My older son and I just got back from his two day college orientation, which meant three days away from home since the orientation began at 10 A.M., inconveniently five-and-a-half hours away from home! (Didn't exactly relish leaving home at 4 A.M. to get there on time.) I bought a fat loaf of French bread...
However much I work on decluttering, there's always more. So I had not a moment of surprise when I opened up the drawer I keep my shipping supplies in, and was met with a cornucopia of used padded envelopes. You see, I'm a good little non-consumer, and always re-use whenever possible. Unfortunately, I think that...
My family just got back from a four day vacation down to Ashland, Oregon to attend the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and tour Southern Oregon University. The trip was a graduation gift to our eighteen-year-old son, and was a deliberate choice for an experience rather than a thing. And just like when we're at home, we try to minimize waste...
I make an effort to minimize waste in my home whenever possible. We recycle and compost, mend and repair, buy only used (which almost eliminates packaging waste) and try to find alternate uses for what we already own. We Portlanders only get every-other-week garbage pickup and we share that with our next door neighbors. On...
Zero Waste Week may have been seven months ago, but that doesn't mean that it's full steam ahead for wastefulness. Reducing my family's waste is always part of our daily routine. Here are some recent examples: My kids' school lunches and the adults' work lunches are always packed with zero waste in mind. Handmade cookies...
It's time again for Five Frugal Things, small and random frugal hacks that are completely attainable to the average Joe Katy. I am munching on delicious toast. The Dave's Killer Bread was purchased at the outlet store by my neighbor, who'd called to ask me if I wanted her to nab me some extra loaves....
It's been a month and half since I wrapped up Zero Waste Week, and although I am no longer buying the $4.50 half-gallons of glass-bottled milk, I am incorporating some other permanent Zero Waste changes into my life. As you may recall, I had already made most of the easy changes. I use my own...
Today is Day Seven of Zero Waste Week here at The Non-Consumer Advocate and I am wiped. Mind you, I'm not tired of making Zero Waste choices, I'm just tired of writing about it! Today I brewed a cup of loose leaf tea, drove kids to soccer, sat in my car reading library books until...
Today Day Six of the Zero Waste Week and although I normally take a break from blogging on Saturdays, today is a bonus day! Why? Because yesterday was all about stocking the kitchen back up on Zero Waste goodies. Unlike regular grocery shopping which can be accomplished at one or two locations, Zero Waste has...
Today is Day Five of the Zero Waste Week here at the Non-Consumer Advocate. And although I still have the weekend to get through, I have now successfully packed ten individual school lunches and two work lunches for myself. Mind you, my kids' lunches are never filled with pre-packaged stuff to begin with, but...
Today is Day Four of Zero Waste Week, and I work again. The grumbling about the project is starting to starting up, although I nipped that in the bud with bribery of bulk purchase of yogurt covered pretzels and fruit gummies from New Seasons. Yesterday was more about what I didn't do, rather than...
Today is Day Three of Zero Waste Week, and although the day was mostly devoted to laundry, (seriously, where does it all come from?!) there was a definite waste-free bent to the day: Drank loose leaf tea throughout the day. Everyone's lunches (work and school) were zero waste. Dinner was back bean chili made...
It's Day Two of Zero Waste Week, and so far my focus has been on food, food and . . . wait for it . . . food. Searching for businesses who sell without packaging, finding bulk sources and adjusting how my family cooks and eats. So far, it's been a delicious experiment. However, a...
It's Day One of Zero Waste Week, and I've already messed up. How? Well . . . I planned out the kids' school lunches to be baguettes with bulk purchased gourmet cheese, (Maybe Brie?) homemade cookies and cut up oranges. My first thought was to buy the baguettes and cheese at Pastaworks, but then I...
Tomorrow starts The Non-Consumer Advocate's Zero Waste Week, but I wanted to switch my mind over a few days in advance. So I spent the last few days practicing Zero Waste and figuring how to get through the week without going insane and eating nothing but bulk purchased oatmeal and lettuce. I want to see how...
Would you be interested in participating in a Non-Consumer Advocate Zero Waste Week? I am very inspired and intrigued by Bea Johnson's Zero Waste lifestyle, but am hesitant to make a full commitment. I guess my qualm is that I'm pretty sure it would cost my family more money. I know that Bea Johnson says...
Note -- This giveaway has ended. Thank you to everyone who submitted their terrific Zero Waste ideas! I have a very special treat for you today, which is a giveaway for FIVE, count 'em five copies of Bea Johnson's book Zero Waste Home: The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Life by Reducing Your Waste. (You...
Is your family working towards a less wasteful lifestyle? Well then, I have the perfect inspirational video for you to watch! Regular readers may recognize this family from the Sunset Magazine article a few months back. And although I think of myself as living a less-wasteful life, my family of four still puts out a...
This month's Sunset Magazine features an article about a Northern California family who are trying their darndest to live a zero waste lifestyle. The story is made all the better by drool-worthy photos of their glossy home where there's not a snowball's chance in hell for clutter to build up. (As opposed to my hellacious...
Today, September 6th marked day one of Zero Waste Week, which is put on by Mrs Green over at My Zero Waste. The changes recommended are: As long as you end up reducing your food waste in some way, you can choose anything you like. Here are some ideas: Identify a particular food that gets...
This week recognizes the shared distinction of being both Zero Waste Week and the start of Clotheslines Across America. My Zero Waste is the creation of Britain's Mrs. Green in an effort to put the spotlight on the issues of wastefulness and rubbish output in the U.K. and beyond. Mrs. Green and her family of three...
One of my favorite website/blogs is My Zero Waste. The site chronicles the challenges of an English family working to minimize household waste. Mrs Green (married of course to Mr Green, and mother of Little Miss Green.) approaches the subject matter with a wonderful sense of humor and a keen eye. Although three...
Although I don't strive for a 100% zero waste lifestyle, much of how my family lives falls under that category. We buy used, (zero packaging) mend instead of replace and choose reusable items whenever possible. This past week was no more a Zero Waste Week than any other week, but it still included many zero waste...
I write a lot about food waste, and recently I've been adding a fair number of posts about zero waste. So naturally I've been thinking about how the two are connected. Buying in bulk (the mainstay of zero waste) means that not only are you avoiding dreaded packaging, but you're also able to buy precisely the...
The following is an updated post from last year's food stamp challenge. It's a classic and a keeper. Enjoy! Welcome to day eighteen of the July Food Stamp Challenge. Today's focus is on food waste. With food prices so high, there's simply no excuse for food waste in the home. Regular readers of The Non-Consumer Advocate already know that the food...
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...
Welcome to day four of the June Food Stamp Challenge. Today's focus is on food waste. With food prices so high, there's simply no excuse for food waste in the home. Regular readers of The Non-Consumer Advocate already know that the food waste issue is near and dear to my heart. Two years ago, I...
Welcome to day two of Thrift Week. Today's topic is food waste. With food prices so high, there's simply no excuse for food waste in the home. Regular readers of The Non-Consumer Advocate already know that the issue of food waste is an issue near and dear to my heart. I issued a Waste No...
In addition to this blog, I also run a companion Non-Consumer Advocate Facebook group, which is currently hovering around 79,000 members. New prospective members have to answer a simple question, which helps to weed out the ever present spammers. The answers are always interesting, so I've started saving them to share in blog posts. Educating yourself...
I walked a mile to pick up a Hydroflask water bottle and hiking headlamp from someone in my Buy Nothing group, even though it was hot and kind of humid and I was sorely tempted to drive. I dropped them off at the house and then walked another mile or so to pick up the...
My son went through his room and did a major purge of his clothing. (It filled one of those blue Ikea bags!) Ideally everything should have gone into last week's garage sale, but somehow that didn't happen. Instead we're going to to take it to the Buffalo Exchange consignment shop in the neighborhood, and then...
I stopped into Costco with a plan to pick up salmon, but changed my mind after calling my husband and being reminded that he wasn't actually going to be home for dinner. Instead of spending $15 or so on salmon, I sprung for a $4.99 roasted chicken which fed us for days (including a work...
My 52-year-old husband planned a snowboarding day trip up to Mt. Hood with his work buddies. Skiing and snowboarding are expensive hobbies, but my guy kept it on budget. He pre-purchased a discount lift ticket, packed sandwiches and water from home, made do with some scrappy 99¢ thrifted snow pants, borrowed goggles, carpooled with someone...
Yesterday was my fiftieth birthday, so my family dedicated the day to yet another Birthday Day of Adventures. We started this tradition a few years ago, as it replaces the giving of gifts with the sharing of experiences. Neither my husband nor I want for anything in particular, and when our younger adult sons need...
I passed along a frustrating wooden dust catcher puzzle through my buy nothing group, I sold a Descoware saucepan through Facebook Marketplace, I sold a Rae Dunn glazed ceramic blob that read "GIRLFRIENDS" through eBay, (both from the pay-by-the-pound Goodwill Outlet) I put together some new eBay listings and I re-listed a few Facebook Marketplace...
Now that our sons are both in college, my husband and I have a lot more time to hang out with each other. It's still a bit odd, but we're starting to get into a groove. My husband volunteered to teach CPR during the day, and I texted him suggesting that we "do something nice...
I made good on my plan to hit up the Goodwill Outlet yesterday with my mom, and boy am I glad that I did! It wasn't because of pay-by-the-pound random diapers. Nor was it because of the opportunity to buy a single adorable left shoe. Look inside the shoe, it reads "Sears: Winnie The Pooh!"...
I'm flying from Oregon to New York City in just a couple of days to visit with my sister. (You may remember that I jumped on a cheap promotional ticket awhile back.) And since I strive to be an organized and deliberate person, my to-do list is both long and detailed. Not only because I don't want to...
My son picked up his loaner cap and gown from the counseling office at his high school. I was telling a co-worker about this savings/zero waste hack, and was asked how much it would have cost to have simply bought the cap and gown. I was unsure, since I never even considered buying one, so I asked...
I gave my talk yesterday about the buy-nothing-new Compact and non-consumerism at large. I took notes on what I wanted to talk about, which I then organized into a speech. I was pretty nervous, as the minimalism group had scheduled an hour and a half for me to speak. An hour and a half is...
I went to a coworker's retirement party on Friday, which called for people to bring "an appetizer." My day had been busy, as my friend Denise was in town and I wanted to make sure we got a chance to meet up in person. I was tempted to A: Buy something to bring or B: Flake out as I really didn't...
I was sent $85 in Outback Steakhouse gift cards as a Christmas gift from the fine folks at Clark Howard. My birthday is next week, so I'll use them as part of my Birthday Day of Adventures. Nice to be part of their family. Thank you, Clark! I loaned a nice card table to a neighbor...