Why I think it is important to buy second-hand

I wrote this blog in 2013, and I never published it.  I have a hard time putting my feelings about this issue into words.  I hope I am not offending anyone with this.  It's just my opinion.










Obviously, I like to buy stuff second-hand.  And also obviously, this saves my family a lot of money.  But I wanted to share my reasons, which are a lot deeper than just the dollars, for wanting to promote buying "used".



The first part of the story is about the United States.  We have a lot of stuff.  We have a lot of clothes.  Items are produced cheaply and are fairly cheap to buy.  So we do buy.  I spent 6 months working at Super WalMart in Ames.  There was a whole section in the front of the store that is for "seasonal" items.  There you would find plastic dishes and beach toys in the spring, or Halloween costumes, fall decor and trinkets in the fall.  Every few weeks the shelves would be clearanced and new items brought in.  And the truth is that these items, once purchased, are used for a few months and then disposed of.  It started to really bother me to see such a huge volume of stuff sold- in just one store, in one town.



The same is true for clothing.  How many items of clothing did an average person own in 1960?  I tried to find some statistics and had no luck, but I know it was a lot less than is common now.  Closets were even made smaller back then.  Clothing also cost more in 1960, but that is in large part due to the cost of manufacturing.  Clothing used to be really well-made, and most of it was produced in the USA.  You spent more but wore it more often and longer.  It was made of higher quality fabric and sewn more carefully.



So these days we spend less on our clothes and are more likely to think of them as disposable.  But you don't throw them away when you don't want them anymore, right?  You donate them.  Charities like Goodwill and the Salvation Army take them and re-sell them.  Disabled people get jobs, poor people buy clothes they can afford, charities earn money.  Yea!  Everybody wins, right?



This is the second part of the story.  It is about third-world countries where a lot of our unwanted clothes end up.  Charity organizations like Goodwill sell bales of clothing which make their way around the world to countries in Africa and elsewhere, where they are sold on the street.  So some man in Ghana could be wearing the pair of Dockers and the old basketball shirt you donated!  Which is not bad.  I don't mind that either.  Not that part.  The part I do mind is that it has driven the local fabric manufacturing and garmet construction industries out of buisness in those places.  So our donated clothing is actually getting in the way of local industry and economy in third-world countries.



I want to be clear that I do not think badly of Goodwill or any other organization for doing this.  They have extra clothes and they have found a solution for them.  I still donate all our old clothes and I encourage you to also.  The problem is the volume of donated clothing is so huge that charities don't even have the time to sort through it all, let alone sell it all. 



My small way of helping with this problem is to buy used clothing.  And pre-owned dishes.  And books, and toys, and jewelry...... Every time I am re-using someone else's discarded item, I think to myself, "that is one less."  One less item from an unethical factory.  One less piece of plastic headed to the landfill.    And hopefully, one more seamstress, cotton farmer, factory worker or sales clerk with a job in Africa. 



It's Ok to buy new clothes, too.  I do that sometimes =)  Just try and be more mindful about it:  Do I need this?  Is it well-made?  Will it be out of style next season?  Where was it produced? 

If you would like to read more about this, here are some articles by people who know more about it than me:
your-donated-clothes-may-be-killing-africas-fashion-industry/

 The Salvation Army and Goodwill: Inside the places your clothes go when you donate them_.html  
 The Truth About Where Your Donated Clothes End Up

Happy Thrifting!

Pennies from Heaven

Have you ever read the stories in Ann Landers or Dear Abby about pennies from heaven?  They are stories that readers share about finding pennies in unusual circumstances, and it is believed that the pennies are a gift from a loved one who has died.

I loved reading these stories in the newspaper.  I always believed them, and have wanted to find signs like this in my own life.

Papa Hart riding the carousel with Erin to celebrate his 90th birthday.

In 2008, my grandpa, George Hart died.  I knew that he had read those stories in Ann Landers' columns, and I was hoping that I might find a sign from him. I know that signs can come in many forms- maybe a bird outside your window, or a special song that you hear at meaningful times.  I waited and waited. And then, I noticed that I was finding dimes.  There would be a dime laying on the floor of my bedroom, or one by my car in the parking lot.  I thought maybe this was something, but I wasn't sure.

And then:
In December of 2010, we were going to school for the kids' Christmas program.  I took Katie to her classroom, and she said, "Wait a minute, I want you to take something."  she reached in her desk, opened her pencil box, and took out a dime.  When she handed it to me, I could hardly breathe.  "Where did you get this?" I asked.  "It was really weird," she said.  "I brought this pencil box from home, and when I got to school there was a dime in it.  I don't know how it got in there."

This was all the proof I needed.  My grandpa came to every school concert for my girls- from their preschool to Katie's kindergarten Pilgrim Play.  How the dime got there, or why Katie thought about it that night, right before her concert, I have no idea.  But it made me think about Papa Hart.

Papa holding baby Katie.  

I keep finding dimes.  Sometimes it might be a coincidence.  Other times.... I don't know.  One morning I was getting ready for work, and I was taking a poetry book with me that my Grandma and Grandpa Hart had given me.  I started reading it, and even though I needed to leave I kept reading one more poem, one more poem.  Finally I looked up from the book, and there- behind the front door and clear up next to the wall was a dime.

These are some of the dimes I have found.

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I had not found a dime in a while, and since then I have found three and Jeff has found one.  

Why dimes?  I don't know.  I think that perhaps pennies are too common, and Grandpa wanted to be sure I noticed.  Or perhaps he thought a dime was more special, more dignified.  That sounds like him to me.  


I think that my grandma is probably in on this too- I can imagine the two of them working together and having fun with this.

I love my grandparents- all of them- and I am so happy to think that they are still connected to my life.  

What do you think?  Is it real?  Is it nothing?  Has it ever happened to you?  

Snowy Days and Poetry Books

Today we are snowed in.  In the last twenty-four hours we have gotten about 10 inches of snow and it is cold and blowing and still snowing.  It is a good Sunday afternoon to lay around and read.

I love poetry.  But what I mean is that I like simple poetry that makes sense.  I am not a poetry snob by any means.  I like poems that rhyme and have a nice flow.  I like poems that are about my life.  I like poems that make you laugh.  

 These are my books that have meant the most to me.  I have read these poems many times throughout my life.  The thing about a poem is that it is easier to remember than a story, so the lines come back to you and you find yourself reciting a poem from childhood when you are 30 years old.  (Or older.)

Here are my favorite poetry books, and one poem from each:

 A.A. Milne.  You know, the guy who wrote Winnie the Pooh.  He also wrote this lovely book of poems for children.  My favorite?

Disobedience

James James

Morrison Morrison

Weatherby George Dupree

Took great

Care of his Mother

Though he was only three.

James James

Said to his Mother,

"Mother," he said, said he:

"You must never go down to the end of the town

if you don't go down with me."

The poem goes on for five more verses.  My Grandma Hart had it memorized and I can very clearly remember her reciting it.  My kids do not seem impressed when I recite it to them, but I love it.

Everyone loves Shel Silverstein.  He was very popular when I was in elementary school, and he still is- because who doesn't like poems like this:

HOW NOT TO HAVE TO DRY THE DISHES

If you have to dry the dishes

(Such an awful, boring chore)

If you have to dry the dishes

('Stead of going to the store)

If you have to dry the dishes

And you drop one on the floor-

Maybe they won't let you

Dry the dishes anymore.

I asked Katie to pick her favorite from this book, and here it is:

POINT OF VIEW

Thanksgiving dinner's sad and thankless

Christmas dinner's dark and blue

When you stop and try to see it

From the turkey's point of view.

Sunday dinner isn't sunny

Easter feasts are just bad luck

When you see it from the viewpoint 

Of a chicken or a duck.

Oh how I once love tuna salad

Pork and lobsters, lamb chops too

Till I stopped and looked at dinner

From the dinner's point of view.

I received this book for Christmas when I was 18.  I bet you already know quite a few of his poems.  Here is one that maybe you have never heard:

Dust of Snow

The way a crow

Shook down on me

The dust of snow

From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart 

A change of mood

And saved some part

Of a day I had rued.

If you are looking for a nice collection of popular poems; from Bible verses to Langston Hughes to her own poetry, you will like this collection of Jackie Kennedy Onassis' favorites.  She was also quite fond of Robert Frost.  Here is one I really like:

Three Ponies

by Arthur Guiterman

Three little ponies who didn't like their hay

Said to each other, "Let's run away!"

Said the first, "I will canter!"

Said the second, "I will trot!"

Said the third, "I will run if it's not too hot!"

And they all started off

With their tails in the air.

But they couldn't jump the fence

So they're all still there.

It just so happens that all of these books were given to me by my Hart family.  What a great gift to me that you inspired me to love poetry =)  Thank you.

Do you have a favorite poem?  Share it with me!

Christmas in Red Wool Coats

I have always loved for my girls to wear red dress coats at Christmas time.

Breakfast with Santa at Mary Greeley Medical Center in 2006

In the beginning I bought their coats at Gymboree and Children's Place.

Later I had to search for them at consignment shops and garage sales.

Right outside our house in 2008

And of course Erin has to wear the one that Katie has outgrown.

Katie in 2009
 

With their American girl dolls in 2010

No red coats in 2011!

I just think they look so beautiful in the dress coats.



2013


I know that my time is running out when they will wear things that I like, so I am grateful to have at least one more year:

2014

Merry Christmas from Erin and Katie!

The Nutcracker

Clara trying to keep the Nutcracker away from Fritz as their party guests leave.

It is a Christmas traditions in many cities to host a production of the Nutcracker Ballet.  Ames has one- by the Robert Thomas Dancenter.  It will be held at CY Stephens Auditorium on December 13th and 14th.

The Nutcracker preparing to battle the mice.

And we have a dancer in the show!

There she is! 

Erin is an angel this year.

If you look closely, you can see her feet are in first position,.

Even the backs of the costumes are beautiful.

I wish I could show you how cool it is when they dance in these dresses.  They take these smooth, sliding steps and it looks like they are floating.

Oh wait!  I have a video:

Erin is the second angel on the right.

It is going to be a beautiful show.  You should come.

July, aka County Fair Time

If you live in America, your county probably has a county fair.  And if you are in Iowa (except for Clay County), it is probably in July.

We are in Boone County, and our fair this summer is July 17th through the 20th.

There will be a carnival, and a demolition derby, and cows and pigs and horses and all those great things.  You can check out the fair's webpage and schedule of events here.  

Katie is in her second year of 4-H.  Her club is the Luther Livewires.  (Luther is that really small town that you drive through on Hwy 17..... bet you didn't know that they had an awesome 4-H club.)

She had a great time at the fair in 2013.  This photo is in the Luther Livewires' booth after she helped decorate it.  She entered 10 projects plus two outfits in Fashion Day.  Her best results were for photography; she received 3 purple ribbons.

This year she has even bigger plans.  She is going to show the dog, the cat, and do an educational presentation.  Plus THREE outfits in Fashion Day, and 13 static exhibits (that means the projects that will be on display in the booth during the fair).  

Katie has been working hard on her projects, but there is still A LOT of work left to do.  A lot.  Mostly the write-ups about the projects.  4-H projects are not simply about presenting a finished project, the kids have to set a goal and then show what they learned.  It is a very good learning process, but it can be a lot of writing for the littler kids. 

If you have the chance, come to the Boone County Fair!  Or go to the one near you.  They usually have good food (like lamb kabobs).

 And fun activities for the kids- like the Ag Olympics.  That is Katie riding in a wheelbarrow that our neighbor Zoe is pushing.

You might even see a celebrity!

For all the fair families out there, good luck getting all your projects done!

I see that the Dallas County Fair is starting July 9th- I feel for those moms 4-Her's who have just a few days of crazy, late-night, running around town, hard work left.

SW Florida, June 2014

When I was growing up, my favorite family vacations were to Ft. Myers, Florida.  I have been trying to convince Jeff to go there but he wasn't interested.  Finally, after 14 years we went!  And everybody, even Jeff, loved it.

We drove.  It's a long drive.    So we stopped in Chattanooga, TN.  Have you seen the advertisements for Ruby Falls?  We fell for them and toured the caves.

Spoiler alert:  

If you ever want to pay money to tour the cave and see the amazing wonder of an underground waterfall, avert your eyes from the next photo.

Yep, that's it!  But they darken the cave and light it up different colors and play dramatic music too. 

We made it to Ft. Myers Beach, FL late Saturday night after spending the day at Disney World.  The next six days were spent exploring all the beaches along Ft. Myers and Sanibel Island.

These photos are how we spent the week.

This is in Ding Darling Wildlife Preserve on Sanibel.  These are crabs.  There are hundreds and hundreds of them.

Minus one.

The first alligator we saw!  This is also in Ding Darling, and this one is just a baby.

Lover's Key State Park, very early in the morning.

Downtown Ft. Myers along the Caloosahatchee River.

My hair, and my girls' hair turns to frizz in that Florida humidity!

One day we went south to Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park (Just the very NW corner of it).  Before we went into the park we went on a commercial air boat tour of the mangrove swamps.  They had a little zoo, and Erin insisted that she wanted to "hold and hug an alligator" like was advertised on the sign.

Katie was brave too.

This guy is in Big Cypress National Preserve.  There are alligators everywhere, all along the roads.

A ginormous grasshopper.

Meanwhile, back at Bonita Beach......

Our very last night in Florida.  This was on Estero Island (Ft. Myers Beach) at low, low tide.  There were little tidal pools with all kinds of creatures.

You are not allowed to keep any live creatures from the gulf, so don't worry- we put them all back!  It is just fascinating to look at them.  Nothing like this in Iowa, that's for sure.

It was an amazing week; the most relaxing vacation we have had in years! And we all had so much fun looking for sea shells that everyone wants to go back!  I can't wait for the next time.