Our “low spend-uary” is nearly complete and I have some results to share. Also, does it feel to anyone else like there are twice as many days in January than any other month? That little comment may give insight into how we did this month.
As a review, here are my low-spend month rules:
Stay out of Target to avoid impulse buys (that’s for me!)
Make vs. buy what we can – food is the obvious one, but other items fall into this category and I’ll elaborate below
No restaurants (caveat being we can get a Costco pizza to go, or hot dog, if desired)
If an item needs to be replaced, we’ll replace it (shampoo, laundry detergent, etc)
Try to source items by borrowing from neighbors or the local Buy Nothing group before buying from a store
How’d we do?
Stay out of Target to avoid impulse buys – I avoided Target except for one pickup order of skincare products I could not source from my local Walgreens and I avoided Walmart. This was my caveat for shopping at Target – if I truly can’t find it elsewhere, I’ll allow myself to do a mobile order and pick it up, as I’m still not going in-store and browsing, which can lead to buying unneeded stuff. SCORE: A-
Make vs. buy what we can – I did pretty well with this one. We made food and ate leftovers all month long. I also mended the rip in our slip-covered sofa with a patch. No need to buy one of these things to cover it up. I also covered the chaise with a blanket, as the fabric in this area is wearing thin because our dog loves to lie there. SCORE: A
No restaurants – spoiler alert: we did not accomplish this goal. I knew it would be tough with both my husband and I traveling to Las Vegas for a work convention (we included a caveat to eating out while there, as we were not paying for it and had no way to prep food). My dad also came into town for a week to help us with the boys while we traveled. We took him out to eat twice as a thank you for his help – once on the day of his arrival to a brewery with live music, which he seemed to enjoy as he and his wife never eat out. And then he and I walked to a local breakfast diner on the day of his departure. I wanted to fill him up with a big breakfast since he’d be flying during lunchtime and landing in Dallas around dinner. (I did pack him some snacks to take on the plane as well). My husband’s birthday was this weekend and we continued a family tradition from his upbringing of going to sushi (at the same restaurant his family has patronized for 35+ years) on his birthday. My mom and his parents split the check with us. We got picked up pizza a couple of times as well. All of this restaurant spending totaled nearly $450, so yeah a fail. SCORE: F
If an item needs to be replaced, we’ll replace it (shampoo, laundry detergent, etc) – I did end up replacing some face wash and moisturizer that ran out, but only after scraping every last bit from the containers. No score is needed for this one.
Try to source items by borrowing from neighbors or the local Buy Nothing group before buying from a store – we did fairly well with this goal, as I held off on buying things that either the kids or I wanted and put out an ISO on the local Buy Nothing group. My patience was rewarded by a friend seeing one of my group posts requesting a hot glue gun (my artist son was in a creative mood) and texting me to offer one of her (many) spare glue guns. I gladly accepted and planned to walk the mile to her house to pick it up, but she beat me to it and dropped it off on my doorstep! I was also able to borrow my mom’s handheld vacuum vs. paying to use the carwash’s $1.75 vacuums or buying the latest Costco Dyson stick vac (drool). SCORE: A
Overall, I’d say we got a B- on our low-spend month, as I stayed out of retail stores in general (aside from the Grocery Outlet, Costco and our local organic grocer), but deduct points for the high restaurant spend. Overall, we spent less in many other categories including groceries. I also plan to continue my Target rule all year long, as it’s been a trigger for unneeded spending on my part in the past.
It’s a new year, a new month, and a time to reflect on what worked (and didn’t) in the old year. I’ve noticed a strong correlation in 2023 with boredom and spending, whereby I created reasons to spend by intending to solve a “problem”. A deeper look at this behavior has illuminated some areas for me to work on and in that vein, a low spend month is a tool I’ve used in the past to help with this reset.
If you’ve never done a low/no spend month (or week, season, year), the “rules” are pretty straightforward as you make them yourself. For our low-spend month, the terms my husband and I have agreed upon are as follows:
Stay out of Target to avoid impulse buys (that’s for me!)
Make vs. buy what we can – food is the obvious one, but there are other items that fall into this category and I’ll elaborate below
No restaurants (caveat being we can get a Costco pizza to go, or hot dog, if desired)
If an item needs to be replaced, we’ll replace it (shampoo, laundry detergent, etc)
Try to source items by borrowing from neighbors or the local Buy Nothing group before buying from a store
And that’s it! So here’s the progress on day 2 of 2024:
Did not spend any money at all on 1/1 – win! I did a “First Day” hike with some friends, which is a beloved tradition, and it was a gorgeous day to be out. I packed a snack and drink to take with me so I wouldn’t be tempted to stop in my post-hike hunger. We had tamales for dinner and I made a enchilada-ish sauce to go with it. My mom came down with some black-eyed peas for good luck and we had a relaxed New Year’s Day overall.
Started the day with getting my car smogged, which is something I haven’t had to do in 10+ years. It was quick and painless and I went with a low-priced yet highly recommended station that charged $56 for the test and certificate. Then I promptly paid my car’s annual registration which cost $283. Stopped by the gym (that costs me $10/mo.) for a workout and then hit Grocery Outlet for some necessary items for this week’s meals. I stuck to my list (which is a small miracle) and spend $43 total.
I received a message from a member of our local Buy Nothing group asking if we’d like some food she was given. This particular member has gifted food to us in the past as she found out I have 3 teenage sons! Last time it was mostly vegetables and bags of beans and rice which we made good use of. However this time it was mostly processed food including an unopened quart of ice cream, 4 large bags of chips, a large tin of cookies, ho-ho’s, veggie burger patties, grape jelly, and a container of “lite” syrup. My boys immediately took 2 bags of Cheeto’s and the Ho-Ho’s to a friends house and I’m giving away a few of the items we will not eat via our little library.
I’m aggressively unsubscribing to all the retailers emails I’ve subscribed to over the years.
Instead of purchasing a whiteboard calendar I’ve had my eye on, I’m making my own family calendar from copy paper, pen and a ruler. My husband and I use Google calendars, but it’s nice to have the visualization for the kids too. I put it on the fridge, as they are over there often!:
Bonus: I’ve been making sourdough crackers almost daily over the past few days and they’re a huge hit. I use the discard from the sourdough starter and make a simple staple that everyone likes. Win-win!
1. The news of the day here is that rare snow is in the forecast for today and this weekend. So upon getting the kids off to school today, I put Maple in the car and headed for some of our local trails to see how much of the fluffy stuff actually stayed around. We were in luck! I’ve never seen snow at these elevations here and Maple has never been in snow, so it was a frugal adventure that lasted about an hour but will be no doubt remembered for quite some time!
Maples first snow @ North Sonoma Mountain
2. I did a little thrifting this week as I was out running errands and popped into my local Goodwill to see if I could find a gift or two for our twin sons’ birthday. I did not find a gift, but spent $26 on 3 items for resale. I listed 2 of the items on eBay and 1 on FB Marketplace. We’ll see how they do.
3. A decidedly unfrugal move was that we purchased a new clothes dryer this week as our 15+ year old secondhand dryer was dying a slow death over the last 2 years. With a 5 person household and kids in multiple sports, I am surprised the previous dryer lasted this long. Let’s hope the new one can get even half that life with how stuff is made these days. I hate to buy new appliances, but in this instance it made the most sense for us. I use the dryer nearly daily and used gas dryers were listed at $400+ locally. The basic Kenmore 7.2 cu ft dryer we purchased from Costco was $711, but includes installation and haul away. I noticed that not all of the big box stores offer haul away for free or free installation, so I’m happy with this decision. Also, Costco’s return policy is hard to beat!
4. I found a t-shirt for each of our twin sons on eBay for their birthday with their taste in mind. Each shirt cost about $12 and I’m hopeful that they will enjoy them.
5. I had a delightful afternoon and evening in San Francisco with our oldest son recently. I scored a free pass to the California Academy of Sciences via our library’s Discover & Go program. This is one of my son’s favorite places to visit as he is a science-loving guy. We spent a couple of hours walking around looking at the exhibits, including a planetarium show we had not yet seen. I bought him a t-shirt and moon sticker at the gift shop ($32) and a bag of chips ($5!) at the café. When asked where he’d like to have dinner, he picked a fancy place we’d gone to a time or two over the years. The meal was not cheap ($103) plus we had to pay $6.50 to park for an hour on the street, but we had a great time and I got to say yes to his requests including appetizer, burger and fries, and the classic chocolate sundae for dessert. For about $150, my son and I had a great day and I’ve decided to use my resale proceeds to continue to fund these types of “special days” with each of our kids. We only get so many years with them and they’re really flying by now.
1. A frugal take on a scary experience: our soon-to-be 12 year-old son had a bad fall this week that we did not see happen. He hit his head hard and was disoriented after the fall. After speaking to the nurse at his pediatrician’s office, we were encouraged to get a scan of his head to make sure he didn’t have any internal bleeding so we took off for the closest ER. While there we waited the requisite eternity hour to finally be seen by an MD, who then took a quick assessment of the situation and proceeded to discuss how their particular ER is a 0 level trauma center so they wanted to transfer him an hour away by ambulance to a children’s hospital. As you can imagine, this was a lot to take in, especially since we had fuzzy details at best from our son about his fall. After talking with the nurse and discussing options, we pushed back and asked if we could please get imaging at the ER so we could make a more informed decision. Ultimately, the nurse helped us in communicating those wishes to the Dr., and we stayed put. After another couple of hours we got the results from his head, abdomen, and wrist scans and he was all clear! Why spin this into a frugal tale? The cost of transporting our son, plus an overnight in the children’s hospital was very likely to cost way more than our ER copay. In the end, it was hard pushing back on the Dr., but our intuition helped guide us. A good lesson for us all.
2. I accompanied my mom to her orthopedic pre-op appointment yesterday and was rewarded with a free lunch at our favorite Mexican food restaurant.
3. Our oldest son recently graduated from his Gabb phone to an old iPhone (which he paid my mother $75 for). His upward mobility prompted one of our twins to ask for his brother’s old Gabb phone, which would be an upgrade from his Gabb watch. A quick online chat session to transfer his phone number and now he is happily able to text his friends and have more options than he did with his watch. Our other twin does not particularly care about phones/texting/etc. so he’s still fine with his watch (which he forgets to wear 90% of the time). I was able to quickly clean up and list the extra watch to eBay and it sold within hours. The quickness of the sale led me to believe I could’ve listed it for a higher price, but I’m happy with the sale and someone else gets a gently used entry-level phone/watch for their kid.
A note on tech – we have taken a cautious approach when allowing our kids to have access to technology devices and screen time. As they age, this becomes increasingly important AND difficult. We are learning as we go. When they were little it was much easier to manage screen time and shows, as we presented few options and they were generally happy with those. When we’d hear clamoring’s of “why can’t I have an iPhone?” starting around 5th grade, we towed the line. Our 13.5 year old 7th grader has shown consistent responsibility and good reasoning so we made the decision to graduate him to the next level. Each kid is different and our main concern is social media. For this reason, we still have a “no social media” rule, and that’s not hard for our oldest to follow.
If you’re interested in checking out Gabb for your kid, use promo code 415902956 for a discount and I’ll get a month of free service. A win-win!
4. And now for a frugal fail (of sorts). My husband started a new job last year working for the local government. He kept his previous job as he owns his own business and was able to make it work as a lucrative side hustle. After 8 months in the job, it was clear this wasn’t the right career for him and he gave his notice this week. He is able to do his side business as a main gig for the time being, but he’s also looking for something part-time and hands-on to give his day some structure. That said, his government benefits were crazy good and we’ll lose those after March. Back to the ACA we go.
5. And finally, I’m thinking ahead to summer (already!) and looking for ways to create fun memories on the cheap. As such, I woke up early one January morning to book a yurt for 3 nights at a central Oregon campground, where my sister will drive down from Portland to join us for some camping. It was $161 total, plus we’ll make our own food and spend our days on the river and hiking the local trails with possibly a brewery visit or two! I also reached out this week to a family we did a home exchange with last year, as we have some extra “guest points” on the HomeExchange site (affiliate link). The house was large and in a Lake Tahoe neighborhood we have visited many times. We’re hoping to make it back there this summer for at least a few nights as it’s one of our most favorite places to visit!
As an exercise in accountability, I’ll be using the space to periodically share my frugal wins (and fails). Join me in the comments by posting yours!
After enjoying a free local youth comic/art festival last week with 2 of my sons, I learned that one son had left his flannel hoodie behind, a Christmas gift from us. Instead of chalking it up to (yet another) lost hoodie, I emailed the festival organizers to see if they had found it and was rewarded for my efforts. After a quick drive down to the library and a good wash, he has it back in his hands and hopefully holds on to it this time.
A friend alerted me of an “ultimate clearance sale” at Kohl’s this week. We each have 3 sons and look out for one another by sharing resources. I’m not a regular Kohl’s shopper but was intrigued enough by her excited texts to make the 5 minute trip after work one day. After spending 45 minutes combing through the men’s section and picking out a handful of items, I took stock and had a little talk with myself. None of my kids are asking for any particular clothing item at the moment, AND after tracking down a couple more of their sweatshirts in lost and found at school, I realized that I was just creating problems that didn’t exist. This is one of my challenges – I think I’m being frugal, but I’m really creating reasons to spend money. Thus, I set the items back on the rack and walked out of the door with all of my money.
I’ve been on a repairing kick lately and have ordered replacement parts for 1) a solid wood bench that tipped over one too many times, thus needing a new leg. I found the leg online and after spending $25 on it, I realized we could have fashioned a leg out some of the miscellaneous wood we have sitting around. I wouldn’t call it a frugal fail, as it’s better than buying a new bench or throwing it in the garbage over one fixable issue. 2) My son’s trick scooter has long been missing a wheel and axle so I spent $12 ordering these parts from the manufacturer and my husband has solidly fixed it. 3) Our used Yakima rooftop cargo rack – I purchased this item via FB marketplace in the fall for a swift $75 and was exuberant as it costs upwards of $800 new. I knew that the lock was not working at the time of purchase and have since been on a journey of getting the lock cores replaced. After a trip to REI, where an associate will help identify the key core “code” for free, I walked out with a code and plans to order it directly from Yakima. Yakima did indeed send me the key cores for free, but they transposed 2 of the numbers and sent the wrong core…twice. So, finally after a couple of months working on this fix , I have the correct key cores in my hands and plans to work on it this weekend.
We’re getting back into the habit of making pizza from scratch on Friday’s after getting lazy and buying Domino’s or Papa Murphy’s the past few months. This requires me to plan ahead and make dough and sauce from scratch on Thursday night or Friday morning. Today, I consider myself winning as I remembered to make the dough and plan to make the sauce on my lunch break. I’ll also make chocolate chip cookies and cut up the veggies for the pizza toppings. This saves us about $25 weekly with a little planning ahead.
I sold a couple of items on eBay this week and transferred roughly $70 to my personal savings account.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about shifts. Shifting became our collective norm these last 3 years and I, like you, have not been left unscathed. I could fill a book with my thoughts about the past three years, but I’ll start where I am now instead. So, back to shifts. The main shift I’ve felt recently is a pull to creativity and divesting from some of the consumption habits that have carved a well-worn path these last few years.
Firstly, I want to define what I mean by consumption – anything I personally use or consume in my daily life. We all consume (food, entertainment, water, books, material goods, etc.) every day, but I am noticing recently the balance of consumption vs. creation in my own life and seeing that things have tilted heavily towards consumption recently. I read a lot, eat food, drink diet soda, buy things for myself and my family, watch my favorite Youtuber, and the list goes on. None of these things are bad. None of them. But, what I’ve been missing is creating.
I previously wrote a weekly email as a part of my job for a local arts nonprofit but that ended when I took a full-time job in my previous field during the pandemic. I would bake a loaf of bread (or 4) each week during 2020 and most of 2021. I would paint with my kids and make birthday cards for friends or family members. I would sew. I would write on this blog. I would create digital graphics as a part of my job.
While many of these “creations” still exist in some form in my life, I see there is a strong connection with the imbalance of creativity and my feelings of overwhelm and stress. Immersing myself in nature via twice or thrice weekly hikes with friends has largely gone away. I still walk and move daily, and take a weekend hike, but the shifts with friends’ lives have also affected mine. We’ve all had shifts in work, health, and with aging kids, more running around for drop-off’s and pick-up’s. This is life.
But, realignment happens too. And that’s where I’m at today. As a part of my intention to add creativity to my life, I’ll be writing here regularly again. Specifically, subjects that are calling to me now involve nature immersion, frugality, and trying new things. To this end, you’ll see shorter form essays and many list-type posts.
I’ll be writing here as an exercise for me, but it’s here for you too.
There is a movement out there in the internet-verse called Mindful in May. I read about it at the end of March and promptly put it to the back of my mind. After all, I was in the middle of spring break, kids baseball season and entrenched in training our new puppy. Cue up April 30th and you would find me casually looking at my calendar for May. I quickly realized, as I do every May, that this will be one heck of a packed month with at least one “everything weekend”. You know those delightful bookend days that seem to hold all of the events you’d like to (or are obliged) to attend. Our “everything weekend” starts tomorrow. Seeing the events of the month lined up on the calendar triggered my memory of May’s past and the frantic, do-it-all nature of these 31 days. Parties, performances, play-off games and birthday’s dot the calendar as well as Mother’s Day, with it’s weight of importance and our wedding anniversary on the very last day of the month.
Last year we were prepping for our mega road trip and I really could have used a Mindful in May daily ritual, but I was so entrenched in doing all-the-things that I soldiered on, becoming a anxious wreck along the way. This year I’m listening to myself and focusing on building my meditation habit. It’s one that I’ve leaned in and out of over the past couple of years, but I honestly feel the difference immediately when I drop into meditation. My breathing slows and I embrace the moment that I’m in.
Now, that does not mean that I don’t suffer from a million different thoughts and distractions pulling me away from these 10 minutes of quiet. This morning alone I was interrupted by my own thoughts of planning a school event while simultaneously listening to our puppy whine in the other room. Sometimes it’s a kid that walks in and wants my attention at 6:00 am. Or the smell of coffee beckoning me to fill up my cup and return after a few sips of caffeine. But even when that’s the case, I gently tell myself that it – whatever it is – can wait. I am learning that all of this – the distractions, interruptions, calls for “mom” in the other room – are the work of meditation. Retraining my brain to live in the moment without trying to control everything I encounter is hard work for a control freak like me. The feeling of letting go and seeing what will happen if I don’t jump in and act immediately is a novel feeling. Truly.
So, here I am on the 16th of May and I’ve completed 13 daily meditations. I thought I’d share today what I’ve noticed.
I’m calmer. This is a BIG deal. I’m not actually a calm person – at all. When I catch myself having the patience to wait for my children to work out one of their 700 daily arguments, I feel like a winner. Usually I want to move the conflict along quickly so we can stop the crying, screaming and stomping. And I definitely still want those things to stop. BUT, I am able to give the situation more time to unfold and that is huge for me. If this were the only benefit, it would genuinely be enough.
I’m okay with not knowing what to do in all situations. This is a perfectionism thing that I wrestle with daily. Of course I want all the answers all the time, but that’s never been reality. I’m getting better at asking questions when I don’t know what something is or need more information. My typical MO would be to pretend I know and then fake my way through a conversation by smiling and laughing or nodding at the appropriate types. I definitely want to be an expert at everything and learning to have the mind of a beginner is humbling. I look forward to continuing learning how to be a student.
Learning to respond vs. react. Going hand in hand with having more patience and calming the eff down is responding to situations instead of reacting. This is actually why I sought out meditation a few years ago. I am a pretty reactive person and it doesn’t always benefit me. Over the years I’ve begun noticing my triggers and learning to respond is something I’ll probably always work on. Gut instinct has always guided me in making big life decisions, but that primal type of reaction isn’t necessarily justified on a daily basis.
I hold my breath – a lot. Learning to breathe naturally sounds like a real no-brainer, but I have discovered that I’m a full-fledged breath-holder, jaw-clencher and teeth grinder. Taking a breath when I feel stress is something I’m still working on, but when I do it instantly ratchets me down a notch. As a non-calm person, I need ratcheting down regularly, and I also need to breathe so this one is a biggie.
I’ll continue my Mindful in May meditation practice throughout the month and beyond. The million days of May will march on and eventually end and that’s evidence enough that dropping into individual moments holds weight. Just this morning I sat for a few minutes, drinking my coffee and listening to my twin sons sing a beautiful song that brought me to tears. It was an impromptu moment brought to me by Pandora and my sweet boys and I’m grateful that I dropped into it.
Sitting in traffic at 3:30 PM on a Wednesday doesn’t sound like the start of a spectacular 24 hours, but that it was. Idling amidst the several hundred cars on Interstate 80, I listened to a podcast that I’d been unable to get to earlier in the week and exited the freeway for a stretch break when I wanted to. Upon reaching my destination, I took a walk to dinner at the place of my choosing. These are all incredibly simple pleasures that I would have overlooked just a decade ago, but now they are priceless snippets of time in a life that is tilted heavily toward tending to the needs of others.
What was this little jaunt? It’s what I call a solo adventure and I’d been dreaming this one up in it’s vague, non-detailed form for a few months without even realizing it.
Taking Stock
The months of endless Northern California rain, heavier-than-normal workload and travel by my husband, and the feeling of being on a hamster wheel of family life got me down a bit this year. In my past life of full-time work and travel the days were still heavily tilted toward care taking, but I also had the built-in mental breaks that work provided. It was a stressful existence that I’m not rushing back towards, but it did offer moments of calm in a hotel room occupied only by me. I got to thinking about how to recreate snippets of time for myself and made a list of what I felt like I needed without editing. Here’s the list:
a full day with no commitments to anyone but me
no household duties
access to nature
doesn’t break the budget
and a place that’s both familiar and novel
With this list in place I began the search for my self-imposed retreat and earmarked a date just one week away. I thought big at first and toyed with the idea of driving to Yosemite National Park – one of my top 5 favorite places on Earth – but the roundrip travel time of 9+ hours seemed a bit much for a 24 hour trip. I also thought that I could check all the boxes on my list by doing a local sort of stay-cation, but the reality is that I’d likely be pulled into my familiar routine and that’s not novel (box 5 of my list). I finally settled on a place that fit the bill within a 150 mile drive – Nevada City, CA.
Solo Retreat
Nevada City is an old mining town at the base of the Sierra Nevada foothills. The downtown is an official historic district dotted with gold rush era buildings and historic homes. Now a variety of shops, eateries and pubs inhabit the old structures which cater to both the eclectic locals and tourists. Nevada City and the neighboring town of Grass Valley caught my eye a few years ago and our family has been retreating to the area ever since.
Familiarity with the area, coupled with it’s access to nature and quirky restaurants had me taking a closer look for my 24 hour getaway. Once I found a hotel room for under $100, I was in!
I present to you a day in the life of my solo adventure:
6:58 PM – checked into the quaint and cozy Outside Inn. And not a minute too soon. I love that I received a call from the innkeeper at 6:45 prepared to give me after-hours check-in instructions. Her genuine excitement that I was within 10 minutes of arriving provided a welcoming feeling that I just don’t get from the big corporate hotels I generally frequent.
7:20 PM – after a brief chat with the innkeeper, I unloaded my single bag and quickly unpacked the scant belongings needed for the evening. I made a quick check-in back home and then set off on foot to procure dinner.
Historic Home in Nevada City
7:30 PM – my brief walk downtown ended at Three Forks Brewery where I ordered a beer and mushroom pizza (breaking my dairy-free diet for the night). The mostly-organic fare is locally sourced and is just so delicious. The vibe is casual and fun with locals and visitors easily interacting. I finished my beer and 1/2 of the pizza before I was on my way back up the hill to the inn.
8:15 PM – arriving back at the inn, I had a moment of “wow, I haven’t been alone in a while” – in a good way. I relaxed in my twin bed (how cute is my room) and did something I rarely do. I watched TV. I’m an avid reader and hardly ever turn on the television at home so it felt a bit frivolous and luxurious to turn the channel to whatever station suited me. After 1/2 hour of HGTV I was down for the count.
6:54 AM – I’m awake and it’s after 6 AM! This is late for me. I consider a few options for the day and ultimately decide to head to Grass Valley for the morning.
7:45 AM – Out the door, car loaded. Drop the keys into the lock box and drive the 10 minutes to Grass Valley.
8 AM – Coffee + project time. This trip was in-part planned to catch up on some projects I’ve been interested in kick starting. The goal was to clean up digital clutter and construct some scaffolding to make my goals + intended habits easier to reach. It turns out that spending an hour and a half in a random Starbucks was what I needed.
Hiking action shot!
9:30 AM – closed my laptop and drove 10 minutes to the Empire Mine State Park. The 2-mile hiking trail near the old mine was the perfect spot for some nature immersion without the trepidation that comes with hiking alone in a new location. (I’ve visited on multiple occasions and took a family hike here recently.) The scent of pine in the air reminded me of summer camp back in East Texas and gave me a warm feeling of familiarity. I purposefully hiked in silence for part of the time and listened to a podcast intermittently. It was the soul-filling time I’d been dreaming of.
10:45 AM – back to Nevada City. I found street parking near an independent bookstore and wandered in. I rarely buy books as I’m a library gal, but I found a magazine that looked like the perfect browsing material for brunch, so I scooped it up and headed up the street.
11 AM – settled on a new spot for brunch that was recommended by the hotel – Heartwood. The hearty rice bowl filled with local, seasonal delights was the perfect post-hike meal. The casual and work-friendly, yet hippy vibe ticked the box of having a truly novel experience.
This rice bowl was so yummy that I took a pic of it
Noon – wandered around town a bit before jumping into the car and heading back toward Sonoma County. Stopping at a few spots along the way, I ended up making it back in time to go out to dinner with my family. I felt honest gratitude for seeing their faces and marveled internally how just 1 day away truly refreshed my soul.
I feel like I squeezed some real goodness out of my solo adventure and plan to make it a quarterly thing. It won’t always be a night away or 7 hours of driving, but it will meet the criteria I set above. Soul feeding sounds pretty woo-woo, but that’s exactly what I did and what I need. And I’m grateful for it.
I don’t tend to be a person who celebrates holidays on one day alone. Giving and showing love only on Valentines Day feels unnatural, just as celebrating Christmas only on Christmas Day would feel totally wrong, just wrong. I LOVE a good reason to celebrate, but I tend to enjoy a season of commemoration vs. confining it to a day on the calendar. Earth Day is no exception, and it feels like an appropriate time to dust off this blog for more regular writing practice. Below are some ways I celebrate Earth Day all year round!
Earth! Specifically, Gerstle Cove in Sonoma County, CA
I’ve spent the last few years really digging into sustainable living and defining what that means for me and my family. I gave zero-waste living all my attention for a few months and realized that lesser-waste living was probably more appropriate for my life. Same goes for gardening – I’m not going to grow 100% (or even 50%) of our food, but I can easily grow a good portion of our fruits and veggies. So, I put together a list of earth-friendly actions I’ve found easy to incorporate to become a natural part of my routine. Maybe you’ll find one or two that will fit you and your life.
Top 7 Earth-Friendly Actions
1. Carry a reusable straw everywhere you go. This switch has been one of the easiest to incorporate into daily life, as my straw effortlessly slips into my purse. These (affiliate link) are my favorite, though I also like these for smaller-sized drinks. It also works to just eliminate straws when ordering drinks.
2. Walk or bike some of your errands.
My crew, circa 2014. I loved that bike!
Of course this will depend heavily on your living and/or working location. It can be a simple as walking a message to your next-door neighbor vs. sending them a text (with a bonus of vitamin community to boot!). Or visiting the local grocery store for some of your groceries instead of the big box store a few miles away. Of course there are large-scale ways to make changes in this department, such as moving to a more walk-able city or neighborhood (see how we made this change 5 years ago), but that’s not always an option. I believe in starting where you are so don’t overthink this one.
3. Carry a reusable water bottle wherever you go.
My go-to water vessel basking in the Spring sun
At the top of most eco-friendly lists is the reusable drink vessel. I tinkered with many material options including stainless steel, aluminum and BPA-free plastic before landing on my favorite – glass. I’m a bit old school and glass is my jam. The container I carry with me daily is actually an old canning jar outfitted with a jar jacket and topped with a lid + my trusty stainless steel straw. Whatever your vessel of choice is, make it your mission to carry it with you for a couple of weeks and see how it feels.
4. Reduce your consumption. This is a vague one for a reason. Taking a look at general consumption is quite an undertaking, so starting small is, again, my go-to strategy. I started by looking at our trash and reverse-engineering our packaging use from there. The main culprits were actually food – processed food to be exact. Upon figuring out that the convenience products we relied upon were to blame, I began making swaps. Instead of granola bars, I began making these uber-easy snack balls for effortless lunch packing. Individual packages became my enemy, so I began buying nuts, crackers, dried fruit and even staples like flour in sugar in bulk quantities. Start by taking a look at your trash as an observation exercise – it takes just a few minutes. Don’t even make a change immediately. Just observe your kitchen garbage (and recycling too) to see how you feel.
5. Shop Used. I wrote a whole post about this, so I won’t bore you reiterating my thoughts here. Again, start small and see where buying used items leads. I went from only shopping in big box or department stores a few years ago to now sourcing 85% of our home and personal goods second-hand.
6. Go old school and hang your laundry to dry. Okay, I’ll admit that this is actually a tough one for many people. Even I don’t do this year-round and I have a complete clothesline in our yard. I do make an effort, seasonally, to hang out the wash. Sunny days beckon for a fresh load of sheets on the line, so I do my best to accept the invitation. This can also be as simple as hanging a few pieces of clothing on hangers in your laundry room, bedroom, garage or wherever you have space. It’s better for the longevity of our clothes which ticks the boxes of reducing consumption and spending less – the energy savings from neglecting your clothes dryer are a bonus!
7. Get an EV!
I’m such a hippy with my EV. Halloween 2018
Yes, I saved this seeming mega switch for last as it’s a big one. Changing one of your gas vehicles out for an electric car requires less habit change than one might think, but getting there is often half the battle. I began thinking about making the switch a couple of years ago and it was ultimately the whopping $400+ our family was spending each month in gas that drove me to act. My daily driving is primarily within a 15 mile radius, so the fact that I was spending $70 per week on gas was eye-opening. Now, I spend about $40per month to charge my 2015 Nissan Leaf. Since I’m a frugal gal and only wanted an EV if it saved us money, I sought a used vehicle with little battery degradation. There are many programs here in California (check your state and federal incentives here) that offer incentives and grants that make the switch a no-brainer. I am happy to report that we spent just $2,000 out of pocket which includes the $5,000 profit from selling my Honda Pilot. Earth and pocket-book friendly!
So, there’s my Earth Day eco-friendly living list. Do you have any to add? I’d love to hear them in the comments section!
Thanks for tuning in for my first blog post in a good, long while. I will be writing here more frequently with topics ranging from big adventures, sustainable-living, finances and simple + adventurous everyday experiences.
It’s the first day of July and our 17 year-old Chevy Tahoe is showing signs of it’s age as we climb up Highway 91 in southern Vermont. The outside thermometer reads 99 degrees and our trusty SUV is struggling to keep up it’s steady stream of cold air inside. We pull over to a rest stop – the cutest ever, complete with a bake sale – about halfway through our 4 hour drive to let the car rest and refill our water bottles, hoping that the AC will step it up after a disco nap. But, we’re back to climbing the hills of the Green Mountain State and are all in need of a lengthier resbit. As if on demand, we exit and immediately spot the signs pointing us toward the mother ship of hot day recovery – the Ben & Jerry’s factory! It seems that everyone in a 100 mile radius has also decided to comfort their sweat-drenched souls in some delicious ice cream. We have officially arrived in Vermont during one of the strongest heatwaves in history.
When Something’s Not Right
We tell ourselves that our Airbnb rental just 20 minutes south of the Canadian border will be much cooler, as it never gets this hot that far north. Wrong. The temp dips to 95 degrees as we roll into town around 5 pm. And did I mention our rental does not have air conditioning?! (Again, it never gets this hot, so why would we need AC?) I rationalized that it would be cooler inside the apartment regardless of the temps outside while fumbling with lock of the apartment door. WHOOSH -the door opens and I’m hit with a wave of hot air. With no shade or trees in sight, the building had no chance to get cool during this onslaught of heat. Still, we had a car to unload and kids to feed, so we brought in our bags and set up shop the best we could in our state of heat-induced delirium. The slanted floors and general dingy-ness of the space hit me like a second heatwave as we settled into dinner. Our next discovery ended up being the final nail in the coffin of the ill-fated rental – there was no cell service in the entire town. And that’s when my downward spiral of anxiety and general freaked-out-ness began. I spent the next three hours beating myself up mentally for booking this place – a remote, non-climate-controlled apartment with no connectivity.
The next day, armed with a list of nearby swimming holes recommended by our hosts, and the address of a library where Neils could work, we put a plan into action to make the best of it. We dropped Neils off and then drove half an hour to a swimming hole. The boys played in the cool creek while I took a deep breath and felt honest gratitude for being there. A few hours and bug bites later, upon his sister’s suggestion, we headed to the town of Burlington about an hour and a half away. The ultimate college town on beautiful Lake Champlain was bustling and full of life. Neils finished up his work at Starbucks while we strolled a cobblestone street lined with shops. It was the Vermont we’d been hoping for when we booked this leg of our trip. At dinner (in an air-conditioned restaurant), we decided that our rental up north was not going to work. Besides the general funkiness of the apartment, the heat and tiny town with no connectivity, we just all felt that it was not where we wanted to spend our time. It was apparent that we thrive as a family in a less remote space where community is both alive and engaged. Burlington checked all those boxes, but with our housing budget for July already spent, we had no idea how we’d recover from this booking misstep. Sure, we could afford a few nights in a hotel, but not a whole month.
We (heart) Burlington!
Juiy 3rd Fireworks
Patrick leap froggin’
Sculpture + Calan
And then family saved the day. Our brother-in-law’s parents were leaving for Europe on July 5th and offered up their Western Massachusetts home for us to house sit while they were away. And they have air-conditioning AND a pool! This also meant that we’d get to spend more time with Abbe, Joe and their girls so, we checked out the next day and booked the nights of July 3rd and 4th in Burlington, arriving just in time for their annual Independence Day celebration. I tell you what – New Englander’s know how to do the 4th! We watched a spectacular fireworks show over Lake Champlain with thousands of onlookers on July 3rd and happy tears filled my eyes with the realization of the memories we were making. I felt so thankful that we were together, staring at the sky in awe, that I finally let the criticism I’d been doling upon myself melt away. The next morning we watched a parade in a neighboring town and then swam in the lake. It felt like a classic East Coast holiday.
Moving On + Figuring it Out
Leaving Vermont on the 5th, we felt better about our decisions and ready to spend some quality time with family. Though not in original plans, our time in Massachusetts was truly what we needed. Daily visits with cousins, pool-swimming and BBQ’s were like a salve to our homesick souls. We even went on a double-date with Abbe and Joe and got some much needed adult time noshing on Eastern European cuisine and capping the night with a visit to the local brewery while their babysitter watched our kids. Endless poolside ice cream parties filled our evenings as we collected ourselves and prepared for the remainder of our trip.
Unca Neils + Loretta and Mabel
It was during our time in Mass. that we came to a decision that had been looming since early on. We were homesick beyond our expectations and began to see how many intangibles and more importantly, people, we took for granted back home. Of course, we’ve always been grateful that we live near both my mom and Neils’ parents back in California, but we really grasped their meaning in our lives during these weeks away. Our community, the weather, and our pedestrian-friendly town were also deeply missed. How was it that we’d been so blind to all of these things when we sketched out this trip?
So, we decided to shorten our trip with no real return date, but knowing that we’d likely be back in California by September. After coming to that conclusion, the planner in me felt ready to move on. I booked a beach condo in New Hampshire for the last week in July and headed off to Portsmouth, NH with the boys as Neils headed back to Minnesota for an annual golf trip.
The Coast
Sunset over Portsmouth
Portsmouth, NH is just the cutest New England town. Just across the Piscataqua River from Maine, this bustling old village is a real draw for visitors. We were lucky enough to have dear friends from California come visit us and they rented a house near the historic downtown. Arriving on Wednesday afternoon, the boys and I joined up with Nina’s family and set out to explore on foot, immediately discovering a Where’s Waldo scavenger hunt hosted by the oh-so-cute local toystore, G. Willikers. Since we have experience with our local Petaluma Waldo hunt, the boys led our charge around town, quickly dashing in to find Waldo before running full throttle to the next store. We drank fresh-squeezed lemonade from a sidewalk vendor, peered at 17th century homes, and generally soaked up all Portsmouth has to offer. A day trip to Ogunquit, ME the next day was the icing on the cake. Starting the day at Nubble Lighthouse, climbing rocks and chatting with other tourists, we lived out the experience we’d been seeking when dreaming up this trip. Spending the remainder of our day at the crowded beach, watching the kids build sand castles, catch (and release) crabs and play in the water with abandon was just what I’d needed to calm the eff down. It was so wonderful that I honestly didn’t want to leave the beach, which is truly something since I’m generally not a fan of sand. Lobster roll in hand, I felt happy for the experience we were having without a thought of when it would end.
Sunset over Portsmouth
Waldo!
Crabbin’
Kings of Nubble Light
Upon Neils’ return, we spent the remainder of July in North Hampton, NH in a condo just one block from the Atlantic Ocean. Our days were ruled by the tides and passing rainstorms. The boys learned to boogie board and I actually got in the ocean, something I never do in the Pacific due to the dangerous riptides. Cousins visited and the boys and I delighted at their giggles and screams when the waves splashed into their little bodies. Neils and I even got a few minutes to ourselves while walking the half-block to the beach coffee shop each morning. It was a breath of fresh, salty, air for us all. We felt that if we could stay anywhere the remainder of our time, it would be in this small beach community on the Atlantic coast of New Hampshire. But, and this is a big one, the week in NH was as costly as our entire month’s rent in Vermont. It wasn’t in the cards to stay, so onward we drove to New York State’s Catskills Mountains.
Atlantic seawall walkin’
Lobster roll, anyone?
Finn + the beach
Making a Decision
We arrived in the town of Woodstock, NY at 9:30 P.M. after driving across New Hampshire and Massachusetts with a brief stopover in Western Mass. for a family dinner and cousin playtime. It was dark and wooded and we were the easy to spot out-of-towners with California plates. The feeling of displacement enveloped me. The cicadas hummed as we unloaded our sleepy troupe and tucked them into foreign beds. Awaking the next morning, we tried in vain to shake the sticky air from our skin as we set out to check out our August locale. Rain, more rain, and humidity would mark our days in the Catskills, we soon found out.
Our time in New York was definitely not terrible though – we spent time along the Hudson River, walking over it on a former railway bridge and spotting a bald eagle swooping down to the behemoth waterway. We toured FDR’s home in Glen Park (now a National Historic Site), swam in a giant swimming pool in Bear Mountain State Park and took a weekend trip to NYC (two for me!). The boys saw their first Broadway show – SpongeBob SquarePants – and we played in Central Park with our family. We even got to go backstage and on-stage at Kinky Boots, where Joe’s cousin performs her role as Nicola. We ate sushi and soaked up the big city summer vibes, agreeing that we loved our time in NYC, but are happy to live in a smaller ‘burg.
NYC!
Bear Mtn. State Park Pool
Walkway over the Hudson
The bulk of our time though, was spent trying to figure out what to do with ourselves in the near daily rainstorms and humidity that was permeating both the outside and inside of our rental. The house was removed enough that we had to drive everywhere and the upstairs was too hot to work in, so we were again left with the continuing debacle of working remotely (for Neils) and occupying the boys need for activity. With all the rain, we were truly left at a loss. It was during early August that we finally came to a decision about our trip. After a family meeting where we each shared our feelings about our trip’s highs and lows, we agreed that we’d like to return home. And the boys all agreed that arriving home in time for the first day of school was a priority. We still had our upcoming visit with my sister and mom to look forward to and Calan’s birthday on the 11th, so the days began to fill themselves and we found that once we made our decision, everything felt lighter.
Lessons Learned
The teaching moments of our two month road trip across the US are numerous enough that I’m planning a future post on the topic. But, I have a few quick notes I’d like to share before then. I realize that many of our experiences sound amazing and fun and wonderful. And they were. I also know that the negative experiences felt even more so because we were away from our comforts of home. Those feelings co-existed and honestly felt more raw because of our travels. The lack of our safety net of home underscored every emotion – at least for me and two of our boys. It was literally an emotional roller coaster. That said, we found out how much our community and home mean to us. Of course, we knew how much we loved our Sonoma County life before we left, but the daily grind sometimes gets in the way of seeing reality as it truly is. My mom lives right behind us and her presence is a gift to us all, but we realized how much so when we were away. Neils’ parents are 15 minutes away and we missed our regular Sunday dinners and afternoons in their garden. The many friends that we can reach within a 5 minute walk or a 20 minute drive were missed wholeheartedly. Our tomato plants, plum and fig trees and our neighbors green beans were all things we’d never think to miss when we’d planned our travels, but miss them we did.
Home
I say all of this not to dwell on what we missed from home, but more remind myself that I have so very much to be thankful for in this life. My adventurous spirit will never fade but neither will my longing for simplicity and community. And that’s what I’m taking forward from this experience. I love home and I love to travel. I love a big city and a small town. I love the feel of waking up in a new locale with fresh places to explore and I love my local hikes with friends. This is me. This is us. We’re figuring it out as we go along.
