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Get Rid of Your Plastic Garden Netting This Year

You may not like snakes, but you should still understand that they play an important role in your local ecosystem and almost never cause you any harm (well, at least here on the east coast of the US).

As the weather warms up, your friendly neighborhood rodent killers will be back on patrol and what you don’t want to have is a situation like the picture above: a snake trapped in your netting.

I beg of you, please, remove all of your plastic garden netting. Replace it with chicken wire or some cotton groundcloth, depending on what you’re using it for. Get creative! When you rid yourself of it, if you throw it in the trash, do your best to cut through it, tie it well in knots, and/or seal it well in a bag. You don’t want it harming animals when it goes to landfill (or worse, the open ocean).

Don’t buy it, don’t use it--remove it!

If you don’t remember whether you have any, or if you bought your property from someone else, take a walk around it and double check to make sure you don’t have any hiding somewhere.

One thing we had major issues with at my grandmother’s house was big, beautiful, black rat snakes getting caught in this garden mesh she put up around her property. In some places, she said it was to keep the squirrels from chewing on the house, in others to keep the birds off the plants--but the thing it was most effective at? Trapping and harming or killing black rat snakes.

Rat snakes are great at keeping the rodent population down. They’re always on patrol, so you don’t need to resort to poison or traps. And dealing with dead rodents you’ve killed yourself is no fun. You may squeal when you see snakes, but they’re not venomous and they actually want nothing to do with you. They just want to be free.

In our case, we freed two 5-6 foot black rat snakes from this plastic mesh that we didn’t realize was there until a snake was trapped in it. My grandmother put it in years ago and just forgot about it. One snake (and I will spare you the photo of this) we didn’t get to in time and only found the bones of, up on the back side of the house this November. Broke my heart.

It took three of us to hold the thrashing snakes while my mom cut them free, as gently as she could. They are so strong and wonderful and black rat snakes in particular only do good, so be a little kinder this year and get rid of that old plastic garden netting!

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Preparing This Year’s Cheap Garden: DIY Trellis

To be honest, I am so new to the farming scene that I’m not even sure that’s what it’s called. But I think I heard someone call it a trellis, so that’s what it is.

I made one for my sugar snap peas this year and it didn’t cost me a penny. If you want to make one, I’m here to spark your creativity. And to encourage you to grow sugar snap peas this year because they’re hella good and equally as easy.

I would call 2018′s garden a success, if only because I could sneak a sugar snap pea pod every time I walked out the door. Had zero success with tomatoes and pretty limited results with lettuce, but I learned a lot!

The need to garden on the cheap has not changed, and neither has my desire to do it with as little waste as possible. One of the many things I learned last year, that pretty much everyone knows but me, is that sugar snap peas are always on the move and they do a lot better if they can climb--high--like 8 feet high.

Last year it was everything I could do to keep them from climbing the columns of my apartment. This year, I want them to really have some space, plus I got a purple variety, so I think it’ll double as a big wall of plant art!

First, let’s talk location. The sugar snap peas were crazy easy last year, but I was in a different state. I moved back to my childhood home, so I have a ton more room than I did before. I plan to plant them in containers this year too, but that’s mostly because the soil in this spot isn’t very deep at all. This location has enough sun (I haven’t mapped it, but I’m pretty sure) AND it has this nifty fence that I can lash to--which means less work for me!

We somehow always have odd leftover lumber. This stuff was on its way out. I mean, it’s pretty rotten. I’m not too worried about it, though. I used three long boards in an H shape. Hopefully you can see what I mean in the photo.

The chicken wire was way in the depths of the backyard from, I guess, when someone tried to repair a hole in our other fence? Some of it was rusty, so I used wire cutters to cut around that.

HOT TIP: I got pretty scraped up by all the sharp edges, so I definitely suggest some work gloves, or at the very least, a long sleeved shirt or sturdy jacket. And maybe a tetanus shot.

The other items I found in the workshop (which is basically a hoarding pile from the last 28 years of our family living here). Some nice little rope, a loaded staple gun (score!), and a drill that still had some charge in it from last time my brother was home. The screws were harder to come by, but I found four that would go through both boards.

I’m not going to tell you how I constructed it, partly because that’s boring and partly because it was really dumb.

Here’s what you should do if you have the same parts:

1. Measure and assemble on the ground first. Construct it so that the horizontal board rests on the top of the fence and the boards securely touch the ground. Your vertical posts may not be equal in height because they’re scraps and because the ground may be uneven. Account for that.

2. Drill your pilot holes and drive two long screws into the boards to connect them. Place one higher than the other and off to one side to make the connection sturdier.

3. Put it up on the fence and lash it using your rope. Make it really tight because as the rope weathers, it will loosen. Tie each board to more than one fence post, if possible, so that if something happens, at least the weight of the impact will be somewhat distributed.

4. Roughly measure and stretch out your chicken wire (with help). Start from the TOP. This will keep your plants from growing between the pieces of chicken wire. Tug it as straight as you can get it and use a staple gun to secure it. Make sure you have vertical and horizontal staples, and probably some diagonally too. It doesn’t have to be stunning, just secure.

And, essentially, you’re done. I’ll keep you updated on how mine holds up and how the peas end up liking that spot.

[pantheistpinchingpennies-blog]

Caregivers: Are You Paying Three Times What You Owe?

Part of me going minimal with my life is figuring out how to make my budget go further. When your income is under 25k like mine is, that requires a little more than skipping the daily coffee. One thing I discovered after some digging (and that many caregivers don’t realize) is that I am not responsible for paying all of the taxes I have been paying. That’s right. I actually owe way less than I’ve been paying--and despite that, won’t get a refund for the amount. It’s all in how the taxes are done. I’ll explain...

When I started my job, I went through weeks of training, had a background check, was fingerprinted, and then had to learn how the family wanted me to do the job (down to how to fold the towels). I am told when to show up and when to leave. I am happy as a clam to do all of this! I love professional development and I thrive when I know what’s expected of me. What this means is that I am legally considered a household employee, not a self-employed independent contractor. Seems like a simple difference, but it’s not. See the link at the bottom of this post for the 20 ways that will help you figure out what type of worker you are.

My income, if I work all the hours I am scheduled to work and never get sick (which is unlikely) is roughly $23,200. For the sake of math, I had this tax calculator calculate what taxes I’d owe in each scenario if my income was 20,000. Are you ready to see what I saw?

As a household employee, I would owe about $800 at the end of the year.

As an independent contractor, I would owe $3,484.

That is more than three times the right amount. And the difference doesn’t stop there. If you lose your job through no fault of your own (your client passes, your client’s parents no longer need help, etc.) as an independent contractor you cannot collect unemployment while you look for another position. Your employer also isn’t paying into Social Security or Medicare. This is more than just a dollar amount issue.

So once I confirmed that I was, indeed, a household employee, I made sure to bring it up with my employer carefully, but frequently. I didn’t want to fight and lose my job because I love my job and I need to be employed. But I also knew that I was asking for what was legally correct, and even something well-within her budget. It does not have to be well-within someone’s budget for it to be legally correct, but I knew I wasn’t asking too much by any means. I also wasn’t asking for a favor, this is what is legally required. Still, I got pushback and only now are things starting to change. I am SO grateful I pressed on.

Here’s why your employer may not want to change the way they’re doing taxes:

1. It’s complicated and annoying. That’s just taxation for you.

2. They owe money they’re not used to paying. The money they pay toward taxes goes toward protections for you like unemployment insurance.

3. They’re scared the change will bring on auditors and they’ll get in a bunch of trouble. They may end up owing back-taxes, interest, and fines if they’ve been doing this a long time.

4. They don’t believe that you qualify as a household employee.

So if you find out you’re being taxed incorrectly, you need to have information backing you up--and a backbone to fight with. If I hadn’t held another job that was almost exactly the same, where I was taxed differently, I never would’ve known to look. That’s why I’m bringing it up here.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: money isn’t everything. However, the difference between these types of taxation could be the difference between getting medical care for the year and not getting it, or feeding yourself, or paying to keep your lights on at home.

You are taking care of what a family holds most precious and most dear. What they don’t often realize is that you may be actively struggling to make ends meet. When you leave their house and go home at the end of the day, sometimes you aren’t able to pay for your needs. You may need to remind them that while that tax may be a major inconvenience to them, it makes an enormous difference to you.

Let me know through comments or messages if you know about taxes, if I’ve said anything incorrect, or if you have gone through or are currently going through a similar issue! I’d love to hear from you about it.

Here are some helpful links for you:

VA Department of Labor on the 20 ways you can tell whether you’re an employee or an independent contractor

IRS Form SS-8, if you believe you are being misclassified and you want to do something about it

READ THIS before filling out that form and sending it in--misclassification is a form of tax evasion, which is a crime that comes with penalties for your employer including back-taxes, interest, and fines. When you fill out and submit form SS-8, you are alerting the government to your situation and they may take action. Your employer WILL NOT be pleased. You know your situation best. Always try to get your employer to do the right thing, if possible, before doing something major. If losing your job could put you at risk of homelessness, BE WISE. Just because something is legally correct, doesn’t mean it’ll end fairly.

You can also call 1-866-487-9243 to reach the Department of Labor and get a little help figuring this all out. Again, it’s the Department of Labor, so anything you say to them may prompt them to take action. You can also call a tax professional and get advice that way, though it may cost you money.

[pantheistpinchingpennies-blog]

It Takes Six Minutes

So a couple weeks ago, I rushed for absolutely no reason. Instead of following instructions for the dried refried bean mix I love so much, I improvised and then quickly took the dog outside to pee. I thought myself clever for creating my own microwave instructions. When I opened the door to come back inside, I knew there was a fire. I was hit with a wall of smoke that was visible and painful to breathe. I had been gone six minutes, right outside my front door.

Six minutes. That’s it. I could’ve lost the kitchen, could’ve lost the house, could’ve lost my dog. It’s dramatic, but true. The fire alarms never went off. I had to wear a mask for 24 hours, it was so bad, and our fire alarms did not ever go off.

Here’s the thing. Check your alarms. Make sure they’re installed and tested according to the manufacturer’s instructions--in the right places at the correct angles. It turns out there wasn’t one in our kitchen at all. 

You need to know your rights too if you rent. Here, by law, our rental company is required to provide working fire AND carbon monoxide alarms according to the fire department’s specifications. Even though they say in the lease that we’re “required to change the batteries,” by law they are the ones who are responsible for making sure the alarms are always functional. I've had to remind them of their responsibilities on multiple occasions. Know your rights and the limits of your responsibilities. Stand up for yourself.

{Because I called and had a few words with the rental company, they installed a smoke detector in the kitchen less than two hours after it happened and the very next day I was washing dishes and the steam set it off--so we definitely have a working one now.}

I really thought the smoke had done permanent damage to the house, but it smells 100% normal now, two weeks later. So I figured, god forbid this ever happens to someone else, I’ll tell you how I fixed my mistake.

1. As soon as I noticed the smoke was unsafe (which to be honest, took longer than it should have), I got Noah (my dog) outside to a secure place. I had him on the back deck first and then moved him into his crate in my open trunk outside (it was 60 degrees and breezy--he was fine).

2. I found the source and removed it carefully when I was sure it was safe. I covered my arms in case the hot bowl exploded because of the the temperature change between the black coal and the chilly wind outside (I’m serious. That happened to my mother once). I put hot water in the bowl because I couldn’t get it to stop smoking. Hot is important because again, the temperature change is a big deal.

3. I opened every window that didn’t have a spider in residence and the front door and turned on all the fans (ceiling fans, bathroom fans, desk fans...) I later turned off the stove fan when I realized it was full of smoke smell because of its proximity to the original fire. Later I bought an $18 box fan from Walmart, which is not my proudest life moment, but I don’t regret it because that fan is a beast. The key turned out to be opening just one window on each side of the house and using the box fan to blow the air IN, not out. The air pulls in from one window and out the other.

3.5 I boarded my dog. I wanted him to sleep somewhere safe and I wanted one less thing to worry about. Dogs have VERY sensitive noses and if I was struggling to breathe, I knew he would be worse off. Best $30 I have ever spent.

4. I put on a dust mask. Yeah. I’m the kind of crazy person who had several in her emergency supplies. I needed this desperately because by this point I was dizzy, nauseous, and had a splitting headache. This is also when I realized I should turn off the AC/central air/heat because I didn’t want to put more smoke smell where I couldn’t reach it to clean it out. I was lucky that the weather wasn’t worse, but that night we slept in a 53 degree house between the fans and no heat. It was not fun at all. I did consider sleeping in my van.

5. I took a general cleaning spray, just a natural one with very little scent in it that my roommate had under the sink and I wiped the kitchen from top to bottom (and I do mean in that order). Just because the air circulates doesn’t mean the smell leaves because smoke leaves little particles on everything it touches--cabinets, walls, plates, floors, all of it. I wiped the floor down. I washed out the microwave twice and I figured out how to take the removable vent covers out over the stove and I washed those thoroughly in Dawn, rinsed, and dried them. And I cleaned every other part of the vent I could reach.

6. I washed all the pillows, all the blankets, everything soft and small that was laying around.

7. I sprinkled plain, dry baking soda all over the carpets. My whole house is carpeted apart from the kitchen and bathrooms, so I did it all. I let it sit for 15-20 minutes while I wondered whether I should call my insurance company. I chose not to and then I vacuumed everything very thoroughly. I got the corners, the parts that were partially covered, the couches, the vents, and my roommate’s giant teddy bear.

8. This is when I turned my central air back on. I haven’t done it yet, but you should definitely replace your air filters at least once after a fire, better to do it once the night after you vacuum and then again a week or so later.

9. The next day I boiled some water on the stove with cinnamon and essential oils in it because I’d heard that was good. I would not recommend the cinnamon at all because you don’t realize until you have a fire that cinnamon and smoke smell very similar. I did like it when I switched over to just citrus scents with a little vanilla.

10. We spent a few more days with the windows open and fans on and after the first two days, most of it was gone. I haven’t done anything to the house since and you wouldn’t be able to tell that there was ever a fire if I didn’t mention it--apart from the “Do Not Use” post-it on our microwave, of course ;)

It legitimately wasn’t safe to breathe the air in my house two weeks ago and now it’s like the commercials--like it never even happened.

[pantheistpinchingpennies-blog]

Quality of Life VS Standard of Living

I grew up in a family of try-harders, not a family of perfect people. I’d venture to say that almost everyone did.

My mother has always worked to maximize our "standard of living." Our ability to buy the things we want when we want them, live in a big house, have the channels we like to watch, subscribe to magazines, and amass piles of things--to never not have what we want. That’s a good goal. She wanted to give us the whole world. Everything. To never know what it was like to have to do without. What a gift it was to never know what it was like to come home to empty cabinets.

The thing I wanted most as a child was to have a present parent. I wanted to not be the last kids picked up from the only daycare in town that stayed open until six. I wanted a parent who wasn't the picture of stress. Who wasn’t always working toward more, more, more. There has to be a balance somewhere between material goods and quality time.

I know many, many parents have to work a lot to make ends meet. They have to because there is no other way. That is not balance either, but it’s unbalanced out of necessity. I am grateful that our family did not experience that. We had enough--too much stuff and not enough time. Hoards of food in the cabinets that mostly went to waste. Bits and bobs stowed away in every corner for that solitary, magical moment when we might need them. Four sets of crutches, eight bicycles, coffee cups spilling out of the cupboards, clothes in every size for every possible occasion, and games and toys we weren't at home enough to play with.

If you're at home awake for four hours before bed and just on the weekends, tell me, is your high "standard of living" reaping a high quality of life?

I'm lucky this happened. I'm lucky that this, this minute issue, was my struggle. I grew up well-fed and well-loved. It made me the person I am. I believe my laid-back personality developed as a direct result of this imbalance between having plenty of material goods and not enough time to enjoy the people I loved. My parents are heroes. We had plenty of fun, hugs for days, and we were okay overall. When we were little, Mom would craft with us on the weekends. We’d make cookies and biscuit pizza. We’d go for long walks. Dad would take us climbing and we’d go swimming with him on Mondays and Tuesdays. We’d play in the mud. Dam the water and make salads out of wild onions to feed the fairies. Mom and Dad would rake the leaves and let us jump into the piles with them. Stuff wasn't what we needed. I wanted more of that. More of them.

Let’s be real. Of course I wanted stuff. Every kid goes to the store and wants it all. I didn’t need it. I didn't need troves of Lego and 32 barbies (yes, 32, I had 32 barbies). I didn't need four kinds of cereal or every video game I wanted. I needed Mom.

Life is unbelievably expensive, but what is life if you're miserable all the time trying to fill the house you never see with every imaginable object you could ever want? Does life have to be this way? Do you starve and have childhood memories of romping through the forest for hours every day? Or do you have too much with not enough time?

I am grateful for my childhood and for the sacrifices my parents made to give me the world. But having the whole material world and not time to enjoy it is what's motivating my decision to minimize my pile of junk. I'm determined to live in a way that gives me time, not stuff. A way that prioritizes quality of life over standard of living. 

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Slow Information (Why I Won’t Downsize My Books)

It occurs to me that part of the reason I feel so frazzled and mentally chaotic all the time is that I watch YouTube constantly. I use it to learn about all kinds of things--from survival, mental health, and childcare to minimalism, even. What I do is bounce from one video to another, getting what I want to know and then rushing to follow my brain to the next topic. It’s bad. It’s even to the point where I speed the videos up because I can’t stand to hear people talk slowly. Hours are lost this way and I’m left with information learned, yes, but a very busy brain. It’s no wonder I can’t sleep.

It’s hard to justify learning more slowly because it feels ridiculous. Don’t you want to have more information more efficiently?? The problem is that this has led to a lot of stress, a dwindling attention span, and killer irritability for me. 

In minimizing things, you’d expect me to minimize everything--books included. But to slow down and still learn as much as I want, I need materials (plus, books are the best kind of clutter, if you ask me).

For almost a year once I made a pact with myself that I would only watch YouTube with other people (not simply in the same room, but with them), or if I wanted to see a video I could either listen to it with no video or watch it with no sound. I’m ready to do it again because it worked. I don’t remember why I even stopped.

I’ve begun reading instead. While it is slow, there is something cleansing about it. When I read, I feel like I’m quieting my brain. Slowing it down. I feel like I’m retaining the information better and I’m definitely more relaxed.

These photos are of my actual bookshelf in its clearly un-minimal glory. I’m not going to lie to you. I haven’t touched this area at all to minimize it yet, so you’ll see the leg of a waldorf doll, a cardboard box full of junk, stress balls I never touch, and all kinds of other random things. But my books are loosely organized, so I can find them:

Photo 1 is child-rearing and philosophy (no clue why I put those together)

Photo 2 is stuff that is Iceland-related (because I studied abroad, I have several of those)

Photo 3 is nature stuff

Photo 4 is random fiction and tarot (which I think I put there to remind me that tarot, the way I do it, is mostly fiction)

Photo 5 is self-help and text books, plus important documents and manuals for things I own

I have absolutely no plans to downsize these and in fact, plan to keep growing it. You should see the number of books at my childhood home that I haven’t even bothered to bring with me.

A guy I dated once visited that home with me for Christmas and was absolutely fascinated with how many books there were. Everywhere there are books tucked away, shelf after shelf of them. He said he could count on one hand the number of books in his childhood home. On. One. Hand.

That scares me because people think they can’t afford books, but buying books new is crazy! Don’t do it! Well over half the books I own, I bought used and of those, the vast majority cost 50 cents or less. Yard sales are the bomb. 

Slow down. Buy a book or head to the library. Borrow from a friend. Read for a bit. Really savor that you have the amazing privilege of being able to learn by reading. No matter how slowly you read, you CAN and that sets you apart. Many, many people lack that ability. Treasure it.

[pantheistpinchingpennies-blog]

$20 Zero-Waste Food Haul!

So, I’ve been dealing with the sadness that came along with my first major low-waste mistake: not investing in junk food. Seriously. It about broke me. Two lifestyle changes at once? Not recommended. Zero stars.

Because the only place I’ve found so far that sells bulk junk food is half an hour from my house (one way!), I waited until I needed a bunch of food so that I wouldn’t waste a trip. Give me your opinion, if you would, on whether you think the gas for a half-hour trip is worth the rejection of plastic. Is burning fossil fuels better? I can’t decide.

I really enjoyed shopping this time and got some kind comments on my bulk bags, so I thought I’d share! (and hopefully you can learn from my mistake!)

I popped into Trader Joe’s because everyone loves Trader Joe’s and turns out I’m not really a fan. I was hoping they’d have bulk bins and that I’d be able to skip Sprouts, but there were only three items on my list that I could get plastic-free: a navel orange, lime, and yellow onion. Even their bananas had plastic around the stems and all of their hot peppers were in plastic. Everywhere I looked!

My cashier was horrified (I’m serious) when I came to the register with only three items and he kept saying how great their prices were and I had to keep reassuring him that the only reason was that I was trying to avoid plastic--nothing against Trader Joe’s. And then when I paid in cash with exact change, you could practically hear him gasp. I’m telling you, welcome to 2018.

I moved on to Sprouts Farmer’s Market, which is FAR from my house. I got a huge bag of dark-chocolate-covered pretzels (which were $2 cheaper than the milk chocolate ones, per lb. I thought that was bizarre). I also snagged chocolate-covered almonds and some savory snacks in the form of salted unshelled sunflower seeds and spicy peanuts. I needed some salsa ingredients to use up one of the items in my cabinet, so I found a jalepeño pepper for 13 cents. I stumbled on avocados that were 3 for a dollar, which I thought was amazing. Plus, I bought a plum to try because my friend recommended it and I’ve never had one! Of course, corn too--even though I don’t think it’s corn season.

You may think I’m starving because this is definitely not a week’s worth of food, but I do have some food in the pantry. Some canned tuna, rice, oats, dried refried bean mix (which I bought in bulk back home!), a can of diced tomatoes, flour, chia seeds...and that’s about it. I’m running comically low. But now that I have my junk food, I’m back in action. Unhealthy, but true.

[pantheistpinchingpennies-blog]

Attack on the Garden!

This week there have been two unhappy surprises on my little apartment garden. The first, that a creature (I believe a bird) gracefully removed every single tomato seedling I had. It looks like a heckin’ UFO came through and picked them up because it’s like they were never even there. No sign of the plants at all. Thank goodness, it knew which were tomatoes and decided to only pluck those. 

The second was a mystery until this afternoon. If you’re a seasoned gardener, you may already be able to tell what the issue is just by looking closely at the picture.

Aphids! My blackberry has aphids! *gasps from the crowd*

I saw tons of these little dippin’ dots-like things under the leaves on my blackberry plant yesterday evening and I went back today to the garden center where I got it initially because I was absolutely certain they would know what they were. They didn’t. But I walked with the guy back to the greenhouse where they keep the blackberries and a couple of them were chewed up and he saw an aphid.

You see, my dippin’ dots hadn’t moved yet. When I saw them yesterday, none of them moved. I checked. So when he said aphids, I came home and looked and sure enough, there those little suckers were.

I’ve been plucking them by hand (ignore my long af nails) and tossing them onto the sidewalk. Not the best solution because the high for tomorrow is 60 and I really doubt that’s hot enough to kill them. I took off some of the leaves that were most covered and now I’m just begging the skies for more ladybugs. I guess I’ll keep doing this until they go away or until I figure out something better. As usual, I have patience, not money. If you have better ideas, I welcome them.

Garden center guy said blackberries are hardy enough to withstand just about anything, but it’s such a young plant that...I don’t know. I may plant more tomatoes tomorrow and just keep them inside until they’re bigger this time.

Sometimes nature, while beautiful, does not follow my requests. What can you do but keep trying?

[pantheistpinchingpennies-blog]

DIY Bulk Bags

I found that the only store around here that sells a wide selection of bulk items will take off  a max of .08 in tare weight. That’s it. My big jars weigh an entire pound. And, to be honest, I’ve gotten tired pretty quickly of taking cumbersome jars to the store.

I’m not going for the plastic bags. Why buy in bulk if you’re just going to put it in plastic anyway?? But I definitely don’t have the money to go on an Etsy bulk bag shopping spree. Solution? DIY. Big surprise.

I ordered some organic cotton muslin online (totally unnecessary--an old t-shirt would’ve been a more responsible choice) and, also online, some split ring key tags. Everything else I had sitting around my house.

I don’t use my sewing machine anymore because I messed up the timing awhile ago and, frankly, I’m too scared to try again. Hand-sewing is fine for me. I find it kind of meditative, actually. It makes me feel more connected to the finished product. But if you want to machine sew yours, go for it. It would go much more quickly that way.

I did wash and dry the fabric before I started (*pats self on back*), but if you think for one second that I bothered to iron it, you are off your rocker.

Basically, what I did was cut out long rectangles, so that when I folded the bag to sew it up, the bottom would be seamless. I hemmed the edges that would be the top later and I sewed it together inside out using just a general straight stitch. As I was sealing up one of the sides, I’d put a braided tie in the side and sew it in (making sure that the tie would end up on the outside of the bag, of course), so it was permanently attached. Turned that puppy right side out and DONE.

If you want more detailed information on how I put the bags together, shoot me a message and I’ll make that available. I’m just feeling a bit lazy at the moment!

What I do when I go to the store now is fill my bag, slide a tag onto the tie, write the bin number on the tag (crossing out whatever bin number was on it before), and tie the bag up. At the register, they take off the tare (the weight of the bag with nothing in it), which I wrote in the top corner in fine-line sharpie, use the bin number on the tag, and ring me up. Boom. Food.

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My Recycled Apartment Garden

I find that I can’t afford a ton of fresh vegetables or fruit, so I've set out to grow some of my own. I had a lot of success growing potatoes when I was a kid and I know my chive game is out of this world, but I’m no pro.

I am blessed beyond blessed with the amount of outdoor space I have! My apartment is pretty shady and I just don’t have the cash to go out and get all kinds of fancy gardening gear, but I’m having no trouble making my edible garden dreams come true...

I’m doing it my way. I used some waste items as planters (which I’ll show you) and got free soil on Craigslist*! I did buy seeds (and a 50 cent blackberry bush-let), but didn’t feel bad about it because I bought them from a local greenhouse and the seeds are in paper pouches. I realize the blackberry bush won’t give me any fruit for probably a couple years, but I have always wanted to have one anyway.

*if you choose to use Craigslist, remember to use your best judgement and always go with a friend, or better yet, two friends and make sure someone knows where you’re going. The world is full of wonderful and sometimes scary things*

I don’t like to scavenge for things. When people try to save money by getting free samples and going to events to get free pizza or whatever, that’s just not me. Makes me uncomfortable. What I am comfortable with, however, is the Nextdoor app. Our neighborhood is very active and we’ve had success buying things and notifying the neighbors of suspicious activity. So I feel pretty good about using it. I asked around to see if anyone had soil they wanted to spare for two bucks and a thank you note, but no takers. I dug deep in my courage/crazy bucket and checked Craigslist several days in a row, searching things like dirt, soil, garden, etc. and finally today I got a HUGE amount of soil for absolutely no cost. I only took as much soil as I thought I would need and the homeowner was glad to at least see a dent in the dirt pile.

I started my garden about a week ago with the soil from a potted plant on my porch that was already dead. Soil is expensive, people! And it comes wrapped in plastic. I mean, how weird is that? Wrapping something so beautiful and natural in something so unnatural and awful. Why? So it’s easy to ship and keeps your car clean? Good heavens!

In fact, the soil from the plant is actually really excellent. It’s not organic, which is not ideal. However, it is full of great dead roots and little leaves and whatnot. It’s loose and the seedlings seem to really love it. 

Here’s what I have going now:

I planted these daisies on Valentine’s Day because they were a gift from my roommate. They came up more slowly than the edibles, but they’re still cute.

Next to the daisies is a paper carton from last week’s eggs. I planted sugar snap peas in one side (far side) and a lettuce mix in the other (closer). I will say, I’m not very good at planting sparingly. Those lettuce seeds are so small! I promise, every time I walk by, I take a look to see if I can find any duds to pull out. You can probably see some of the ones I’ve pulled out laying on either side of the carton.

These planters I found on my bookshelf when I was cleaning a couple days ago. They had pens in them! I just planted some yellow pear tomatoes (at least I think that’s what they’re called) in them today.

These I also planted today and they’re cherry tomatoes in Chobani yogurt cups. I poked holes in the bottom for drainage and it is all I can do not to go out and buy more of the smooth yogurt because the cups are SO HECKIN CUTE.

From left to right, we’ve got one more yellow pear tomato in a Panera cup, lettuce in a cherry tomato container, lettuce in an old pot I had, sugar snap peas in another pot I had and in another cherry tomato container, more lettuce in another old pot, cilantro that I planted today in a marimo moss ball shipping container, and pansies I planted in a pot I got for 50 cents at a yard sale this weekend.

Phew! So far, I’ve spent about 22 bucks in seeds, the yard sale planter, and the blackberry bush. People have commented that I’m planting outside too early, but I say if it grows, it grows. If it snows, I’ll bring it all inside, I guess.

[pantheistpinchingpennies-blog]

Collecting Rain for Zero Dollars

I knew I wanted to spend as little money on my garden as possible from the very beginning. I just don’t have the cash and I feel like it defeats the purpose of cheap or free produce. I didn’t really plan on collecting rain water, but when I looked out on the back deck while it was raining constantly last week, I noticed that we have a place on the roof where water is dripping directly onto the deck.

Free water, I say. Looks like trash, but it’s free. So...I could not care any less.

Now, I know because we have asphalt shingles this isn’t water that I can drink, but until someone shows me proof otherwise, I’m going to keep using it on my plants.

I cut the handles off of a really crappy bucket we had out in the back (it’s from Dollar Tree if anyone wants to replicate this ridiculous system). It was banished to the back because, though it has been meticulously cleaned, it was used as a receptacle for puke at our Christmas party that went a little haywire. We don’t really want to use it in the house anymore, you know?

You can see the handles I cut off in the picture. That was just so the screen would lay flat. A screen is 100% necessary. I don’t suggest anyone let water collect without a screen. IF you choose not to cover your water container, you are inviting mosquitos to breed and you’re crazy.

I found this old, broken window screen in our deck closet thing, just sitting in there. No idea who put it there or which window it came from, but I have commandeered it for the time being. The screen itself is completely intact, the edges are just kind of snapped and broken.

The cups are what I use to scoop the water and take it to the plants in the front. One is from the bowling alley and one is from McAllister’s (both were because I ordered water). So in total, this cost me absolutely nothing and I haven’t watered my plants with anything else yet. I call this a win. An ugly-looking, but functional win.

[pantheistpinchingpennies-blog]

Low-Waste Dog Food for My Picky Eater

*for the record, not sponsored at all*

I have an incredibly picky little pup. He’s about a year and two months right now and his entire life, I’m telling you, has been a battle to get him to eat. Microwaving it in water, putting on cheese or pumpkin or broken up treats. Changing his food every four weeks. I’m serious! Anything!

The vet told me, and I quote, “You could not be doing this more wrong.”

Yikes. I’d read all the books. I’d done my homework. I looked at ingredients and I checked recalls. I knew that the general recommendation was to only change his food slowly over several weeks, but he wasn’t getting sick so I logic-ed my way to the conclusion that everything was fine. But I was feeding him FIVE random protein sources at once and then switching it up again. Now that we’re trying to figure out his allergies, I’ve apparently left my vet with few options. So she told me to check out a few brands, all of which have had recalls within the last few years. So I set out to do more homework. 

I stumbled on Earthborn Venture and after reading about it, checking that it had only ONE protein source (duck, one he’s already had before) and was still grain-free...no recalls...and drum roll, please! The bags (have an awesome zipper and) are RETURNABLE FOR RECYCLING! My store doesn’t even make me rinse them out. It’s not even more expensive than what I was feeding him before.

I swear to you, he eats every bite. No microwaving. No toppings. No hand-feeding. And he would eat more if I let him. It’s magic. We’re on bag number three and I’m in love.

(as a post script, I had just assumed that having a dog meant having a certain amount of waste. If I wanted to feed him home-cooked meals, sure, I could avoid a lot of it...but no way I’m doing that. Earthborn’s recycling program lets me cut down on our waste. Hoping to cut out the plastic poop bags one day too!)

[pantheistpinchingpennies-blog]

The Great Clothing Purge

I can’t even tell you how much clothing I own. It’s a habit I picked up from my mother and it just isn’t working for me. I have too much to wear, too much to organize, too much to wash.

So here’s the thing: I tried shrinking my closet from the overflowing mess that it is to 20 main items, but I left myself with a little more than I’d planned. That photo above is what’s left of my shirt collection, which I’d say is not half bad...

I have 20 hangers I want to use for clothes and a few for the laundry room. Now, 20 is not much for someone whose laundry basket could clothe the neighborhood so this may take some doing.

AND because I’m me, we’re going to do this with my dirty clothes because honestly, if I wait to do it with clean clothes it’ll never get done. I’m just speaking the truth. Sorry to gross you out. At least this isn’t smellevision.

Because my mother is the person she is, I am going to have to carry all these clothes back home for her to look through before I donate them.

My goal was 10 shirts, 5 day pants, a couple pajama pants, and some outerwear--a sweater, raincoat, and maybe a coat since the weather is still confusing. I knew I was keeping all my socks and undies because can you ever have too many of those??

So I say, when you’re downsizing, aiming low is aiming high. I think shooting for a really low number allowed me to get rid of more than I would’ve if I’d aimed more realistically. Of course, I didn’t quite know what was realistic until I looked.

I ended up with 8 shirts, plus an undershirt for one of the nicer shirts, and 10 pairs of pants (though only 9 are in the picture because I’m wearing number 10). That laundry basket above is the aftermath, believe it or not. That’s the stuff I got rid of! I’m so pleased with myself!

I still can’t bring myself to get rid of most of my outerwear, but I did let go of two windbreakers, a dress coat, and a sweater. I also kept a few sentimental shirts, a pair of shorts for the summer, and a pair of pajama pants. I did end up keeping all my socks and undies, but I got rid of most of my undershirts because they were awful anyway and I got rid of a bra I hated, which leaves me with two bras and an undershirt--being real here, I almost never wear bras, so I’ll probably end up getting rid of one more.

I don’t know what kind of percentage that was, but I feel better and I’m glad to have it done! What should I downsize next?