In honor of No Waste Week, I am going to take the opportunity to confess my frugal transgressions to The Non-Consumer Advocate community. And no, I don’t need to back more than a month to find an example. This occurrence happened in August. I could start making my excuses now, but perhaps I should start from the very beginning.
My 12-year-old son is a slave to fashion. I had thought that I would be spared the inconvenience of parenting kids who care about this kind of fluff since I only have boys. But sadly, this is not the case. He is particular about everything from his sneakers (Vans) to his jeans, (Levi’s skinny jeans.) Luckily, these brands are popular enough that they’re easy to find from local thrift stores.
Having said that, finding used sneakers in my son’s size is always a challenge. Add to that that I only buy used shoes that look new, and shoes are usually treated as precious objects at our house.
Usually.
You may recall that my family hosted a Japanese exchange student in early August, which meant I drove her around town so she could exercise her shopping muscles. We were all walking down N.W. 23rd Avenue, taking pictures and having fun when my younger son stepped into the largest and smelliest pile of dog poop imaginable to man.
Crap. Literally.
We walked back to the car, as there was a pair of Crocs in our swim bag, but the thought of leaving this poop smeared shoe in a hot car was more than I could bear. Our plans were not going to bring us home until late evening, so that shoe would be thoroughly cooked by the time the day ended.
So I put his shoes into a paper bag and threw them into a garbage can. Later, I realized that I could have put the bagged up shoes under the car. But that epiphany was too little, too late.
I cringe when I recall this afternoon, but I just couldn’t subject this sweet little Japanese girl to hot car poop fumes.
Do you have any wasteful confessions to share with The Non-Consumer Advocate community? Please confess your stories in the comments section below.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”
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