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Warby Parker Review: The Best Place to Buy Glasses?

↑ In my experience, in short: yes! Warby Parker is an eyeglasses purveyor who saw an opportunity in an industry rife with middle-men and big markups. By designing their own, attractive eyewear and selling directly to customers online, they made it possible to drastically cut the cost to folks like me who are willing to give it a try. I replaced my glasses this year with a new pair from Warby Parker, so I wanted to share my experience! Warby Parker first caught my eye (he he, see what I did there?) because of their social goal: they operate under the one-for-one concept. One pair of glasses purchased, one pair to someone in need. Intriguing!  

The Hidden Costs of Our Stuff

A Garage Sale Parable It’s late May, so in addition to graduation ceremonies and teacher countdowns, we are dead in the middle of spring cleaning season. There is the usual clutter sweep and deep cleaning, and everyone who has discovered the KonMari method is turfing all their ironing boards that don’t “spark joy”… A natural result of all of this purging is a loved-or-loathed summertime trope: Garage Sales! Last weekend, our next door neighbours had a garage sale. They are retired and have some health limitations that are leading them to relocate to a single-story home, so have begun the long process of downsizing/moving. Now, I adore these people. And, the reason for their need to purge (moving away from us) is, for our family, tragic! But, watching them manage their garage sale was painful. Like many people who have spent a lifetime collecting bits & bites & memories & stuff, they were letting go only with reluctance. Almost everything was overpriced and under-valuable to outsiders. And when a browser tried to negotiate a lower price, our neighbour’s go-to response was, “Nope. It doesn’t cost me anything to keep it!” But, is this true?

A Capsule Wardrobe for the Non-Minimalist: 3 Months Later

Three months ago, I wrote about my new attempt at minimizing my wardrobe. I'm not really a minimalist, but I do dabble here & there! I called it "a capsule wardrobe for the non-committal". It's been a full quarter since I tossed half of my clothes in a box... so, what do I think?  

The Life-Changing Magic of Fixing Things

Long, long gone are the days of Luis’ Fix-it Shop, and with the new era of mass production & cheap consumer goods, repairs on anything but an Apple product seem like a waste of time & effort (& money that could be put towards a newer version). What a shame! I am a champion of the repair for a number of reasons, and I’m going to convince you that you should be, too (whether or not, you know, you want to be the one who attempts said repairs).

One Decision To Make Today That Will Improve Your Life Tomorrow

I’ve been trying out a little trick that I learned from Shawn Blanc. Every night, I choose my clothes for the next morning. This is no unique, innovative idea, of course; making sure that you have pressed shirts & pants is a night-before practice for many, and some parents encourage their school-aged kids to pre-choose clothes, as a time-saving trick for busy mornings (and to make sure dirty clothes are identified before drop-off!). Shawn's explanation for trying this practice is twofold:

Wearing a "Uniform": Helpful Simplicity or Utter Nonsense?

As I began hearing and reading more about capsule wardrobes, another concept came up: not just wearing a limited range of clothing, but wearing the exact same thing every day. I wore a uniform in high school, so for me, it wasn’t a huge leap to envision the advantages of this. Obviously, there is the mental barrier of back then, someone made me do this, and now people are choosing to? But, there was and always will be more ease and simplicity when the what-to-wear question is taken out of the equation.

Death to the $20 Purchase

I’ve used this line before, but it deserves repeating, because things that are $20 and under are so. easy. to. buy. They are like the silent killer of your bank account or credit card bill, IF you’re not paying attention. Photo: Whipping Post I ran a booth once for dignify at a big Christmas market, and right across from us was a candle seller. Here I was, with these beautiful, hand-crafted items that were colorful and rich with an amazing story behind them. “People online love our blankets!” I thought to myself. “So many people purchase them as gifts; selling them here is going to be fun & easy!” While I was setting up our booth, I glanced over at the candle shop. Jars of candles. Candles shaped like a banana loaf with 3 wicks. No special scent. No interesting story. Just simple, $15 candles. “Will people buy these things?” I wondered. The answer, it became clear, was a resounding YES.

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