For those of you that know me I’m a huge Trader Joe fan. I do about 96% of my shopping there. TJ’s, as I fondly call them, introduced me to my first reusable shopping bag about two years ago. I saw them at the checkout… you know the place where every store has all the stuff they want you to buy as you wait in line. These were red with a cool Hawaiian theme, priced at a whopping .99 cents. I figured why not.
Truth be known, I was looking for an alternative as I HATE plastic grocery bags. Sierra Club’s Sierra magazine estimates that Americans throw away almost 100 billion plastic bags each year and only 1% to 3% are recycled. Environmentalists warn paper is not much better than plastic because trees have to be cut down and energy expended to make them.
Most all stores will now give you a credit of some kind for bringing your own bags in. TJ’s has a weekly drawing for $25 in groceries, Texas based Whole Foods give you 5-10 cents back on each bag used and even Target and Ikea are in on it.
Fashionistas are doing their part by making reusable shopping bags trendy. Designers are creating chic (if sometimes pricey) options such as the $960 grocery tote from Hermes or the $495 organic cotton bag from Stella McCartney. One of the hottest bags last summer was one of the more inexpensive options, the $15 “I’m not a plastic bag” cotton tote from British designer Anya Hindmarch. This tote is so sought after that thousands of shoppers competed in a lottery to bag it. On eBay, the prized bag often goes for over $100.
Like I said, it was 2 years ago and I still have the same 3 bags that now sell for $1.99…which in my book is a bargain. A new thermal one has been added to the mix to keep the frozen stuff cold for the trip home. Admittedly it took me awhile to remember to bring them in when I shopped. Many times I found myself running out to my car at checkout to retrieve them…and grateful I did. With 51 stairs leading to my house, I load them to the brim so I don’t have to make more than one trip! These bags are strong and still in great shape.
I wouldn’t call using recycled bags a trend anymore, It’s more like a growing way of life. If you haven’t purchased reusable bags yet, treat yourself, you won’t regret it and you’ll be doing your part to help reduce waste.
Whenever I reach into my purse, the one thing that jumps into my hand is my keyring…it is huge! I have too many keys. Where did they all come from, do I still need them? I decided to stop and figure it out.
My strategy was to remove them all from the ring and to lay them out side by side. Big ones, fat ones, little itty bitty ones…lots and lots of keys. Some are colored, some are wierdly shaped. I even had a couple keys that were duplicates! The original and the spare for emergencies were in the same place. Duh!
I wondered if I should be more concious about what I allowed on my keyring, I wondered if the quality of life is better or worse with more or or less keys. More keys generally means you have more possessions or responsibilities…a mark of success? Perhaps not. If I could have homes all around the world, would I want to carry the keys with me, or would I put them in a keybox and just carry the key for the house I was in? Decisions, decisions.
Some keys have wonderful memories attached to them… a friend’s cabin, a cherished car. Another, suggest a more painful memory, the door to my old home and defunct relationship, Do the keys with good memories belong on my keyring as well-worn reminders? Should I keep a big box of retired keys labelled so that I can paw through them from time to time, feeling the energy of my past? Too much clutter.
Let’s start from scratch…an empty key ring. What possibilities! One by one, I added back the keys that were required, the front door, the car, the mailbox. Just three keys, it seems so simple, so enticing. But what about the back door key, what about the key to my girlfriend’s house. I decide to make a second key ring for all of the keys infrequently used. Brilliant. Unless of course I forget to bring them with me when I need them. I’ll take that chance. The mystique of a small key ring is just so compelling.
Give it a try, pull out that key ring of yours and get ready for some surgery. Pick your keys, pick your life. How do you feel now?
BTW- You might be asking why the Greek in my blog title? …Just a shameless ploy to get you to read my blog 
!
There is no other color besides red that gets more attention than blue. As a graphic designer the use of blue is alway very safe. It evokes trust, dependability, strength, stillness, commitment, and inspires confidence.
Many of these shades of blue come from my artist’s palette. Some of my favorites are:
- Cerulean Blue – Is the color of the ocean and it is calming and meditative.
- Big Blue – Is the color of IBM, a business success known the world over.
- Robin’s Egg Blue – Is that precious and child-like symbol of innocence.
- Lapis – Luxury and regal position adopt Lapis as an icon.
- Ultramarine – Best friend to every painter, this versatile blue belongs in every paintbox.
- Blue Iris – The color of spring and renewal.
- Indigo Blue – Exotic fabrics from faraway places, stiff and scratchy brand-new jeans, and the night sky all call themselves Indigo.
So how could it be that most all of the human race has such a profound reaction to such a small part of the visible spectrum. Don’t the principles of randomness suggest that a goodly percentage of us would NOT like blue in favor of another color? Well, scientists, psychologists, and marketing experts tell us that most all of us really get a long with the color blue. Perhaps the origin of our attraction is the primeval time when most all that we could see and where we lived was out of doors. The sky and the sea are blue…ancestral blue.
Don’t over eat, get 8 hours of sleep, exercise regularly, eat an apple a day, brush your teeth…blah, blah, blah.
Wanna have some fun? It’s time for some “unguilty” pleasures. How will you know the merit of coloring inside the lines if every now and then you don’t scribble where you shouldn’t? It’s exhilarating, vicarious, fulfilling and down right FUN (to break the rules)! So why do we work so hard to be good all the time? Who made up those rules anyway?
Tomorrow I’m playing hooky. I have a huge project I’m working on and I’m heading to the beach for the day instead. It’s unreasonable, irresponsible and totally about me. I’ll catch all kinds of heat for this, but that’s okay, THAT’S THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW!
I wonder if those I’m working for are reading these words right now? If you’re life is all about behaving, perhaps it’s time to break your own rules. If you get right down to it, we are the ones who hold ourselves accountable…yes? We deserve at the very minimum to know why. Is two bowls of ice cream really excessive? Is taking the afternoon off to go to the movies life changing?
We owe it to ourselves to examine all the rules from time to time to see if they still apply. Are they really working for us or are they keeping us stuck in a boring rut? This is not a dress rehearsal, this is our command performance.
I think I’ll have another cookie please!
Many years ago I started my journey in self development. This has been a process for me that continues today and will, I’m guessing, until the day of my transition.
It was shortly after my decision to embark on this journey that I shared with a friend how there were painful issues from my past that I was wanting to revisit, gain clarity on and have closure with. I felt they were holding me back from life. My friend was really baffled and asked me why I would want to “open up a can of worms?” My reply was simple… I don’t want them on my shelf any longer!
It’s very easy for us to hide our feelings and needs instead of diving into them and seeing them as a gifts in disguise. You might be reading these words and feeling the same way my friend did years ago, and possibly saying…is Lauren nuts… a gift??? Clearing out my pantry of the cans of worms has taken courage, commitment and has been extremely healing… today was a no exception. I’m happy to report another one opened up and emptied!
I am grateful for the space that these experiences have created, for they have helped me become the friend, the mom, the sister and continued the unfolding of me.
L.
