Fabulous Must-Read Article From "Get Rich Slowly"

by Katy on April 30, 2009 · 2 comments

Want to know the secret to becoming a millionaire? Well Get Rich Slowly’s J.D. Roth sat “John,” his next-door-neighbor down to glean how he achieved financial freedom on a teacher’s salary.

There’s nothing tricky or ah-hah about it. It’s just spend less than you earn, turn off lights when not in use and learn to cook from raw ingredients. Add some smart investing and then you too can retire at age 58.

When he explains that “It’s okay to buy used,” I think my heart skipped a beat.

Click here to read this wonderful interview for yourself.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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12.1% Oregon Unemployment

by Katy on April 30, 2009 · 10 comments

Katy Wolk-Stanley, lucky to have a job.

The latest statistics for March just came out for Oregon, and the state’s unemployment rates have increased to 12.1%. (A few counties are even posting 18.5%!)

This is shocking to me, yet sadly is not surprising, as my family has been affected by unemployment. (My husband was laid off in January, and only now has retained full-time employment.)

Hoover TownI had been to the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) in Seattle a few months back, and was fascinated by an exhibit that illustrated how Seattle residents fared during the great depression of the 1930’s. When I think about the depression, Seattle doesn’t come to mind. It’s dust ravaged Oklahoma and Texas, as well as overwhelmed California and the soup lines of New York. But there’s a moving display of a Hoover-town, as well as quotes from people who lived through the great depression.

I saw a life-size cut-out figure with a sign reading, “It’s the depression, and I’m lucky to have a job,” and knew I’d found my Kodak moment. 

“Lisa!” I called to my old college pal. “Take my picture with this guy, I totally have to put this in the blog!” (This differed from her Kodak moment, which was a “Ho for the Klondike” sign, but that’s an entirely different column!)

So now when I’m changing into my scrubs in the wee hours of the morning at work, I can look for inspiration to the photo I have proudly taped to my locker.  

Because, unlike 12.1% of Oregonians, I do have a job.

Has your family experienced unemployment during the current recession? Are you feeling lucky to have a job you complained about a year ago? Please share your experiences in the comments section below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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In Defense of Non-Productivity

by Katy on April 28, 2009 · 13 comments

Hammock

I’ve recently come to the conclusion that I could conceivably clean, cook, organize and generally work on my house every waking moment and never, ever run out of stuff to do.

Yes my house is big, but it’s not monstrous. There’s just one bathroom to clean, (this is the positive spin with which I choose to view the just one bathroom issue) and most of our everythings have a place to go.

But if I prioritized being productive over quality of life, I would never find the time to snuggle with my children or take a walk with a friend on a sunny day.

Which is why I value non-productivity.

Leaving the dinner dishes out so that I can watch a movie with the kids; allow the piano to grow a layer of dust so I can visit with a friend. 

This may sound like I’m shirking my duties, but I’m really not. Everyone has clean clothes, food in their belly and money in the bank. I work two to three days per week as a labor and delivery nurse, and I stretch the dollars so that I can have time to goof off.

It may look from the outside like I’m just bone lazy.

But I hardly think I’ll lie on my deathbed and be thinking about my shiny kitchen floors and super-organized paperwork. No. I hope that I’ll feel I’ve spent my time on the people and activities I love.

I can certainly push my whirling dervish button and demonstrate a style of productivity to rival Martha Stewart’s. (And I do this about once a week.) But I have zero interest in maintaining this pace. I’d rather be the mom who walked slowly to the library and then snuggled up with a kid while watching a movie.

You can have your to-do lists, I’ll be upstairs. But shh . . . I may be taking a nap.

Five Things You Can Do Today To Support A Non-Productive Lifestyle

  1. Allow yourself to just say no to demands on your time. It’s perfectly okay to prioritize downtime. 
  2. Accept a less than perfect house. Keeping your house clean at all times is not a natural state. My dining room is currently decorated by some half-finished art projects and a scattering of felt tips. This is okay, as it means actual people who engage in actual activities live here.
  3. Practice Conscious Frugality. The less money you spend, the less you need to earn. This frees up time and energy; and helps you from getting burned out at work.
  4. Join The Compact. (Buy nothing new.) By stepping away from autopilot consumerism, you free yourself from the unwinnable competition with the Joneses.
  5. Choose one day per week to dedicate to accomplishing as little as possible. This is not the day to finish projects or run errands. Sleep in, read novels and simply — relax.

Are you a go-go-go whirlwind of activity? Do you allow yourself time to do the things that give you pleasure? Do you wait for your one vacation per year to actually read a novel? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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Eight Things You Should Know About Expiration Dates — A Guest Post by Jonathan Bloom

by Katy on April 27, 2009 · 7 comments

The following is a guest post by Jonathan Bloom of wastedfood.com. And remember, it’s never too late to join The Non-Consumer Advocate’s Waste-No-Food-Challenge!

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

Eggs

From individual eggs to bottled water (water!), expiration dates are printed everywhere these days. While they ultimately do more help than harm, expiration dates and the confusion they create usually send a lot of perfectly good food straight from the store to the Dumpster.

So here are eight things to keep in mind about expiration dates on food.

  1. “Sell by” versus “use by.” The former term is intended for vendors, to let them know how long to display items on store shelves. The latter term is for consumers. But you’ve probably also seen such terms as “best before,” “use or freeze by,” and “enjoy before.” These terms are also geared to consumers, and are pretty self-explanatory. 

    Just promise me that you won’t treat all dates on food products as “toss-by” dates. Most food is perfectly good for about a week after the sell-by date passes, and the same can usually be said for items with use-by dates.

  2. Date labels are conservative. Once food producers ship their goods, plenty can go wrong with getting the product safely to the consumer. A truck’s refrigerated unit can malfunction, or goods can linger on a loading dock on a hot day. Manufacturers factor in that uncertainty by planning for just about the worst-case scenario. Food producers naturally want to ensure that their products are consumed at peak freshness (and, of course, avoid lawsuits). Consider how careful the USDA is with theirsuggested storage times, telling consumers that chicken or ground beef should only be stored for one or two days after purchase. Most of us keep our chicken breasts or ground chuck in the fridge much longer, with no ill effects.
  3. Some eggs are etched with expiration dates.

    Flavor goes before freshness. Most foods are safe to eat for a few days after their expiration dates; they won’t instantly grow mold on the day after a use-by date. They’re just not quite as fresh as the producer would like. 

    As the USDA explains, “‘Use-by’ dates usually refer to best quality and are not safety dates. But even if the date expires during home storage, a product should be safe, wholesome, and of good quality — if handled properly and kept at 40 degrees or below.” 

    With that in mind, you just have to come up with finding appropriate uses for items as they wane. Leftover chicken converts to chicken salad. Bread becomes French toast orcroutons. And so forth.

  4. Overzealous producers and packers. Many food products are actually tossed long before their actual expiration dates.This early chucking occurs when a grower or packer determines that a product won’t make the cross-country trip to stores in time. Most producers want their products to arrive in stores more than a week before their sell-by dates. 

    So as a result of distance and caution, our food chain sends tons of bagged spinach, for example, to the landfill a full two weeks before the use-by date printed on the label.

  5. Wasteful retailers. To keep up their image of selling only the freshest foods, most grocery stores pull some items from their shelves well before their stamped sell-by dates. And almost all food items are removed by the morning of their sell-by dates.At the extreme end of this practice, it’s common for stores to pull baby formula — the only food item required by federal law to have an expiration date — from shelves 60 days before its expiration date. (That said, several national retailers have been sued recently for selling infant formula that had expired several weeks earlier. So buyer beware.)
  6. Donations bonus. Expiration dates are a boon for food donations, as they create a steady supply of edible but not sellable food. If the dates didn’t exist, stores might keep items on the shelves until they actually started going bad. Instead, these sell-by casualties are staples at most food banks across the country. Food-recovery groups rescue these goods from supermarkets that recognize the folly of throwing away perfectly good food. 

    However, the donations can only occur if there’s a nonprofit organization willing to collect the food and a store manager who knows his company won’t be held liable (under the Good Samaritan Act) should anyone get sick from food donated in good faith.

  7. Donations hindrance. Because some stores view expiration dates as binding, they choose not to donate items at or past their sell-by dates. This occurs most often with meat and produce, which many stores are reluctant to donate.This is doubly unfortunate, as the expiration dates on fresh proteins, fruits, and vegetables are just as cautious as for other food products, and fresh foods are the toughest items for food banks to amass. Bread products, on the other hand, are a common donation from supermarkets.
  8. Use your nose. Trust your senses, not the date labels. If an item that’s past its expiration date still looks good, take a sniff or have a taste and decide for yourself. And keep in mind the fact that if you’re not sure if you’ve ever smelled rotten milk, you haven’t.

Jonathan Bloom is a journalist writing a book on wasted food in America. When he’s not combing through the discount produce rack, he’s blogging on the topic at Wasted Food.

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by Katy on April 26, 2009 · 0 comments

Click here to read a fantastic article about one woman’s quest to spend as little on her food budget as possible. Her take on incorporating leftovers into subsequent meals is inspired. (I think I may steal her term of flexipe!)

I’m feeling pretty good about how tonight’s dinner will be burritos made with leftover pressure cooked refried beans, leftover rice and homemade tortillas.

Color me sated.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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Are You a Daily Washer?

by Katy on April 25, 2009 · 45 comments

Sweater

My friend Jan came to the house yesterday to pick up her son, and was wearing the cutest red cable-knit sweater. I then went to her house today to pick up my son, and guess what? She was still wearing that very same cute red sweater.

“Ha!” I joked to her, “I caught you wearing the same sweater two days in a row.”

“Oh, I always do that.” She replied. “I just try not to do it if I’m seeing the same people.”

We then started to talk about how we often will wear clothing a time or two before putting them through the wash. I relayed how my 13-year-old went from having five pairs of jeans to two in a bizarrely short amount of time. (Is he perhaps crawling on broken glass while at school?) And how I’d been re-folding the jeans and freshly presenting them to him if they’d only been worn once.

We agreed that clothes last longer when laundered less, and that you also don’t need to own as much if the clothes can be repeated.

Which brings me to the question:

Are you a daily washer?

Do you wash your clothes after every wearing, or do you wait until they’re actually dirty? Does the idea of wearing an item more than once between washings give you the heebie-jeebies? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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I Hate To Be One Of Those Lame People — A Guest Post

by Katy on April 24, 2009 · 8 comments

 

Liebherr 24 inch refrigerator

 

The following is a guest post from missmoneybags. She is a fellow member of The Compact, (buy nothing new) a friend, and frankly — one funny lady.
Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

I hate to be one of those lame people who blog about their appliances. But I admit it:   

I’m an appliance whore. 

The only major disagreement that I have ever had with Mr. Foxypants is over my refrigerator. That’s the one thing that I had to leave behind for my renters when I moved in with him last year. My old fridge was custom-built for me by Marvel, the refrigerator division of Viking. It was such a pain in the ass to manufacture, that I own the prototype. Marvel will never make another one like it. Basically, it is a glass-fronted undercounter unit designed for restaurants stacked on top of a stainless steel freezer unit. It’s gorgeous, works like a champ and uses about as much energy as a single light bulb every month. Mr. Foxypants hates this refrigerator because it is so small and doesn’t have door storage for his enormous collection of moldy preserves and out-of-date condiments.

It was a true testament of my love that I left that piece of appliance perfection behind for my renters, and moved in with the 20 cubic foot, black, pebble-finished, monstrosity that my boyfriend brought into the relationship. I’ve tried to get over having to store my food in a crappy refrigerator that takes up nine square feet of my precious kitchen floor real estate. I’ve told myself that owning a beautiful fridge does not make me a better person. I’ve actually prayed for the ugly fridge to break down so I could have an excuse to replace it. I know. This is pathetic. 

So, even though Mr. Foxypants sent me the following email last friday–

“I know you really love your marvel. And in case it’s not apparently obvious, I’m trying to go out of my way to get you something special to fill that refrigerated void in your life…”

–still it came as a total shock to me when Mr. Foxypants announced on Saturday that we were going to go shopping for a new refrigerator. I think part of his change of heart came from the fact that his refrigerator is loud, leaks water, and doesn’t close entirely unless you bump the door with your hip really hard. But I suspect the real reason for this decision is that compared to my darling vintage stove which I moved into his house last month, there can be no doubt: his fridge is ass ugly. 

Oh, how I love my shallow boyfriend who cares about filling that refrigerated void in my life. 

Now, here’s my question: When did refrigerators get so huge? We went to four different home stores on Saturday night on a reconnaisance mission and every single one of them was filled with gigantic french door fridges. It’s no wonder Americans are so fat. It would take a family of 12 to eat through 25 cubic feet of food before it goes bad. Even though we only looked at the Energy Star rated models, all of them use more energy than my 11-year-old Marvel which, by the way, isn’t Energy Star rated, just smaller and more efficient. The only small refrigerators that anyone carries are those rinkydink ones you could rent for your dorm room for $20 a month. None of the stores carry any of the top 10 most efficient models that have received excellent reviews online. Which, to me, seems slightly outrageous. 

Mr. Foxypants and I return home in a state of righteous annoyance. Even though he agrees that it’s important to be as green as possible with this purchase, he feels like I’m being unreasonable about my expectations. There is no way to get a bottom freezer, 100% stainless steel, freestanding, restaurant grade refrigeration unit that also meets our energy efficiency standards, and has a small footprint for under $4000. And since I am allegedly on a savings rampage, I don’t really have a leg to stand on, because he’s the one who will be paying for the refrigerator, not me.

I refuse to be thwarted. I spend three hours the next day calling every other new and used appliance store in a 25 mile radius of my house searching for the most elusive of cute appliances. (All right, the most elusive of cute appliances would be a washing machine, but I already have one of those and this is my story). As you might guess, cute industrial refrigerators are basically impossible to find used because who wants to get rid of pure cooling awesomeness? That’s right. No one. The manager of the local fancy appliance store does take pity on me and offers to give me a $700 discount on their Liebherr 30 inch floor model, so it will only cost me $4000 without tax, a price that I cannot afford and cannot even use to prove my boyfriend wrong about my intractable nature. 

So, how dumb am I? Really dumb. Because, had I looked on ebay I would have found a slightly used, but still under warranty Liebherr refrigerator for HALF its normal sticker price that measures a slinky 24 inches by 24 inches by 81 inches, offered by an ebay dealer located THIRTY miles from my house, and been able to buy it from the comfort of my home instead of spending two frustrating hours walking through home stores and three hours on the phone calling every other store in a 25 mile radius. 

And in the world of refrigeration, the 24 inch Liebherr is the only unit that can hold a candle to my Marvel. 

Yes, anything worth having can be found used. I bought the Liebherr 24 inch off ebay this morning and it’s being delivered on Thursday. 

Color me smug.

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A Love Letter To My Cast Iron Pans

by Katy on April 23, 2009 · 17 comments

The following is a reprint from an earlier published blog. Enjoy!

Hello, gorgeous. I’ve been thinking about you.

We’ve been together almost twenty years now, and your allure beckons as much as the day we first met. I got you on the rebound from the furniture-selling Van Gronas. The classified ad in The Village Voice was officially for a couch, but your hefty beauty stole my heart. That couch is long gone. But here you are, still with me, still nourishing my secret shameful need — extra iron in my diet.

Other pans have come and gone. Le Creuset with flashy colors that soon appeared dated. Non-stick, with its possibly carcinogenic lining. But your matte black surface, so silky, so smooth, so — dare I say it? — sensuous. Your hotness never goes out of style.

Sometimes I think I may have loved you too much, but a slow gentle caress with an oily rag revives your former loveliness. If only that were all it took for my youthful beauty to return. Like Dorian Grey, you appear to never age. 

Botox, Katy? No thanks, I’ll just rub my face with an oily rag.

Other pans may tempt me, but I know we will overcome all obstacles. Our love is that which ignites the heavens. Like Romeo and Juliet, Bogey and Bacall, Charo and Captain Stubing.

If I have not said it before, I say I now. I love you! You had me at iron fortification.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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What Will My Garden Grow?

by Katy on April 22, 2009 · 27 comments

vegetable_gardenI have an insanely shady backyard, which means that I only have a small space approximately four feet square in which to plant vegetables. Although I stretch this out by planting lettuce in a wheelbarrow and beans in window-box planters, it’s still not much. (Blueberries and raspberries also grab a few rare sunny spots.)

But I won’t exactly be living off the land.

So far I have tomatoes, beans, lettuce and garlic planted.

But I do have a bit of extra space approximately two feet square, which begs the questions:

What should I grow in this precious sunny spot?

Please, dear readers — Please tell me what should I grow in this last bit of my urban garden.

Or perhaps you have some gardening advice to share with the Non-Consumer Advocate community? What are you growing in your garden this year? Please share your ideas in the comments section below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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Happy Earth Day!

by Katy on April 21, 2009 · 10 comments

earth-day

April 22nd is Earth Day. And what will I be doing?

Umm . . . I’ll be at work from 7:00 A.M. – 7:30 P.M. I’ll be driving the 18 mile round trip by myself, then picking up my friend who’s flying from New Hampshire to spend a few days visiting with me.

Not such an impressive Earth Day.

I can’t carpool because my hours and days are erratic, and I can’t stand the thought of taking public transportation because the idea of adding an extra hour to my already long work day makes me want to cry.

Luckily, I feel that the big picture of how green my life is evens out this high impact day:

  • I rarely drive more than a mile or two on my days off from work.
  • I am very conscientious about my family’s energy usage.
  • I’m growing my own veggie garden. 
  • I’m part of The Compact, and only buy used.
  • I recycle, compost and my family of four only produces a 20 gallon can of garbage per month. 
  • I always bring my own bags to the store.
  • I cook from scratch, which minimizes packaging.
  • I line dry as much of my family’s laundry as possible.
  • I vacation close to home and haven’t flown anywhere since 2005.

Because every day is Earth Day for me, April 22nd doesn’t have to be anything special.

Are you celebrating Earth Day? If so, how are you marking the occasion? Or do you make sustainable choices throughout the year and not need a holiday? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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