Ridin' In Style

As I recently gave up my silver Honda for a brighter, more notable vehicle, I've needed something a little less ostentatious to ride around town in my off time for errand running, getting into downtown, and morning Starbucks trips. I had initially set my sights on a fun little Vespa. And while I would still love to have one, I think a bicycle is the more practical choice at this point.

Unfortunately, I seem to favor the cruiser body style, which offers the standard one gear... not very practical in a hilly town.

I love love LOVE this little gem from Chanel

in reality, I will probably go for something like this (note the cup holder, brilliant!)

Summer Guests and Pests

I've been a cleaning fanatic the past two days. I'm prepping to usher out some very unwanted guests (of the big scary cockroach assortment) and welcome some highly anticipated ones (of the human, former roommate sort).

I guess before one chemically bombs the crap out of their home, it's wise to put most things away. I'm not a huge fan of anything chemical... usually using just water to clean... however if this gets rid of the cockroaches, the more toxins the better!

Having an uber clean house should also keep them somewhat at bay. We all remember how terribly I handled the one beetle who came into my house last year. This year, at least I have a brave roommate to attack the crunchy buggers, the only problem is there are many more of them. He's getting a little annoyed at what he calls my shrilling "life or death" scream. Instead, he suggested I calmly but firmly say, "Oh look, there's a bug. Nick will you please take care of the situation?"... uh, file that under never.

At the end of the day, it has been great motivation to get everything spic and span for Jamie, Marty and Mr. T. I am very excited for you all to come visit, it has been far too long!

The Frugal Files: Consignment Shopping

I've had three shopping bags full of old clothes in my trunk for months. Nick and I tried to take them to Buffalo Exchange one Saturday, but with a donation line out the door, quickly reconsidered.

Out of being just plain fed up with the clothes taking up so much room in my car, and feeling like I just couldn't give bags of Seven jeans to Goodwill, I finally got my Google on yesterday to look up lesser known consignment shops.

For those who are unaware, I'll take some time to explain the consignment process. One brings their unwanted, "kindly used", clean apparel to the shop which is then thoroughly inspected by the consignment taker-inner (technical title). When he or she deems it resalable, they mark it in your account to be tracked. If/ when the item is resold, the original owner gets some of the profit, usually 30 - 40%, dispersed in a check or store credit.

I've learned three things from this process.
One: Clothing for the shear purpose of investment has a very low return. I usually rationalize my purchases by dividing the price into the amount of times I think I will wear said item. This seems to be a better method of determining investment value instead of knowing a $250 pair of jeans can be sold at $35 in one year.

Two: I have a strange suspicion that watching the rejection process of a formerly adored clothing item by the consignment shop feels a lot like having your child not picked for the school's sports team. "Why don't you think these True Religions will resell?!? That isn't my wear, they CAME that way. Trust me, I used to work for Neimans, those jeans are very much still in style... Did you want to take a second at that Banana Republic top? I know it's not a huge name brand, but the style is a classic. Yes, I agree that orange is a bright color for pants, but fashion forward trend setters will love them!" This went on for about 20 minutes.

Three: There are A LOT of cute things in designer consignment shops. I didn't allow myself to look in depth, but I spotted some great vintage and newer trend items including cocktail dresses and Italian shoes. Maybe when my consignment "credit" has wracked up, I'll re-invest in the store's economy.

In total, I was able to hand off 18 items, taking back 5 pieces that were then given to the neighborhood thrift store. At least these pieces weren't thrown away (textiles account for nearly four million tons of solid waste every year), and maybe, just maybe, I'll make a buck or two off these old threads.

My Manolos Are Going Green

Living green doesn't necessarily mean wearing an organic burlap bag around town. Eco Stiletto is a great blog with tips on being fashionable AND Earth friendly. "Stiletto size your carbon footprint"

They have a long list of things that suck. Blunt, but effective. The list points out many products and chemicals we may be using and purchasing, yet had no idea their imprint or affect on our health. Such things I was not aware of: Sunscreen, faux fur, cotton, fragrances... yes these things are all bad for us (shocking, right?) Luckily, their list also offers alternatives and green substitutions. I won't post the entire list here, but I urge you to check it out for yourself!

http://www.ecostiletto.com/index.php?/Beauty/tbltts/

Brilliant

I will never have to buy two pairs of the same style jean again!

For the past few years (since the start of the designer jean craze) I have repeatedly been frustrated with my denim. Jeans are much too long off the rack, which forces me to get them hemmed (at an extra fee for the "original hem"). While this doesn't sound too inconvenient, the entire process includes an initial purchase, a wash cycle, return to the store and a week's wait before the jeans are finally wearable.

Then the question of length comes into play. Will I wear these jeans with heels? Or flats? Do I love them enough to purchase TWO pairs (now we're looking at a real investment) to hem the length for both options?

So many choices to address. Since when do jeans come with more red tape than an insurance company? Argh.

Enter the genius design from Radcliffe Denim. This London style house has developed Heels2Flats, a jean which offers both options in ONE jean. How has this not been invented before? And again, why didn't I think of it?!?

Each pair comes with instructions, and the cufflinks needed to alter the length of the leg. Jeans can be purchased online through Zappos.

It's Not Easy Being Green

As most of you know (or SHOULD know) yesterday was Earth Day. I'm a firm believer that we should all do what we can to contribute to making our planet healthier and greener everyday, but it doesn't hurt to have one specific date set aside to encourage everyone to regroup and try new ideas for the year. It may not be easy, but a few small steps can really make a difference. Here's an Earth Day 101 to share some of my simplest environmentally frugal ideas.

1. Bring your own bags to the grocery store (or any store for that matter).

It took me awhile to fall into this habit. The driving force to change was the guilt I would have each time I forgot my bags and had to use paper or (gasp!) plastic at the store.

Bonus - I've also begun to reuse my veggie bags from the grocery store. As long as they are clean after use, there is no reason not to reuse

2. Group your errands

Back in the lovely days of Hollywood, I would run just about every errand by foot. This may seem time consuming, but factor in the traffic and parking obstacles, it actually evened out. These days, like most people, it isn't an option for me. Instead, I group all my trips together so I'm driving back and forth less.

3. Bills online and fewer mailed solicitation

Paying bills online is nothing new. It's a lifesaver for me since I miss my mail 90% of the time and can't afford to pay late fees these days. More importantly, it cuts down on paper. Also, enroll with http://www.optoutprescreen.com/ to halt credit card pre-approvals and direct mail marketing.

4. Wash your car at commercial car washes

This one actually surprised me. I washed my car myself for the first time since high school a few weeks ago and was so proud of my accomplishment. Unfortunately, the little Accord resembled a Disney Dalmatian more than a clean car. Luckily, I just learned that by going to the car wash, it can save hundreds of gallons of water (no, really).

Not to mention it saves me about an hour of time trying to wrestle with the water hose.

5. Workout without electricity.

I saw this on The Biggest Loser during NBC's green week. Before then, it hadn't really occurred to me. Try to workout without machines. Run, walk, or bike outside. Sculpt with free weights and exercise balls. If all else fails, sit ups and push ups will always do the trick ;)

6. Buy local

Support local farms. The food will not only be fresher (cutting down on shipment... some food is shipped 1500 miles! Which in turn cuts down on gas and diesel usage), but have less chemicals and pesticides, and be cheaper (cutting out the distributing middle man who accounts for an average of 82 cents for every produce dollar). Most importantly, it supports the smaller community business instead of the corporate big business whose agriculture practices are creating pollution, hormone-infested poultry and meat, and dangerous work environments for employees who are drastically underpaid.

7. Switch your most used light bulbs to florescent bulbs

My parents have actually been doing this for years. I used to hate the delay in the bulb to get bright enough to light the room. My advice is to still keep a few "regular" bulbed lamps around when that instant gratification is necessary. However, the 'rents sure did get it right. Electricity bills are lower, they last longer, and of course use less wattage.

8. EDUCATE YOURSELF!!!

So many people still don't understand the gravity of the problem. (If I had had a tree for everytime someone scoffed at global warming because the weather was unseasonably cold... well, perhaps I'd have a forest). Learn WHY cold weather is still an indicator of global warming, HOW bad our earth's state really is, but most importanly, WHAT you can do to help. Maybe my tips aren't convenient for you... find some that are!

So that I am not just "preaching" here, I'm listing some of the new plans I have to become a greener person

- I plan to put a bucket in my shower to collect the water I usually waste while waiting for it to get warm enough to hop in. This can then be used to water my plants around the house.

- Instead of buying new books, I've signed up with http://www.paperbackswap.com/ where I am able to trade my already used books (which I never reread) with others on the website. Costs for new books are simply the postage needed to send them.

Even easier... I should find my local library!

-Turn off my computer/s at night. I am SO guilty of not doing this! It's my challenge these next few weeks.

- I'm boycotting water bottles. They are only meant for one use. With repeated fills, the bottle's structure is compromised and seeps chemicals into the liquids being consumed. Tap water is actually better for you. Therefore, I'm buying a few reusable bottles to keep in the fridge.

http://www.fitsugar.com/256406

Here's a great article with more info and some alternative options to H2O bottles :)

Happy Going Green Everyone!

Even Martha can be a green hippie

Leave it to Martha Stewart to find a craft even for the Greenies. Published in her Living magazine was an idea of how to turn old (or cute but large) t shirts into reusable grocery and errand bags. Simple steps involving a few sewn stitches, cutting the sleeves and collar and ta da! shopping bags!

Ok, maybe more specific instructions would be nice. Here is the link and instructions below:

(weekend project anyone?)

http://tinyurl.com/3dmn3j

Tools and Materials

Heavy-weight cotton T-shirt

Pins

Sewing machine

Medium-size bowl

Water-erasable marking pen

Scissors

T-Shirt Bag How-To

1. Turn T-shirt inside out and pin bottom of the T-shirt along the hem. Using a sewing machine, sew bottom of T-shirt closed. Flip shirt right side out and lay flat on table, making sure all seams are lined up.

2. Place medium-size bowl about half-way over the neck hole. Using a water-erasable marking pen, trace along the edge of the bowl. Cut along the outline, making sure to go through the front and back sides of the shirt, in order to create an opening for the bag that's larger than what the neck hole allows.

3. Line up the hems on the front and back side of the sleeve and cut, making sure to go through both sides of the shirt. Repeat on the other sleeve.

Tip: A jersey shirt would also work well for this craft, as it is already sleeveless, and it's made of a great mesh material.

A Calling for this hippie

One of the nice things about this move is the town is much (ok MUCH) smaller than LA which gives me an opportunity to become a bit less anonymous. I hope there are other young people out there like me who feel convicted to try to make this world better for the rest of our lives and future generations. Having lived in New Mexico for just over a week, there are already some things I can’t quite accept… places where I would like to try and make an impact.
The first, is working on making Las Cruces more green. In this town there is no curbside recycling. This means that if anyone wants to recycle, they need to separate everything themselves and take it to a designated station. Additionally, instead of a standard sized garbage can, the city provides everyone with a commercial sized (dumpster looking) garbage. A larger garbage is more conducive to the convenience of tossing recyclables away as opposed to turning them in to the centers.
I'm working on researching just how to go about changing this, and perhaps learn about other opportunities to help make the town “greener.”

“Fraturniture”

Another new form of recycling that I have recently been very aware of is purchasing used furniture. Not many people are aware of how much energy and materials go into making a piece of furniture. I’m not talking about hitting up the college campuses to get dorm hand me downs because it’s too expensive to buy nice things. It IS possible to find some great pieces at antique shops or even garage sales. I admit that I just bought a small truck load of new furniture, but I also am currently using a secondhand bed frame, dining room set, china cabinet, coffee table, and hope chest. Most of which are beautiful new looking pieces (except the coffee table, which is an old trunk from the 20s… it has definitely seen shinier days).
If we all start taking small steps to renew and reuse, we might just be able to start making an impact for a better environment.