Bust the Stigma and Be the Change.. Dumpster Diving as an Art Form and Thoughts on Thrift Shopping BEFORE it was Cool

How many times have you driven by something left at the side of the street or curb for garbage pick up and thought, wow I should really turn around and pick that up!!..? I know I have done this countless times! A couple weeks ago I saw three matching storage baskets.. (You know the ones with the canvas liners in graduating sizes that fit inside each other and have many useful household purposes) They were in a dumpster by where I live so I grabbed them.. Hoping no-one sees me... But then I start thinking on the way home- why am I ashamed of this? I'm keeping them out of the landfills.. Putting them to good use.. We should be proud of this!! Why the shame and stigma? This is something to be proud of!! Since when should this be something shameful?? Why do we let outdated, irrelevant, misplaced societal norms dictate our behavior?

 When I was in my 20s and I had just started school I was struggling to pay the bills. Both the kiddos were under five at the time and daycare costs were a fortune.. I was a full time pre nursing student at college and working two part time jobs. I would have never made it without Mom, bless her heart (big ups to G-Ma!!)  She helped as much as she could with babysitting and with bills but it was a slim time financially for we three.. I had to buy most of their clothes at the thrift stores that year. This was the 90's when that was not Macklemore "Thrift Shop" cool or hipster yet AT ALL..

 Shopping at thrift stores unfortunately for most people was looked down upon or shamed.. When other Moms at my kid's school would give me a compliment on their clothes or shoes I would have to make something up about where I purchased them.. and that really bothered me.. I was a single mom and the area where my kids went to school was pretty swanky- some of the other moms were, ahhh, not sooo nice to me.. But I didn't care.. as long as my kids were happy but I was pretty sure if I told some of those moms the truth about where we had to shop at the time they wouldn't have thought it was "hipster" or cool.. That bothered me! Why should I feel ashamed for recycling and saving money? It should have been like..

  

The kids didn't care at the time and I secretly loved it!! It was a treasure hunt every time and I had a game I played with myself.. How much can I get for them for 20 bucks?!😄

Now thrifting is cool and I'm happy for that!! Society's standards are starting to change as the people find meaning in higher vibe priorities and that's awesome..

It really is.. ( WAY less cool retro furniture and clothing and higher prices since the hipster invasion).. but good overall. I have been seeing new thrift stores opening frequently around me- so fun.

So so positive overall!! And I for one am gonna keep on upcycling, dumpster divin' and thrifting with pride.. Let's brag about our dumpster scores and thrift store finds!! That's something to be proud of! 

 carry on.. I think it's tea time..😜

Obsessed with Craigslist Free Listings?? Me too!!! But I've discovered something even better!!...

 It's called Freecycling and I have just joined our local neighborhood Albuquerque Freecycle group Trash Nothing:   https://trashnothing.com/about.   It's a system similar to the Craigslist free section but you can post items you want to give as well as items you need!! Win-win. 

You can pay it forward and volunteer by writing about it on your social media page or blog, post fliers, even host your own free market at your neighborhood community center or park ( spring cleaning just around the corner)! See recycling is so much fun!! Maybe this adulting thing isn't so hard😛👍 Go green and blue!! ✨Stay gold Ponyboy✨

If you can't go totally off the grid yet, here's a cool idea: Land of Enchantment's innovative new solar power program!! Ahh, New Mexico, as if i didn't love ya enough...

Way to go New Mexico!! Solar power just makes sense here with over 300 days of sunshine and our temperate climate. For us who although we'd love to can't go totally off grid yet here's a cool first step they are doing in my state.. New Mexico is supporting their residents and the environmental movement with their customer owned solar generation program. This is an exciting new addition to the conservation movement that has just been renewed for another year!!

PNM ( Power New Mexico) our main power company has initiated a solar power incentive program. https://www.pnm.com/solar It's a $150 sign up and we save on our energy bill, reduce fossil fuel consumption, and THEY pay US for any unused power. I've heard that in some states if you have solar power and are still passively hooked up to the grid you can get taxed even for the excess power you put back in!! That's insane if that is true! But here in NM so far it works like this.. As I understand it we sign a renewable energy certificate (REC) for a small (up to 10 KWac) or large (over 10KWac) solar power unit. Pending inspection and application approval we are eligible. Because we are adding renewable energy to New Mexico's power grid they pay us to help them meet their environmental goals. Pretty cool idea😎✌🌵