[i.e. the years I lived as a dumpster diver in NYC]
Jane spotted this under some garbage bags after we went to the Mexican supermarket for some supplies. Naturally, we wheeled it home atop my bicycle.
Then while dinner cooked itself in the crock pot, I fished out what was left of the paint I had used for my walls, and did a quick (shoddy, but improved nonetheless) revamp of this grand trunk. As ever, it was a pleasure making strokes with the thick milkshakey scent-free zero-VOC paint. Our new trunk now houses winter boots and other unsightlies.
As previously stated, I have great affection for my hand-me-down crock pot. What an invention! I tossed in a bunch of the veggies from the other night along with a smorgasbord of Asian sauces (black bean, hoisin, soy, black pepper, ponzu, fish, spicy/sour, Sriracha) largely left over from the Singaporean girls I used to live with. Turned on machine, let be for some hours.
I'm a picky apple eater. I like them sweet tart crispy. Freegan apples are often red delicious mealy--but perfect for cooking. Jane cored the apples with our freegan apple corer, then down the hatch plunked some brown sugar, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, pecans, freegan raisins, a bit o butter, and for good luck: a marshmallow on top.
Like a mommy at Talbots, I feel peachy keen satisfaction when traipsing through the aisles of a Salvation Army thrift store. Gems abound. The turnover is tremendously quick as well. People get rid of massive quantities of clothing. I reckon there is enough of it in the world right now to clothe many bodies for much time. So I save buying new for special occasions--like I do for meat eating.
My garden at the moment consists of a clump of chives at the edge of an otherwise vacant window box. But that's no reason not to collect my food scraps! As I cook throughout the week, I toss my rinds, peels, egg shells, coffee grinds, and so on into a little trash can. When it's about full, I hop on my bike and drop off the organic matter at the Union Square Greenmarket. The Lower East Side Ecology Center has a compost stand at the market that accepts everyone's organic waste and turns it into nutrient-rich dirt that they use for their own garden, and also bag and sell at the farmer's market as a way to support the center. I imagine many farmer's markets around the country have similar programs, or if not, I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to find a farmer, gardener, or swine who would happily make use of your food scraps.
The spoon, the trivet, the spice jar, the sugar cubes, the mug, the jar, the soy milk, the coffee beans, the French press.....every single element hails from another person's reject bin. Value is a subjective thing, but sometimes that falls by the wayside in a society steeped in the dynamics of individual ownership. For me it even still takes a conscious moment of pause to keep from mentally writing-off an object as value-less once the value I had originally assigned to it in relation to my existence has dissipated. In short, culturally-familiar terms: one man's trash is another man's treasure.
...I will do it as my Dad has always done it. It's the oldest trick in the water-saving book, but it's tried and true and easy peasy. Just take a brick or some heavy object that won't rust, or take a milk jug or similar container and fill it with water so it doesn't float. Then place it in the tank. Whatever you put in (up until the water line) is how much water you'll displace, and therefore how much water you'll save every time you flush! Pictured here is about a quarter gallon, so if the average person flushes the toilet about 2,500 times a year, and my two roommates and I are home maybe about half the time, this teeny tiny little action (that until yesterday I had forgotten that I even did) saves about a thousand gallons of water a year.
One store, one night.
A sea of non-perishables--from clam knives to cranberry to corn picks to candles to cous cous...and even grapefruit spoons! Click 'read more' for itemized list and prices.
The market staff was nothing less than friendly. I made it a point to assure them I would tie everything back as I found it, and while placing new bags carefully separate from those I had already rummaged through, they joked with me about how many jars of mustard one person could consume. Nothing was defective, some of the food was expired (but of course in sealed, clean, pristine packaging). All of the utensils, gadgets, cleaning cloths, candles, and so on were of course without an expiration date and fully functional, all be their packaging slightly dated (cheesy graphics, glue around plastic packaging had become brittle). I understand that food goods have expiration dates, beyond which, in our litigious society, liability becomes an issue. But I find it so difficult to stomach the mass disposal of brand new unopened can openers, strainers, thermometers, pencils, knife sharpeners, rubber gloves, and honey stirrers being thrown. I find myself desiring ever more the implementation of infrastructure to absorb this excess. It could be as simple as an individual (yes, there happens to be a mirror just across from my desk) willing to transport these goods from the market to the pantry, the shelter, the Salvo, what have you. The inventory is as follows:
| Item | Units | Price | Total | ||||
| Power Bars | 36 | $2.49 | $89.64 | ||||
| Kind Bars | 1 | $2.49 | $2.49 | ||||
| Cliff Bars | 1 | $2.49 | $2.49 | ||||
| Good Earth Tea | 5 | $1.50 | $7.50 | ||||
| Granola | 6 | $3.99 | $23.94 | ||||
| Pomegrante | 1 | $5.99 | $5.99 | ||||
| McCann's Irish Oatmeal | 1 | $4.99 | $4.99 | ||||
| Raisins (assorted flavor) | 10 | $1.50 | $15.00 | ||||
| Boulder Canyon Chips | 1 | $3.99 | $3.99 | ||||
| Rice Select Organic Rice | 8 | $3.49 | $27.92 | ||||
| Near East Long Grain Wild Rice | 4 | $3.49 | $13.96 | ||||
| Grey Poupon Squeeze Bottle | 3 | $4.19 | $12.57 | ||||
| Maille Dijon | 3 | $4.19 | $12.57 | ||||
| Dijon Country Jar | 1 | $5.99 | $5.99 | ||||
| Sweet Pea Can | 1 | $1.99 | $1.99 | ||||
| Cranberry Sauce | 1 | $2.49 | $2.49 | ||||
| Cambells's Chunky | 1 | $3.49 | $3.49 | ||||
| Progresso Tomato Puree | 1 | $1.50 | $1.50 | ||||
| Escarole in Broth | 2 | $1.50 | $3.00 | ||||
| Lucini Fig and Walnut Balsamic | 2 | $3.00 | $6.00 | ||||
| Numeral candle | 44 | $0.99 | $43.56 | ||||
| Soy milk | 17 | $1.50 | $25.50 | ||||
| Chanukah Candles | 6 | $2.00 | $12.00 | ||||
| Playtex Living Gloves | 3 | $2.99 | $8.97 | ||||
| Potato Leek, Mushroom soup | 3 | $1.50 | $4.50 | ||||
| Chicken Broth | 2 | $1.50 | $3.00 | ||||
| Tomato Couscous | 1 | $14.29 | $14.29 | ||||
| Shower curtain | 1 | $6.99 | $6.99 | ||||
| Mr Clean reusable wipes | 7 | $1.99 | $13.93 | ||||
| T-Stick | 4 | $2.99 | $11.96 | ||||
| Pencils | 1 | $1.69 | $1.69 | ||||
| Sharpie | 1 | $6.99 | $6.99 | ||||
| Poultry Lacers | 8 | $2.19 | $17.52 | ||||
| Disinfectant Wipes | 8 | $2.99 | $23.92 | ||||
| Salt and Pepper Mill | 1 | $12.99 | $12.99 | ||||
| Ice Cream Scoop | 1 | $2.99 | $2.99 | ||||
| Honey Server | 10 | $0.99 | $9.90 | ||||
| Spatulas | 3 | $3.99 | $11.97 | ||||
| Heat Resistant Spatula | 1 | $5.99 | $5.99 | ||||
| Spoonula | 1 | $4.99 | $4.99 | ||||
| Apple Corer | 1 | $3.99 | $3.99 | ||||
| Grapefruit Spoons | 1 | $3.99 | $3.99 | ||||
| Clam Knifes | 2 | $2.99 | $5.98 | ||||
| Casabella Water Stop Gloves | 3 | $3.99 | $11.97 | ||||
| Window Cleaning Cloths | 6 | $2.49 | $14.94 | ||||
| Turkey Timer | 4 | $0.69 | $2.76 | ||||
| Kitchen Thermometer | 1 | $9.99 | $9.99 | ||||
| Beef Raw Hide | 1 | $3.29 | $3.29 | ||||
| Assorted Cleaning | 5 | $1.99 | $9.95 | ||||
| Gulf Wax | 1 | $3.99 | $3.99 | ||||
| Knife Sharpeners | 2 | $2.49 | $4.98 | ||||
| Shrimp Deveiner | 1 | $3.99 | $3.99 | ||||
| Wrist Tape | 2 | $4.29 | $8.58 | ||||
| Corn Picks | 5 | $3.99 | $19.95 | ||||
| Mayo Knives | 7 | $1.99 | $13.93 | ||||
| Mildew Gone | 1 | $2.99 | $2.99 | ||||
| Toothbrush Covers | 3 | $1.29 | $3.87 | ||||
| Cheese Markers | 2 | $1.79 | $3.58 | ||||
| Butter Slicer | 1 | $4.99 | $4.99 | ||||
| Mini Strainer | 1 | $2.99 | $2.99 | ||||
| Meat Thermometer | 1 | $9.99 | $9.99 | ||||
| Kitchen Wine, Sherry, Vermouth | 5 | $3.89 | $19.45 | ||||
| TOTAL |
|
||||||
| GRAND | TOTAL | $661.30 |
This jolly face belongs to the new owner of these shoes. I came upon the shoes in the trash bin, asked my feet to shrink, and when they didn't I threw them under the couch knowing that at some point they would find their Cinderella. And now they have.
Artichokes, rutabagas, mushrooms, apples, tofu, flat bread, pumpernickel bread, bread rolls, sweet potato pie, oranges, bananas, potatoes, sour cream, ricotta cheese, string cheese, cream cheese, Gobstoppers, Life Saver gummies, and oh so many Hot Tamales.
Need I say it? From the trash bags, outside grocery store, en route to landfill.
Oof it's been a while since I posted, but that's because I took a little sojourn to Uganda. Before I set off though, I had moment of foresight. In anticipation of making dear friends with whom I would want to leave a farewell gift in appreciation of their friendship, I brought along some of my superfluous frugan niceties. Plus, I always like to give a gift with a little more utility than flowers or cards or chocolate. Pictured above are a digital camera from the NYU dumpster and a tape recorder from the Columbia post-graduation dump. Also, yummy mens cologne and lotion that someone had left behind in the Business Class goodie bag on Emirates. The happy camper Brother Andrew writes, "Thank you very much for my gifts which you gave me i am still very happy I now know how to use both the camera and the Re coda, at first I could use it with out a flash but now i am ok." So much better than gifting the landfill.
This is what I wanted.
I watched the woman place her shopping bags on the floor, slip onto the red naugahyde stool, swallow a few bites of her cheeseburger, nibble on her onion rings, crumple her napkin, slide a few bucks under the salt shaker, and shuffle off. What was left was really exactly what I wanted--half a cheeseburger, half an order of onion rings--and just because it was, for free...and about to go to waste.
This is what I got.
I had a little angel-devil dialog with myself as I waited my turn in line, peering over at the site posted above. Dispute settled, I paid $14 for a cheeseburger with grilled onions, an order of onions rings, and a peppermint oreo shake. In the wake of some user or technical error, what actually turned upon my tray were two cheeseburgers with grilled onions, two orders of onions rings, and two peppermint oreo shakes (I gave one away to a teen boy).
There I sat, alone in the food court of a shopping mall with $14 less than I wanted and some 3,000 calories more than I wanted. All because I had a bit of silly tact ingrained in me a little too strongly.
Halloween costumes can be the cause of such stress! They're cheaply constructed, generic, and expensive.
Some thrift stores set up Halloween sections during this time of year. If you live in Los Angeles, at the moment there is a large section in the Goodwill at the corner of Santa Monica Blvd and 6th St in Santa Monica. I'm sure other thrift stores have a similar set up. They may not have the hottest superhero your child most desperately needs, but they're likely to have more unique options (no one wants to show up wearing the same thing as someone else), and still allow your kids the fun of roaming the aisles to pick out his or her own costume. I think it's also a good chance to instill that Halloween really is about having fun, getting dressed up, and stuffing yourself with candy. And just as much fun can be had in a used Gumbi costume as in a brand new Iron Man costume.
I've also heard of parents organizing costumes swaps. Both are really great ways to get kids fun new costumes on a budget, and while helping to minimize clothing manufacturing and landfill use. If you're in New York, go to this one that my friend is organizing on October 24th !
Another idea is to convert an old costume into something new. With new accessories a fairy can be adjusted to a princess, remove the padding and get a new nose and an elephant becomes a seal, dye a good witch dress and it becomes a wicked witch.
You can also make your own costume. All of my favorite costumes growing up were made by my mom. They were nothing too elaborate, but it ensured that no one else would have the same costume, and I got to help her out and suggest changes here and there, so I got just what I wanted. We also stored costumes away, so I often wore what my brother had worn a couple years prior. They also had a great homemade touch--accents and accessories were actual tactile objects, not just screen printed onto chintzy fabric. Scrap fabric, string, glue, tape, paint, and carboard boxes can take you a very long way. It's so much fun to get creative with kids. Making costumes with them is a great way to stretch their imagination and encourage them to find ways to translate that imagined idea into a functioning frock.
Save yourself a couple of gallons of water and pee in the shower! But make sure you're shampooing or otherwise scrub-a-dubbing simultaneously, or that half-minute while you just pee will use up a as much water as a toilet flush (older showers use about 4 gallons/min, newer ones about 2.5)...plus shampoo adds a delightful flowery scent! Also, perhaps do it in the beginning of the shower to ensure it all makes its way down the drain by the time you towel off. And for those of you with roommates, remember pee is virtually sterile!
I was in need of something to hold my magazines, so before heading to the store I poked around the house a bit looking for ideas. I found cereal boxes in the recycling bin and paired them with the leftover suede contact paper in the craft drawer. Got out the scissors, cut the boxes on an angle, used the refuse to make a band to go around the boxes, covered it all in contact paper. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Not the coolest thing I've ever made, but it has great function.
