Today I went to the Dutch Market with my Reisenthel carrybag. Here in Maryland, there is a bag tax to discourage people from using the throwaway plastic shopping bags, so many people have gotten into the habit of carrying cloth shopping bags with them. You can get them most anywhere these days - even Giant carries them, they are about a dollar each - and I have a few in the back of my car.
My cheery little market basket beats them all, cold. Not because I can't carry things in the other - but because it forces me to prioritize. It's too easy for me to bring a wad of cloth bags into the store and fill a grocery cart to the brim. I'm not stocking up for a hurricane, and with rare exception most weeks I just don't *need* to be buying groceries in bulk. The temptation is there though - I can always freeze it! It won't go bad, I'll put it in the cupboard until I need it!
And before you know it, my cupboard is cluttered and hard to navigate, and my fridge is full to bursting and I upend a carton of berries trying to get to the milk.
My market basket is big enough to hold just about all of the fresh groceries that my family of four needs. Today, the Mr. carried the half gallon of milk out, but here is what fit in the single market basket:
A half gallon of OJ
A half gallon of cider
Three packages of healthy kid snacks (dried kiwi fruit, green bean chips - highly recommended, and wasabi peanuts)
Medium tapioca for cooking
Good sized package of unsweetened shredded coconut
A 32 oz carton of peach yogurt
A medium wedge of horseradish cheese with bacon in it, for the Mr.
A smallish wedge of caramelized onion cheddar
A pound of ground beef
A pound of hickory smoked bacon
Three pork loin ends (mediumish, about a pound all told)
A large kielbasa coil
A dozen quail eggs
We could have fit fruit and/or veggies in as well, there was still room for the lighter, crushable stuff on top, but we'd already done the produce marketing yesterday. I foresee this basket coming with me to untold farmers' markets too.
Reisenthal market basket, you are made of win and you don't let my eyes get bigger than my family's stomachs - or my wallet. I think I'll keep you.
(PS -- in case the above wasn't good enough? This little workhorse folds essentially flat for storage. It's napping on the coat closet shelf, folded down and taking no usable space to speak of, even as I type this. If this basket were a man, and I were not already married, I would marry it.)
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Hey stranger! Here's a copy of my resume!
That sound weird to you? Because it does to me.
I closed my LinkedIn account today. I've had it for a few years, and had some connections and recommendations and all of that. And I know the conventional wisdom says that one must market oneself within an inch of one's life at all times.
But really: no.
I don't need to have my resume, and all of my recommendations, out there for everyone to find all of the time. If I want to apply for a job, I will apply for a job. If someone wants to offer me a job out of the blue and I'm the right candidate, they'll find me.
If I am not self-promoting every minute, I won't disappear. I will do just fine, even if I don't have my entire professional history and every notable accomplishment ever out there for constant evaluation.
I closed my LinkedIn account today. I've had it for a few years, and had some connections and recommendations and all of that. And I know the conventional wisdom says that one must market oneself within an inch of one's life at all times.
But really: no.
I don't need to have my resume, and all of my recommendations, out there for everyone to find all of the time. If I want to apply for a job, I will apply for a job. If someone wants to offer me a job out of the blue and I'm the right candidate, they'll find me.
If I am not self-promoting every minute, I won't disappear. I will do just fine, even if I don't have my entire professional history and every notable accomplishment ever out there for constant evaluation.
Less email
Today: unsubscribe from every email mailing list you belong to.
Every one.
What happens if you do this? You will miss out on a sale or a deal? Do you really need to be spending money on things you didn't know you needed until the email pointed it out to you? And if you really need something do you have so little faith in yourself that you are sure you won't be able to comparison shop for yourself when it is time?
Do you not know the name of the groups you belong to that send the occasional bulletin email, and do they not have websites you can check on your own timeframe, perhaps once or twice per week? Chances are, if they have a mailing list they also have a website and online notices up somewhere.
Ditch them. All of them. If you truly miss something critical, you can add it back later. (I'm betting you won't.)
Imagine what your email inbox would be like with only real emails, from friends and colleagues, having to do with actual personal concerns. Think of how easy it will be to process that email, and how much more pleasant (and less expensive! Money spent on sale items? = still money!).
Yay for less email!
Every one.
What happens if you do this? You will miss out on a sale or a deal? Do you really need to be spending money on things you didn't know you needed until the email pointed it out to you? And if you really need something do you have so little faith in yourself that you are sure you won't be able to comparison shop for yourself when it is time?
Do you not know the name of the groups you belong to that send the occasional bulletin email, and do they not have websites you can check on your own timeframe, perhaps once or twice per week? Chances are, if they have a mailing list they also have a website and online notices up somewhere.
Ditch them. All of them. If you truly miss something critical, you can add it back later. (I'm betting you won't.)
Imagine what your email inbox would be like with only real emails, from friends and colleagues, having to do with actual personal concerns. Think of how easy it will be to process that email, and how much more pleasant (and less expensive! Money spent on sale items? = still money!).
Yay for less email!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)