Everyday Crafty Goodness

Last night’s jia jian mien (a Chinese noodle sauce traditionally made with pork and chili bean sauce but I made it with ground turkey, chili bean sauce, spaghetti sauce, and shredded carrots) … would’ve been today’s lunch if I hadn’t left it on the counter this morning!  Arrrgghhh!!!!!

I’ve been cooking more and bringing my lunch to work for the past 3 months or so.  I also started eating breakfast on a daily basis and as a result I lost 5 pounds (I wasn’t trying to lose weight on purpose).  I didn’t change my exercise routine (which consists of walking the dog and that’s about it) and I still eat until I’m full so the weight loss is really from NOT buying breakfast and lunch from the cafeteria and ordering Chinese and pizza once or twice a week for dinner.  So there Hollywood, this is the secret to losing weight … cook your own damn meals!

Anyway, this noodle dish is one of my favorite dishes to make and the sauce freezes well.  Damn it, I really wish I hadn’t left my lunch at home…

I have 2 fitted sheets and they both have big “T” shaped tears in them.  Instead of chucking these and buying new sheets, I’ve decided to mend them.  I’m sure there are people out there who thinks it’s a waste of time but I think driving to the store and waiting in line at the cash register is a waste of my time (not to mention money) and I choose to spend my time living consciously, creatively, and simply.   I actually really enjoyed mending the sheets and now I like my sheets even more than before!  Here’s what I did:

Iron the sheet where the tear is and tape the tear with masking tape on the wrong side of the sheet to stabilize the fabric.

Cut out a piece of fabric that’s bigger than the tear with pinking shears.

Baste the fabric patch onto the right side of the sheet over the tear.

Zigzag stitch all around the patch.

Cut out the torn part from the back of the sheet with pinking shears to prevent further fraying of the tear.

Ask your dog to pose on the patched sheet.

And here’s the second sheet I patched.  The tear is huge because I kept on putting my foot through it when I’m sleeping.  The patches are so cute that I wish I didn’t have to cover them up with my comforter. 

I found a guy who was selling 5 gallon buckets of Benjamin Moore paint for $10 on Craigslist.  He owns a painting company and that’s how he ended up with extra paint.  It’s great for me because I’m saving a lot of money.  It’s great for him because instead of paying hazardous waste disposal fees, he’s saving himself money and making a little extra.  It’s great for the environment because now all this paint won’t be sitting in some landfill!

It only takes a little more extra work but it’s so worth it.   Whenever I need something now I look for it on Craigslist (or Freecycle) first.  For instance, my power drill died and I needed one to put up the drywalls for my bedroom renovation project.  I found one on Craigslist for $20.  The guy who was selling it got a new drill so he didn’t need the old one anymore.  It worked out well for the both of us.  I’m sure I’m not helping the US economy by throwing my money at the stores but I’d like to think that I’m helping by doing my share of the 3 Rs, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.  :)

I think it’s hard for artists/crafters to live a minimalist life.  We need stuff to create.  We like having pretty stuff around.  We see potential in ordinary stuff that’s toss out on the sidewalk and we bring the stuff home.  I am definitely guilty of all of this and then some but I think it’s possible for me to live with less and be more organized. 

There’s a great article about simplicity on Zenhabits called The Four Laws of Simplicity and How to Apply Them to Life that really clicked with me.  The article is a great read and here are the four laws:

1. Collect everything in one place.

2. Choose the essential.

3. Eliminate the rest.

4. Organize the remaining stuff neatly and nicely. 

And a commenter suggested rule #5, Don’t collect more junk.

I’m quite excited about this and now I want to follow these steps for EVERYTHING in my home.  I love how these steps can be applied to a junk drawer, a room in the house, or life in general. 

As for my own journey to living with less, I’ve been doing the following:

1. I get rid of stuff I don’t need by diversifying the ways I give.  I always ask my friends first to see if they need anything that I’m about to part with.  Goodwill and Salvation Army are good places to donate usable things.  Yard sales, Craigslist and Ebay are good ways to make some money for getting rid of stuff.  If you don’t want to deal with the hassle of taking things to the donation site or post office, post them on Freecycle and ask people to pick them up.  Lastly, if you have blankets/towels/clothing that are too worn to be donated or sold, you might try calling the animal shelters to see if they need materials for the animals.  Oh yeah, and don’t forget to recycle as much as you can.

2. I try to use what I have instead of buying something new.  I’m trying to buy less “things” so I thought I can use my creativity to come up with alternate uses for what I have already.  For example, I’ve been trying to air dry my clothes over the heating vent (a great way to humidify the room AND save electricity) but I don’t have a drying rack.  I looked on Freecycle and Craiglist for one but couldn’t find any.  So instead of going to Target or Bed Bath and Beyond to buy a drying rack, I’ve been trying to think of ways I can make one myself.  So far I’ve dried some clothes on a ladder (since I still have 2 in my room!) and I’m trying to come up with something that involves 2 aluminum saw horses I have.  I’ll post it if it works so stay tuned.

3. Stop getting stuff.  One way to limit the amount of stuff you have is to stop shopping.  I somehow developed an aversion to shopping over the past year.  I’ve never liked shopping for clothes or shoes but I didn’t mind going to Target or JoAnn’s.  Now the sight of aisles and aisles of things piled up to the ceiling at the stores make me sick.  I’ve also been asking friends and relatives to stop giving me presents.  I tell them that I’m trying to live with less and that I really don’t need anything.  This is actually hard for many gift givers but be persistent and eventually they’ll respect your lifestyle. 

And if you want to stop getting most of the junk mail, give GreenDimes a try.  If you join through me (leave me a comment and I’ll send you a referral link), I get a $3 bonus.  :)  I promise I won’t use that 3 bucks to buy useless stuff.

I’ve been more mindful about eating breakfast and bringing my lunch to work for the past month and I did really well.  The benefits of course are saving money, saving time, eating healthier, and not using disposable containers and utensils from the cafeteria.  Shoot, I even lost a few pounds just by eating my homemade meals!  Hmmm, could it be because I stopped eating all those sausage egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches from the cafeteria?

Besides baking a whole bunch of breakfast muffins, I also eat what’s pictured above.  It’s just a mixture of fast-cooking oatmeal and raisin bran and some other cereal that had dried blueberries.  The ratio is about half oatmeal and half cereal but you can do whatever you like.  I threw the ingredients in a plastic container with a splash of cinnamon and shook it until it’s mixed.  I don’t need to put any sugar in that because the raisins do a good job of sweetening up the oatmeal and the cereal adds a nutty flavor.  All I have to do is put some of that oatmeal mixture in a mug and add some hot water.  After a few minutes I thin it down with soymilk and I can practically drink it out of my mug.  It is very filling and much better than those pre-packaged oatmeals that are chuck full of sugar and god knows what else.  It really doesn’t get any easier than this.  I think walnuts and flax seeds would make good additions … ooh and chocolate chips!