What's Wrong with Supporting Local?

When this NY Times article "The Downside of Eating Too Locally" popped up in my news feed I was curious.  After all what could possibly be wrong with eating locally?  The truth is there is nothing wrong with eating locally, and people who pledge to eat within 100 miles of their home are doing a wonderful thing for their home economy and for the global environment. The fact that some people won't purchase organic lentils from the mid-west is not the true problem for those farmers in the mid-west. The problem is that more of their neighbors are not buying truly local. 

I personally don't like labels, "challenges" or pledges. I do my best to purchase local. If I have the choice when purchasing local I purchase local that has been grown ethically and using sustainable methods, this may or not be "organic". If the next option is conventional local I might purchase it. Just because it is local doesn't make it better. If there is a non-local sustainable option then that might just be what I purchase. I had thought about trying a year long challenge of eating just local (I read a blog on that premise and they had a great year eating local), but I realized quite simply I like foods that do not grow in my neck of the woods. I love bananas, avocados and pomegranates to name just a few. 

I try not to label myself, because I have learned if you do label yourself people love to point out to you when you have left the path of righteousness that naturally goes along with that label. For a long time I worked really hard to purchase organic goods, and then I expanded to trying to purchase local organic goods. I learned over time that the organic label is 1) not what it used to be (thank the big business lobbyists) and 2) for small farmers (who are ultimately who I want to support) it is cost prohibitive to get the organic stamp of approval. Many small farms have moved away from the word "organic" because it has become so abused and diluted by big business who simply want the label to be able to charge more. Many small farmers are touting their sustainable and ethical practices. 

To know what your farmer does you have to be willing to talk to them, and the few farmers who have been offended at my asking questions about their farming practices have not gotten my business. The majority of farmers (conventional and other) are happy to chat about their farming practices. This is the reason I am not a supporter of government involvement in labeling GMOs.  

First, I don't believe that we need the government to step in and legislate this for us. We as a people are quite capable of asking questions and learning where and how our food came about. Those growers that would lie to the common man about the GMO status of their food will also lie to the US Government and pay the insignificant fine if they get caught. 

Second, people seem to have forgotten what the term GMO means. Genetically Modified Organism. This includes tree grafting and cross pollination. This is how food as become what it is today, and is not a bad thing. Now the genetic manipulation of organisms at the cellular level in a lab with constituents that may or may not be toxic to my person is a whole different story. I do love heirloom foods and I do not have a problem with plant grafting. 

For me the best way to know if my food is a GMO that I am OK with or if it is potentially toxic is to know my grower/farmer. Even better to grow my own. That is on my list for 2015. With the help of Lu, we plan to finally get our gardens in this year and start growing our own. 

Priorities and the Small Wins

Truth be told my Thanksgiving post was written 3 weeks ago, and for whatever reason I left it in draft. Immediately after typing the post I did some work to clean out the downstairs bathroom and even pinned up the blanket. Check out my progress:

My downstairs bathroom is in better shape and I am going to keep working on it, but the next weekend, when it was time to update my progress, I was battling a head cold and I needed a simple win. Instead of doing more work on the downstairs bathroom, I decided to tackle something I could complete (the laundry I had waiting for me). I did not take pictures of all the laundry I had before me because when I pulled out the camera the battery was dead. I did take pictures once the battery was charged.

I also established what will be my office.  I have had an office for years, but it is overwhelmed with clutter. I decided to establish a new space that I can feel like I am not disturbing people.

 


From the downstairs bathroom I removed a dishpan and some cast iron cookware which I need to clean and put to use. I also cleaned out some junk and listed a few items on a Facebook garage sale site.  It is looking better, but then we get to priorities.

Christmas is just around the corner and I have been out of work since March.  Funds are non-existent for this year's celebration. I am determined to make this a holiday to remember and not to be remembered as that holiday we didn't have any money. That is where the priorities come in. I have been pinning on Pinterest (follow me I am Tree), but I stopped because I felt like I was never going to get back to those pins to try them. I have decided that for 2015 my goal will be to attempt all the pins on my Pinterest and let you know how they shake out.

I am going to start with the things on my boards that I can make for Holiday gift giving. Fortunately my darling husband and I have a tradition of not gifting to each other on Christmas.  If we find something that is just perfect we might purchase it, but we don't feel obligated to purchase. That leaves me with needing gifts for:
LuLu (16 year old girl)
Thia (13 year old girl)
My Momma
My Father
My MIL
My Step FIL
My FIL and Step MIL
Dear Hubby's younger brother's (Billy a Freshman at the Merchant Marine Academy in King's Point, and Joey an adult embarking on his own life with a wonderful woman named Amanda).
I don't gift to my friends.

I have a few bath salts and whipped body butter recipes I want to try out and that I will use as gifts for my Mom, Step MIL and MIL.  I know Lulu plans on using some of those items for her gift to her little sister.

For Thia I found a Toothless Plushie Tutorial on Pinterest and I am hoping I can come up with the fabric to make a toothless.  That would be her "big" gift. We typically only do one big gift, an ornament and then something they have asked for. I have a few pins that might help me to fill her stocking. I was thinking about making a Coupon book for each of my girls and for my mother. Since I am hopeful to be back to work come early January I am going to keep the monthly tasks under $10 till at least June and then I am hopeful that we will be back on track and able to do more fun things.

I am a big believer in experiences and time spent together being more important that material gifts.

I have to keep mum on the items that are for Lulu since she is also on this blog, so I'll let you know post-holiday what items ended up being for her.

Lulu is launching her own business. She is making mini Octapi and Mochi as well as pencil cases. I have attached a picture of her Octapi model and hope she does well.

So while I am looking for accountability, I know that I have to prioritize and right now I need to prioritize to clean out the dinning room, living room and kitchen for the upcoming holiday.  I also need to work on the crafts that will help me put together a wonderful and fun holiday.

Accountability

I need some accountability in my life right now.  Since July my life has been a whirlwind of long days, some 12 hours long and 6 days a week. I want more. I recently finished reading Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project. It took me more than 8 months to finish reading it. I would read some and put it down, then weeks, months later pick it up and read some more. Recently an acquaintance suggested it as a book club read. I think I am going to join the book club.  When I first purchased the book, I thought I would read the book and do my own version of a happiness project. Right now, I don't think that is what I need in my life. I need some accountability. I have a ton of projects to finish and lots of de-cluttering to do. If I did as Gretchen did and started my year long happiness project with a de-cluttering phase, I would feel overwhelmed. I understand the importance of having a deadline, I work really well with deadlines. Not really, I just leave everything until a day or two before the deadline and then stay up late and get really grumpy trying to make the deadline.  Instead I would like to suggest that for me the happiness project is going to be a lifetime undertaking. 

I have lived much of my life with happy moments, but not truly happy. I want to live a life that is full of happy. I know there will be sadness (without sadness there can be no true appreciation of happiness), but I want to strive for a generally happy outlook and life.  To this end I believe I need to complete the projects I have hanging over my head and to completely remove the clutter. I am going to spend some time evaluating the objects in my life and asking myself if they truly serve a purpose, if they add to my happiness or if they are just another something in my life. 

To keep myself on track I plan to use this blog as an accountability tool. I will list 1 outstanding project each week, post a photo of one room/area of clutter, and state one goal for the week. At the end of the week I will give an update on the project stating the progress I have or have not made, post a new photo of the room/area of clutter and give feedback on how I am doing toward reaching my current goal. When the project is done, the area/room is organized and the goal is achieved I will simply move on to the next. 

I am open to the idea of turning some projects over to professionals, but at this moment in time, while I am unemployed those projects will simply be quoted for a price and set aside until I can afford to have someone else finish them for me. 

My first project is my quilt. The quilt was started by my Oma (who passed away) and finished by my mother. The edge of the quilt has come apart and I would like to hand sew it back together. That is my first project. I will let you know what progress I have made come next week. 

My first area/room is my downstairs powder room.  This room has been torn apart for the better half of a decade. It was a poorly designed and barely functioning bathroom. We decided to move the door (done) and to redo the entire bathroom. We have the materials (most of them) to redo the bathroom. Currently it is acting as a store room for my clutter. So I have decided that I will start clearing it out. Eventually I would like it to be a bathroom again. I will probably need to hire out some of the work (laying the tile floor and the plumbing) since I do not possess the skills or tools for those two projects, but none of that can be done until I have cleared it out and gotten it ready for work. 

Everything in that room will be evaluated for its usefulness to myself. Anything that I don't need/want will be sold, tossed or donated. I hope that by selling some of the junk I have collected in the past 15 or so years I can pull together the funds to complete some projects (or to pay others to complete the projects). 

I am currently unemployed and have been since March. I am in school for massage therapy and that full time program leaves me no time to work a $10/hr part time job. My unemployment benefits ran out at the end of September and there are no funds left in savings.  Some of the money I bring in from selling off items I am not using will go toward groceries and other bills, anything above that will go toward finishing one project at a time. 

Part of the reason I choose the quilt as my first project is because it only requires the basic sewing skills I possess. We have plenty of thread, so there is no cost in completing it. There are plenty of projects that will require some money to complete. 

The reason I am choosing to start in the downstairs bathroom, is because I believe it is small enough to make me feel like I am making progress and might bring in a small amount of money. 

My goal is to be less critical, less critical of myself, my family and of people in general. Like most I find myself judging and gossiping. I am going to work at reminding myself that I gain nothing from judging others or from gossiping, but that happiness is found in enjoying the life and things I do have.

This is the room I am starting on:

This is the blanket I am working on:

  

Pink Washing, Green Washing, Organic Washing and now Local Washing.....

It started with the Susan G. Komen foundation selling out and letting any business (even those associated with cancer causing agents) put the trademarked pink ribbon on their merchandise. Then everything was suddenly in some way "Green" made with "recycled" materials or in "sustainable" practices. However, if you scratch the surface of any of these campaigns you will find hypocrisy and lies. 

I LOVE local businesses, even better when they are local artists. I do my best to support my truly local businesses and artists whenever I have the option. With "Small Business Saturday" fast approaching and people up in arms about stores (big box chains) planning on being open on Thanksgiving I just had to say a few words. 

First, no one is forcing anyone to work on Thanksgiving. Yes, there are people who need the money and feel they have no choice but to work on Thanksgiving. Working on Thanksgiving might even take them away from their families (whom they are working to support) on a MADE UP HOLIDAY about family. Holidays are ALL about family and they do not need to be celebrated on a specific day or at a specific time. It is all about the intent. So if you are one of those people who needs to work Thanksgiving in order to support a family remember you can celebrate early or late or not at all. 

Second, there are people who are alone for the holidays and some of those people actually prefer to work on holidays. I know several people who have good relations with their families but they choose to work holidays because the pay is good. They have said to many people on more than one occasion, that if the the Holiday is truly about family then they can celebrate that any day of the year. Some who are truly alone choose to work on a holiday so as not to be alone. 

However, all that being said if you do not support stores being open on Thanksgiving because you believe that everyone should be home with their families then remember YOU have a say in the matter. You can not shop on Thanksgiving and Black Friday. You can encourage others to do the same.

This brings me to "Small Business Saturday". First this is a fallacy. Small business Saturday is sponsored by none other than American Express. American Express is not a small business and is not a local business. They are just in it for the money. Second just because a business is "locally" owned does not make is a sustainable or ethical business. There is little difference in buying cheap goods made in unthinkable conditions from a BoxMart or from a "local" store. 

The why? It is simple, there is a benefit to buying from a locally owned non-franchise store but it is small compared to the benefit from buying from a locally owned business that supports local artists and American Made goods. First, even the big box franchise stores have "owners". These individuals are often local (not always). This means that these local owners spend a portion of their profits in the local economy. They do however send a portion of their profits as part of their franchise agreement to some big company somewhere.  A truly local business allows for more of the profits to stay in the local economy. Even better than a local business selling cheaply made foreign goods (which sends money out of the local economy and encourages poor and unfair employment and manufacturing practices) is supporting a local artist or business that sells locally sourced or American made goods. 

I am a realist, there are a number of items that are NOT made locally or even in America (unfortunately count most electronics on that list). I strive to buy local, sustainable and ethical. I support my local artists and crafters and encourage my girls to do the same. 

For several years now I have purchased from KiraArts, Francesca DeCaire, SunshyneSilverware, and so many other local artists and crafters. My girls have received gifts over the years that came from big box stores (American Girl Dolls and Accessories), but the gifts they love and cherish are always those that are handmade and unique. No one else has the same gifts that my girls have. 

Having handmade unique gifts also helped to keep the spirit of Christmas and the legend of Santa Claus alive for my girls. Not that long ago my now 13 year old daughter asked me if Kira was a Christmas Elf because she made such wonderful handmade toys for boys and girls of all ages. I wouldn't think Christmas complete in my house without a handmade gift from my local artists. 

I have selected a few items this year 2 monsters from KiraArts, felted sootsprites and a totoro from Peaches Products, and a sootsprite necklace and totoro necklace from a local artist. I am looking forward to picking up my custom orders and a unique ornament for each girl at the Brainery Holiday Bazaar as well as shopping Mini May Day. Funds are limited this year (as I have been unemployed since March and in a full time school program for the last 6 months) so I won't be able to support my local artisans as much as I would like, but I will support them none the less. 

I will NOT be shopping on Black Friday or Small Business Saturday, instead I support local businesses, artists and crafters year round. 

How about you? What do you think about Small Business Saturday, Black Friday and or Thanksgiving Day Shopping?

Electronic Exhaustion

     I have become sick and tired of my cell phone. I have never been a fan of cell phones, but I'm mostly tired of the expectations that others have surrounding cell phones. I have a cell phone so that my family members can reach me, if they need me. I have found that many people have an expectation that because I have a cell phone: I am obligated to answer my cell phone when they call, respond instantly to any text, or just be at their beck and call.
     There have been people who have called my phone and not left a voice mail message, called again within minutes, and when I failed to answer the calls they send multiple text messages. I have a flip phone without a keyboard. I understand that texting may be convenient for some, and I don't mind receiving text messages, but it is the expectation that I will respond immediately. Those are my issues. 
     I have been contemplating going dark for a while. At least for the remainder of the month of November. There are those who tell me that I cannot run my future business without a cell phone. I am currently in school training to become a massage therapist. There is a societal expectation that LMTs will have a cell phone. Can I run a successful business without a cell phone? Can I be a successful LMT without a cell phone?
     What did people do before cell phones? How did businesses operate? I have my own theory. I think that people take advantage of the cell phone. I think people have become increasingly selfish. I think people believe their own time is valuable, but have difficulty in valuing anyone else's time. I believe having the ability to call by cell phone an hour or even 20 minutes before a scheduled appointment takes the caller off the hook for cancelling on someone else's time. 
     I believe that I can run a successful business without a cell phone. I have told myself I have my cell phone so that my girls can reach me if they need me. What did parents do before the cell phone? How were emergencies handled? 
     I desperately want to live in a community, not just in a society where we are becoming ever more anti-social, but pretending the be social.  I believe that for me turning off my cell phone is the first step. Perhaps at the end of the month I will decide that I do in fact need a cell phone. Perhaps at the end of the month I will decide that I never really needed a cell phone. 
      We have contemplated turning off our land line and using a cell phone for that purpose, but really who call our house phone? Survey peoples, political campaigns, and of course bill collectors. I rarely speak to family or friends by way of telephone, actually I rarely speak to family and friends. I want to change that. I want to live more deliberately and with more connection to the people who make my life better. I want to be a better friend. I can do all of that without being tied to my cell phone. Even if I do decide to use my cell phone in place of my house phone, I do not want to have it tied to my hip feeling obligated to answer it. 
     I know the feeling of obligation is my own, and I am choosing to not be part of that. I am also contemplating shutting down my facebook account. I know social media has its place in the current advertising world, and I have met some wonderful people (in person even) because of social media, but I believe social media is really anti-social. That however is a rant for another post.