by Nikki Amare | Jan 22, 2020 | Musings
If you’ve read my earlier blog posts then you know I’ve started eliminating things from my life in order to be healthier. Along the way I also started looking at the amount of waste we produce and have begun to take steps to reduce that amount. In recent months one of the things I decided is when it comes to clothing I’m no longer going to buy new. I mean there are obviously some things I’ll buy new. However, things like jeans, pants, shirts, sweaters, jackets, shoes, etc. I plan to buy secondhand.
Why?
Because the fashion industry is one of the most wasteful industries there are. They create new lines every season or at least every year, trying to get you to buy the latest trend. What they don’t sell often goes into the landfills when they clear it out to make room for the new stuff. There are lots of second hand stores around, but there are also apps like Thred Up that allow you to buy gently used and like new items at a fraction of the price.
I first used them three or four years ago. I saw an advertisement and decided to check them out. I ordered a few things and was surprised at how easy it was to shop. When my purchase arrived the items I got looked brand new. In a few cases they still had the tags attached. I have some old jackets I’m thinking about sending to them to sell. It will be my first time trying to sell things through their app. They don’t take everything, but they give you the option to either pay to have the items they reject sent back to you, or they will donate them for you at no cost to you. Since I got rid of two-thirds of my closet last year I don’t have a whole lot to sell at the moment. Other than the coats.
There are other such apps out there and plenty of local secondhand stores around, but the only app I’ve used is Thred Up. It’s easy to search and they even have it so you can input your sizes and then search only those items that match. It makes it a lot easier to find what you’re looking for. It also allows me to buy items that I normally wouldn’t due to the original prices. For instance, I recently bought a $250 dollar pair of boots for $70 and a $70 jacket for $23. It’s those savings that allow me to buy higher end items without feeling guilty. Because I just can’t justify spending $250 on a pair of boots no matter how nice they are.
The one big downside is that there is only one item so you have to decide quickly whether or not you want it because depending on what it is, odds are it won’t last long. And if you get it home and then it doesn’t fit you can’t just order the next size. But I’ve found that this means if I buy something it’s something I really want. I browse often and will add things to my favorite list and then set it aside. If it’s still available in a few hours or even a few days then I’ll take a second look and if I still want it and it’s something I need and not just want, then I’ll add it to my cart and keep it there for an hour or so before hitting that buy button. I figure if someone else buys it before I can get it into my cart then I wasn’t meant to have it anyway.
And since I’ve started trying to keep a minimalist wardrobe I only search for the things I need. Like a fleece jacket or a cardigan. I don’t search the entire women’s category because I know there will be things I like but don’t really need. If I don’t see them then I can’t convince myself that one more purse won’t hurt anything. Or that buying that shirt I really like is okay, even though I know I will probably never really wear it because I never dress up.
There are some items that are marked as not returnable, but most of them can be returned for a small fee. So if you get it home and it doesn’t fit or you change you’d mind, you can always sent it back for a refund.
While it’s not ideal since buying online means more carbon emission from the transportation of goods than if you were to buy from a local store, it’s still better than buying new. At least in my opinion. Over the next few years I plan to stop buying from the big chain stores and online retailers and go back to buying from the smaller, local businesses. I know in some instances it won’t be possible to find what I need locally or from a small business, but when at all possible I will be choosing that option.
by Nikki Amare | Jan 8, 2020 | Musings
In years past I would make certain things for the holidays. Things like my baked veggie dip, my cheese ball, and peanut butter fudge. The fudge was really for Hubby since I have never been a big fan of sweets and even less so now that I’ve cut back on sugar. I’d usually have one, maybe two, pieces per batch and they were always small pieces.
I wasn’t going to make them this year since it was just the two of us, but Hubby asked. First for the cheese ball, then the fudge, and finally the dip. I made the cheese ball first and then once it was gone I made the dip and fudge but because Hubby has also cut back on sugar and I had always thought the peanut butter fudge was too sweet anyway, I decided to make some adjustments to the recipe so I could reduce the amount of sugar.
Well…
I didn’t get the ratio right and so the fudge never set properly. Instead of being upset about it, I scooped it into a bowl and decided to call it spoon fudge. It still tastes like peanut butter fudge, if a little less sweet. Plus, now we can eat it without getting sticky fingers and I’m considering sending Hubby to the store for some vanilla ice cream so I can make some peanut butter milk shakes since it’s soft enough that I believe it will blend well. Hubby pointed out that it would also be a good filling for homemade peanut butter cups. And apparently it’s also good spread on toast.
The point is, things rarely turn out the way we want or hope. Instead of getting upset or beating ourselves up for making a mistake, embrace the idea of spoon fudge. It’s not what I had planned but it’s just as good and maybe even better in some ways.
I think a lot of us are guilty of expecting perfection—from ourselves more so than others. I know in my writing I’m the most critical reader I’ll ever have. Things I wouldn’t think twice about in someone else’s books will drive me to distraction in my own. Little things that don’t really matter, I’ll get stuck on because it’s not perfect and my head is telling me it has to be perfect.
Being able to embrace the spoon fudge in my life is something I’m consciously trying to change about myself. To be less critical of myself. To take what comes and make it my own. To be more appreciative of what I do have rather than focusing on the things that didn’t work out.
While life may not work out the way we hoped there’s always room for spoon fudge.
by Nikki Amare | Jan 1, 2020 | Musings
Goodbye 2019. Hello 2020
I can’t believe it’s already 2020. The last two years have just disappeared in the blink of an eye. Or at least it seems that way to me. While I’ve accomplished a lot in the last two years, it hasn’t been nearly as much as I had hoped. We’ve had a lot of setbacks concerning the move. There are days when it feels like we’re never going to get out of here. I’ve also had some setbacks with my publishing plans, mainly due to the move. But I’m still writing and doing my best to remain optimistic. Which is really all we can do sometimes. I’ve found that things rarely go the way I plan or hope. I just try to make the best out of what I have. It’s not always easy but the more I try to focus on the good things the easier it become.
I’ve gotten quite a bit of writing done this year. Finished a few things, started several more. I’m not sure of my total word count for 2019 since I don’t really track stuff like that. Although, I do plan to in 2020—whether I actually do is another story. I have an app called Word Keeper that makes it easy to keep track of that stuff so I’m going to try to get into the habit of using it. Although word count isn’t as important to me as it is to some writers. Still I think it would be nice to be able to look back and say, “I wrote this many words last year.”
My goal for this year is to finish writing one series and write at least two books in another one. Ideally I would like to have the complete series written before releasing book one. Or, if not the entire series, at least three books. It’s risky since I will be putting a lot of time and money into writing and publishing a series that might not sell, but as a reader I know how frustrating it is to start reading a series only to learn it was never finished for whatever reason. I never want to do that to my readers. Even if only one person reads the series and enjoys it then it will be worth it to me. I might never make back what was invested in those books but that could very well be true for any book released. There are no guarantees in life and even less in publishing.
I’m choosing to start 2020 with optimism. Each year is a chance to be better, try new things, change the things that didn’t work, and be brave enough to take risks.
So here’s to 2020—the year of taking risks and being brave.
Be Brave! Be Bold! Be you!
by Nikki Amare | Dec 18, 2019 | Musings
Christmas is almost upon us. Just one more week to go. I can’t believe 2019 is almost over. We don’t have a tree up and odds are we won’t put one up this year anyway. When Hubby and I first got married I used to go all out for the holidays. Tree, ornaments, the whole nine yards. But then we would end up spending almost every day at his Mom’s since his brother always came home for two weeks around Christmas and Hubby wanted to spend as much time with him as possible since it was the only time he got to see him back then. After a few years I stopped decorating since we were never here to enjoy it really and it just seemed like a lot of effort for nothing.
We got rid of our fake tree about ten years ago. And a good portion of the decorations I had accumulated over the years.
Since my birthday is in November and Hubby’s is in December we’ve never gone wild with Christmas presents. In the beginning we would buy the main presents for our birthdays and then just get something small for Christmas. Then after a few years we decided to just buy birthday presents and then for Christmas we would decide on a big item we both wanted and get it as our Christmas present to one another, although it didn’t have to be at Christmas. One year we bought a new television in October when it was on sale. That was back when flat screens were super expensive. Another year we bought a dishwasher.
The last few years, however, we’ve stopped buy gifts altogether. We have more stuff than we need anyway and we realized we were buying gifts because it was expected. Now we go out to eat at a nice restaurant for our birthdays.
And for Christmas… well, we still don’t do gifts. I don’t see that changing either.
We’ve decided once we finally get moved we want to start new traditions. We haven’t decided what they will be yet, but we already have a few ideas. But the no presents thing will continue. And if other people insist on giving us gifts, we will ask that instead of buying something new that they either make something, buy it secondhand, regift something that they already have, or support a local artist.
Really though, Hubby and I have enough things. That doesn’t mean we’ll never buy anything ever again. it’s just that we plan to be more choosy about what and how we buy. Buying secondhand means giving new life to older items. It means no plastic packaging. And it means not supporting the industries that care only about making as much money as possible instead of their employees or their impact on the environment. It also means often times getting better quality things for cheaper than what they would have cost new. I figure if a mid century modern couch is still in good shape all these years later, then it’s worth spending a little extra to get an original rather than paying for a cheaply made reproduction. Let’s face it, things were made to last back then. Now days they are made to be disposable, forcing you to replace it after only a few years.
It’s been almost fifteen years since Hubby and I bought one another presents for Christmas. During the holidays we focus instead on spending quality time with each other and the ones we love. Because to me, that’s what the holidays are really all about.
I hope you all have a happy holiday season regardless of what holiday you celebrate. This will be my last post until after the new year. So have a wonderful holiday and a very happy New Year. I’ll see you in 2020.
by Nikki Amare | Dec 4, 2019 | Musings
Hubby and I had a nice Thanksgiving. We ended up just doing one Cornish Game Hen instead of two. With the green bean casserole and the homemade rolls it was plenty for the two of us. There was enough green bean casserole left over for a second meal but that was all. We don’t typically have a lot of leftovers these days. The exception being rice since we often make a double or triple batch depending on what we’re planning for the week. If we’re doing fried rice then we always make extra earlier in the week since fried rice is best made with day-old rice. I also like to have a rice bowl for lunch some times and I don’t usually want to take the time to make the rice in the middle of the day so I’ll make a little extra the night before.
The more attention I actually pay to things the more I realize how much we used to waste. Food used to be a big one for us. We’d buy a bunch of fresh stuff and then a week or two later we ended up throwing half of it away because it had gone bad before we’d had a chance to use it all. When we did use it, we seemed to make way too much and always had a ton of leftovers. Hubby is not a fan of leftovers, so more often than not they would sit in the fridge until they too got thrown away.
Now we try to not have accidental leftovers. We do this by planning meals. When we do meal planning it isn’t this big elaborate thing. We used to sit down together and come up with a plan for the entire week, but we’ve sort of fallen out of that habit. Now it’s more than we’ll put a chicken breast out and decide we’re going to use half of it to make something like chicken and peppers or honey chicken one night and then a night or two later we’re going to use the other half to do another chicken dish. Same thing for pork. We have our favorite dishes that we do a lot but we always try to find new dishes to try on a regular basis. Sometimes that new dish is just a different variation on one we’ve already had. But we are more careful about how much we make. Like I said before, we rarely have unplanned leftovers. Which I means less food waste. It also means a lot less clutter in my fridge.
We still produce a lot more waste than I would like. These days there is hardly any food waste, which is a good thing. The other waste is harder to eliminate but we are slowing removing things from our lives. In the beginning I admit it was hard to think of a life without plastic. I mean, plastic is everywhere. But I started small and the more I eliminated the more I want to figure out ways to completely do away with the plastics. Because while I’m sure waste free or zero waste feels great, I’m not sure how realistic it is for us. Especially now. But we’re making an effort to eliminate plastics as much as possible. I don’t think it’s about being prefect or making huge changes all at once. It’s more about being aware of the impact we have on the environment and then consciously making an effort to do better.
