Why not mend your clothes, instead of throwing them away? It's better for the environment (fabric production contributes to a great deal of environmental pollution) less wasteful, and heads us away from being a disposable culture.
A cheap sewing machine costs $70 (roughly equal to two new pairs of jeans) and while it won’t be a great machine, it’ll get the job done. That machine will last for years and years of light duty, and if it prolongs the life of your clothing, then eventually it’ll more than pay for itself. If you spend a little more and get one that does automatic darning, you can mend your clothes so well that the repairs barely show. You can buy sewing machines used off of eBay if you’d like. Often you can get working sewing machines from yard sales, or craigslist, freecycle or from elderly relatives. If you are looking to invest in a better machine, please go to a sewing machine store, one that offers free lessons. I got a Janome HT2008 for $350. (If you think that's expensive - I saw one in the store that cost $8K).
Unfortunately, there are some careers where it's just not appropriate to wear mended clothing. Corporate executives cannot, and there are certainly many other careers where mended clothing cannot be worn. If you are in that situation, why not mend the clothes yourself and wear them during off hours? Or if you don't want to sew (in which case, buying a machine would be silly), then you can pay someone else to mend your clothing. You can usually find someone to do mending or alterations at your local dry cleaner. This contributes to the local economy and supports small businesses, without adding another sewing machine to a landfill. If you just cannot wear the clothing once it's been mended, (who would want to wear a suit off hours?) then donate the mended clothing to Goodwill or the like.
However, if you ARE in a job or career that doesn't preclude mended clothes, be proud of your mended clothes and don’t be afraid to wear them out of the house.
I just learned how to mend my husband’s jeans. If you’re interested, I blogged about the experience here. Though after mending 6 pairs of jeans, I’m pretty sick of it!
And for those even more ambitious, there’s a trend among sewers to rework old clothes into something new and unique (a practice called "upcycling"). Here's some reading to get you going:
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Vending Machines in schools
I can't tell you how appalled I am at the existence of most vending machines in schools. They are full of food that is simply bad for you, and the schools (and the companies providing the machines or food) are profiting on the ill-health of our children.
Doesn't that seem like a conflict of interest? The schools are supposed to be teaching our kids the things they need to know to successfully navigate through life (and honestly, good nutrition seems like a better investment for most kids, than the quadratic equation) yet they don't teach them much about proper nutrition, and make pop and candy and other junk food freely available.
Some school administrations point to the large sources of revenue that vending machines provide, and we all know that schools are usually running shy of funds. But it's just wrong for them to be profiting on and encouraging the kids' a) ill-health and b) lack of self-control and c) making incorrect choices. We have an epidemic of obesity in this country that affects our youth in two ways. The first is that they are learning the habits of adulthood, so even if they aren't overweight now, they are forming habits that will hurt them later. The second is that many of the kids are already overweight, and we are just enabling them to continue their poor eating habits.
So how should schools handle this? Short of ditching the machines entirely, get rid of the pop. Put in bottled water, even some flavored waters. Put healthy choices into the food machines. I recently saw a vending machine with carrot sticks in it. Granola bars, while not great, aren't bad. Just get the ones low in sugar, please.
Schools, please make these changes. Parents, write to your school board and demand (politely) that they do something about this problem.
And one final note - my stepson's teachers believe in rewarding the kids with candy. Stop it. Candy is bad for them, and their behavior tends to get worse with bad foods, rather than better. And you are teaching them to strive to get the candy, not to do what's right.
Doesn't that seem like a conflict of interest? The schools are supposed to be teaching our kids the things they need to know to successfully navigate through life (and honestly, good nutrition seems like a better investment for most kids, than the quadratic equation) yet they don't teach them much about proper nutrition, and make pop and candy and other junk food freely available.
Some school administrations point to the large sources of revenue that vending machines provide, and we all know that schools are usually running shy of funds. But it's just wrong for them to be profiting on and encouraging the kids' a) ill-health and b) lack of self-control and c) making incorrect choices. We have an epidemic of obesity in this country that affects our youth in two ways. The first is that they are learning the habits of adulthood, so even if they aren't overweight now, they are forming habits that will hurt them later. The second is that many of the kids are already overweight, and we are just enabling them to continue their poor eating habits.
So how should schools handle this? Short of ditching the machines entirely, get rid of the pop. Put in bottled water, even some flavored waters. Put healthy choices into the food machines. I recently saw a vending machine with carrot sticks in it. Granola bars, while not great, aren't bad. Just get the ones low in sugar, please.
Schools, please make these changes. Parents, write to your school board and demand (politely) that they do something about this problem.
And one final note - my stepson's teachers believe in rewarding the kids with candy. Stop it. Candy is bad for them, and their behavior tends to get worse with bad foods, rather than better. And you are teaching them to strive to get the candy, not to do what's right.
Courage
I just bought a book for my six-year-old daughter. Courage
written and illustrated by Bernard Waber. It's a cute book that starts (and ends) like this:
written and illustrated by Bernard Waber. It's a cute book that starts (and ends) like this:There are many kinds of courage. Awesome kinds. And everyday kinds. Still, courage is courage -- whatever kind . . . . Courage is what we give to each other.This is a great book to get little kids thinking about what it means to be courageous, finding the will to do scary or risky things. Like standing up for the kid being picked on, instead of safely remaining a bystander. Like standing up for yourself when you are the one being bullied. Maybe if more kids are raised with these ideas, then those of us who are scared to try something for fear of failure (yes, I'm speaking of myself) might be better prepared to... just do it.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Help an entrepreneur in a developing nation
Kiva is a site/organization on the net that allows you to loan money to individuals in the developing world. Here's what they say:
We've loaned some money through Kiva, and it seems to be an awesome organization. It's one of the few ways I've seen for people to directly help folks in need in developing nations. Check them out.
What is Kiva?
Kiva lets you lend to a specific entrepreneur in the developing world - empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty. Each pre-screened entrepreneur is hard-working and hopes to create a sustainable livelihood. All they need is a small loan. Choose an entrepreneur. Loan as little as $25. Receive updates. Get repaid as the business succeeds.
We've loaned some money through Kiva, and it seems to be an awesome organization. It's one of the few ways I've seen for people to directly help folks in need in developing nations. Check them out.
Be polite. Even when the other person is rude.
One of the most powerful things that people can do to make this a better world is this: Be polite. Be respectful. Show courtesy even — and this is the really hard part — when it’s not returned. For one thing, being courteous and respectful even in the face of rudeness is a GREAT way to stop the escalation of meanness that we so often see.
I read the following in an essay by Greg Knauss, which is included in a book called Things I Learned About My Dad.
The book is pretty good. It has lots of good stuff about parenting, but has lots of other good stuff too:
So let's avoid being thoughtless and arrogant. Being nice is well... nice.
I read the following in an essay by Greg Knauss, which is included in a book called Things I Learned About My Dad.
The book is pretty good. It has lots of good stuff about parenting, but has lots of other good stuff too:If disobedience is maddening because it's active and open defiance, and lying is maddening because it's sneaky and covert dismissal, then rudeness is maddening because it's thoughtless and self-satisfied arrogance. Oh, were you there? How about that? You don't like having your dinner interrupted with an air horn? Huh. How, exactly does that affect me?
So let's avoid being thoughtless and arrogant. Being nice is well... nice.
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