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 Why do we let outdated, irrelevant, misplaced societal norms dictate our behavior?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✨

A great way to help. The movement starts with us!!

Our beautiful Sandia Mountains with the Rio Grande in the forefront. Viewed from near the Coronado ancient ruins site and campground near the Santa Ana Pueblo just north of Albuquerque.

Earth Justice is a legal group that fights on the behalf of environmental causes. Click on this link and sign the petition that resonates with you. Or better yet, all of them!! We can make a difference!! Any advocacy for a cause that helps the environment and the conservation effort is a benefit to us all! Thanks!https://earthjustice.org/features/2017-earthjustice-year-in-pictures

The path to a better future starts with each of us. We just need to take that first step. 

Peace, Melanie

Thoughts on the term Boho or Bohemian.. Why it fits here

What is Boho anyways?? A short history of the original bohemian, the new bohemian and modern day relevance.. This is something I've been wanting to check out for a while.. I knew the word as it applies to decor.. 70s paisley prints and textile art, macrame.. Or the stereotypical bohemian of the 1950s with their poetry readings and bongos.. But wasn't there more to it??

Czech people with varied ethnic origins who spoke many different languages were called Bohemians in the early 20th century. They frequently intermarried and the term Bohemia came to be used in this area for people with diverse ethnic origins. "Bohemian was associated with a socially unconventional arts oriented person of an unconventional wandering lifestyle focused on literary, artistic or musical pursuits."

The first English usage described the artistic groups associated with anti-establishment views expressed through free love, a distaste for the shallow ideals of a money based society, and sometimes even voluntary poverty. "Bohemians lived outside conventional society, untroubled by it's disapproval."

"What is it then that makes this mystical Empire of Bohemia unique, and what is the charm of it's mental fairyland? It's this; there are no roads in all Bohemia!! One must choose and find ones own path, be ones own self, live ones own life."

Whoa.. Sounds cool!! How can we apply this philosophy to our present? When you hear the word BoHo or Bohemian what image appears?? The BoHo ideals picked up by The hippies in the sixties weren't just a fad, it was an earth based collective growing movement that was so powerful that the government got scared and had to shut us down with mass fluoridation without our consent for our own "benefit." That's another story,  conjecture and my opinion of course, but the timing is notable. The beginning of the mass implementation of fluoride into our water supply was 1970. Summer of love was 1969. Coincidence? Nahhh, not to me..

(Prince, a good example of someone who I think had the mindset of a modern Bohemian💜)

These kids were on to something paradigm shifting and monumental. A real change in the collective conciousness that would benefit society and the planet as a whole globally. I say we pick up where they left off.. This is something we all can get behind on a world wide basis. Let's dream big, reach for the stars.. We can all go pick up some crazy idea and change the world🌍

Manifesto

🎶"Don't it always seem to go.. That you don't know what you got 'til it's gone."🎶
-Joni Mitchell

Whatever happened to those great political protest songs??
Like Country Joe at Woodstock??
But I'm getting way off track here...
This is my...

🌎🎍Project Boho Creative Upcycling🎍🌎

                    📻✌Manifesto✌📻

A perfect world to me would be an absolute termination of all manufacturing and production forever. We have more than enough stuff in the world that we don't need. It's time to get consciously creative and repurpose like we mean it!! We would have to approach the project a little differently and practice mindful conservation by using up materials and supplies we have on hand currently and reassess our sourcing. Its not hard at all once you get used to it!! All my projects are eco-minded and practical using recycled and typically thrown away materials with little to no end product waste. A main focus for me when I'm on a project is to make sure 100% of materials are used even if that takes a little extra thought and time. Scraps are saved for future projects. This helps to increase your end product vibration ( and your own energy will resonate at a higher frequency!!)

 You get a few of these high energy craft projects in your home you can change the energy in your whole house. Change your whole house and you can change your neighborhood. Change your neighborhood your can change your state... Change your state you can change your country. And so on...
✌💗🌟&🌎

And anyone reading this that has a favorite upcycled project or idea please leave a link in the comments!! I would LOVE to see them!!
✌&💗-Mel

This was one of my favorite easy eco -friendly projects. I love the no color color and how well it goes with the deer skull.

These hanging planters are so useful and easy to make with low cost supplies that you probably have at home. EASY!!Easy Knotted Plant Hanger 5 Minute Project If you can tie a knot you can do this project!!😊 I believe in you!! Natural fibers look best and are durable and biodegradable. ( cotton or hemp fiber  rope!!)