In the closet or out?

Monday, September 21, 2009 at 4:30 pm (Smile Lines)
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Did you think this post would having something to do with being gay?

No, nothing so meaningful. I’m just wondering what I’m supposed to do with my clothes, prompted by a quick read of an article about decluttering the closet.

Sadly, I think it raised more questions than it answered.

“As you go, get rid of anything that is worn or stained, that doesn’t fit, that isn’t flattering or that you just don’t like.”

Doesn’t this sound smart and simple?

But what if I like the idea I might somehow, someday fit back into something and it will look flattering? (Like that long black velvet dress I wore to a Millennium Christmas party in 1999. The one I haven’t a snowball’s chance of having anywhere else to wear, even if it did magically still fit. Should I get rid of that? My one and only really pretty long dress I ever bought? Oh, yeah, there’s the wedding dress too — even prettier, if I do say so myself.)

What if I don’t know it isn’t flattering? Probably half my wardrobe would qualify, if I had Stacy and Clint here.

“Hang all of your fall clothes backward, says Ecker. As you wear them, put the hanger back on the rod the traditional way. At the end of winter, if an item is still hanging backward, it’s probably something you should get rid of.”

Ummmm….get rid of something if I haven’t worn it in one season? I have perfectly good clothes in my closet I haven’t worn in 10 years! Why? I don’t work in an office anymore. I can count on one hand the times I’ve had to dress in business attire (even business casual) in the last few years. Does that mean I should get rid of half my wardrobe?

Do you save a few professional outfits for “emergencies” (meetings, church, funerals) and purge the rest?

What if the jacket of a business suit is still fine, but not the pants or skirt? Do you give the whole suit away, break it up and give half away, or hang onto it?

I just counted…I have 15 skirts in the guestroom closet — only 1 of which I’ve worn in the last year. Does that mean 14 of them should go?

Oddly, I also have 15 blazers — maybe 3 of which I’ve worn in the last year. Bye-bye 12 blazers?

And what about dressy clothes? I’ve worn the same dress to my 20-year high school reunion and 2 family weddings…enough already?

And you know, as soon as I do get rid of something, it’s going to be “in” again…shoulder pads, long blazers, tapered slacks, floral skirts, whatever it might be. I no sooner got rid of a “hopelessly” outdated plaid wool skirt I’d had for years last year when I saw a nearly identical one in the store a couple months later.

What about grubby work clothes? Not nice enough to give away, too many to keep — am I bad person if I just throw them away? Surely that would be wrong, right? Don’t poor people in insert third-world country here need them? So what do you do?

If I do purge half my clothes, what’s it gonna get me? More room in the guestroom closet, but for what? It’s not like I’m going to go out and buy new clothes to replace them. I could probably live the rest of my life with the clothes I have right now (assuming no big weight gain).  Sure, I’d be sick of them and woefully out of fashion…but I’m verging on that already.

Would I feel better if I got rid of half my clothes?

Would anyone feel better if I got rid of half my clothes?

How did I get so darn many clothes in the first place? (Because you’re OLD, that’s why.)

What’s so great about a decluttered closet anyway?

There, I closed the closet door. And the guestroom door, just to be safe.

Fast. Easy. Stress-free.

Now, on to the basement.

Distrust any enterprise that requires new clothes.
~ Henry David Thoreau

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Money. Mouth. Anyone?

Thursday, September 17, 2009 at 4:17 pm (Writing by Ear)
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Most people I know, including myself, say they’re in favor of “greener” energy sources — wind, water, sun, geothermal. It sounds so wonderful — making things go by using what the earth already provides for free.

So, here’s the question — are you willing to pay more green to go more green?

My electric energy provider (that’s new-speak for what used to be called the power company or electric company) made me quite an offer today: I can support fuel-free wind energy simply by paying more each month for the same amount of power!

And I quote: “A small additional charge [their emphasis] to your monthly Allegheny Power electric bill covers the added expense of delivering clean, renewable, fuel-free wind energy to the electric grid.”

Basically, I’d be paying for renewable energy certificates (RECs) (or rather, a piece of a REC). I know a little bit about RECs because I wrote a white paper on renewable energy for a client a while back. The concept is a little hard to understand (to put it mildly). Here’s the gist.

Burning fossil fuels to generate electricity has a positive outcome (electricity) and a negative outcome (greenhouse gas emissions). Using renewable energy resources to generate electricity has two positive outcomes: electricity plus no negative environmental impact. These two “positives” are decoupled and sold separately: the electricity is sold into “the grid” and the positive environmental attributes are sold as RECs. One REC equals one megawatt-hour of renewable energy produced. Buying RECs supports the use of renewable energy by subsidizing those who produce it. It’s also a way for companies and individuals to demonstrate their commitment to “going green” and to “offset” their use of fossil fuels.

(And no, I’m not making this up.)

Of course, the letter from the electric company explains nothing about RECs or what you’re actually buying for your extra dollars. I can simply check off whether I want to spend an extra $2.50, $5.00, $7.50, or $10.00 a month to purchase 100, 200, 300, or 400 kWh of renewable energy. (Note the discrepancy: 1 REC = 1 mWh, which is 1000 kWh. So in none of these options are you buying the equivalent of one REC or even half a REC).

The only mention of RECs comes in a footnote on the back of the letter, explaining that the Renewable Energy Certificates supplying the program come from 20% Pennsylvania wind farms, 20% PJM wind farms, and 60% MISO wind farms. It goes on to explain what PJM and MISO are — two different organizations handling electricity transmission in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions.

So, how many customers of Allegheny Power getting this letter are even going to understand what the heck they’d be paying more for? (Other than the vague description that they are being “invited” to “boost the demand for fuel-free wind energy here in your home state and in the Midwest.”)

And, back to my original question, how many are willing to do it — to pay more green to go more green? To voluntarily spend more money to promote greener energy?

Maybe a lot? People spend more for lots of things they perceive as better for the environment — hybrid cars, organic foods, low-VOC paints. But for all these things, they also perceive return on their investment, such as saving money on gas, ingesting fewer hormones and pesticides, or breathing fewer chemicals.

But when the payback’s not quite so clear, so personal, will people be willing to pony up?

I’ll be curious to see and will be watching for future mentions of the Allegheny Renewable Energy Program and its enrollment figures, if they’re ever disclosed.

In the meantime, I’m not willing to part with any more of my hard-earned dollars. (I would be more likely to invest directly in a wind farm, as a shareholder, if I wanted to support wind energy). I suspect at some point soon (like if Cap-and-Trade becomes law) the decision will be made for me. And cost a lot more than $2.50 to $10 a month.

Today the world is the victim of propaganda
because people are not intellectually competent.
More than anything the United States needs
effective citizens competent to do their own thinking.
~ William Mather Lewis

7 Comments

Something that made me go “hmmmmm”

Sunday, September 13, 2009 at 11:21 pm (Writing by Ear)
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While surfing to avoid doing anything productive (like catching up on some work on a Sunday night), I happened on this article in the Post-Gazette about women — moms in particular — and alcohol: Namely, are moms drinking too much now, and is it dangerous?

Yes, I had heard of the terrible accident in New York in which a drunk, high woman killed several people by driving the wrong way on the highway. What I didn’t know is that this had become a bellwether for the issue of women and drinking.

It made me think.

I don’t downplay how awful alcoholism is, or how it devastates children growing up with alcoholic parents. I didn’t grow up in a house of big drinkers — occasionally my parents would have beer or a mixed drink (most often, whiskey & ginger ale with a maraschino cherry — I’d always ask for the cherry) — like on a holiday or at the rare party. I was allowed to taste beer when I was a kid, and of course, found it disgusting. I didn’t drink until college.

Now, Mike and I go out for a beer on Friday nights, and occasionally have wine or beer with dinner. We have friends who don’t drink, and friends we love drinking with. We and our drinking friends often lament the demise of “social drinking” and socializing in general. People don’t get dressed up and have cocktail parties (at least my friends don’t). A dinner party? What’s that? Parents don’t leave the kids with a sitter and go out and unwind with friends — the lives of the parents I know revolve around the kids. When I was working in an office, after-work happy hours all but disappeared once we hit 30. When I read in the article about mommy bloggers with names like mommywantsvodka.com, I laughed. Yeah, that would probably be me, I thought.

I’m talking about SOCIAL drinking, not getting wasted. I’m not advocating people (mommies, daddies, or anyone else) going out, getting trashed, and getting in the car. I’m talking about responsible adults, having a couple of drinks and “laughing and scratching.”  Darren and Samantha having Larry and Louise over for dinner and martinis. In my experience, that doesn’t happen much anymore.

But the article made me think — I guess it is happening and I’m just missing out.

And you know what? I wish I wasn’t.

I’d love it if my girlfriends lived close enough and were available enough to have regular “wine and unwind” dates (like those Desperate Housewives and their poker games). I’d love it if Mike and I had a friends to rotate dinner parties and try out cocktail concoctions. (Martha’s always sharing drink recipes — is it a lifestyle of the rich & famous thing?)

So, where am I going with this? Maybe I’m just lamenting that Mike and I don’t have much of a social life ;). But really, I think I’m lamenting how modern life and its excesses has turned so many things sour and made everything so serious. Have a couple drinks with friends and you’re one step away from alcoholism. Indulge in buttery appetizers or decadent desserts instead of raw vegetables and fresh fruit and you better have the heart paddles charging. Sleep late on a weekend? But what about soccer practice and spinning class and painting the house and mowing the lawn?

Where’s the fun in life?

I, for one, would love a glass of wine right now. And I’d love it if you were here to drink one, too.

We have the tendency to obscure the forest of
simple joys with the trees of problems.
~ Christiane Collange

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