I simplified my beauty routine and I’m not “less of a woman” for it
I had a pretty complicated beauty routine and I used a lot of products. But as much as I love me some Sephora goodies, did I really need all of them? I had become trapped in societal expectations about my beauty routine. This beauty routine I had developed wasn’t because I enjoyed the pampering and the process, it was because I listened to “beauty authorities” tell me that I needed to be afraid of growing old and afraid of being seen as less feminine.
How do you stay positive in a job you hate?
I’m working in an office job that no longer interests me. While my resume is updated and I’m actively searching for a new position, these things can take a while. I’m looking for ways to change my perspective for the remainder of the time that I’m in this job, because 40 hours a week of feeling bitter doesn’t help anyone.
Come the revolution: Homesteading as an act of radical resistance
We wanted land. We wanted to grow real food, and raise animals for real milk and real meat and real eggs. We wanted to sit at our dining room table without a goat jumping from chair to chair. I had enough of a background in historic agriculture (to say nothing of a full-time job doing historic agriculture) that I was willing to take the leap out of the suburbs and into hobby farming. My husband quickly jumped onboard. We are the ones who are actively resisting the industrial food systems of the twenty-first century. Are we radicals? Absolutely. Are we rabid? No. We’ve just simply assessed the way things are going locally, nationally, and globally, and chimed in with Bartleby the Scrivener: We would prefer not to. We are not alone.
How the Fuck-Off Fairy helped me fight fat-shaming
The Fuck-Off Fairy is a special kind of fairy. She shows up on the night of your 30th birthday, while you are sleeping, and waves a magic wand over you. The Fuck-Off Fairy teaches you to stand up for yourself and believe in your value. She gets that sometimes “fuck off” needs to be said politely and with a smile, but while delivering the message clearly. The Fuck-Off Fairy was sitting on my shoulder during my conversation with a particular personal trainer.
How to feel safe participating in online communities
Active participating in online communities certainly isn’t for everyone, and it’s definitely important to take care of yourself and do what’s comfortable for you. But I’m going to share my lil’ story, since I noticed a lot of “Long Time Reader, First Time Commenter” comments on that post about the reader survey. This may not be helpful for anybody, but I thought I’d put it out there in case somebody needed to hear it.
Want to get rid of extra clothes you’re holding on to? Don’t do laundry for a few weeks
I recently found myself feeling bogged down by all the clothing I owned, so I decided to perform an experiment. I didn’t do laundry for 2-3 weeks, and then donated everything that was still hanging up on laundry day. Since it’s still winter I kept a few summer items so I can perform the same experiment later in the year, but other than that all the extra stuff I had is gone. The best part is that I didn’t have to deal with any of the emotional stuff that comes with trying to ditch stuff in one go — I was able to just look at my closet and realize how much I was holding onto for no reason.
Community Education: Break out of your rut on the cheap
I love to try new things, but I don’t usually want to spend much money on exploring new hobbies that I may or may not stick with for very long. My solution? Community education classes! Here are some reasons why I recommend trying community ed…
Biking to work: How to avoid being stinky when you don’t have a shower
I live about six miles from work and I really really want to bike. I mean, it wouldn’t take much longer to bike than it would to drive that distance. The trouble is that there is no shower at my office — so I would have to work stinky all day… and that’s not really going to fly. Does anybody have no-shower solutions, post-biking to work?