, and there are plenty of resources if you want to advocate for tougher regulations.
Below are some simple ways to reduce the use of plastic in your life, reuse it where possible, and recycle the plastic you can’t reuse. (There are also some more ‘hard core’ suggestions.)
* Put plastic containers in your recycling bin. There are many different types of plastics, and not all can be recycled. In the US, UK and Australia, local authorities usually allow some kinds of hard plastic such as drink bottles in their curbside recycling services, but the types of plastics they recycle will vary – check the website of your local authority. A Plastics Identification Code (used internationally) is stamped on plastic containers to indicate their type. According to Clean Up Australia, most local councils here recycle plastics labelled 1, 2, and 3, but many are now extending their recycling programs to include plastics labelled 4 to 7. Clean the containers before you put them in the bin.
* Recycle your plastic bags at recycling drop-off points in your area. Plastic bag recycling stations are now increasingly common. As well as supermarket plastic bags and the heavier store bags, packaging film is normally recyclable at these stations (eg plastic packaging for paper towels, toilet paper and junk mail), as well as drycleaning plastic. Cling wrap, compostable bags and prepackaged food bags, including frozen food bags and prewashed salad bags, normally can’t be included. It’s important that you only put in clean bags.
If you’re in the USA you can locate plastic bag recycling stations in your area at plasticbagrecycling.org or www.earth911.com. In the UK, some supermarkets offer plastic bag recycling; find a station near you at RecycleNow. In Australia you can drop your plastic bags off at your local supermarket.
* Wash and recycle dirty plastic bags rather than throwing them out. The thought of washing a plastic bag is a put-off for some. It’s not hard – turn the bag inside out and give it a quick rinse under the tap, wiping it as you go. Dry your bags on the line or on a clothes rack, using pegs to attach them. Plastic bags with meaty or fishy residue can be washed in hot, soapy water.
* Use your spare plastic bags around the house. Here are some great ideas for making use of spare plastic bags.
* Compost your unused food scraps. You’ll generate less rubbish and therefore need to use fewer plastic bags for household waste. Many options for outdoor and indoor compost bins are now available.
* Don’t assume that so-called ‘biodegradable’ and ‘degradable’ plastic bags are the answer. These bags may cause more problems than they solve. Oxo-degradable bags, for example, contain toxic metals that may not biodegrade at all. Even fully compostable bags require light and heat in order to biodegrade efficiently, which they won’t get if they end up in landfill or the ocean. They can also cause harm if they are included in plastic bag recycling systems.
* Buy fewer plastic toys. Consider reducing the number of plastic toys you buy for your children. Join a toy library, and buy eco-friendly toys where possible. Here’s a good article on eco-friendly dolls.
* Don’t buy exfoliants that include plastic. Unbelievably, minute granules of plastic are now used in some exfoliants! These can end up in the water supply and make their way to the oceans. Don’t buy exfoliants that include ‘micro-fine’ polyethylene granules, polyethylene ‘micro-spheres’, polyethylene ‘beads’, or just plain polyethylene.
* Stop buying plastic water bottles. Plastic water bottles can be reused several times as long as they haven’t been heated and you wash them with soap and water and allow them to dry before refilling. Better still, buy an aluminium drink container. It’s worth paying more for a good-quality bottle – a couple of years ago I bought a cheap aluminium water bottle that leaked water into my bag from the get-go.
* Buy a reusable takeaway coffee container. Look forward to your daily hit of takeaway coffee? Bring your own reusable takeaway coffee cup to the cafe.
* Reuse bubble wrap. If you receive something in the mail packed with bubble wrap, store it and reuse it as packaging in your own parcels.
* Reuse straws. Wash straws or better still, buy a non-throwaway straw. Alternatives include aluminium and glass straws.
* Stop using plastic film for keeping food fresh. Other options for covering food in the fridge include silicon lids, or simply putting a dinner or bread plate over a container of food. Use wax paper for wrapping sandwiches.
* Reuse plastic food containers. Buy your dips from delis and market stalls that serve the dip from bulk containers, and bring your own containers. (You can also buy slices of unwrapped cheese from deli counters.) When you buy takeaway food, bring your own used takeaway container. Used dip and takeaway containers are great for storing food in the freezer. There are dozens of uses for margarine and yoghurt containers; here’s a good list.
Extreme plastic reduction
* Recycle your toothbrush. Once you start becoming aware of how much plastic is needlessly thrown away, even tossing a toothbrush in the bin may start to feel wrong. Alternatives include a company that turns your used toothbrush into picnic tables, one that offers a toothbrush with replaceable heads, and sustainable toothbrushes made from bamboo, wood and cellulose. Some of these ideas can be found here.
* Use your own plastic containers for liquid goods. Buy your liquid goods such as shampoo and conditioner in bulk at food co-ops, health food stores, or speciality bulk stores, and bring your own used shampoo bottles to store them in.
* Buy your dry goods loose, and bring your own plastic bags to carry them. You can find grains, flours, nuts, seeds and pulses at produce and farmers markets, as well as food co-ops and health food stores.
* Bring your own plastic bag when buying meat and fish. Wash your used plastic bags and take them with you for wrapping meat and fish when you go to the butchers, fishmonger or supermarket.
* Use newspaper to wrap wet or smelly rubbish that you can’t compost. I remember my parents doing this when I was young, before plastic bags were widely used for rubbish in Australia.
Suggestions for taking action
* Pressure your local authority to widen the scope of its plastics recycling, eg by recycling plastic food containers if it doesn't already.
* Organise for your town or city to become plastic bag free.
* Pressure your state or federal environment minister to create stronger regulations for the use and recycling of plastic in manufacturing and packaging.
Organisations
These organisations and websites aim to decrease the use of plastics and stop them polluting our environment.
USA
Plastic Pollution Coalition Berkeley California
Australia
Planet Ark
Clean Up Australia
UK
Waste Watch
WRAP
RecycleNow
Help with a plastic-free lifestyle
Life without Plastic
Ethically sourced alternatives to plastic products
Plastic Manners
The blog of a woman who decided to try to live without plastic
Until next time!
If you enjoyed this blog entry, you might also like How to Carry Out Your Green and Ethical New Year's Resolutions and Book Review: Greeniology 2020 by Tanya Ha.
1/29/12
Labels:
frugality
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Leisure shopping
,
Mindfulness
,
Psychology of shopping
,
Saving money
,
Secondhand goods
The latest edition of The Inspired Shopper is now available! If you haven't bought it already, this is a great time to buy. You can buy it cheaply and easily on the Amazon website. At only $2.99 it's an absolute steal. I'll keep it at this price for the time being, but I may put it back to its original price, $5.99, in the future.
If ethical shopping, decluttering, thrifting and saving money are the theory, then Inspired Shopping is the practice. Whatever the changes you want to make to the way you buy, they start with a willingness to slow down and listen to yourself, and an openness to the unexpected. This mindset is what Inspired Shopping can help you achieve.
This brand new edition contains more advice for conscious shoppers than ever before. It fully incorporates the smartphone and internet as part of Inspired Shopping. There's more information on making the shift to ethical shopping and ethical fashion on a budget, and loads of up-to-the-minute resources for thrifty, frugal and fair shopping. There's also commonsense advice on:
saving money
decluttering
knowing your consumer rights
shopping safely on the internet
giving inspired gifts
buying an appliance, car and even a house
supermarket shopping
shopping with children, friends and your partner
shopping for those with 'too much' money.
If you've bought earlier editions of The Inspired Shopper, I'm happy to send you a mobi file (ie suitable for the Kindle) of the latest version. Just drop me a line at caetem@yahoo.com and I'll explain how to provide verification.
Not quite sure but intrigued? Here's some more info about what's in the book and how to buy it.
Until next time!
Read More
Fully Updated Edition of The Inspired Shopper Now Available!
The latest edition of The Inspired Shopper is now available! If you haven't bought it already, this is a great time to buy. You can buy it cheaply and easily on the Amazon website. At only $2.99 it's an absolute steal. I'll keep it at this price for the time being, but I may put it back to its original price, $5.99, in the future.
If ethical shopping, decluttering, thrifting and saving money are the theory, then Inspired Shopping is the practice. Whatever the changes you want to make to the way you buy, they start with a willingness to slow down and listen to yourself, and an openness to the unexpected. This mindset is what Inspired Shopping can help you achieve.
This brand new edition contains more advice for conscious shoppers than ever before. It fully incorporates the smartphone and internet as part of Inspired Shopping. There's more information on making the shift to ethical shopping and ethical fashion on a budget, and loads of up-to-the-minute resources for thrifty, frugal and fair shopping. There's also commonsense advice on:
saving money
decluttering
knowing your consumer rights
shopping safely on the internet
giving inspired gifts
buying an appliance, car and even a house
supermarket shopping
shopping with children, friends and your partner
shopping for those with 'too much' money.
If you've bought earlier editions of The Inspired Shopper, I'm happy to send you a mobi file (ie suitable for the Kindle) of the latest version. Just drop me a line at caetem@yahoo.com and I'll explain how to provide verification.
Not quite sure but intrigued? Here's some more info about what's in the book and how to buy it.
Until next time!
1/19/12
Labels:
Clothes swapping
,
Fashion
,
Recycling
,
Saving money
,
Secondhand goods
,
Swapping
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Sublime Swapping - Giving a New Lease of Life to Fashion and Just About Everything Else
21 January is World Swap Day! It's the perfect time to look at all the many ways you can experience the delights and money-saving benefits of swapping, whether on or off line.
An estimated $43 billion worth of stuff is stashed away across Australia alone. Swapping goods is a growing trend, as more and more consumers seek a second life for their unwanted goods while reducing both their carbon footprint and their budgets.
So popular is swapping that, along with lending, bartering, gifting and sharing, it’s been recognised as a key part of a growing trend – collaborative consumption, a sea change in not only what we consume, but how we consume.
But it's in the area of fashion that swapping is really hitting its stride. Clothes-swapping events take place regularly in cities across the globe, and international websites devoted to the online thread swap make it easy to swap your clothes with other budget fashionistas.
Sartorial swapping
We get sick of our clothes, no matter how much we love them. Swapping is a wonderful way to experience the novelty that new clothes offer without damaging your wallet or adding to the world’s landfills or your carbon footprint. It’s also great for items that you’ll only need for a certain amount of time, like children’s clothes.
In Australia, the Clothing Exchange runs regular swap meets in all states except Tasmania, while details of UK events can be found on the Swishing website. The Swapaholics team host regular fashion-swapping events in the USA. The Swapaholics website includes a list of swapping groups across the US and internationally, and the team maintain a directory of swapping events across the world at http://events.swap.com.
Many options are available if you'd prefer to do your swapping via the internet. swapstyle.com is an international website for swapping fashion items that includes a forum. Thread Swap is an Australian website that enables you to swap your unwanted clothing for credits that you then use to ‘buy’ clothes online. Swapkidsclothes.com.au is an Australian service that allows members to exchange unwanted children’s clothes for points that can then be used to select clothes from the range; there are many similar websites for swapping children’s clothes.
Other items
The types of non-clothes items that can be swapped are limited only by your imagination. Sites that enable you to swap all kinds of items easily and safely include SwapAce.com, Swap.com and Swap Australia. The UK boasts a book-swapping site, ReadItSwapIt. The Australian trading site Gumtree has a ‘Freebies’ section, as well as a section where people offer to swap goods for specific items – one user offered a three-month-old queen-sized mattress in return for ‘something interesting’.
Republic of Everyone, an Australian green marketing company, has created The Great Gift SwApp, an app that allows users to swap their unwanted presents for something they really want. This app is built in Facebook, so you need to have a Facebook account to use it.
Hold your own swap party
Swapping with your friends is a great way to enjoy the benefits of swapping! Swap unwanted clothes and other goods with one or two friends with similar tastes, or even hold your own event. Holding a swap party at home is an easy and fun way to make good use of all those unwanted goods cluttering up your cupboards. Fashion, baby clothes, gifts, and surplus food are just some of the things you can swap at a swap party.
The freedom of freecycling
Swapping with your friends is a great way to enjoy the benefits of swapping! Swap unwanted clothes and other goods with one or two friends with similar tastes, or even hold your own event. Holding a swap party at home is an easy and fun way to make good use of all those unwanted goods cluttering up your cupboards. Fashion, baby clothes, gifts, and surplus food are just some of the things you can swap at a swap party.
The freedom of freecycling
Freecycling is a similar idea to swapping without the expectation of getting something in return, in the short term at least. The Freecycle Network is a worldwide network of groups whose members offer each other free goods that they no longer need themselves – there may be a group based in your town or city. The ReUseIt Network is based on a similar idea, but also offers an online chat group, support to set up local groups and an emphasis on conservation and recycling. (Check websites for information on your nearest Freecycle or ReUseIt group.) Ziilch is a website that enables people to give away items they no longer need.d and find free stuff
The fun of connecting locally
Ever wished your next door neighbour had a brushcutter you could borrow? The popularity of websites that connect people living near each other who want to borrow, lend or rent goods is also growing. Open Shed is an Australian website that enables owners of appliances and other goods to rent them out to people living in their local area. Streetbank is a UK website that allows users to borrow and lend goods in their local area and get to know their neighbours. Share Some Sugar is a US website that encourages neighbours to connect in order to lend, borrow or rent goods from each other. There are many websites like this; do a Google search to find sites that operate in your local area. Some of these sites are profit making, some aren't - check out the terms and conditions on the website.
Hope you enjoy your swapping adventures.
Until next time!
Until next time!
If you enjoyed this blog entry, you might also like Buried Treasure, Hidden Duds - What Lurks in Your Wardrobe?
1/10/12
Labels:
Buying green
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Carbon footprint
,
Ethical shopping
,
Fairtrade
,
Recycling
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How to Carry Out Your Green and Ethical New Year's Resolutions
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| Picture: sheknows.com |
Now that 2012's finally arrived, many of us are trying to put our new year's resolutions into practice. Some of you may have resolved to make the switch to ethical shopping this year, or perhaps you're planning to overhaul your entire lifestyle and go green.
Making wholesale changes in shopping and lifestyle habits is a challenge. At first shopping ethically may be more time consuming, not to mention confusing, than conventional shopping. Facing the array of choices in the egg department of your local supermarket, from accredited free range to grain-fed and barn laid, could make your head spin.
Luckily there’s plenty of support and information out there. The internet is bursting with websites, blogs and forums that offer valuable guidance. Here are some great tips to help you make the switch, whether you’re planning to change the way you shop or want to make your entire lifestyle more sustainable.
* Give yourself time to adjust. If you try to make too many changes at once you may become discouraged. Start with the easiest changes and make progressively more challenging adjustments as your confidence grows. Two small shopping examples: Revlon is one of the larger cosmetics companies that doesn't test its products on animals; Bardot, Veronica Maine and Cue are Australian fashion brands that, while they lack green credentials, have been accredited by Ethical Clothing Australia. Easy green changes to make straight away include putting a 'no junk mail' sign on your mailbox, arranging to hire a green waste bin from your local council, and investigating whether your energy company provides green energy.
* Set goals. This is a great way to motivate yourself. Goals should be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. Reward yourself for achieving your goals.
* Set goals. This is a great way to motivate yourself. Goals should be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. Reward yourself for achieving your goals.
* Plan ahead. Expect things to take longer, especially at first. If you’ve decided to start riding your bike to work, it may take a while to figure out the quickest way and to get your morning routine sorted; if you’ve decided to catch public transport to the food market, you’ll probably need to allocate more time. You may also have to put some thought into how you’ll shop, eg remembering to bring along your own carry bags, or buying equipment like panniers or a shopping trolley.
* Deal with setbacks. If you lapse by doing or buying something that goes against your principles, it’s not the end of the world. Making major changes takes time, and setbacks are part of the process. Forgive yourself and move on!
* Connect with others. Reaching out to likeminded people is a great way to motivate yourself to shop and live differently. Start a blog on your shopping/sustainability journey, a Facebook page on your favourite green or ethical cause, or a Twitter account. Humans are social creatures; it’s amazing how telling other people about the changes you’ve made, or would like to make, can motivate you. If you’d rather connect in the real world, join a green group, start your own, or enlist a friend who wants to make similar changes so you can encourage each other.
* The phrase think globally, act locally may be a cliche but it still holds. When deciding which websites and news sources to keep up with, it’s a good idea to choose a combination of those with international and general information on green and ethical issues, and those that focus on your country, state or local area.
* Research ethical and green claims using credible sources. It’s a great thing to read labels when you buy, but it’s not enough. You may need to research the various labels to ensure that the goods you’re interested in aren’t simply an example of ‘greenwash’. It’s probably safest to take a sceptical view of corporations and to use credible sources to check green and ethical claims. The recent watering down of fair trade requirements by Fair Trade USA illustrates that if you want to be an aware consumer you need to stay informed of what companies and accreditation bodies are doing.
* Ask your favourite brands to make the changes you want. If enough people put pressure on mainstream brands to adopt ethical practices and sustainable or organic lines, they would be forced to do so. You could email brands you’ve stopped using for ethical reasons to let them know why you no longer buy their products, for instance.
* Shop locally where possible. Slow Food is a movement that encourages people to support small, local food producers and to adopt a seasonal diet (see website for more information). You can support some of its principles by buying your food at food markets, farmers’ markets, co-ops, organic grocery stores and local greengrocers as an alternative to the supermarket. Don’t confine your local shopping to food; you might be amazed at what your neighbourhood shopping strip has to offer.
* Connect with people in your local area. Many great local sustainability initiatives fly under the radar. Google a search for websites with information about sustainability in your local area or city. Is there a freecycling group in your neighbourhood, community garden, tool-sharing service or even a group that meets regularly to cook and share a meal? Sustainable Melbourne is an example of a website with regular updates of local initiatives.
* Check out local recycling options. Perhaps you’ve assumed that the only option for recycling in your area is putting out the council recycling bin once a week? You might be surprised at how many other options there are for recycling goods like mobile phones, batteries, printer cartridges, and even whitegoods and paint tins. Search local government and sustainability websites for more information, or google ‘recycling’ for your local area.
* Don’t pike out if you’re a renter. These days there are many resources available for adopting a greener lifestyle if you don’t own your own home. For example, Green Renters is a Melbourne-based not-for-profit group that provides advice on sustainable living for renters.
Until next time!
If you enjoyed this blog entry, you might also like Ten Green Books for Your Christmas Stocking and Be an Ethical, Frugal Fashionista: How to Shop Ethical When You're on a Budget.
1/3/12
Labels:
Budget shopping
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Fashion
,
frugality
,
Saving money
Happy new year! It has come to the attention of this blogger (okay, probably at least a year after the fact!) that a 'new' trend is on the rise – the 'tuck-in'. It's now officially okay – in fact downright fashionable – to tuck shirts and T-shirts into jeans and other casual pants, as tightly as you want, and, if you so wish, without a belt in sight. This is great news for the frugal and fashionable.
For years tuck-ins were usually loose, had to include a belt, and as far as I'm aware (I'm happy to be proved wrong) weren't done if the pants were skinny or straight. Now any kind of tuck-in is de rigeur, and the belt-less tuck-in with skinnies is particularly favoured. And you can tuck in as tightly or loosely as you want.
Pants can be seventies flares, skinnies, tapered in the nineties style, 'boyfriend' and cargo shapes, including ultra-baggy, and even middle-of-the-road tailored flares.
Footwear is versatile but includes comfy brogues and oxfords.
For a preppie look, tuck in a T-shirt or fitted shirt into skinny jeans as shown below. (A tight-fitting short-sleeved shirt would add to the preppiness.)
For a fifties girlie look, tuck a T-shirt, shirt or sleeveless top into a pair of capris or rolled-up skinny jeans (a gingham shirt is particularly retro).
For a retro seventies look, tuck a shirt (especially one with a tie) into high-waisted seventies flares.
The tuck-in goes well with various kinds of skirts, including buttoned skirts.
Read More
The Tuck-In – A Versatile Look for the Frugally Fashionable
For years tuck-ins were usually loose, had to include a belt, and as far as I'm aware (I'm happy to be proved wrong) weren't done if the pants were skinny or straight. Now any kind of tuck-in is de rigeur, and the belt-less tuck-in with skinnies is particularly favoured. And you can tuck in as tightly or loosely as you want.
Pants can be seventies flares, skinnies, tapered in the nineties style, 'boyfriend' and cargo shapes, including ultra-baggy, and even middle-of-the-road tailored flares.
Footwear is versatile but includes comfy brogues and oxfords.
For a preppie look, tuck in a T-shirt or fitted shirt into skinny jeans as shown below. (A tight-fitting short-sleeved shirt would add to the preppiness.)
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For a fifties girlie look, tuck a T-shirt, shirt or sleeveless top into a pair of capris or rolled-up skinny jeans (a gingham shirt is particularly retro).
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You can easily dress up the tuck-in with heels.
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The tuck-in goes well with various kinds of skirts, including buttoned skirts.
In fact, if you're trying to get the most out of your existing wardrobe, the tuck-in has some great things going for it:
* It gives a new look to your stuff. It's amazing how tucking something in can create novelty - novelty is what shoppers crave, and why we always want to buy new clothes.
* It makes some pieces work together that otherwise wouldn't.
* It's particularly suited to shirts and may give new life to some shirts that you hadn't got around to getting rid of. You could also buy boys or men's shirts from the op (thrift) shop and tuck them in.
* You can create some retro looks very easily, without significant outlay.
* You don't have to worry about your waistline. Okay, so the tuck-in can seem unforgiving. But you don't have to tuck in tight. A loose tuck-in for the tummy challenged (ie virtually everyone over the age of 25!) can be very flattering, especially in the case of low-waisted jeans.
* There's huge versatility in the tuck-in. You can tuck in to low or high waists to create different looks, as the pics above show.
Until next time!
If you enjoyed this blog entry, you might also like Wanted – An Annie Hall for the 2000s and An Op Shop Find Transformed by the Needle!
12/25/11
Labels:
Bargains
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Bricks-and-mortar stores
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Budget shopping
,
Letting go
,
Sales
If you enjoyed this blog entry, you might also like A Free 'Shopping App' to Guide You Through the Christmas Maze.
Read More
Keep Calm and Carry Water: Great Tips for Coping with the Boxing Day Sales
Hauling yourself out of bed at some ungodly hour after the festivities of Christmas just to buy even more consumer goods is not everyone’s idea of shopping savvy. But despite the hype around Boxing Day sales, they can be worth the effort, especially if there are things you need and you’ve planned ahead. If you decide to join the craziness, the tips below will keep you focused and ensure you don't come home with ten bottles of Old Spice aftershave past their used-by-date, a whopping headache and nothing else.
* Prepare in advance a list of items you’ll be searching for on Boxing Day. Stake out stores that you think will discount those items on Boxing Day and use this information to help you decide which shops to go to. You don't have to buy everything on the list: it's just a guide to give some structure to your shopping.
* Map your planned journey for maximum efficiency. Be realistic about how much energy you’ll have after Christmas. At the same time be prepared to deviate from your plan if your energy takes you somewhere unexpected.
* Dress for shopping success! Choose sensible clothes and comfortable shoes and get them ready the night before.
* Take advantage of one-day discounts. If you’re running out of everyday items like moisturiser or shampoo, hold off on buying them until Boxing Day and take advantage of one-day discounts that some stores offer on every item in the store.
* Keep your spending under control. Set a limit on the amount you will allow yourself to spend on the day. Do this mindfully and ensure the amount is realistic and affordable.
* Get your supplies ready in advance! Bring plastic or canvas bags. To stay hydrated, bring or buy a bottle of water and drink it while you’re queuing. Bring a healthy snack like nuts or raisins. (Alternatively, plan a relaxing meal or drink break.) If you're shopping alone, bring something to read while you're queuing up at the check-out.
* Before you go, take note of advertisements for Boxing Day sales. If you’re planning to buy a furniture item or appliance, eg a new dining setting or home theatre system, do your research thoroughly beforehand so you can rush in and rush out again with your Boxing Day bargain. If you’ve identified the exact item you want to buy but you’re not sure if it will be on sale on Boxing Day, use a smartphone to check prices, or ring around the stores on the day. This is the kind of situation where a smartphone really comes in handy – instead of the phone ‘telling’ you what to buy, you’re using it to obtain what you’ve already decided you want.
* When you hit your favourite store, take a deep breath. Use the experience as an exercise in following your energy rather than a do-or-die attempt to get everything you need. Picture a white light shining in your abdomen, and let the light guide you to where you need to go.
* If you have a smartphone, remember you're in control. Retailers will be trying to lure you into their stores with special offers. Use your intuition to decide which ones, if any, you respond to.
* Don't assume you have to buy something just because it's ridiculously cheap. Be really careful about taking advantage of those megabargains stores use to lure the early birds in. Just say you want to buy a new microwave oven and the store is selling them for $40. Have you done some research? Is this the microwave oven you really want? Will it do all the things you want it to do, and do you truly believe it's the right model for you? If not, you may be wasting your money.
* Don't be taken in by the shopping 'shoulds'. Your rational mind is very important in making the decision whether or not to buy, but it can't do the job on its own. Just say you've decided to buy one of those nifty mini-chainsaws because you want to start keeping the trees in your garden neatly pruned. You find a great model that's 35 per cent off, and you can't see any reason not to buy it. You have a niggling feeling that you shouldn't buy the chainsaw, but you ignore it, and bring one home from the sales. Two months later you get a job offer in another state and move into an apartment without a garden. If you can learn to listen to your gut feeling, you can work out when you're buying something just because of the shopping 'shoulds' - and perhaps decide not to buy at all.
* Don't give in to panic. You will probably feel a strong fear of missing out just because so many other shoppers will be desperate to get their hands on anything that looks cheap. Let yourself experience these feelings but try not to act on them, as this will actually reduce your chances of getting what you want and need. The world won't end if you don't buy a handbag at 50 per cent off. I know it feels like it will, but that's just because your mirror neurons are on overdrive and your dopamine levels are soaring. You can make a decision based on what you really need, you just have to listen. Act as if you know you’ll get what you need and you’ll be more likely to.
* Think of finding a genuine bargain as a bonus, not a right or a necessity. Remind yourself that many people don’t even bother with Boxing Day sales, waiting till a few days after Christmas before they check out the bargains. The point is not to grab every single item you might possibly need, or to compete with other shoppers, but to pick up a few really useful items if they come your way.
* Don’t follow the crowd – they’re not always right. Just because a store is packed with frenzied shoppers doesn’t mean the best bargains reside within its walls. Go where your energy guides you – you may find yourself in a nearly deserted store where the very item you need is waiting for you. On one Boxing Day outing I found myself in one of the larger clothing chains in the centre of a mob of frenzied shoppers who had poured in as soon as the doors opened. A quick look around confirmed there was nothing I wanted, and I left with hardly a twinge of regret. A bit earlier I'd found myself in a near-empty boutique, and homed in on a $20 pair of black capri pants that I was still wearing last summer.
* Be prepared to queue at the checkouts. Use the time you spend queuing to practise patience and mindfulness, and, as I said earlier, bring something to read. One Boxing Day I found a fantastic pair of good quality sunglasses at 40 per cent off. I had to wait about 25 minutes to get served and almost gave up, thinking of all the bargains I was missing out on. I got more than enough wear from those sunglasses to justify the wait.
* Practice 'letting go' even if you're in a hurry. If there's something you think you want, put it back on the shelf and start to walk away, and check out how your gut feeling responds. Really try to give up the item while you're doing this. If it's a large item, simply walk away. Now monitor how you're feeling. Do you forget the item right away or does your gut tell you to go back? Trust your intuition to let you know if you really need the item.
Until next time!
12/18/11
Labels:
Large purchases
,
Maintenance
,
Research
Shopping lessons
How did I end up in this situation given I strive to be a careful shopper, and what have I learned? When I bought my computer I made the best decision I could at the time, and I did some research. But a fundamental thing I failed to do was take my own needs into account – to adequately research myself, and to think about the 'unknown unknowns'. I treated myself as an average computer user rather than someone in business who needed a superior service, and I didn't look ahead to what my needs would be if things went wrong.
I honestly don't know if I would have bought differently given what I know now, but at least I would have been more aware of the risks. The fact is that the $120 I've just spent gave the computer a much-needed a tune-up as well as a reload. But this experience has taught me that I need to value my business and to be proactive when protecting not just my files (I knew that already) but my ability to get back to work straight away.
Until next time!
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When a Computer Crashes, and Returns Forever Changed
My computer crashed on Friday. This inconvenient event acted like an asteroid crashing to Earth, leaving a huge crater in my confidence.
The actual crash was fairly minor as they go, although the implications may be worse than the events to date. The computer had its own internal recovery mechanism (oh the relief!) and running through the recovery process, traumatic as it was (which files had been lost?), was ultimately successful – the Word and Outlook files were all still there, although the software would need to be reloaded.
But the whole look of the desktop had changed. It was a stranger posing as a friend. There was hardly anything on it except the useless software from Acer, the manufacturers. Programs I’d downloaded since buying it were gone. How alienating this was after my initial euphoria at realising there was a recovery process.
Meanwhile, a dire notice kept telling me that there was something wrong with the hard drive and it could self-destruct at any moment.
I took the computer off to a trusted computer technician in a nearby suburb. He got the basic software up and running again, seems to have given the computer a tune-up, removed some annoying glitches that had been there from the beginning, and only charged $120. The computer was only away for a day, not bad if you're not paying for on-site help.
But he didn’t really check out the hard drive. When I came to pick up the computer and asked him about this, he said the warning notice hadn’t come up while he was working on the computer. The unpleasant possibility is that there is a hard drive weakness that could continue to cause these relatively minor crashes (not to mention a worse one) if I don’t replace the drive. (Following the technician’s restoration, I’ve had to spend more time reloading printer drivers, and the additional software I’d downloaded since buying the PC.)
After I set up the computer at home, the warning notice of an imminent crash kept coming up but, like the boy who cried wolf, the threat never eventuated. So I’ve simply disabled the notice, effectively shooting the messenger. And of course saving everything in sight – I’ve even found a way to save my Google Chrome bookmarks.
Do you want holes with your warranty?
The computer is still actually under an extended warranty, a warranty that was useless for this particular situation, when I needed (and was able) to get the data reconfigured and the computer up and running again as soon as possible. True, I’ve had to pay only a piddling amount to have my data reconfigured, but a PC warranty that doesn’t take software into account gives you a false sense of security and ends up costing you more.
I run a microbusiness – I'm a freelance editor and copywriter – and I’d underestimated the extent to which my PC is like a second brain. These days so many people have smart phones and tablets and aren’t reliant on just one form of digital technology to access the internet and communicate online. I’ve chosen not to go down this path – I don’t even have a laptop, don’t want an iPad – and it’s worked for me, helping to create balance.
But when things go wrong, it’s devastating. Of course I’ve had computer crashes before, but now with my own self-managed website, more blogging than I’ve done in the past, and having become a hopeless Twitter addict, I’m more enmeshed in the online world than I’ve ever been.
The extended warranty cost a couple of hundred yet will only be useful if I decide to, or need to, replace the hard drive. The computer support people at Harvey Norman, where I bought the computer, have told me it will take three weeks, if I leave it to the new year, to do this, partly because they'll send it off to the manufacturer to get fixed. Which means in the meantime probably a return to my ancient previous PC, assuming the leaky garage in which it’s currently precariously stored hasn’t rusted it into useless tin. If I do choose to replace the hard drive or if the time comes when I have no choice, all the software will be taken off the PC, and it'll be up to me to put to put it on again - at my own expense.
So I’m going to wait to replace the hard drive under the warranty until things go wrong again, while backing up madly.
This seems like a big black hole in either customer service, consumer law, or both. Neither the time frame – three weeks is way too long – nor the software issue seem fair, and my first reaction was to have a hissy fit, create a big song and dance and ring up my state consumer affairs office. But you have to pick your battles.
A solution in sight
I started to think about what I needed as not just a small business person but a tiny business person, and what was realistic. I didn’t want to be in this childish position any more, a position of fear that something could go horribly wrong at any time. I’d already lost the chance to work on a project of a few hours duration because of the initial crash. I couldn’t afford not to have computer access even for a few hours, and I didn’t want to be like an anxious parent waiting for a diagnosis for their child every time something went wrong.
What I thought I needed was an on-site IT expert who wouldn't charge a small fortune to come out and do quick repairs whenever things went wrong. But what would be the point if the computer was fundamentally a lemon and kept crashing?
Leasing a PC suddenly seemed like a good idea and I found a company that offered good back-up IT service. But their main product, after all, was the leasing – how good would their tech support be, and how much would they care about retrieving files? Not to mention the fact that leasing is more expensive than buying a computer. And mine’s only 18 months old, so I’m not ready to abandon it yet.
For the first time I understood the attraction of online back-up: the feeling of not having to worry about saving files. You can buy portable hard drives with automatic back-up, but data storage companies provide this basic back-up online for very reasonable prices. In fact, Norton, my anti-virus software, provides a tiny bit of free online back-up and is constantly telling me I need more – a message I’d ignored, because their extra gigabytes are not particularly cheap.
Leasing a PC suddenly seemed like a good idea and I found a company that offered good back-up IT service. But their main product, after all, was the leasing – how good would their tech support be, and how much would they care about retrieving files? Not to mention the fact that leasing is more expensive than buying a computer. And mine’s only 18 months old, so I’m not ready to abandon it yet.
For the first time I understood the attraction of online back-up: the feeling of not having to worry about saving files. You can buy portable hard drives with automatic back-up, but data storage companies provide this basic back-up online for very reasonable prices. In fact, Norton, my anti-virus software, provides a tiny bit of free online back-up and is constantly telling me I need more – a message I’d ignored, because their extra gigabytes are not particularly cheap.
I think I may have found the solution. There’s a US company with a branch in Australia that offers very cheap, very secure-sounding online back-up. I rang them to inquire about the service, but was really searching for something more. Was there any way of avoiding the traumatic, expensive, time-consuming software reinstalment after a crash? The trauma for me had been not just the fear of losing files, but the actual losing of my PC’s configuration. A bit like having your house cleaned after a flooding, only to find someone’s put all the furniture and household items in the wrong rooms and you can’t find anything.
The polite spokesperson told me the company is setting up such a service in Australia next year: a service that saves a mirror image of your operating system and computer configuration.
A quick search revealed that this was in fact old news. Offline mirror back-up is already widely available. As usual Apple is ahead; on their latest systems, the files are integrated with an offline Time Machine that not only provides mirror back-up but also saves frequent versions of the file stretching back for weeks, so that you can access the file as it was at a particular point in time without having to save it separately.
This, of course, brings me to 'the cloud'. It's a step up from online back-up, in that files are stored on and used via a network, usually the internet. This means files are portable and can be used and saved on any compatible computer.
Whether I had mirror back-up or used the cloud, though, I'd still need a spare computer if mine crashed again, given I don't have on-site IT support. Perhaps I should buy a cheap laptop, so I’ve got a replacement I can set up instantly if things go wrong.
This, of course, brings me to 'the cloud'. It's a step up from online back-up, in that files are stored on and used via a network, usually the internet. This means files are portable and can be used and saved on any compatible computer.
Whether I had mirror back-up or used the cloud, though, I'd still need a spare computer if mine crashed again, given I don't have on-site IT support. Perhaps I should buy a cheap laptop, so I’ve got a replacement I can set up instantly if things go wrong.
Shopping lessons
How did I end up in this situation given I strive to be a careful shopper, and what have I learned? When I bought my computer I made the best decision I could at the time, and I did some research. But a fundamental thing I failed to do was take my own needs into account – to adequately research myself, and to think about the 'unknown unknowns'. I treated myself as an average computer user rather than someone in business who needed a superior service, and I didn't look ahead to what my needs would be if things went wrong.
I honestly don't know if I would have bought differently given what I know now, but at least I would have been more aware of the risks. The fact is that the $120 I've just spent gave the computer a much-needed a tune-up as well as a reload. But this experience has taught me that I need to value my business and to be proactive when protecting not just my files (I knew that already) but my ability to get back to work straight away.
I don’t know at this point what I'll end up doing. Perhaps I’ll be gradually lulled into a false sense of security until the next crash, when I’ll have to act. In the meantime I may opt for conventional online back-up, for extra peace of mind; my portable back-up hard drive, after all, is only non-human and could perform its own self-destruction at any time. Or perhaps I should consider buying offline mirror back-up instead.
Whatever I decide to do, the idea of the face of my beloved PC being saveable and transferable – for a non-tech-savvy sole practitioner, that’s heaven sent.
If you enjoyed this blog entry, you might also like Cultural and Frugal Potential of the Kindle Part 1 and Part 2.
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