I’ve been on a campaign to clean up my act, recently.  I have a small child, and I don’t want to hand her a big pile of garbage.  To that end, I’ve been re-examining some of my choices.  I’m eating more organic foods, I’ve stocked up on canvas grocery bags, and I have the best of intentions to start composting (again).  By approaching my choices systematically and making small changes, I’m hoping that I can not only reduce my consumption and waste, but pass that value along to Hannah.

In my quest to find ‘greener’ products, I’ve had hits and misses.  Some of them are just ineffective and expensive, but some are fabulous.  I’m really in love with my latest find, though–Nellie’s Dryerballs.  These are two spiky little balls that you throw in the dryer with your clothes.  They make a bit of noise while the dryer warms up, but they do quiet down considerably within a couple of minutes.  They soften your clothes and reduce wrinkles naturally.  I’ve tried them on big pieces of canvas fabric, which normally bunches and twists something awful, and they came out so nicely.  Far better than dryer sheets, and without chemicals or waste.  Three cheers for dryerballs!

A brand new Value Village opened up near our house about a month ago. So, today a friend and I ventured forth to check it out. I was blissfully childless, since I’d left Hannah napping at home with Jon. As much as I adore my child, shopping without an active toddler is much easer than shopping with an active toddler.

I can’t recall the last time that I bought any second-hand clothes for myself. I don’t know if I ever have, really. But today I made up for lost time. I love the new store. For one thing, it doesn’t have that thrift store smell, which is usually such a turn-off. For another, the quality of the clothes seems to be improving. And, thanks to a kindly shopper who shared a coupon, I even saved 20% off of my purchase.

So, one pair of pants and a shirt for my kid, a scarf, 2 sweaters, 3 t-shirts, 2 pairs of jeans, and one pair of corduroy pants later, and the grand total was $43 and change. Plus, I bought some really cool clothes I would never have bought in a regular store. Somehow, it’s much easier to be adventurous when you’re spending $3.99 for shirt than when you’re spending $39.99.