If you have a stack of textbooks that you’re absolutely desperate to part with, you are not alone. Half.com used to be my jam. I have been selling old books for years. But since Half.com shut down, my textbook stash has been growing. Determined to resell my textbooks and declutter a drawer, I used Bookscouter … [Read more…]
I I owe my undergrad professor an apology. He was the ultimate minimalist. He railed against conspicuous consumption, thumping his dog-eared copy of Veblen’s The Theory of the Leisure Class on a desk. He cycled through the same handful of clothes in the same neutral color scheme. He wore shorts that showcased socks he haphazardly … [Read more…]
Every Thursday, I drive through my neighborhood absolutely mesmerized by the heaps of trash and recycle that line both sides of the street. Flat screen TV boxes. Old media stands. Towers of single-use water bottles. For nearly three years, I have worked furiously to minimize what sits in front of our house. In fact, I … [Read more…]
I’m not sure what it is about time. Some moments, it feels like it’s crawling. Then, all of a sudden, you blink and almost half the year is gone. I started off the year with good intentions. Scratch that. I started with priorities. Rather than worry about where I’m headed or how far I still … [Read more…]
To say that I’m not sold on minimalism is an understatement. Maybe it’s not minimalism as a whole that I’m skeptical of. Just the kind that comes with a podcast and a really expensive travel bag for sale. But the idea of decluttering and being more intentional with what is allowed to take up space … [Read more…]
For a while, I had a pretty reliable income stream thanks to Poshmark. It started out with half a grand in Poshmark sales, then I crossed the thousand dollar mark through a combination of selling sites. And then…nothing. It was the perfect storm: I was super pregnant and Poshmark opened the selling floodgates. Once they … [Read more…]
It started with a plunger. A few days into the new year, I noticed our guest toilet was draining a little slowly. Considering the previous owners thought nothing of using the heating vents, the gas fireplace, and the bathroom sinks as garbage disposals, this fact didn’t really surprise me. In fact, like any former Girl … [Read more…]
So, I’m a teacher. Who’s surprised? Exactly no one who reads this blog, and that’s probably true for people who see me in real life. I’m not sure what it is about teachers, but it’s almost like one of the classes we take is how to dress like a teacher. When I switched dentists a … [Read more…]
It’s goal time. July came and went even faster than June. That’s the curse of summer, I suppose. While I definitely front loaded the month as much as possible, I’m pleased to say that we finished in good shape, too. In fact, I met most of the goals that I set, even if one goal … [Read more…]
Now that it’s finally really springtime in Chicagoland (I think), it’s time to make some smart seasonal money moves. Here’s what we did this weekend to help us gear up for sunny days outside and rainy days financially. Planted strategically. Zucchini, cucumber, and wax bean seedlings all joined the onions, radishes, carrots, and lettuce that … [Read more…]