The Great Kindle Debate

Alright another dilemma.

Does buying a book on my Kindle count as a "new" purchase?

Technically "old" books I would buy from a Goodwill or something wouldn't be "new" but then there's the accumulation factor... and the Kindle purchases stay in the "cloud" - if you will...

I guess I have a little time to mull it over. I already have a few books I purchased on my Kindle I haven't read yet, so maybe I'm getting ahead of myself.

On a side note, I did run across a John Steinbeck book recently that I'd never heard of. I purchased it before I had really thought too much about it... it was "used" as you can see.

It's non-fiction and was written in the early 60's by John Steinbeck as he traveled across the US for 3 months observing the changes our country had gone through. He mentions how accents started diminishing even then, the mass production of food had almost wiped out the unique flavors of certain areas...  and he even writes extensively about how much waste the world was creating.

If it was so blatently obvious to him 40 years ago, imagine what he would think if he saw it today...

Great read... might be one of my best .99 thrift store purchases.

My dad's an avid reader and was a high school english teacher for many years, so I got really excited at the opportunity to surprise him with a little gem of a read. I was certain it would be new to him too since I'd never heard him even mention the title before...

Me:    "Dad, I've got a book you're going to love! It's a John Steinbeck book, but his writing style in this one sounds a lot like your writing style"

My Dad: "You must be reading Travels with Charley... It's one of my favorites"

Lesson learned: It's hard to surprise old people :) They really have done it all.

Mental Shift

I was unpacking from a trip about a month ago, when I realized that almost every hanger in my closet was already doubled up. Looking at the baskets on the shelves, they too were at capacity.

 Thinking back, it dawned on me that I had recently purged quite a few items, sending a box to my nieces, and a big bag to the Goodwill... and I'm not even a big shopper, in fact I think most people wouldn't call me a "shopper" at all. It seemed however, I had accumulated more than my closet could hold. Upon unpacking my 4 oz liquids from the clear plastic bag, it was overflowingly clear that the basket under my sink was also busting at the seams with half used bottles of lotion, hairspray and various other toiletries I had accumulated during travels, trips to Target, as presents, etc. Like many people, I hope, after half of a bottle of one kind of lotion, I wanted a new scent. Unfortunately, or fortunately I also hate to be wasteful so I just pushed the old one towards the back, surely I would like it again and use it up... those were my good intentions anyway. 


Well, enough is enough. I recently saw a video of a family who strives for "zero waste". They bring glass jars to the grocery store for meat and cheeses, they even make their own toothpaste! I'm not sure I can go that far just yet, but I definitely need to do something.  Growing up in Iowa I was raised to be resourceful. Not living near a big city, it just wasn't always an option to go out and buy the things we needed or wanted and so we were resourceful. Want a slip and slide?... head out to the garage, find that tarp and turn on the hose! Looking back on those days it makes me glad that we didn't have a lot of money because it forced us to be innovative and resourceful and not so wasteful... something I've lost sight of...


And so it has begun. 365 days of no new purchases. Use up the lotions sitting under the sink, and the grocery items before they go bad. Repurpose the stack of wedding cards, extra swim caps, paper bags, and ribbons I have so diligently "saved" for years. And more importantly, resurrect the creative spirit that comes when you challenge yourself.