9 days into January and I’m beginning to have more compassion for the Kelly of last year who, without a resolution to tackle things that annoy me that could be fixed, didn’t roll up her sleeves for every nuisance. Because things that look deceptively simple to fix are not always so simple.
What I assumed would be a quick download to set up mobile banking for my kids’ savings accounts so I could deposit money they’d received for Christmas ended up requiring four phone calls and then a physical trip to the bank to open my own checking account (savings accounts aren’t eligible for mobile deposits, apparently). It took another phone call and then an online e-signature to set up paperless statements. BUT – now I can deposit gifts from family into my checking account and then transfer them into their savings and I won’t get paper mail that I have to shred after I do it. So… it’s done, yay, but I get why I didn’t feel like tackling it earlier. Because these things can be a pain.
Other “fix it” things this week were easier and more fun.
Wasting less food: I ordered some produce saver containers to try to keep my celery and cilantro crisp in the fridge for longer. Because while my kids have been great sports about eating ants on a log whenever the celery is about to go limp, it’s nice when it lasts and is available for soup and snacks when we actually want it.
I also used my existing silicone stasher bag to store peeled ginger in the freezer where it won’t shrivel up before we eat it. Frozen ginger is actually easier to grate and keeps for months in the freezer.
In the fun category, I feel like I want to wear leggings more but don’t have many flattering winter options to wear with them. So I went to a local consignment shop and scored a soft, cozy sweater dress. Consignment shopping is guilt-free shopping at its finest. The environmental side is great because you’re not producing consumer demand for new clothing and things are not being shipped to the store or to you in plastic bags, and the economic side is great because you’re paying a fraction of the original price.
I also got another dress, a beach cover-up, a teal button-down shirt made by a company that retails for about $200 originally for which I paid $6, and a sleeveless sequined top that begs to be worn out for cocktails. I think it would enjoy a cosmopolitan but I could also see it ordering a manhattan (whiskey with a cherry on top? yes please).
If you’ve never shopped consignment, it might be because… you’re worried it will smell like someone else’s closet. I’ve found overwhelmingly that everything I buy second-hand smells like dry cleaning chemicals. Not dirty, but not like it belongs to me, either. I solve that by using an enzyme based detergent and following their soaking instructions.
Poof! Goodbye dry cleaning smell. It says it’s designed for active wear, I have found it works great both on running stuff that could use a deep clean and on consignment items. I’ve even used it on hand wash only stuff and then rinsed by hand and laid flat to dry.
And since it’s Veganuary – here are some things I ate this week!
