My Planet-Friendly New Year's Resolution

Every year I make a number of New Year's resolutions. And whether or not they last, I am often proud for however long I can keep them up because they are backed by a good intention.  These resolutions are never about fixing a broken piece of me, but are often about how I take care of myself or how I interact with the people and places around me.  But this year I am trying something different. I'm making a New Year's resolution all about how I spend money. Let me explain...

Inexpensive clothes whisper to me often. "Buy me, buy me!" They can be cute, trendy, and tossed out if they get stained or worn-out. They can be an easy quick fix when I've eaten too much Thanksgiving stuffing, or after a week of sickness makes me suddenly cozy up to my scale while my baggy clothes sag.

But the lure to buy what will become future throw-aways is especially prevalent for a number of people during the holidays and January, when we need our spending money to go its farthest. It's easy, then, to fall into the cycle of buying from cheaper chain stores, watching as the items wear out quickly, and then throwing them away when we look at them and think, "No one will want to wear this worn out old thing!"

According to a fascinating Huffington Post article about the Goodwill Cycle, 12.8 million tons of textile waste went into US landfills in one year alone. Unfortunately, only approximately 15% of textile waste in America is recycled or donated. But the problem is not just in how we need to recycle or donate more. The problem is, according to The Atlantic, Americans now buy five times as much clothing annually as they did in 1980. The statistic blows my mind.

And calls me out big time.

To be a conscious consumer means to think ahead about one's own personal waste that will end up in the local landfill. Just because something is cheaper does not necessarily mean it's a smart financial decision in the long run. Cheaper items that wear out more often end up requiring more of your money to be replaced, and in the process have also cost the environment more. For example, it makes economical sense to buy a $200 locally handmade bag that'll last 15 years over a $75 bag that will last two years. But additionally, it's even better to have something that's durable, well made, and can handle the demands of everyday use without falling apart. Plus one bag in the landfill is better than two.

When studies have repeatedly shown smaller businesses to produce higher quality items, there is little argument to be made that cheaper items are better for the environment or the local economy. So one of my resolutions this new year is to stop buying cheap items, and rather to value my financial and environmental investment in buying higher quality things so often made just around the corner.  I challenge everyone to think about how this year can be the year of changing how we consume.

Here's to a locally-made 2017!

Oh, the Iron-y

The irony is not lost on me.  I assure you.

Yes.  This is a snowball maker in my child's

hands.  Because we only purchase really smart

things with our allowance money...

Not only am I sitting here on the second day of spring, but I am sitting here on a SNOW DAY on the second day of spring.  (Pictured left) is how Connecticut is doing spring these days.

But the real irony is that I have just finished reupholstering four of the cutest outdoor patio chairs that have ever wanted to see sunlight. 

As they sit in my living room -my dark, cold, wintery living room- I'm not sure if they are a comforting reminder of our coming summer, or a taunting indication of the weeks of drear that possibly lie ahead.  Good thing they are so cute.

Though this blog often features local items to purchase from our geographic region, I also know some of the most awesome local items a person can have are the ones made in their very own home, by their very own hands.  Here is just such a recent project I have undertaken, with not an ounce of consideration for the weather....

When I came across these four wrought-iron chairs sitting -for free- on the side of the road, I knew why.  They were rusty. They were torn. They were -gasp- a titch on the ugly side. But they had a few things going for them, too, as they were local treasures that could easily be renewed for a few dollars rather than purchasing new versions from faraway places for much higher prices.  So I led them home with a trail of breadcrumbs and promises of sweet nothings in their ears.  Don't they look happy in my warm basement?

 

Once home, these chairs just needed a little TLC (here is a good guide on how to clean up rusty wrought iron), some new outdoor canvas clothes for their in-great-condition wooden seats (I picked something that echoed the iron swirls), and four thousand staples (and who doesn't love a reason to use a staple gun? ... said my six year old...). 

Taking these puppies apart was a dirty job, with four layers of old fabric inside.  But the elbow grease and twelve dollars of fabric was well worth it.

And voila.  A whole new set of chairs, locally acquired, saved from the big bad landfill, bright and cheery and ready for their new life. 

Outside.

In summer heat. 

Any day now.

A Local Halloween

A holiday gathering is an awesome time to celebrate what it means to value your local community.  Every geographical place does celebration a little differently, and it serves as a great reminder of some of the unique quirks that make home home.

My family enjoyed the first holiday of the fall season, Halloween, with a little extra gratitude and excitement this year for what it means to live in the Northeast.  After having resettled back after being abroad, it was our 6 year old Jonas's first Halloween. He had oodles of costume ideas running through his head, but finally settled on being poison ivy.  Do a google search of poison ivy costume, and you will see about 4,000 images of red-haired women in tight green dresses.  Good thing when Jonas' creativity gets going, it always comes with a strong vision and articulate directions!  

Jonas' idea for a homemade costume ended up being the perfect way to support local.  You may think I am ridiculous when I say that I am talking about Goodwill today on this local blog. 

"Goodwill? But that's a giant nation-wide organization!"

 

True. But one of the main tenants behind supporting local is resourcing what already exists in your region. Reusing, reducing, and recycling are easy to do when creativity and the perfect Halloween costume are involved!  I set out to Goodwill on Thursday with a list in hand for a pair of green pants, a green shirt, and a green hat, all sourced from local donations.  Fifteen minutes and eight dollars and 97 cents later, I swung by my local art store and purchased two small sheets of green paper, returning home with everything I needed to help Jonas' homemade costume visions come to life.

We were happy to enjoy a beautiful evening in the neighboring town of Windham, CT, where our child did his first ever trick-or-treating and (random local tradition) flashlight-egg-hunt at dark in the town square.  We saw oodles of fantastic costumes, happily ran into some great sets of friends, and got stopped by the local newspaper photographer who loved Jonas' locally-sourced, simply-handmade costume.  Though I have a lot of happy memories that take place behind a plastic Halloween mask from Venture or Target, my child's happy memories are not only of his first Halloween celebrations, but of our time making his costume together at home, letting him see his creativity come to fruition in his own hands.

Locally-sourced fun? Extra sweetness added to a very sweet holiday!