Natural Fiber, Quality, Durable Clothing is Important. Getting That 2nd Hand Is Even Better

 All that cheap crap synthetic fiber clothing you buy, then return or wear a few times and "donate" or throw out (most of the donated can't be used because it is crap and no one wants it so it is thrown out).

Here is a summary of the post-purchase, even if "returned" and you got your money back, damage it does:

https://youtu.be/tAw_LCfHJtM?si=C4l6zWGve7Z79oCx

SO DON'T.

Here's my latest thrift, at least 2nd hand maybe 3rd or 4th hand purchase:

Pure wool (yeah..I totally took that phot in a bathroom...), in great shape.  Warm as hell. 6$.  It is from the 1970s to 1980s.  Looks like the zipper has been replaced.  The zipper is heavy duty metal so it will last longer than I will.

How many coats/sweaters have I thrown out?   Zero in the last 20 years.  Donated?  Maybe 2 and those were "redonated" since I had gotten them 2nd hand as gifts or thrifts.  And they were in good shape.  I mend things as I can.

The natural fiber in this jacket will not become microplastics killing fish and birds and staying in the environment for eons.   The bits that come off when I wash this will get picked up by birds or critters for nests (since I hand wash outside with these wool type garments)  (also they rarely need to be washed).

I do have a pure wool sweater that wore out (holes in the elbows, so thin you could read through it, the seams gave way.  I had had it 15 years and it was used when I bought it).  I cut it into rags and am still using a couple of those.   

The jeans that recently disintegrated off my person at the end of a work day (eventually cotton...I buy 100% cotton jeans at thrift) have been stripped of usable parts like zipper, waist band etc.   And now the bits of it are used as firestarters.  It was too thin and weak to use as rags though I do use it to stop up spills now and then.  Once it dries out, it is a fire starter again.  

My used clothes do NOT end up on the beach in a different country.  

If you actually used it up, wear it out, or make it do, or do with out, then you don't trash the damn planet. 

SO stop with the fast fashion.  It might be "fast" in that it spends little time in your possession but the damage it does to the world, your budget, the people who make it, ship it, and sell it (all underpaid and exploited and often poisoned by the substances used in production and transportation and even off-gassing in the stores) is NOT WORTH IT.  Also, it looks cheap and ugly.

So buy decent clothes you will actually wear, wash, mend and enjoy.  They are better, they feel better, they look better and they don't destroy the planet or  your soul.

End of rant.

PANTS!!!

 I went through 2022 with zero clothing purchases.  Full disclosure:  I got 2 bras before the start of 2022 to make sure I could do this.  And 3 undies.  I broke out the 2nd fresh bra just a month or so ago.  The old bras are "bra shaped" but...man...not enough elasticity left to bother with most days.

So, there we go.

I have a conference coming up and while I have a pair of fishing pants with the zip off legs that are in great shape...they are also made of thin fabric that really shows when you sweat.  So if I got swamp arse or otherwise sweaty at the conference, it would look like I'd had an unfortunate accident.

And ALL my jeans, well, the ones that fit, are in rough shape and faded, ripped, about to fall apart.  No one sees them on zoom meetings but an inperson conference...no.   

I hit a couple of thrift stores yesterday after an out of town appointment and TA DA! nearly new black jeans.  "Idaho Business Casual".  7$ plus tax.  This is the last thrift store in the area that hasn't raised the price to 15$ for used pants.  Jeez.  I grabbed them.  Didn't even wait for the colored tag discount day because they were not going to stay on the rack.    I will wash them this weekend during the laundromat run because this store washes the clothes before putting them out.  They must use an entire box of cheap detergent on each small load because the clothes are crusty with it.  

These jeans have NO SPANDEX...I think we all know how I feel about stretchy pants.  Ugh!

https://simplicityandfrugality.blogspot.com/2010/10/dear-universe-get-your-spandex-out-of.html

It makes me have this disorder:

So hard cotton jeans with NO SPANDEX in good shape for 7$...SCOOOOOOORRRRE

What if I Stretched This Slow Fashion Thing a Bit Further?

 Like, I'm thinking I could NOT buy any clothes in 2022.   I've started looking at my clothing stock and what tends to come in to it regularly.

I have shortsleeve t shirts coming out my ears.  And I get some free now and then.

Could use a long sleeved t or two.  Easy to get at thrift I think.

Sweatshirts, enough, not too many but enough.

Enough undies for now, but aging.  3 new pairs kept in back stock should sort it out.

A good supply of warm sox, need to check into the summer weight sox stock.

Bras...could probably make it a year if I had 1 new good bra and kept it out of full rotation until needed.

Jeans/pants:  Numbers wise I have enough, but some are thin summer pants that I tear up fast so actually...1-2 decent pairs of all cotton jeans in backstock would get me through a year easily, especially if I do better at changing in to work pants before doing chores.

Sweaters....plenty.  I am actually wearing a really nice Dale of Norway sweater with pewter buttons as jammies.   I put a long sleeve t or hoodie over it, and a t-shirt under it.  Toasty.

Longjohns.  Supply is probably just enough to make it.  1 pair totally worn out, 3 pairs OK (1 is jammies).

Coats...don't get me started!

Rainpants...actually need a pair of these.   The ones I have are too big and in tatters.  Maybe 50% effective.

Workpants: I'm ok on these.  They don't all fit but who cares when you are shoveling sh*t?

Hats: I'm OK.

Gloves...hmmm...if I don't lose them I kind of have enough for warmth, but work gloves I should have 2 more pairs.   They get wet/bloody and I need a dry pair available when that happens.

Boots: peachy!  Tall rubber boots, insulated muck boots, and hiking boots (2 of 3 pairs bought by work), crappy old boots for hazmat work, 1 pair of steel toes, and....well, there are more.  Might need some repaired but not replaced.

Shoes: 3 old pairs but they will be fine.

Button down shirts...plenty.  I would like to wear a few out actually.

Undershirts/shells:  I could use a blue and a grey tank top.  

No formal wear to speak of but that almost never comes up and I can probably borrow a garment if I really need it.

I can work with this and come up with a list of things and double check backstock.   Get it all sorted by the time Jan 1 comes around and try for a no-clothes-buy 2022 if I feel like it.

Slow Fashion October OTD (outfit of the day)

 I started the day at the gym.

Shoes: ANCIENT and resoled shoes bought on sale.  Over 10 years use so far.  They are good leather and comfortable.   They got demoted to gym wear as the top is separating from the sole a bit and the glue doesn't hold as long when used outside.  

Socks:  Gift

Pants: bought for 1$ at thrift 2 or 3 years ago.  They just live in the gym bag.

Undies...old.

Foundation garment: See previous post. Same one.

Shirt: tank top purchased at thrift maybe a decade ago.  It's an eddie bauer or something and just will not wear out.

I also did yoga while there.

yoga bag: gift (actually, it was a gift bag but is a nice canvas shopping bag that now transports yoga stuff)

Blocks: bought on super sale during a 'rona closure of a local studio

Strap: I think I paid retail for this but it was like 15-20 years ago.

Mat: super cool FOLDING yoga mat bought at thrift for 2$ or so.  Used for several years now and shows no wear.  I like the flat fold better than the roll.  I can travel with it in a suitcase.  

Towel/blanket: Gramma got me this when I STARTED college so it is over 37 years into pretty well daily use.  It's thin but still soaks up liquids like water and sweat.  

Slow Fashion October: Another OTD (outfit of the day...see how I am all hip with the lingo if it is 1998)

 I WILL have a change of shoes here in a bit so I'll include both options:

Boots: bought by my job, warm insulated rubber boots.  Wore them home one day and back to work today to get them back to the office.  I wore them 5 times in the last week.

Shoes: Bought on deep sale 2 or 3 years ago.   Not thrift, I think they cost about 50 or 60$.  I wear them 3-5 days a week in fall and spring depending on weather.   They are good leather with good soles so will last a while. 

Socks: gift (thanks Chris!)

Jeans:  Ancient thrift jeans, this is day 1.  If I can keep them clean they will see several wearings this week.

Belt: Same as before.

Undies: Bought new, but worn weekly for about a year an a half.  They were part of the early 'rona underwear stock up that allowed me to go 2 weeks between laundry runs which saves $$.

Foundation garment:  Bought on super sale at Ross or TJMaxx.  Over a year ago.  Worn tons.  Protip: It is grey and grey bras don't look dingy like white ones after a year or so.  I don't generally use bleach and have touchy skin so whites get dingy looking.   Solution: avoid white clothes.

T-shirt: From a giveaway at work.

Button down (because I thought I had a meeting but now it is canceled):  Bought at thrift years ago.  I am pretty sure I paid 4-5$.  I usually stop at 2$ but this is a high quality shirt in orange (not a fave color but counts as "high visibility" on construction sites), it fits my line-backer shoulders and long monkey arms, AND has the coveted DOUBLE pit zips (vents for hot days) so I can wear it a lot all year.  Hence, it gets worn almost weekly.  I get compliments.  It is an REI or Eddie Bauer brand.  I'm not a brand rat but those two do tend to be high quality construction and fabric, along with a few other brands, so when I see them at thrift, I give them a 2nd look even if they are above the usual 2$ limit on shirt price.

Hair tie: Haven't picked one yet but all the ones with me are used.  I know this because they are around the bottom of my travel french press (thrift, obv) and it looks like it is wearing a fuzzy bracelet.  Tons of hair stuck in the ties.

Next time I buy some new garment, or maybe those carhartts mentioned in a previous post, I should put a dot or hash on the inside of the garment each time I wear it.  Then I can track the "cost per wear".  With some of my 2$ shirts I'm pretty confident we're approaching a penny a wearing.

Slow Fashion October Outfit of the Day

 Today...

Boots bought on deep sale (35$ usually 135$) and worn...80-100 times so far. 

Sox: none.  You don't need any with these boots unless it is cold out.  They are lined with cotton flannel

Jeans:  Thrift, worn 5 times so far this week.  Purchased many years ago.

Belt (I forgot this last time!):  Thrift, 3$ and I resented the cost, real leather sturdy belt with a brass buckle.  Worn almost everyday. Bought years ago.  could be 1000 wearings so far.  I reverse the direction it goes in the pants each time so it doesn't get that permanent dip in the back from always being worn the same direction.

Undies:  NEW!  but from thrift.  First wearing.  They are from that pack that was still sealed and the undies still taped to the cardboard insert that I found at thrift.  The pair I changed out of were in tatters. Clearly over 7 wearings.

T-shirt: Gift (thanks Chris) several years ago.  The collar is starting to get a bit wonky, but no holes yet.  Worn about once every 2 weeks for 2 years.  100ish wearings.

Foundation garment: It is on day 5 like the jeans.  I haven't sweat much this week and no one is going to be around me at work today (it's a holiday but I'm going in to make up some time rather than use vacation time for a day last week).  Bought new at deep discount at Ross Dress for Less. Probably 5-8$.  That's the price range I wait for for the high end foundation garments.  

Coat: Thrift, years ago.  

Hairties: dollar store.  Not sure how many times one hairtie gets worn.  Until it breaks.

Even Slower Fashion October

 Yeah, that's right.  Struggling with titles.  Leave it alone.

I talked to a couple of friends and they too were stunned at the thought of wearing something a few times and chucking it or donating it.  We were chatting and wearing clothes with visible wear and tear from age, wearings and work (and my tendency to run into barbed wire).

E.G. today's ensemble:

Shoes bought new and worn almost daily since I got them (on sale) (obviously) so over 100 times so far.

Sox:  Gift (Thanks Marcie!) and worn 2x so far this week.  I got them over a year ago and they are summer weight so probably over 100 wearings to dat.

Pants:  Jeans bought at thrift (hopefully after the original owner wore them more than a few times).  I've had them 2 years or more.  I put clean jeans on Mondays and wear them until they are stinky/dirty or it's the weekend.  So, day 2 this week.  And I wore them last week .   Right now I have 4 pairs of jeans in rotation and haven't put a new pair in the mix for over a year so...lots of wearings.

Undies: bought new in the box, but at thrift (and as it turns out a size too small but dammit I WILL get my money's worth out of these).  I've had them since the beginning of 'rona.  Many wearings...unlike jeans, they get worn once and washed, not for the week.

"Foundation Garment": ...ok, it's the bra.  BOUGHT NEW (at TJMaxx) over a year ago.  I have 4 in rotation so it must get 365/4 wearings per year...OK, true confessions, no bras on the weekend so more like 265/4 per year.  About 66 wearings per bra per year.   I do have one bra that is a frankenbra made from 2 others.  1 had the hooks all torn up and stabbing me but was otherwise fine, the other was so low cut in the front that the hams weren't staying in the sack unless I was just sitting at a desk all day.  So, hooks off both, good hooks sewn onto the better formatted bra, and voila...more life in that foundation garment.

Shirt: a tank top for under button downs.  I got it at thrift YEARS ago.  Like I can't remember how many years ago. It is a really good quality one and won't seem to wear out.  If I've had it 3 years (it's been longer), I wear the tank tops half the year under button downs and to yoga etc,, one wearing then washed.  So, about 20 wearings a year per tank which puts this at 60 wearings minimum and I'm thinking more.

Sweatshirt: like the jeans, put on on Monday (always with a t-shirt or tank under sweatshirts to keep them less sweaty), and wear it until soiled.  I wore it 3 days last week, 2 so far this week.  Had it a year, wear it half the year.  50+ wearings.  Bought at thrift and it has the design section of a previous sweatshirt applique'd on it (thanks Anne!).

Coat:  Bought at thrift over 5 years ago.  It is a letterman's jacket from the 1990s.  Super warm and sturdy.  Worn lots in the winter.  I'm going to say 50+, likely 100+ wearings.  

I did buy 3 more undies because I found them new in the box, and in the right size, at thrift.  Also got a new or nearly new pair of Carhartt work pants at thrift (10$!!!  so expensive but they fit and have no spandex.  We know how I feel about spandex).  They are at the bottom of the pile of 3 pairs of work pants.  As the ones above them wear out, these will come into rotation.  Or if I fall in the creek twice and get down to the third pair in a day.

Slow Fashion October

 OK, I know if my sister happens on this she will question the term "fashion" in anything I write.  I don't have any fashion sense at all.  Which, for slow fashion October, works perfect in reducing clothing waste.

I watched a youtube...which I do too much of late.  But then I fact checked this one and it was correct.  Dang it!

I had heard the term "fast fashion" but since I have no fashion interest and am of an age where "fast" is moot, I ignored it and filed it under run of the mill consumerist BS that was probably wasteful.

But...I had no idea HOW wasteful.  Wow.

Here's a link to the youtube:  https://youtu.be/F6R_WTDdx7I

And here's a link with some background on slow fashion October:

https://www.interweave.com/article/knitting/slow-fashion-karen-templer/

Interesting stuff.

I no clue how many clothes people in 1st world countries have!  Good lord.  Throwing out over 80lbs per year in the US????   I don't have 80lbs of clothes.  Probably 50 to 60lbs.  About 20lbs of that is boots.  I should count my garments.  It's not a small number.   But clearly I am behind most of the US population.

Anyway, according to various studies you can link through the above links, in the US in 1990 80-90% of the clothes Americans bought were made in America.  After NAFTA (which for the record I thought was BS when it was put in place...different rant) jobs in the textile industry moved to other countries where people are paid less.  Less than a living wage.  And human rights are violated in the sweat shops.  But it's cheap!!  

What percentage is now made in America???  2.5% roughly.  That's a loss.  Big loss. I have trouble finding clothes made in  the USA.  Even my hippie dippie zero drop shoes from a company based in Portland OR...the actual shoes are made in china.  The company claims they couldn't find a manufacturer in the US.  ONE of my pairs of boots IS made entirely in the US.  Actually, the leather may have been tanned overseas.  Apparently that's a thing we do.  Ship hides overseas for tanning and have them shipped back to make stuff out of the hides.  That is BONKERS.  Anyway, I traded a pair of boots with a friend.  The boots I got from him didn't fit me super well but better than the ones I gave him (which passed on to a dude who was fixing his roof and I think that dude is actually wearing them).  I traded that 2nd pair of boots to a neighbor who gave me a pair of used White's Boots!  Hand made in Spokane, WA.  So not only in the US, but in the same region as me.  Nice.  I'm working on learning to wear heavy boots again.  They are awesome.   

The other garment I have that I know was made in the US is a t-shirt I bought this year.  One of the first "new" items, like actually new from a retail store, I've purchased in ages (other than sox, undies and some shoes) at full price.  I paid a higher price because it is made in the USA.  Also, because the design on it is the bomb.

Of my used items, the vast majority are made elsewhere.

Now for another factoid...apparently we wear our clothes a few times and throw them out as "old".  The studies claim people in the 1st world chuck the clothes (or forget them but don't chuck them) after an AVERAGE of 7 WEARINGS!!!  WHAT!!!  I wore the aforementioned t-shirt 3 times the week I got it and 2 times the next week. It's already over 7 wearings.   The sweatshirt I have on was purchased used, then a couple of pieces of a previous sweatshirt (That I wore until it fell off me in shreds) are applique'd on it (thanks Anne!!).  My "good" black t-shirt with long sleeves that I wear under button downs and sweaters was purchased new but at a deep discount (5$) literally years ago.  Like 5 or 6 years ago.  In Portland at Powells Books.  It made its first outing of the season this week and I noticed that the cuffs are so worn they are splitting into two unrelated layers instead of a coherent folded over ribbed edge.  I will keep wearing it until it is in tatters. It won't even be demoted to non-office wear yet.

The shirt I wore with it, an orange button down REI fishing shirt with vented pits...love the vented pits, I bought at a thrift store a few years ago and wear about once a week 6 months of the year. 

I wear my jeans (which I get in the 100% cotton version because 1) better quality 2) don't stretch out and make it look like I crapped my pants, 3) without the plastic stretch crap in them I can use the scraps of wornout jeans in the garden as weed mat or tomato ties and it will just dissolve into the soil eventually) until they fall off of me in shreds.  Then they are diced up for the rag bag.  Then end up as kindling or in the garden.  I haven't bought jeans new in probably a decade or more.  I've tried to buy all cotton workpants new but I can't find any that fit because only a few brands do all cotton anymore, and then pretty much only in men's sizes and then they don't carry a long inseam with the waist size I need.  So, I comb the thrift stores and try to have 3 jeans and a few workpants in active rotation and a few in backstock for when something falls off me in shreds.

I wear my bras and undies until I can't figure out which hole is for a limb and which is for the torso.  Sox get mended (and are cotton or wool, but sadly rarely 100% cotton or wool because that is almost not a thing anymore...I keep looking) until there is more darn than sock.  Then they go in the rag bag.  Sock tops are great for lots of things and the feet make reasonable cleaning mitts.

More factoids...cost per wear.   With fast fashion, even a dress at 30$ that is worn the average 7 times, that's about $4.28 per wearing.  If you are a chump and buy one that says "dry clean only" (and extra chump points if you take that on faith rather than trying to wash it by hand and block it) then it will be "cheaper" to throw it out rather than clean it and wear it.   If you are me, you didn't pay $4.28 to start with!  I might pay 10$ for jeans if they are all cotton and fit really well and have lots of wear left and the pockets are actually deep enough to put sh*t in.  Then I wear them ...let's see....a pair lasts 1-2 years for me, and I have 3 pairs in rotation at a time.  So...1/3 of a year I'm wearing each pair.   That's 122 wearings (roughly) per year per pair...but I do wear chore pants on the weekend usually so we'll call it 100 wearings per pair per year.  Even if a pair only lasts the one year, that's 4cents a wearing.  Since I usually wear a pair of jeans for a week and then put them in the wash (they go in sooner if they get sweaty or grubby), I spend less on laundry than most.  Less washing makes clothes last longer and puts less microplastic waste in the water ways.

There are more horrifying factoids like how much fast fashion is thrown out before anyone even buys it!  It is produced, shipped, put up on display, and thrown out!  Wasted clothing, resources, effort.  And still the companies selling this crap make money hand over fist.  So how much is thrown out?  60%  MOST of it.  Cripes.  You can read 20 of the more horrifying factoids here:

https://goodonyou.eco/fast-fashion-facts/

How to reduce clothing waste at the consumer end:

-Inventory what you have.   You will be surprised.

-Don't buy crappy clothes.   They don't last.  Buy clothes that last.  You can do this new or used.  

-If possible, buy clothes produced in a first world nation.  

-If you can, buy local.  

-If you can, make your own!  (I can't sew clothes or knit or crochet.  I am hoping to learn to weave.)

-Buy natural fibers (thereby not contributing to microplastic waste AND enhancing recycling/reusing options)

-Wash judiciously.  I have written about doing laundry well, also do it infrequently.  A good airing is the old febreeze (don't use febreeze). 

-Use the dryer sparingly!  Line drying is better or hanging on hangers or a drying rack.  The sun kills germs for free.  Dryers are hard on clothes and all the "lint" is what used to be the fabric in your clothes.

-Wear what you already own.  Go shopping in the dresser, closet, wherever you keep clothes.  Try them all on.  If something feels good, fits right, looks decent and suits the tasks you expect to do in it, keep it.  If not, donate it or do a clothing swap with friends and neighbors.  Everyone brings clothes that are in good shape and fresh washed, but they don't want anymore.  Best to sort them by garment type and/or size.  Put the clothes around a room, then people can pick what they want.  Try it on, take it to a relative/friend it might fit or work for.   After that, check with a shelter or other social service agency to see if they an use any of it.  

-Try new combinations of what you own.   We get in ruts.

-Remember that people are so worried about themselves they really don't give a crap what you are wearing.  In 2014/2015 I blogged about wearing the same 5 sweaters to work everyday for a month.  It turned into a winter's worth of wearing those sweaters because it was comfy, easy, simplified my morning.  I had a few choices, but not dozens.   And, since I wore an undershirt with the sweater, I washed them once at the start of the season and once at the end of the season.  See above "launder judiciously."

-Borrow clothes if you need a specialty item.  Like a party or wedding or something.  See if you can borrow an item. 

-Thrift and redonate for a special occasion item if you can't borrow something or wear something you already own.  I've done this for the odd wedding.  Like one in the summer when it was SUPER hot and all my "formal" clothes (you know, the ones without holes) are for cooler weather.  So I ran to a thrift store and got a doable linen outfit and sandals for about 10$, wore it, washed it, and redonated it.  

-Change your clothes before you do dirty chores.   Change into older stuff that you are wearing out.  

-Learn to mend clothes.  Good brands of shirts with buttons give you a couple of spare buttons.  They are sewn to the inside of one of the side seams or hooked to the tag at the top along the neckline.  Keep those.  Really good quality clothes come with a bit of spare thread too.  Keep that as well.   Designate a box or drawer for mending thing and put the buttons in there.  When one pops off, watch a youtube and learn how to sew it back on.  (Get your sewing kit at thrift and get cotton, linen or silk thread...polyester and nylon thread are crap.)

-Pick styles and colors and things that YOU like, not what is in fashion at the moment.  Like broom skirts in shades of mustard and puce?  Knock yourself out.  No one really cares.  

-When shopping new or used, check the seams, washing instructions (only chumps buy "dry clean only"), and fabric content.  Pull on the fabric a bit and see if it is sturdy.   Anything weak, frayed or hard to wash isn't worth it. 

-Be willing to reformat a garment to get more wear.  I mentioned my tendency to wear through the cuffs on t-shirts above.  I also wearout the cuffs on sweatshirts.  By the time the cuffs are work to tatters, the shirt is generally too raggedy to wear to work anyway and is a chore shirt or pajamas.  So, cut the cuffs off.  You still have over 90% of the shirt and it is still wearable.  You can cut the sleeves off a hooded sweatshirt when they get too worn and frayed and wear it as a work smock (with cozy hood) for dirty chores like butchering.

There's more but this is a good spot to stop.  

Perfect Poem Performance: Ode to Thrift Stores

 

Ariana Brown...yay!  Thanks to Angela (Hi  Angela!) who sent me a link to a version of this poem.  I think it is the bomb and super true.

Who spends over 10$ on pants?  or 15$ for a coat?

Thrift stores rock.

I do buy my undies new like Ms Brown and most of my shoes, but I have gotten shoes and boots at thrift sometimes.   And I once got undies...new in the package...at a thrift store.  Used undies...not yet. Not yet.  

Looking around the wee shed I see that I paid (or was it Mom?) for the ladder new, and I use it all day every day.    The wee shed was bought new.  Most of the food was purchased new but all at a discount or the cheapest and much of it was grown or shared or whatever.  Not unexamined retail price purchases.  The solar components were bought new.  The laptop I'm typing on was new 10 years ago or more.  Cheap, on clearance, but new.  The non-undies clothes were used or gifts and the occasional deeply discounted new purchase.  One pair of boots was new and only on sale, not clearance. 

Thrift...probably 80% of my wardrobe is from thrift stores.  I was just going through the button down shirts this morning.  I'm down to the ones I like and wear with one exception.  If I don't wear it more, I will regret the 3$ purchase price and pass it on or turn it into a rag.  Most of my t-shirts are gifts or give-aways from events.  I bought the "live long and potlatch" t-shirt in Vancouver BC as a souvenir ages ago.  And one from Ghost Ranch in NM.  One at Silver City ID to commemorate a trip.  The other 20 t-shirts I didn't pay retail within the last decade.  One t-shirt, a jammies shirt now, is from the mid1990s when I was a professor and bought it to support a student group.  

Jeans.  Not a single pair purchased retail. I have one last pair of Carhartt's I bought new, on deep discount.  That was when I lived in Spokane so about 12 years ago.  They are too big right now, so may be turned in to something other than pants soon.

Dish towels and dish cloths all gifts and all lovely.  2 new dish cloths (thanks Anne!) are on the wall as decor until the ones in rotation turn into scraps of yarn.  Like next week.

Other new stuff...some pencils from Portland OR, gotten as a gift souvenir (thanks Pam!) and I still have half of them.  Others used.  Nice pens from Portland, OR (Thanks Chris!).  

Things I paid retail for myself though...um...mostly I just pay retail for things I am giving away, and the aforementioned underpants. Though the undies, those are from TJ Maxx or Ross or another discount store on deep deep discount.  5$ a pair TOPS usually 2$ a pair.  Bras ...same deal.

Coats I'm mostly getting from work lately.  The department buys us one or two a year and I wear them until they are a bit ragged and until a new one shows up.  Then it MIGHT get demoted to a chore coat at home.  I do have one leather coat (suede when I bought it) that I bought new over 20 years ago.  A few years ago I used boot grease to make it more water proof and now it is the perfect leather car coat again.  Dammit!  Bit big and I mostly wear it for chores.  Several coats from thrift including the rubber rain coat (also great for butchering) was 2 or 3$ at thrift.  

Nuts to pay retail all the time unless that is something you really really enjoy.  Have at it.

I will stick with the advice from Ariana and her mom...every thing goes on clearance.  10$ is plenty to pay for a pair of pants.  And mesh that with the Tightwad Gazette advice to have a back stock of clothes from yard sales and thrift and rotate them into play and restock as needed.  It's like a pantry stock of clothes.

Speaking of which.  I need to inventory my pantry and eat more of it.  SO well stocked.  Brought home in shopping baskets and bags that were gifts or thrifts.

101 Money Saving Ideas: Numbers 42-59

To review:  Totally bogarting this series idea from Centsible Living with Money Mom on the youtubes.  She's awesome!  Watch her.

42 A dollar a pound, all year round.  This was part of hint #32 and I want to expand on it again because it really works. It's a food purchasing GOAL but not a hard line. So, what can you get this week at the local grocery stores for 1$/lb or less?  USUALLY potatoes, onions and bananas are available year round so those can be staples. All are flexible.  E.g. my favorite soup is potatoes and an onion.  About 4 medium to large potatoes and 1 medium to large onion.  Dice them up, add 4-5 cups of water.  Boil until tender. Eat.  It's super good when sick or tired or sick and tired (so basically every day for me since I find my fellow humans exhausting).  Change it up with spices, a diced boiled egg, drop a raw beaten egg in there and bring to the boil while stirring to make potato egg drop soup.  A bit of lemon juice, lime juice or vinegar in your bowl just before you eat it will make this incredibly delicious.  Mexican spices, Italian, whatever you have, poultry seasoning you can never seem to use up, a knob of ginger diced up ...ANYTHING is good in here.  Maybe not sugar but who knows.
The left overs turn into mashed potatoes eventually.

What else is 1$/lb or less this week?
24oz loaf of bread for 99cents...that's under 1$/lb
Pasta is right at 1$/lb and as a dried product, cooked up it is even a better savings.
Remember that principle with dried beans too if you have a way to cook them!  1lb of dry beans will make 2-4 lbs of cooked.  Canned beans are often 1$/lb but not nearly as good a deal as the dried.  If you don't have good cooking facilities, canned are the better deal.
Frozen veggies, 99cents/lb
2 jumbo cantaloupes for 5$...WEIGH them.  You're bound to find a couple that are 2.5lbs or more making them 1$/lb or less.  I'm almost ready to start carrying a little hanging scale and old onion bag so I can weigh at the Grocery Outlet and etc where fruit and veg is all by the piece or bag.
You may notice I left out all sugary drinks.  Those are never a deal even at under 1$/lb because they are not nutritious.  But if you must drink them (and sometimes I must), then pay less.
You probably won't find coffee and spices this low so techniques on those later in the list (probably)

43  No Plastic Days.  Just TRY to spend money without acquiring plastic!  You may not spend at all or you may spend less.  Be mindful of packaging and of the plastic coated receipt paper!   Once in a while I shop online but that is just acquiring the plastic later.  Also, usually can't check mail on a "no plastic day" because of those damn little windows in the envelopes.  Those CAN just be open without plastic like they used to be or your address could be on the envelope...like the old days.  If only.  I spend time when watching a movie or youtubes tearing those damn things out so I can burn or recycle the envelope  Aggravating.

44  Write a letter.  Sure, the stamp costs you something, but it takes up time you might be spending or online shopping, and you get ZERO targeted ads based on handwritten letters.  Your emails, facebooks, texts and cell phone calls are scanned and you get targeted ads.  If you manage to turn off the snooping on your own email/phone, etc, likely the person on the receiving end did not.  And you get targeted ads.  Try even talking by someone's smart phone. I like to say things like "Nutterbutter ice cream sandwich" or "artisan" and watch the ads roll in next time I'm on the internet.  Creepy man.  Targeted ads are more effective, that's why they do them.  So get targeted for things you don't use, at least. And at best, avoid being targeted.   People also love getting letters. 

45  Review your insurance(s).  I try to do this once a year or so and see if there are savings, if a rate deal has been dropped (e.g. I need to take another cheap defensive driving course in order to get money off my car insurance).  Call the insurance agency, not just email and online.  Get someone on the phone.  It shocks them.  They might drop it a few dollars.  Maybe get some easy online quotes and see if you can get something cheaper.

46  Can you consolidate some of your items/tasks/bills and save $$?  You never know.  A few years back I reorganized, culled and consolidated 2 storage units into 1 slightly larger than the previous "big" unit (heh heh) which save 50$/month.  I'm going to try another cull to see if I can minimize it again and maybe get down a size again...though I like the location.  But you say...why have a storage unit?  Get rid of that sh*t! Well, yes, ideally (see #47) I would do that.  But alas, living in 135sq feet and wanting my furniture for the house being built as we type, I have it in storage.  I am a genetic hoarder so have to downsize in phases.  That's what works for me,

47  Get rid of crap in storage units.  This saves you the storage costs.  If you are lucky, you can sell some of your crap and/or share it out to people who will appreciate and use it.  In #46 I get defensive about why I am keeping my crap in storage.  And another thing...about a 5'x5' portion, 11' tall, of the storage is "live" storage where I keep things like off season clothes, extra food storage containers, a gift bin so I can buy gifts when they are on sale.  The stuff outside that goes through periodic culls.  I'm working on it.  #genetichoarder!

48  Drink Tap Water.  Guess what is in those bottles and gallons of water you buy...TAP WATER.  Maybe it's spring water and maybe it comes from somewhere with "springs" in the name.  Much of the time it's tap water.  It's EXPENSIVE.  Drink tap water.  I bring tap water from work to my house because I haven't bothered to get the well tested (house! HA!  I flatter the shed sometimes).  It's not hard.  You fill about 1 gallon a day and bring it home for drinking and cooking.  Live on the streets?  Well, then you have bigger issues.  Chlorine in your water?  Air it out a bit or get a filter pitcher AT A THRIFT STORE.  I also generally found the filters, still packaged, at thrift stores.  Also, lots of people drink chlorine water.  Maybe work with your town if you don't want it in there.
So, how much is it to drink bottled water which is total BS on so many levels....at least refill the goddamn bottle.
1 qt of bottled water is about $1.50, maybe a buck.  I get a gallon of distilled (for the solar batteries) for a dollar or so.  We'll be nice and say 1$/day for buying bottled water.   Cost of municipal tap water per gallon?  $0.002  on average.  That's 2 onehundredths of a cent per gallon for well water?  I spent 19,000 or so on the well and solar to run it (but the solar does more).  I use about 500gallons a week in the summer when watering the garden.  Less in the winter or rainy season.  So, let's call it 250gallons a week...250/7 = 35/day.   I've used the well for 5 years and 6 months or so... 19000/5.5years = $3555 per year/365 9.45/day cost for 35 gallons.  9.45/35 =   $0.27per gallon!!! Already cheaper than buying water!! Woot woot!   It gets cheaper every time I use it.  I don't waste it to drive down the cost. I 'm very frugal with my water usage.  Aquafers are precious resources and one does not save money by wasting water.

49  Change clothes when you get home.  I hate doing this but I try.  Right now it's so HOT that I change into thin pants and tissue thin shirts before working around the property after work. Easier to wash those.  I keep "work pants" hanging on a hook all year round.  Those get washed less and are sacrificial pants.  They are meant to be worn out and stained and grubbed up.  Changing out of "office worthy" pants and shirts saves those.  It means I've been wearing the same jeans to work for years and my office shirts last for years too.  Boring, but cheap! 

50  The clothes/fabric use chain.  When clothes DO wear out and are not shareable, tradeable, donateable, then what?  For me, they get torn into rags.  Seams on jeans and the waste band are usually strong even after the fabric rots.  I use them to tie up stuff in the garden.  Since I wear 100% cotton most of the time, or 100% wool/linen/natural if at all possible, these things decompose into the soil eventually rather than being there as plastic bits forever (functionally forever...who knows when that sh*t goes away?).   The main body of the clothes get used as wash clothes or reusable rags until they are so bad they become a 1 use rag to be trashed.  These are good for engine oil checking.  Or for wiping up greasy spills and then being used to start fires (in the woodstove...not just random locations).  Elastic off bras and undies has various uses as well...tie up tomatoes etc.  But, has to be gathered up as it won't decompose in a reasonable amount of time.  I keep a bag on a shelf near the other cleaning products for clothes that need to be rags now.  I fish in there for what I need when I run out of wash clothes, or am crafting, or need to start a fire and paper isn't cutting it to get the kindling going.

51  Do something while you stare at the TV/Computer/Whatever.  Watching a movie or show or random youtubes?  Do something.  Lately I've been folding boxes for mustard samples. You probably don't need to do that, but maybe you have mending or you like to knit.  I like to darn socks while I watch a movie or listen to a book.  Don't have any that need darning right now but I do need mustard sample boxes.  In fact, I'm blogging this during a work webinar.  Maybe I shouldn't but the webinar has repetitive bits so when something is being repeated, I type.  Then tune back in when it's new info.

52  Sell something you like to make/do.  This is new to me, but I'm testing it out.  I like to make mustard so I started selling it.  I'm tracking the money to see if the cost/benefit works out in my favor. It takes time and space, 2 things I don't have lots of to spare.  But, I like doing it.  And so far the mustard is selling at a local farmers market.  I'm just above break-even right now and had to do a price adjustment so we'll see.  Some people cook meals for those without time or space, others do sewing alterations, manual labor, or whatever.  It doesn't hurt and might be worth a try.

53  Keep Long Term Goals In Mind.  These would be financial related mostly.  Like I want to retire some day.  Every day I spend half what I earn, I earn a day of NOT WORKING because I have that amount of money saved (hopefully with interest) to pay for that day of retirement.  This is above and beyond my retirement fund and Social Security.  Another goal is having a house, garden and land the way I want.  I hasn't been super cheap getting toward that and compromises have and continue to be made, but if I keep going the way I'm going, I will get there debt free.  When I was trying to buy land I had a cost per square foot so before I spent $$ on something, I figured out how many square feet of land I could buy instead.  It wasn't totally accurate but it helped keep the spending down.

54  Gratitude moments.  I take a moment now and then when I get discouraged with the thrift and just want a giant expensive meal out or a 7$ iced coffee on a no spend day.  I use that moment to think through things in my personal life that I am grateful for.  Many of them end up having to do with being debt free and having my spending mostly under control.  Like I'm always grateful for being debt free.  A bad day at work is less bad when you know you COULD stomp out in a huff and not come back and still not lose your home.  So far that has meant I did not have to stomp out because I had a better perspective on things.  It keeps me on track.

55  Everything is a choice.  You are not a victim of your debt, your costs, your job, people/charities begging you for money, any loans you've given.  Everything you've done, including inhaling, was a choice.  So, move on.  Make a new choice.  Choose to pay the debt off.  Choose to forgive the loans you handed out unwisely or to openly ask for the money back or to sue the bastards.  Do it.  Choose to learn boundaries and enforce them with money.

56  Free Fruit!  Nice segue.  Or not.  Fruit is getting ripe right now.  Time to put the apple picker in the car and the eyes peeled for random fruit trees along the road, in people's yards, in parks.  Always ask if the tree looks like someone owns it or in a town park.  And be mindful of pesticide and herbicides that might be on them.  People spit pits out windows for generations so lots of apples and pears along highways, old RR beds, trails.  Many are delicious.  Some are crap.  Taste them if you feel comfortable.  If it looks like the area has been sprayed (lots of dead veg and/or few bugs) then I pass it up.  But often I pick them.  You get pesticides on grocery fruit too.  Wash it.  Make your own choices (see #55).  A friend has a cherry tree and calls people to pick each year.  I go and I share out the fruit and eat some.  Spent yesterday evening picking serviceberries (which are late this year) and eating them.  Some went into vinegar which will preserve them and flavor the vinegar.  I'll get more for several evenings in a row here.  Other berries are getting ripe.  Pick them.  When someone offers you their home grown fruit say yes, and thank you and enjoy and share something back sometime.

57  Free meat!  I help a friend butcher chickens and ducks and will help her butcher whatever comes up next.  I learn something and always get a bit of free meat with the new skills.  Sometimes I invest in meat with her, like when she bought ducks so grow and butcher.  I paid in for some of the ducks and helped with the meat production.  That wasn't free, but was cheap.  Some people grab roadkill. I haven't yet, but I'm all for it and someday hope to run across a fresh kill when I have my knife and something to put it in.

58  Free veg!  It's zucchini time here.  When someone asks if I want some, I say yes and take it.  Fry it, eat it raw, dry it, bake it, put it in soup.  It's good food.  Eat it.  If you have a freezer, shred it and freeze it.  Drying is my favorite because it becomes differently delicious in soups later.  Also just eating it as dried chips is good.  Don't forget mushrooms and other wild food you can gather beyond the berries noted above.  I know mushrooms aren't really veg but I didn't want to do another entry on this.  Enough already.

59  Grow some flavor.  A pot of herbs or an herb garden, some onions, garlic, peppers, or other flavory things in the garden or a pot will help with all that free zucchini.  And with flavoring that potato soup or other cheap food soups.  Herbs and spices are expensive, buy some seeds or learn to start them from cutting.  I hear you can root bits of basil from plant cuttings.  Maybe.  I have thyme, chives, tarragon, oregano, fennel, horseradish, radishes, 2 types of sage...no 3 types of sage, garlic, walking onions, sorrel (wild and garden), and probably more that I'm not thinking of.   Those all really help when I am grabbing a handful of greens to fry up or make salad.  Grab the herbs or garlic tops or an onion leaf (are the green things on onions leaves?  Blades?)  Anyway, it's cheap and healthy.  I have so much thyme I can dry it for the winter and have tasty soup all year. 

Random Thoughts on Pants

Even Carhartt is making their pants stretchy.  Dang.  I'm down to 4 pairs of pants that more or less fit and have zero stretchiness to them.
Turns out, lack of stretch is more important to me than fit or cost.

One pair of my current jeans is a men's Levi's without stretch, but they are boot cut and tight on my lady thighs. But they are 100% cotton and the pockets are full size.

Tiny pockets are the other loser in women's jeans.

Another pair is flannel lined. They are lady jeans, straight leg, decent size pockets and no stretch.  With the flannel, they are only good for winter but I was thinking I could get another pair and cut the flannel out.  Alas, they are discontinued.  The new model is stretchy.  WTF?  Two layers of stretchy, because the flannel is also stretchy, would be like wearing tights over pantyhose. 

My third pair is ancient Carharrt lady jeans in 100% cotton.  The pockets are a bit small.  Apparently because girl car keys are smaller than man car keys.  Whatever.  They are long enough, and shapeless, but they don't have stretch so I wear them.  Somehow I tore the shin wide open, only on the pants, not my actual shin, and these are not double fronts.  So, I patched it with scraps of previous non-stretchy jeans.  The seams are frayed and there are parts of those jeans that are so thin you could read newsprint through them.  So, not long for this world.

The final pair is a set of lady, short waisted, medium leg length, 100% cotton double front Carhartts.  The holy grail of pants for me.  If they were inches longer, they would be perfect.
But, they aren't. 
I tried ordering a brand new pair of these, paying retail (well, sale retail but it's so rare I don't buy thrift and instead get on the internet and order pants that it's newsworthy, or blogworthy).  35$ including shipping.  That's a lot for a garment in my book. 

I read the reviews that these run BIG.  I was about an 8 by the size chart so I ordered a 4.  Well, gentle reader, you and I could have both put those on..  They were a 34 inseam so that was good, but I could take them off without unzipping.  And the leg opening.  I like a straight leg on my trousers.  These were oddly HUGE at the bottom.  Like so huge they would catch on crap.
Still, they were nice hard cotton double fronts and I had to pay to send them back so I get back on line to see if there is a size 2 long left.  Nope.  In fact, they never made the 2 in a long.  Crap.  I don't want to pay retail for inadvertent capris.

I have worn men's carhartts.  They are tough and last well and are available long enough, but rarely in a small enough waist size.  Not many men apparently wear a 30x34.  When they do, the rise is about 2 feet long so they button right to my bra.  I could cut armholes just below the waist band.

There is a company in Montana now that will make real hard cotton pants.  Red Ants Pants.
The pants are 139$, but they are 100% cotton, double front, double butt, gusseted crotch, come in a straight cut, full size pockets, have a longer inseam option, and are made in the USA.  So, we'll see.  Perhaps I will use christmas money for a pair.

Wranglers do make a few styles in 100% cotton.  So far all the options I've tried, including the men's option, were way too big in the butt and waist by the time I got my thighs in them.  I suppose I could use a hula hoop instead of a belt and carry my groceries around in the resulting waist basket.  They fit like clown pants with tight legs.  I tried a pair I got from a thrift store with new tags on them.  Alas, I took them back after 1 wearing.  The bubble butt and tight thighs caused a problem different from the stretchy pants.  Stretchy pants ride down all day, requiring lots of yanking up and the pantyhose squat move (where you have to grab the waist, yank up with all your might while doing a wide stance squat, then stand back up, still yanking.  This gets the crotch back up in the vicinity of your actual crotch).  With the thin thigh big butt wranglers, the pants rode UP all day.  I spent my day doing the wedgy hop (where you grab the butt crack seam and yank down while hopping up a bit, then grab the thigh fabric and shimmy it down a bit).   These activities BOTH piss me off. So, sorry wranglers, unless you acknowledge that some women have thighs without the bubble butt, we're over.

Once again, I may end up getting tailored pants.   I tried that through Lands End once.  It took a half dozen returns and turn arounds and eventually I got workable pants that were long enough and straight enough.  I got compliments.  Alas, they would not go short enough in the rise. They weren't truly tailored, it was a computer program that made a one-off pattern. I fell outside the allowable limits.  So, while the pants looked good, they were gouging by ribs every time I wore them. 

If anyone knows a good tailor who will make my new blue jeans...let me know.

She Thrifts...She SCORES!

I needed brown slacks for an upcoming trip where my aunt (Hi Chris!) warned me that we're going to a "NO JEANS ALLOWED" restaurant. I thought I had an outfit that would work.  But then I tried it on...it "fit" but it made me look like I had narrow shoulders and a giant rear...basically the opposite of my actual linebacker-build.  So, I needed a new pair of pants to go with the 25cent thrift shirt I got a few weeks ago (Eddie Bauer cranberry colored button down blouse).  I tried the goodwill and sure enough, REI brown pants in my size!  They look new but no tags.  20$ to start...that tag color was on 1/2 price...down to 10$.  I whipped out my "20% off coupon" from donating stuff ...BAM!  8$ pants.  Nice.  

I do realize that these aren't formal.  And yet, I'm going to wear them.  They are a nice chocolate brown, smooth fabric, and easy to pack. 

 In summer I bet they will be my "go to" pants for days at work.  I always need sturdy outdoorsy pants for the archaeology parts of my job.

The 25cent shirt may never be matched. It is an actual nice shirt.  Not a "sturdy" shirt.  Pretty rare that I get one of those but seriously.  25cents!  New.  Eddie Bauer.  And it fits.  It will cost more to wash it than to buy it.  It and the pants are thin fabrics so they will pack nicely for the trip.

I've got another trip in March and I'm sure the outfit will get wear then as well.

I think the pants will go nicely with my various REI and Eddie Bauer work button downs with pit-zip vents. Those are the bomb for the hot flashes.  I wish they weren't nylon, but what are you going to do?  So far they are wearing well and easy to wash even in a sink.  They dry super fast.  I should plan that walking trip across Scotland while I've got these nice packable garments.

With 3 shirts, jeans, the brown pants, and a few tank tops to wear under, I can get by for weeks. (also socks, undies, bras and shoes....obviously)

Massive Thrift Store Blowout SAVINGS! (and a coupon..woohoo!)

Sometimes I go to the thrift store with a list either written or in my head.

On the list yesterday was a safety orange jacket with the reflective strips so I don't have to wear my stupid old vest with the velcro that grabs my hair during the winter.  It messes with hoods and isn't as visible as it was when it was new.

Also, I wanted a tiny camping espresso maker because they are tiny and I am building up a wee collection of thrift find tiny coffee makers, or at least interesting ones.  So far I use them all.

I'm only out about 30$ for the following:

2 travel mug coffee presses (press the coffee right in the mug and off you go).  One is a 25$ (new...2$ to me) stainless number that I use EVERY DAY.  The handle came off a month or two ago so now it's a tumbler.  The other I use more for tea and I think the plastic isn't going to last as long, but it was a buck or 2 and is good for when I have visitors which is pretty damn rare.

A 2 cup aluminum vintage/antique stove top percolator with tiny percolator filters.  2.84 (3$ with tax...love the store that does that even though I find them oppressively christian otherwise)

Small stove top Biali style maker that does 2 espresso cups worth.  There is an even tinier one...I have my eye on yours Diana...if it goes missing you should just ransack my shed and it will be in there.  Last time I pet sat for the aforementioned Diana I drank WAY WAY too much coffee so I could keep making it one demitasse at a time.  Mine was about 2$ and I've used it for years now. I had a bigger one as well but it went in one of the downsizings.  Someone else was probably thrilled to get it.

A 2nd large size stainless steel press, but this is a camping model that makes 2 or 3 cups worth at once.  It's a bit much but I knew it was over $40 new and I got it for about 3 dollars.  Use it tons.  For those who care, it is Planetary Design like the travel press stainless steel mug (now tumbler)


And just to keep the Planetary Design theme going, I found one of their desk press styles (slightly larger capacity because it doesn't have the little spot for extra coffee grounds to make a second cup on the go...) BUT it was missing the internal pressy bit.  The two presses I already own from this company have the press bits and both fit this so...no problemo.  3$ to me $33 new.  Etc.

OBVIOUSLY, a tiny stove top espresso maker was in order.  I had one ages ago and got rid of it either in a downsize or a move or something. Also, not so handy to use as they splatter everywhere while making coffee so it's just for use outside or in the camper, not in the shed.

It looks like this:

It was 4$..spendy, but it is BRAND NEW, never used, and I got a wee mug (probably the one it came with) for 1$, so it was the whole set.  This is GSI Outdoors brand and costs 30$ new if it's aluminum (I think it is) and 40$ new if it is stainless steel (it is quite shiny...).  The tiny cup is about $4 new.  So that's 5$ for a 34$ or 44$ item...and I'm already enjoying it.  Will make espresso with it soon.

The other item on the list, the safety jacket, was a big surprise.  I NEVER find those.  Sometimes I see a safety t-shirt or vest, generally in some gigantic size. This is the nylon rain jacket, orange, with full striping...in MEDIUM!!!!  It's dude medium but whatever.  It goes over a coat OK, though maybe not a giant puffy coat.  With the sleeves with double reflective stripes, it is more visible than the vest.  And with the crap lining, it is surprisingly warm...thanks petroleum!  Best to stay away from flames, sparks, and friction as I'm pretty sure it's flammable.  $26 New cost...$8 thrift cost...BUT WAIT!  There's more!!!
I had a 20% off coupon for donating to this thrift store (Goodwill, Moscow, Idaho) and they apply it to the most expensive item.  SO I got $1.60 off...$6.40.  I've already worn it.

DEAR UNIVERSE: GET YOUR SPANDEX OUT OF MY PANTS! ...Redux

I got a new comment on the original post so I thought I'd do an update or whatever it is when you discuss something again.

It seems, per the above mentioned comment, that the spandex scourge has spread to BOY JEANS!  MAN PANTS!  That wasn't the direction it needed to go.  It needed to go away. 

And yet, in the past several months I have found several pairs of jeans in thrift of course, that are 100% cotton!  Imagine my joy.  Part of it is I'm slightly thinner and even one size smaller increases the selection whether thrift or retail.

One pair is a practically new pair of abercrombie and fitch.  I would not normally wear that brand, and yet, they are cotton and they fit.  Others are ralph lauren, which I've known for a while has a model that fits my physique reasonably well.  And finally, yesterday, I found the holy grail of 100% cotton thrift girl pants....carhartt. Wow.  They are basically new, though no tags.  Girl pants in the lower waisted (I have possibly the shortest waist on the planet), yet 34" length.  Hard to get even in retail.  They were, by my standards, extremely expensive.  $6.00.  With no discounts available.  But you don't leave that in the store.  The company does not make this model anymore sans spandex but with straight legs and a low waist.  Even some of their double front pants have spandex.  WTF?  Seriously carhartt (I'll capitalize that when you start showing ME some respect and make real pants again).  Stop with the stretchy BS.  I do not want baggy knees and butt, looking like I dropped a load over lunch, halfway through my work day. I also wear work pants multiple days, but try that with your spandex nonsense and I end up with pants that are only the intended diameter at the calf.  Jodhpurs anyone?  I suppose it would be handy if I had a sudden case of diarrhea and had to walk home.  Wouldn't leak out on my shoes.

Anyway, these are great. I'd rather have the brown version, but one takes what one can get when one does not want spandex.

As for the stretchy man pants.  Yes, I agree with my commenter and would go as far as calling them an abomination.  I have been shopping the men's racks for 100% cotton jeans for a few years, with limited success but it was better than the women's stretchy pants.  And now, I must be ever vigilant over there.  It's a shame because even in the thrift world, men's clothes are cheaper.  Just like in retail. 

Liar Liar Pants On Fire!

I'm NOT a liar.  My actual pants were on fire.  Apparently really on fire for reals.
I like to heat up my jammies and my morning outfits on the woodstove.  Usually the stove isn't that warm, much less HOT like FIRE.  Anyway.  My jammies are/were a hooded sweatshirt, sweat pants, and knee high wool sox. For some reason I didn't warm up the sweatshirt.  I must have already had that on.  For some other reason, I put the sox on then got distracted before I put on the pants.  Also non-standard for me is/was owning partly polyester sweat pants.  I normally try to go with all natural fibers. But I had grabbed these at a thrift store and compromised my principles.  To my detriment as it turns out.

So, the stove was much much hotter than normal.  The pants sat on there for more than a minute.  The sox actually also got scorched but I hadn't noticed that yet.  The pants were charred.  I tried folding the charred bit to the inside to smother the issue but they were pretty hot and stinky and when I looked...quite a bit was scorched.  So, being tired, I threw them out the door into the rain.  Then I found some long underwear and went to bed.

When I got up I left the house and was looking for the pants.  No where to be found.  There was a scorched spot on the ground (which is covered by an old coir rug...so really a scorched spot on the rug). It was windy, but not THAT windy.  Eventually I notice some charred bits off to the side caught in a wet shrubbery.  Uh...those were the remains.  The pants BURNED UP ENTIRELY...or almost entirely.
My pants were on fire.  I doubt there were flames.  I think I would have noticed flames and I doubt they flared up in the rain after I threw them out the door into the rain onto the soggy rug/ground.

I could have called this entry "liar liar totally scorched pants" but that didn't have the same ring somehow.

Bit More Solar Cookery and a Laundry Drying Triumph

So, in no particular order let's start with the bread and breadlike products:


 This bread was quite heavy since I made with 100% sprouted whole wheat flour, a bit of yeast, salt and water.  That's it.  It rose really fast due to extreme heat.  I punched it down and threw it in.  Then it didn't rise so much but it's QUITE good.  And it is keeping well.  I've left it in the pan (metal plus lid equals mouse proof...also, I took it in to work with a jar of almond butter I got on super sale to use for lunches this week)

This is service berry bread!  Service berries are similar to huckleberries or blueberries but grow on tall bushes and are easy to harvest.  IF you beat the birds to them.  It took me 3 or 4 days to accumulate a cup and a half.  Birds love them and I'm not going to put netting over random shrubs and make life harder for the birds this year.  Anyway, first I soaked the berries in my homebrewed honey vinegar to make a sort of shrub liquid to add to water, ginger ale, whatever.  It's delicious.  The berries are of course still good and a bit tangy.  I drained off the shrub and used the berries in this. 














The berries are a bit vinegary and tart, in a good way.  So I cut out one egg and added extra baking soda.  The soda mixes with the vinegar as leavening.  The vinegar made for a less sweet bread.  I'm liking it a lot.  In fact, it was gone in 3 days.  It was also made with all sprouted whole wheat flour but was not too heavy.  Quite moist.  Here's a view of it cut.

It was baked in a stainless steel fridge container with a slide on lid (hello mouse proof!) which made it easy to transport and works super well in the solar cooker.  I left the lid on for about an hour then took it off for a bit to let the top get a bit more crusty like I like it.

This and the bread above were cooked the same day.   The oven ran about 325 steadily without too much turning or aiming. I was a totally sunny clear day with almost no smoke or dust haze.  I'm not sure why the oven wasn't hotter.  I may need to do a better job getting dust off the mirrors and glass cone.

Here's an earlier whole wheat bread that was WAY too heavy.  I still ate it though.














The cooker was running even hotter that day and things got a tad burned.

Below is yet another bread.  This one part high gluten flour to help along the sprouted wheat flour.  It turned out fabulous.  The downside was i ate it all way way too fast.

 In the skillet is a squash and amaranth frittata (my word for stuff in eggs, baked or fried).  It was actually SO hot and sunny that day that when I opened the cooker and took the lid off the skillet to check the frittata, it was sizzling!  The cooker easily hit 375F that day.  Putting the cast iron skillet with lid in there, I suspect the frittatta was a bit hotter than that.

All this cooking was in the "Death Ray" or "Solar Chef".

I do still use the cardboard box corner with foil cooker to make my weekend coffee.  It isn't ready at 8am, but a lovely cup of coffee at 9:30 or 10 is a good reason for a break from hauling garden water or fretting about plans or whatever.   I was talking to Gramma last weekend as I drank that coffee and since I don't bother with careful filtering as I pour it into a cup, I noted that I had hit the grounds.  She said her dad's answer to that was another spoon of sugar and then chew.  I hadn't added any sugar but I may try it with the grounds.


And finally...my laundry triumph:














2 loads of laundry on the awesome 6$ thrift store purchased rack! (the same one that was inside before) Yeay!  That saved me about 4$.  And wear and tear on the clothes.  And I must say I much prefer the smell of sun and breeze on my clothes to leftover-bounce from public laundromat dryers.  These euro style drying racks are more compact than the american ones.  So far it's holding up well.  The cardboard under it is in case something fell off.  And to keep the grass/hay seeds off my clothes.  I spend too much time picking pine needles and seeds out of surprising places.

Wee Clothing Experiment Update

NO ONE HAS SAID A WORD! 

All those years worrying about repeating and outfit (OK...I spent far less time on this than most but there was still some lost time in my life) and no one gives a flying crap.  Apparently.

Could it be that the rules I've been following since I got this job 10 years ago actually work:

Wear Clothes That Are:

1) Clean (at least smell clean)...I haven't washed the sweaters since last spring but I never wear them without an undershirt of some sort and I take them off when I get home or change into another shirt before into a particularly dirty situation.  Other than gardening and the like, I always wear clean clothes.

2) Work Appropriate.  No cleavage (boob or butt) at work (that goes for you too, fellas).  Not overly tight anywhere.  It just looks bad.

Um....that might actually be it...I guess I also try to wear clothes that I'm comfortable in.

Personal Pantry Challenge Lessons Part 1 (and an update on the Wee Clothing Experiment)

So, I've been doing a Personal Pantry Challenge.   By "personal" I just mean that I'm going it alone, not competing against anyone.

A "Pantry Challenge" is an attempt to eat what one has on hand.  Some people do NO supplementing from the grocery store.  Some people go ahead and buy fresh fruit and vegetables, or meat.  Some people eat lunch out or otherwise eat some meals/snacks elsewhere.  Some people go for extreme orthodoxy and eat ONLY WHAT IS ON HAND. 

Here's what I have been doing.

After coming back from a vacation with friends (Hi guys!), I felt a bit bloated from so much good food, and coffee and other treats.  So, I figured it would be a good time to take on a simpler eating plan for a bit.  Let things settle, you know? 

First I took an informal inventory.  I looked through the cupboards, on the shelf of home canned goods, in the fridge and in the freezer.  I had much food.  Some dehydrated, some dry goods, some home canned, a bit of store canned, some home ferments, plenty of condiments and spices, coffee, tea, and so on.  I didn't have much meat, no eggs, and no fresh fruit or vegetables.

It looked like I could do 2 weeks without much suffering if I added a bit of fresh. I could live for a couple of boring and very high fiber months if I really needed to but this is not a mission from god.

I decided on a grocery list of a dozen local pastured eggs, some greens, 2or 3 onions, and a week's worth of apples.  At the store I found that local pastured eggs were out of stock so I went with organic eggs, as large as I could get.

That was on January 6th. I managed to get out of the store with just what was on the list...and some extra rolls of toilet paper because I hadn't checked my stock on that and didn't want to have to run into a food store while not buying food.  I knew I'd get antsy to shop a bit.

As I type it is January 18th. (Probably won't get this posted for a few days though).

So far so good!  I ran out of fresh veg yesterday.  I went ahead and used up the last 1/4 of an onion and the last few carrots in a lunch frittata.  It was nice!  Overall I've eaten well and actually had some trouble keeping the calories down to a reasonable level as I ran out of fresh fruit and vegetables in the past few days.   I remembered that I had clover, alfalfa and broccoli seeds for sprouting and got a couple of jars of those going.  The first half of a batch of sprouts went on the frittata yesterday and the crunch was nice.  I'll be making a salad of them tomorrow.

I also remembered my lentils.  I had a jar of black beluga lentils for a year.  I didn't know what to do with them.  As I got ran low on other things I checked the internet and decided to do lentils and grain.  I cooked the lentils just in water and made more than needed for the recipe.  Extras went into the freezer in small containers and a few in the freezer soup container.  More on that in a moment.

The only grain I had other than flour, having eaten the last of the quinoa already, was what I thought was bulgur.  Turned out it was just cracked wheat.  I cooked it as though it was bulgur and it got a tad mushy...but was still delicious on the lentils!  I mixed the lentils into it, threw on a mixed southwestern spice that an aunt had sent me and it was delicious!  The black lentils stayed lentil shape rather than getting mushy.  True even when reheated after freezing.

I cooked up my last meat 2 days ago...a pound of local sage pork sausage.  Yum.  I had it with tomato sauce (made from home canned tomatoes, home dehydrated tomatoes, garlic from my garden, some onion, and various spices).  I had no pasta and no flour that would work for noodles (I wasn't willing to try 100% whole wheat noodles and risk wasting flour and an egg), but I did have a GIANT daikon radish that has been in the fridge since mid October.  It was growing new leaves so I figured it was not rotten.  I had checked the internet and saw that I could just blanch strips of it to use as "vegetable spaghetti" so I tried that.  It worked fine!  I used a vegie peeler to make strips, peeling away the outer skin first and using the inner bits as spaghetti.  It was good.  And super filling...and high fiber.  This has been a gassy experiment overall.

The last couple of days have featured freezer soup supplemented with dehydrated vegies.  For those not in the know, freezer soup is concocted of the remains of whatever you've eaten in the past while.  You keep a container in the freezer, I used a bowl with tin foil cover this time, and put in the little bits and bobs and ends you have left when cooking other things. I had a bit of unclarified, slightly fatty, duck stock.  On that was some bits of bok choy that didn't fit in the pan when I was making a stir fry a while back.  And the remains of the stir fry.  A few of those lentils.  The end of an onion that I didn't feel was worth chopping into an omelet or anything and yet was about to go bad so I chopped it into the freezer soup rather than throw it out. I saw some carrots in there too.  I threw in a spoonful of the sausage because sausage is always good.  When it was soup day, I fried some garlic (because a bit of fried garlic or onion or both really helps a soup), emptied the freezer soup container into the pan, added water to thin out the fatty stock quite a bit.  Then added some dehydrated mushrooms, tomatoes, and a bunch of herbs until it smelled good. It was really delicious and I ate on it for 3 meals.  I had a few corn/whole-wheat/coconut flour muffins (using up the dregs of flour around the place) which were dry and unappealing as muffins, but quite good dipped in soup.

There have been a few more creative cooking successes, and a few failures (coconut oil, honey and cocoa do NOT make good truffles no matter how pretty the picture in the magazine looks...and that was the actual recipe...it would be a decent ganache though...) but we'll leave those for another post.

The PPC (personal pantry challenge) has thus far yielded quite a few good lessons that I want to remember so I'm putting them here:

1) Putting left over soup in pint jars makes packing lunch in the morning much easier, faster, and more likely to happen.

2) Muffins are handy and cheap, but lots of calories.

3) Chia pudding!  I'd forgotten how much I like this.

4) Freezer soup is good and worth the effort.

5) Onions are crucial (the next few days will be less tasty without fresh onions).

6) Sprouts make good fresh food in the winter (and are cheap).

7) Lentils with cracked wheat is an excellent dish!

8) Lentils!  In general these are cheap and quick and when dry have an essentially infinite shelf life.  I may make "sloppy lentils" (like sloppy joes) if today's 100% rye bread works out.

9) Keeping things visible is a good option for me.  I had forgotten things in the cupboards, but knew what was on the open shelves.  Since I keep almost everything in a glass jar or metal tin (take that mice and bugs!) I may just go with open shelves in my imaginary future cabin.

10) Condiments, sauces, spices, herbs, and the like alleviate boredom.  A bit of lemon juice or nice vinegar added to the bowl will cure almost any bland soup.  A bit of kim chi really helps the scrambled eggs and in a pinch makes a salad dressing.

There are many more lessons but we'll stop there for now.

Clothing Experiment Update:  I'm still doing it and STILL no one at work has noticed.