A Piece of Kake

Be a fashion revolutionary, not a fashion icon! To do this, you must first forget the fashion falsehoods. Fashion sells the lie that you need new clothes every season, or even every year. This is not based in reality at all. I have clothes that have lasted since high school. Granted, they aren’t the most stylish (they weren’t back then, either). But if you buy quality basics, you should be able to wear them much longer than a season or even a year.

Fashion is really just another aspect of consumerism, but it’s particularly tempting as it’s so closely tied to identity, perhaps especially for females. In response to the air-brushed models and well-styled actresses flooding the media, we believe the lie that our looks determine our value. Soon we are slaves to our appearance. If we don’t have the right clothing, shoes, purse, jewelry, and make-up, we are unattractive and therefore worthless. If we say we don’t believe this, let’s live like it, too!

To fight the fashion myths, wait until your clothes are really worn out or don’t fit, and then shop at thrift stores, clearance racks, and sales. You don’t need to be in style or have your clothes fit like they’re tailored. At the same time, don’t buy clothes that are obviously cheaply made. For example, many of the mall stores with teeny-bopper-type clothes have cheap prices but the clothes fall apart in less than a year. Find stores that sell quality items for less, but always consider whether you could do better at the thrift or second-hand store.

All the same principles apply for shoes, pursues, and other accessories. Why do you need five purses? Just get something basic that will match many outfits and seasons. Don’t buy into the myth that you need shoes and accessories to perfectly match every outfit. Who cares if the shade or style is a little off? We’re revolutionaries, not fashion icons!

While the fashion industry is quite artificial since no one needs new clothes each season, fashion itself can be an art form that reflects the beauty of God’s creation and His creative image stamped in us. So I’m not saying it’s wrong to match, or wear flattering clothing, or buy a new dress once in a while. It is harmful, denigrating, and enslaving to take our identity from what we wear and frivolously spend on clothes when there are better ways to use our money.

So what is a revolutionary to do?

Recognize the difference between want and need. Maybe you’d like a new pair of shoes to match a particular outfit, but if you’re like me and already own a dozen pairs, you probably don’t need them. Most likely you own something suitable, if not entirely fashionable. Learn to let go of the idea that you have to look red-carpet ready to go the grocery store, or even to a wedding.

When you do need something, shop around for a good price. Depending on the item, consider trying a thrift store or second-hand shop first. Most Goodwill and Salvation Army stores have dressing rooms, which is a big advantage because it’s a waste of money to buy something only to find out it doesn’t fit. And most thrift stores have “deal” days, like the Cuyahoga Falls Salvation Army has fifty percent all items on Wednesday. The Village Discount Outlet has different tag colors fifty percent off every day, and on Mondays one tag color is only fifty cents. Of course thrift shopping always involves the luck of the draw and takes more time. If possible, try to go early to get the best deals.

At the mall, avoid stores where clothing is inexpensive but cheaply made. I find that Express and Limited brands hold up well. Most of the clothes I’ve had since high school (I graduated seven years ago), are from these stores. So if you go to the mall, head to the clearance racks at the back of the store. If you’re looking for something in particular, keep in mind that the cheapest items are those just going out of season. So think ahead and then shop ahead (or behind) as appropriate. Kohl’s often has very good clearance, although I don’t fit into their misses sizes, and I find their juniors items to be less well-made. There are bargains to be had, so don’t give up hope. For example, I didn’t pay more than $10 for any of the jeans I own, and I bought them new at the mall.

If you’re small, try buying socks and shoes from the children’s section. I’ve found good particularly good deals on tennis shoes (half the price of the same adult shoes).

Buy men’s dress-casual clothes new, on clearance racks or sales. Men tend to hang onto their clothes longer than women, meaning that the thrift store collection is often missing buttons and full of sweat stains, food stains, rips, and holes. There are occasional deals to be had on unworn items, but generally I don’t find it worth an hour to find one such item. I usually get Neil’s shirts and dress pants on sale or clearance at Kohl’s.

Another good strategy is to borrow and get hand-me-downs from people less cheap than you. Here’s a dirty little secret: the cheap people need the not-so-frugal people to save money. Without them there would be no thrift stores, no hand-me-downs worth handing down, and no one’s closet to raid. My sisters and I share clothes sometimes, although less frequently now that we live further apart, and I welcome hand-me-downs, especially from my fashion designer sister! Always remember to take good care of other people’s clothes if they’re on loan, though. One of my sisters ruined a most fabulous find of mine, a light blue silk blouse I got on clearance at Banana Republic for $5. In trying to return it to me clean, she put it through both the washer and dryer. So be careful with other people’s stuff!

Once you’ve got your new or new-to-you rags, take care of them! This will make them last much longer. The best way to extend a garment’s lifespan is not wash it too frequently. Of course you’ll wash your undergarments and exercise gear often. But with jeans and sweaters, the more expensive items, don’t wash every time you wear. Unless you’ve spilled something on them, there’s really no need to wash after one or two wears. I wash one pair of jeans per week unless I spill something on them. My sister designed denim for Express and she agrees with this advice.

I barely believe in dry-cleaning. I’ve taken Neil’s suit to be dry-cleaned once in the five years he’s owned it. And I took a wool coat once, with a coupon of course! That’s the extent of my dry-cleaning experience. Instead of spending money at the cleaners, I avoid buying dry-clean only clothes. My husband is less careful about this and has gifted me with a number of dry-clean only garments like wool sweaters. He even managed to find a pair of exercise pants that aren’t supposed to be machine washed. Can you think of anything more impractical?

So what is a frugal wife to do with such items? It’s what I call “home dry cleaning.” First, wash items only when needed, like if there’s a stain or it’ stinky or sweaty. Next, most items can be cleaned in a gentle, cold water cycle in a washing machine. Just don’t put the item in the dryer—I shrunk more than one sweater that way. If the item will lose shape, lay it flat to dry; otherwise hang it up right away.

If the no-machine-wash item is extremely delicate, such as with beadwork or silk, wash it by hand when necessary. Use lukewarm water and just a dab of laundry detergent. Scrub stained areas or the armpits by gently rubbing the fabric against itself. Then wring it out and hang or lay flat to dry.

One of the big advantages of dry-cleaning is that your clothes come back pressed and ready to wear. But there’s
a way to avoid both dry-cleaning and ironing. I buy wrinkle-resistant dress clothes for Neil, and generally stay away from clothes that requiring ironing for me. Wrinkle-resistant fabric is very common in men’s dress clothes so it usually doesn’t cost more, especially when you’re shopping clearance and sales. Really resisting wrinkles takes some diligence with the laundry, though. You can’t let the clothes sit in the drier after the cycle is finished. It actually works best to take them out while they’re still slightly wet, or immediately after they’ve dried. Hang them immediately, squarely on the hangers, in a way that does not smash the clothes into each other. Using this method I only iron about once every three weeks because Neil still has some shirts that aren’t wrinkle-resistant. Using the method above makes ironing easier for all types of fabric.

To make bras last longer I wash them in a bra ball, also called a lingerie bag. It’s a little mesh bag that zips open so you can put small delicate items inside. I purchased one at Bed, Bath, and Beyond for $4 with a coupon, which is much cheaper than buying a new bra.

I recently finished reading The Case for the Creator and I recommend it to anyone who hasn’t read it. Lee Strobel does a great job making the scientific evidence for God understandable and interesting. I’m a bit late for a book review since it was published five years ago, but I’ll recount my favorite parts.

Strobel dismantles the icons of evolution presented in high school biology books, the very same images and “information” that led him and many others into atheism. First was the Miller-Ulrey experiment, in which a container of gases was zapped with electricity and “poof!”—life appeared. Actually, the reproduced early atmosphere was inaccurate: instead of being hydrogen-rich, scientists have determined there was very little hydrogen. And the molecules that were produced were still far from assembling life. In fact, toxic molecules like cyanide formed.

Then there’s Darwin’s tree of life, which I just ran across a drawing of at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. But the fossil record, which Darwin knew didn’t exist “yet” when he drew the tree, never materialized. Instead the record shows a “Cambrian explosion” where lots of new and different forms of life appeared in a very short span of time, which is exactly the opposite of evolution!

Next he talked about Haeckel’s embryos, drawings that showed similarities between the embryos of different species. However, the drawings don’t match photographs. Haeckel purposely fudged the drawings to make them appear more similar than they really are. He was accused of fraud when he published in the 1860s, but science books today still contain this misinformation. He also selectively chose examples of species that happened to be more similar, while ignoring those that didn’t suit his agenda. And he omitted the early stages and starts at the midpoint, the time when the embryos of various species look most alike in the process called the “hourglass of development.”

And what about the prebiotic (primordial) soup? Sorry, no soup for you! There’s simply no evidence for the ancient chemical ocean that most origin-of-life theories presuppose. There was not enough nitrogen in the early atmosphere (0.015%) to compose the nitrogenous amino acids which are essential to life. And the earliest sediments on earth do not contain nitrogen-rich minerals. Even if such a soup did exist, there would have been serious problems with amino acids reacting with other chemical to produce substances that are threatening to life.

I found the kalam argument fascinating. It states: everything that begins to exist has a cause. The universe began to exist. Therefore, the universe has a cause. William Lane Craig’s arguments prove the first two statements true, so it follows that the conclusion is valid. First, he shows that, though the ancient Greeks believed in an eternal universe, science, math, and philosophy all show that the universe began at some point in time. No scientists really argue otherwise today. Craig even demonstrates that the universe requires a personal creator, because there are two explanations for every effect: the scientific/physical explanation, or the personal/volitional reason. He uses the examples of, “Why is that water boiling?” You can answer by explaining the physics of water molecules being heated to their boiling point, or you can explain that you wanted to make a cup of tea. But before the universe began to exist there were no physical laws, because there was nothing physical to be governed by them.

Strobel also covers the “anthropic fine-tuning” which refers to the incredibly precise values involved in the physics necessary for the universe to support life. One common example is earth’s distance from the sun. If we were further or closer, it would be too hot or cold for life, and there would be no water. If gravity were just a hair stronger, humans would be crushed. The cosmological constant—the energy density of empty space—is surprisingly small and inconceivably precise. And the difference in mass between neutrons and protons, if changed a tiny bit, would make nuclear fusion impossible for stars, and thus there would be no energy source for life. In summary, the size, location, gravity, composition, structure, atmosphere, temperature, internal dynamics, plate tectonics, and many other factors about Earth uniquely support life.

The sun uniquely supports life with its size, the colors it emits, its long life-span, and the stability of its light output, which only varies 0.1% in eleven years. Earth’s orbit is just right, and other planets and the moon shield us from asteroids and comets (consider the moon’s pocked surface).In addition to the unbelievable precision that makes life possible in the universe, many other factors suggest that the universe was “designed for discovery.” Apparently earth has a singularly good vantage point for seeing and studying the universe. The clarity of the atmosphere is rare, and earth has a rare view of eclipses. The book refers to the “convergence of habitability and measurability,” or the idea that it’s not only very unique and unlikely that Earth supports human life, but also that the universe and life are governed by such precise laws and principles which we have the capacity to discover.

Strobel interviewed Behe about irreducible complexity, and his argument that cell couldn’t have evolved to their current state because they can’t function with any less complexity held up under Strobel’s interrogation.

The Case for the Creator also contains the familiar vast mathematical improbability that random chemicals formed specific proteins that compose precise amino acids, which order themselves into long specific sequences to create DNA. And there’s much more to life than just DNA. It’s like throwing a bunch of Scrabble pieces down and hoping to write Hamlet—impossible.

The final chapter touches on the interesting topic of consciousness. We all sense that the brain and mind are not synonymous, that there is a part of us that is not determined purely by the physical. J.P. Moreland describes consciousness as sensations, thoughts, emotions, desires, beliefs, and free choices that make us alive and aware. If humans are only physical then consciousness doesn’t exist and there can be no first person point of view; there is no such thing as free will, and therefore no responsibility; and there is disembodied intermediate state, as described by people who had near-death and out-of-body experiences. Experiments have shown that there is no part of the brain where electrical stimulation will cause a patient to believe or to decide. Other studies have shown that the mind has a causal power independent of the brain’s activities. The private nature of introspection, REM and dreaming, and our experience of the soul also provide reason to believe in human consciousness.

In high school ministry we schedule at least one activity a week, but it’s hard to keep it up when most people are broke. So I came up with a list of inexpensive ministry activities (some of which could also serve as family, friend, or date activities). Some are free; others are cheap when everyone participates. These are not all my ideas, but ideas collected from people over the years. Have fun!

Lu’au: Make a playlist by borrowing Hawaii/tropical CDs from the library and/or downloading music. Ask people to dress in tropical/summer clothing. Have a hula hoop contest, a limbo contest, and search the Internet for other Hawaiian-themed games. Make desserts using pineapple and coconut. Ask people to pitch in for pineapple pizza ($5 for Pizza Hut’s Pizza Mia, plus 10% for your first on-line order).

Burning tongues party: Party like it’s Pentecost at this spicy-food themed party (invented by the Michalek home church). Ask everyone to bring a spicy dish, and have a few people bring something bland to cleanse the palate. It might be a good idea to have some Tums on hand as well. Make a playlist of songs that use the word “hot” (there’s more than enough of those).

Culinary contest: Ask everyone to bring their best gourmet creation. Provide plates, forks, and napkins and number the dishes. Have everyone sample the food and then vote on 1-3 favorites, then announce the winners. This activity allows for good conversation while people eat. It might be helpful to break dishes into categories like appetizers, entrees, and desserts. And you might judge on multiple aspects such as taste, presentation, originality, etc. if you want to get more involved.

Film festival: Ask individuals and/or cell groups to create a movie. Let people know far in advance, at least a month or two, so they can write, film, and edit their movie. People could dress up red carpet style. Serve popcorn and show each of the films. Allow the creators to introduce their movies. This could also be a contest if people voted on their favorite film. Or there could be an award given to each movie for a distinctive feature.

Dollar movie theater: Movies 10 in North Canton shows ten second-run films everyday for $1-2 dollars. These movies are shown right after they leave the main movie theaters so they’re not too out-dated. Also, the Linda Theater in Akron shows one second-run movie a week for $3. It’s neat because it’s at an old theater, but it isn’t in a great area. Both theaters have their showings listed on moviefone.com.

Bonfire: Bring some marshmallows and a camp chair and settle in for a good conversation around the fire. Initiate a discussion topic, such as one related to the CT or home church teaching.

Take a walk: This activity is better for smaller groups, families, or couples. When it’s nice out explore the neighborhood. It’s good exercise and a great chance to talk and enjoy nature.

Themed dance party: Choose a decade (70s, 80s) or a style (swing, salsa) and dress appropriately. Make a playlist and dance the night away!

Rock Star, Karaoke, or DDR: This of course is only cheap if someone already owns the games and system. Take turns watching and playing these interactive games.

Go to the park: Another small-group activity. Check out Google maps and find a park you’ve never been to, or visit an old favorite. If it’s not too far, take a walk to get there. Don’t forget a water bottle.

Make sundaes: Ask everyone to bring a different flavor of ice cream or type of topping, and have a couple people bring bowls and spoons. Assign a few people to serve the ice cream (and the toppings if there are kids). Then strike up a good convo while you eat.

Amazing Race: Create clues that will take different teams around town in search of their next clue. First to reach the final destination wins. Ask Ted Howell about the details because he knows how it’s done.

Scavenger Hunt: Create a list of odd objects to collect or pictures to take. Assign different point values based on difficulty. Break into teams and see who can gain the most points in a set period of time. Spending money (and stealing) are off-limits. Teams who arrive late either lose points or get disqualified. Joe Allie is the master of creating scavenger hunts.

Charades: You know how to play. But it’s extra fun when you play at a fast food restaurant.

Pictionary tournament: Get two whiteboards or chalkboards and break into two teams. If people are too loud, have the teams go one at a time and see if they can beat the timer, not the other player, for their point.

Board game night: Ask everyone to bring a board game and set up some card tables.

Cards: I don’t know how to play anything but War, Go Fish, and Speed, but other people do so get some Poker or Euchre or Blackjack going and have fun! With Chill we used to set up tables and do a casino night for the infamously unspendable “Chill Bucks.”

Road trip: Announce a road trip and travel to anywhere—it’s about the journey, not the destination. Head to a far-away restaurant or check out a meeting in Xenos Columbus.

Field Day Day: Remember field day at school? Plan various events like 50-yard dash, 100-yard dash, three-legged race, dizzy lizzy, tug-of-war, relays, etc.

Sports: Soccer, softball, volleyball, kickball, Frisbee soccer, or any other team torture (I mean sport) you can think up. But I think basketball and football are too rough for co-ed games.

Crafts: This is a girls’ small group or family activity. Make ornaments, gifts, jewelry, or a host of other items. Check the Internet for corny craft ideas.

White Elephant gift exchange: As Christmas approaches host a white elephant gift exchange. Everyone brings an object they already own but are willing to give away. Wrap the item up—the fancier, the better. Then have someone choose an item. The next person can choose the same item or a different one, and on until the last person has chosen their item. Then everyone opens them and laughs at the weird stuff people wrapped up. Play Christmas music and wear your Christmas sweater (see below).

Ugly Sweater Christmas party: (credit to Kay Homer) Everyone goes to the thrift store and buys a corny Christmas sweater and/or other Christmas apparel (earrings, turtlenecks, vests, etc.) and wears it to the party. Make a runway and have everyone model their sweater for a panel of judges. Award the winners with cheap candy canes.

Rockin’ on the River: Cover or tribute bands play downtown Cuyahoga Falls most Friday nights in the summer. Check the city calendar for these free concerts. Just beware of the concessions—that’s where they get you.

Local festivals: Look on-line for the dates of local festivals and go together as a group.

Talent Show: this is best for junior high group or younger. Hold a talent show where students can showcase their skills. Invite judges from other ministries and have them act like the American Idol judges, commenting on each act. Award everyone a prize.

$5 fashion show: Go to the thrift store or Gabriel Brother’s. Assign teams of five. Each person pitches in up to $5 to create a fashion-forward outfit. At a home where a “runway” has been prepared, each team chooses a model, dresses them, and does their hair and make-up. Put on some techno music and have the models walk for a panel of judges and audience. Give awards for the best outfit and best walk. Allow designers to explain their outfit before it goes on the runway.

Home coffee bar: For groups where hy[eractivity isn’t a problem, make some strong coffee, steam some milk, and use syrups and whipped cream to create your own mochas and lattes. Or get a blender and make frappaccinos in the summer. Check the Internet for recipes. Another great activity for good conversation.

Hiking: Check out the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and go on a group hike. Consider packing a picnic.

Swimming: Find a friend with a pool or a local lake (Munroe Falls is $4) and have fun in the sun.

Spa night/makeovers: With a girls small group, paint each others’ nails, give massages, do makeovers, and find recipes for face masks or foot baths.

Weight lifting: With a guys’ small group, get some barbells and find some space to lift and do push-ups, sit-ups, and whatever guys do to try to get buff.

Go to Walmart: and be goofy (but not obnoxious). Challenge people to find the cheapest item. Try on a ridiculous outfit. Buy a Slurpie. Look at the fish. Play with the toys. Do a cartwheel. Marvel at the diversity created by American capitalist consumerism.

Bollywood night: With a girls’ small group, rent some Bollywood videos, buy some chutney (or popcorn), and enjoy the corniness and colors of India drama, song, and dance.

Have you ever prayed a scary prayer before? These are prayers that God could only answer by allowing you to suffer. Prayers like:

“God, please break me of my flesh.”

“God, don’t let me be a comfortable Christian.”

“God, please teach me how to handle failure.”

I’ve prayed these before, and they’re scary, and God has answered (or at least started to). Last Memorial I prayed not to be comfortable. Two months later I found myself at Cedar Point with the high school ministry. I hate roller coasters, overpriced junk food, and broiling my Irish skin in the sun for fourteen hours, and I developed a massive headache from the sun as well. So it’s fair to say Cedar Point was part of the answer to that prayer. I had fun, but uncomfortable fun. I could say the same about playing sports and going to the high school football games. Not exactly my bag of chips, but it’s exactly what I prayed for.

I’ve prayed to be broken of my pride (very scary—pray with caution!), and God granted me a string of failed friendships and discipleships. He also graciously gave me loyal friends to bring me through. I got what I asked for, but I have a feeling He’s not done answering that one yet.

But just recently I’ve started praying the scariest prayer, one I think every Christian should pray.

“God, please show me if you want me to be a missionary.”

That’s missionary as in cross-cultural, overseas, long-term worker in the global harvest. I’ve prayed this prayer at various times since the age of twelve, but never with such earnestness and immediacy as now. At twenty-three, I’m old enough (though not experienced enough) to actually go, and my husband is also praying the scariest prayer with new interest and even urgency.

“God, please show me where You want me to serve, whether here, extra-locally, in Taiwan, Thailand, India, or even Iran…if that’s even possible.”

What’s so scary about this prayer?

Frankly, that bit about Iran (or any closed Muslim country) is terrifying. I can’t even watch the “torture” scene in The Princess Bride! How the heck could I handle it if I actually got tortured? I’d probably cave in a second, which is also scary because I could seriously damage the Christian faith and the whole region’s ministry. But then the child-like faith part of my brain (a very small part, unfortunately), says, “God would get you through it.” I have a hard time believing it, but there are plenty of testimonies of persecuted, beaten, tortured believers who somehow manage to “rejoice in suffering” just like the Bible says. So it must be possible.

Perhaps scarier than getting tortured is seeing my kids (the ones I don’t have yet) or husband get tortured or killed. I would be devastated if Neil died. But he could die anywhere, anytime. So I guess it just boils down to trusting God again. And Elizabeth Elliot is a real testament to how God provides even in that type of sorrow. (See the movie End of the Spear with a box of tissues nearby).

Even if God led us to a field where torture/execution wasn’t an issue, it would still be incredibly difficult to leave this amazing, one-of-a-kind fellowship, my family, the comforts of home, the English language, and everything we’re used to.

And then to go learn a new language, go through training, and start working with a team of strangers (if we’re lucky enough to join a team), and try to reach people and grow churches and raise leaders in a foreign place? And have a family there, too? Crazy talk.

But we’re talking it, more than ever before. We’re talking to Seann and Amy Gibson in Taiwan, who say that learning how to fail is crucial to being a missionary because pioneer missions work includes a lot of failure. We’re talking to Ellen Livingood, a missionary Neil met in Perspectives, about the process of getting onto the field. We’re going to talk with Martha McCallum who grew up in Kenya, who says that character is the critical element to becoming a missionary. We want to pick her brain on what that means and looks like to develop. We’ve been talking to fellow Perspectives students who are at varying points in the process of praying and getting answers to the scariest prayer.

And there’s the issue of replacing ourselves here, too. The harvest is plentiful and the workers are few, both here and there. But one third of the world’s population couldn’t hear the gospel in their language if they wanted to—there are simply no believers among them. Neil said, “becoming a missionary is the most logical thing a Christian could do. It just makes so much sense.” I have to agree with the engineer. It seems uncanny that Neil and I are both interested in missions, willing to go, old enough to do it, young enough to be trained, and have such a great foundation in the Word and doing relational ministry. Plus Neil’s gift for evangelism and my English-teaching skills would certainly come in handy.

But I’m not trying to convince anyone, least of all God. I just want to hear the answer to the scariest prayer I’ve ever prayed. If the answer is to go, I’m sure there’ll be much scariest prayers to come. I think every Christian should ask God what role He has for them in His global plan. Perhaps right now He wants You to pray we figure out God’s will for us.

Someone in my dorm had a theory that a college student could find enough free food to eat every meal for free. There is some truth to this overstatement. There is usually free food at least once a day somewhere on or near college campuses. You might have to sit through a play or lecture to get it, but you could always try to slip in at the end. Campus organizations know college students are broke and hungry, so they use food to lure students into their meetings. Which works out great as long as you can find those meetings. Keep your eyes and ears open. Look for signs on billboards, and listen in class for department goings-on. Then there are parties and dorm events, college fests, restaurant promos, and student coupons in the newspaper.

Kent State University also has a “food committee” that meets occasionally to evaluate the different food options students have. They also visit other campuses to try out their dining halls and on-campus restaurants. But the best part about the food committee is that if you put down $25 a semester, you get $25 every week to spend on campus food (in the form of a charged card). And all you have to do is fill out a review card for your meal. That covers lunch every week day, for only $25 a semester. What a deal! (I’m not sure how to join the food committee, and of course it’s pretty limited, but I’d be asking around the dining hall and residence life people if I were going to Kent).

Another good strategy is to get an job at a food place—whether it’s the dining hall, on-campus eateries, or near-campus cafeterias. When I worked at Starbucks we got a free drink and $5 for lunch at the Student Union eateries every day we worked. So that took care of lunches every day. Ask the student employees about the perks before you apply.

Your parents also assume you’re broke and hungry so they tend to invite you over for dinner and send you home with leftovers and groceries. (“I just happened to pick up two extra jars of peanut butter this week,” you mom says.) If your parents want to help you out, take it! Don’t be proud. But don’t be a beggar either: “Hey mom, what’s up with a haircut reimbursement?” I heard one college student ask. That’s just lame.

Speaking of haircuts, your best bet in college is to go with a hairstyle that doesn’t have to be trimmed often. This means long hair for girls, or very short hair for guys (unless they want to go long, too). For females, the longer your hair, the less often you have to get it cut. If you don’t have a short or angled style to maintain, you can go four to six months without a trim. That means you only have to pay twice a year. Keep your eyes open for sales or coupons for Best Cuts, Great Clips, and Famous Hair. Often their normal $10-12 prices will drop as cheap as $6.
For guys, get a cut you can trim yourself (like having no or very little hair), or do the hippie thing and let it grow. This last option is not recommended if you are interviewing for internships or jobs in a professional field, though.

For girls, the cheapest route is to not dye or highlight your hair at all. Often highlights and dying require maintenance, which sends you back to the salon again and again. There is drug store hair dye which is much cheaper, but make sure you know what you’re doing, or get an experienced friend to help. Of course, you’re still going to have roots showing soon enough and it still costs money, so the cheapest is not to dye at all.
What you really want to find is a friend who is going to cosmetology school. They will be happy to practice on you, but not experienced enough to charge you. Of course there’s some risk involved with this strategy, but “it’ll grow back” offers some reassurance.

These tips hold for graduates, too, although if you’re a career woman or just have a job where you need to look professional, you might not be able to sport the long-locked scholar look. I remember getting my hair cut at J.C. Penney the week before I started student teaching. “I want to look older, more professional,” I told the nineteen-year-old stylist. I was twenty, and about to teach seniors. She gave me an awful high-school-girl hair cut. I cried. And then I had to buy a curling iron in order to make it look like I wasn’t fifteen. By the time I was actually teaching I pretty much gave up and went with simple: straight down or pulled back everyday.

It’s also cheapest not to have a car, but very annoying for other people who have to drive you around. See the car entry for tips and tricks. The biggest rule is not to get a new car or any significant car payment, especially while you’re in college. I’ve seen college students kill themselves trying to pay for a shiny new Honda, when there are plenty of rusty ones to be had for what you spent on Taco Bell last year. It’s never a great idea to have a car payment, especially a large one, but in college it’s a relational death wish. Between studying and working to pay your car loan, you’ll have no free time. So beware!

Another way to go to college for free is to use the Post-Secondary Enrollment Option (PSEO or PSO). Under this program the state pays for high school students to take college courses for free. And by free, I mean completely free. You don’t even have to pay for your own books (you get a full refund when you return them to the bookstore at the end of the semester).

Sound too good to be true? It isn’t. You just have to be a junior or senior, and you have to apply by a deadline. GPA and other requirements vary by university, but your high school guidance counselor will have information about PSO. Most high schools allow you to go part-time or full-time. So you can split your time between high school and college classes, or you can take all college courses and never even go to high school. Many of your college classes will also count toward your high school graduation requirements. Again, you just have to check with your school.

This program is becoming increasingly popular, and it’s great that it’s so flexible. One of my friends did PSO at a private university part-time her junior year and full-time her senior year. She entered her freshman year of college at that university with enough college credits for sophomore status. One of my sisters took just one PSO class—college algebra. She took it at a branch location of a state university, and was happy to have it out of the way before she started college.

The branch location is a good option if a big campus seems intimidating, too much of a hassle, or too expensive for commuting while in high school. If your heart’s set on going to private university, PSO could make it more affordable if you can graduate early or take less classes per semester. And it’s a good way to try out different courses and figure out what you want to major in if you’re not sure. Not paying for the class takes some pressure off in case you “don’t need it” for your major.

But if you’re already in college and paying for it, how can you get the most for your money?

I mentioned this before, but DO NOT pay full bookstore price for your textbooks unless you have to. Here are your other options.

1. Before the semester starts, get the required book lists for your classes from the bookstore. Many universities have these lists available on the bookstore web site. You can also email the professor for information about the required books.

2. Check the library. Using the on-line catalog, see if the books are at your library. If only older editions are available, reserve them in case you can’t find anything better. Often, older editions are still usable. Math and science books are most likely to be the exception, especially if the problems have changed. You don’t want to answer the wrong
questions for homework.

If your library doesn’t have it, try OhioLink. Your university library web site should have a button to search Ohio Link. It’s a system between all the universities in Ohio that gives any student access to the catalog and books of any library. So you will be able to see all the schools that have your books, and you can request for them to be sent to your university library. It’s an amazingly convenient system, because all you have to do it show up at the circulation desk after you get an email notice saying the book is waiting there for you. You don’t even have to go find it in the library.

You can now renew an OhioLink book for an entire semester. The only problem you might run into is if someone else requests the book while you have it. Then you can’t keep renewing it. In that case you can try to request another copy, return it late and eat the late fees (which are higher than for other library books, or copy the pages you need before returning it. Sure, it’s a bit of a hassle, but it’s worth saving $500 a semester on books!

The biggest danger with OhioLink is if you lose a book. They charge like crazy even for a paperback novel. The fee for all lost books is $125! I was once accused of not returning an OhioLink book (which I most definitely did—I saw the employee take it out of the drop box which I thought was weird) and faced this $125 penalty. But I convinced the dean of the library that it was a mistake and she let me off. I wouldn’t count on getting that type of grace, though, especially if you really do lose the book. So keep close tabs on OhioLink books.

Social science and humanities books are more likely to be accessible this way. But you can always try the science library for math and science textbooks.

And here’s a secret: you can underline and highlight in library books. I did it all through college.

3. If the library doesn’t have what you want, try half.com. They have tons of used textbooks, with the ISBNs so you can be sure you’re getting what you want. Shipping is $4 per book, but if you’re saving 50% or so, it’s certainly worth it. Again, consider buying an older edition if that’s all you can find. You can always run it by your professor, but make sure they have good reasons if they really think you should buy the new one.

4. If half.com doesn’t deliver, see if Ebay, Amazon, Abebooks, or Alibris (all .coms) have better deals than the book store. It’ll only take you five minutes to search these sites, and you could save hundreds of dollars. They have new and used books, and shipping again runs around $4 per book (free on Amazon if you buy $25 worth of new books).
What if you order a book but it doesn’t come in before classes start? This gets a little complicated, but again, the savings were worth it. I would buy the book at the campus bookstore and check the return policy. I’d use it till my book arrived in the mail, or until the last day I could return it for full credit (usually a week or two).

5. Check off-campus bookstores. They’re not owned and operated by the university, so they often have better deals. Students on your campus may know which store is cheapest, so ask around. You can always call and check the price of a book if you don’t want to spend time going there. Buy used if you can, and find out about their buyback policies.

6. If all else fails, buy used at the campus bookstore and sell it back at the end of the semester unless you really think you’ll need it. Books closely related to your major are often worth keeping, especially if they contain some reference material you’ll need. Another option is to sell it on half.com. See what it’s going for and if you could get substantially more than the bookstore is paying. I never bothered with this, but then again, I never bought many books. They also run coupons sometimes so keep your eyes open for those.

Remember that the bookstore often won’t buy back those “old editions” that won’t be used next semester, so don’t be surprised when you can’t sell back your $100 biology book. Oh, well, that’s just college for you.

Here’s to all the “poor college students” out there.

I say “poor” because the American definition of poverty is so different from the rest of the world. There are people who are seriously impoverished in America, but even our ghettos are a place of great wealth compared to the slums of India. (Just see the film Slumdog Millionaire, with kids living in the city dump).

I’m not trying to make you poor college students feel guilty, but to point out that you have so much to be grateful for. Are you still covered by your parents’ health insurance? They are saving you $200-300 a month! Do they let you eat their food when you go home? Thank them! Do they ever give you a little cash or help out with an unexpected bill? Don’t count on this, but be very grateful if it happens.

Realize that your run-down college apartment that you share with too many people would look like a mansion to millions in this world. And your beater car is a luxury so many people wouldn’t even dream of owning. Just the opportunity to go to college is a an amazing advantage that you should be so thankful for. Consider yourself privileged. And go to class.

So now that you’re not so “poor” anymore, here’s how to make the most of the money you have.

The BEST way to save money in college is to get scholarships! This advice is important for both high school and college students. You can earn scholarships before and after you start college. In high school good grades are important and activities can be helpful, but the real clincher for many colleges is your standardized test scores. So take that ACT, SAT, and PSAT, and then take them again. Practice really helps, so start your junior year (earlier for the PSAT). The tests cost from $30-50 to take, but compared to the $50,000 or more you could earn, it’s a worthwhile investment.

So put some time into as well. When you register for the tests you should get a practice test booklet. Take the practice. Time yourself, and then score it. Determine your strengths and weaknesses, and then practice those some more. Get off Facebook for a minute and find on-online practice tools. Learn how to take the tests—how much time you have, whether you get points off for wrong answers, and what types of questions are on the test. What formulas are provided, and what will you have to know? Get a list of “SAT words” (I bet your English teacher has a list) make flashcards, and study them.

1

I earned $80,000 in one day of high school. It was the day I took the PSAT. I don’t say this to brag, but to communicate that it is worth studying and preparing for a standardized test if there’s even an outside chance that you could go to college for free, half price, or anything less than the astronomical amount college now costs. So maybe I actually spent a week earning that money, but don’t you think it was worth it?

If academics aren’t your strongest suit, look into other scholarships. There are many Internet databases with applications. Write some essays, fill out some forms, and get some letters of recommendation. It’s a hassle, but paying off $50,000 worth of college loans will be a much bigger pain in the butt down the road. Ask your guidance counselor for information and take advantage of every opportunity, including local scholarships. Even $500 can help you buy books. Check out www.finaid.org/scholarships/, www.collegenet.com/mach25/, www.fastweb.com/, and your high school guidance office.

I am not speaking from experience, but sports scholarships seems like a rip-off to me. You have to spend all hours practicing, traveling and competing. I don’t know how you could do that, study, and have a social life. Perhaps your whole social life revolves around the team. If your life is that sport, it would work for you. But if you don’t want that, I wouldn’t recommend pursuing sports scholarships. Music or art scholarships also require a ton of time, but if it’s related to your major then it would be worthwhile.

Here’s an obvious but often-ignored piece of advice: go to the school that offers the best financial aid package (within the region you want to go to school). The best package isn’t necessarily the highest dollar amount for scholarships or loans. Private schools offer big bucks in aid, but they charge even bigger bucks for tuition. But sometimes the more expensive school is the better deal. So do the math and figure out how much you’ll pay in the end, not just how much they’re offering you.

Of course, there are factors more important than money in choosing a school. If you want to live in Kent (perhaps for a ministry house), and Miami offers you the best package, it isn’t worth it. But if you want to live in Kent and Akron offers you a better package, the twenty minute commute is worth it to save thousands.

Most scholarships must be renewed every year. So never miss the renewal application deadline! A simple mistake like this will cost you thousands of dollars. Each year you should also investigate if you are eligible for new scholarships. This is especially important after your first and second semesters of college, when you may prove with your grades that you are worth some dough.

Always fill out your FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. You may qualify for federal grants, which is free money that you never have to pay back. And then you can also get federal loans which have lower interest rates. You don’t have to pay them back till after you graduate (or quit school, but don’t do that), and they have deferral options that other loans don’t. So if you’re going to need loans, these are the ones to get. Go to www.fafsa.ed.gov/

Another good option is a community college. These aren’t just for those without top grades or people pursuing two-year degrees. You can get your general education requirements out of the way for half the cost or less. If you want to be on a particular campus during the school year, consider taking a couple summer classes at Tri-C or Kent Stark. Again, you should determine whether the commute times are worth the money you’ll save. They very well may be.

The next best way to save money in college is to not flunk out! Don’t pay $5,000 a semester just to blow off class and party too much. If you just want to party, don’t waste that kind of money on tuition. College is a good investment, but only if you’re getting a useful degree. So go to class, pay attention, take notes, do the work, and study for tests. It’s not that complicated. If you need extra help, ask for it. You’re paying big bucks for every class session—around $25 for many state schools in Ohio, and much more if you’re at a private school. So waste not your tuition dollars, and want not a return on your investment (a degree).

If you have questions about standardized test scores, scholarships, grants, or other related topics, please post them in the comments.

Up next, we’ll get into the nitty-gritty of everyday money-saving tips for college students.

Are you thirsty? Do you feel the desperate need for the Holy Spirit in your life and ministry? Do you want to learn how to lean on Him more?

“’If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.’” –John 7:38

Brother Yun told the story of his persecution as a church planter and evangelist in China in The Heavenly Man. He suffered brutal beatings, electrocution, malnourishment, and repeated imprisonments for the gospel, and he considered it all joy to join in the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings.

His new book Living Water is collected from his teachings, many of them given to Western churches. Some of the principles may seem basic to Western Christians with theological knowledge, but his challenging calls to obey the Bible’s teachings are anything but boring.

Brother Yun is the only Christian I know of today who is writing in a radical way about the necessity of persecution for Christians. Listen to these quotes and consider how they apply to your walk with the Lord, our fellowship as a whole.

“Do you want to follow God and do something great for His kingdom? If so, then good. But first you must realize that the pathway to bearing fruit for the Lord is strewn with much opposition, slander, criticism, false accusation, and pain. People will misunderstand you and doubt your motives, and Satan will throw many roadblocks in your path in a bid to thwart your progress. This has been my experience over the years, and it has been the experience of every person I have known who has been used by God, from the apostles to the present day.”

“The true gospel, when it is preached with power, always results in either revival or riot. Just read Paul’s experiences in the book of Acts.”

“Did you ever consider that Jesus sent His own followers on suicide missions? He knew His disciples would be killed as they attempted to take the gospel throughout the world.”

“We need to get our minds off man-made temples, churches and buildings and realize that God no longer dwells in structures made by human hands.”

“When I’m in the West, I see all the mighty church buildings and all the expensive equipment, plush carpets and state-of-the-art sound systems. I can assure the Western church with absolute certainty that you don’t need any more church buildings. Church buildings will never bring the revival you seek. The pursuit of more possession will also fail to bring revival.” Instead he says we need teachings that contain the “sharp truths” of Scripture, and obedience to those truths.

“In China we always teach five things that all disciples need to be ready to do at any time. We need to be ready to pray, regardless of circumstances. We must always be ready to share the gospel and always ready to suffer for the name of Jesus. We also teach every disciple in China that they must be ready to die for Jesus Christ, and finally they should be ready to escape for the gospel if the opportunity presents itself, for Jesus said, ‘When you are persecute in one place, flee to another’ (Matthew 10:23). There is great power when we suffer for the gospel.”

“I have found over the years that many of the most fruitful times of ministry for the Lord have come at the same time as great opposition and persecution. There seems to be direct correlation between effective work for God and intense opposition. We can grow to such a place in Christ where we laugh and rejoice when people slander us, because we know we are not of this world, and our security is in heaven. The more we are persecuted for His sake, the more reward we will receive in heaven.”

“China is not being transformed for Jesus because we sit around thinking and talking about God’s work. No! We invest all our energy, time, and resources in reaching the lost. The church prays hard and works hard for the Lord. Many thousands of Christians have willingly endured brutal treatment and imprisonment in order to see the vision of a redeemed China become a reality.”

“Have you ever felt you would die unless you shared the goodness of Jesus Christ with others? If not, it is time to kneel down and ask God to give you a fresh revelation of the joy and presence of the Lord.”
I still have a few chapters left to read so more quotations may be forthcoming. I do recommend the book for if you are willing to look past the “basic teachings” and question whether you are really following them. In other words, be forewarned: contains highly convicting material.

It’s March now and spring is (hopefully) just around the corner. As the snow melts and the temperature rise past freezing, spring cleaning may be on people’s minds. But no one really likes cleaning, so why spend big bucks on it? Here’s how to clean on the cheap:

1. Buy choose-a-size towels (I like the ones at Aldi) but use them sparingly. Opt for sponges and rags whenever you can. But if you’re cleaning something particularly nasty, or a window or mirror, or wiping your hand after handling raw meat, then use as few towels as possible. It kills me to see people rip off three full-size squares just to dry their hands after rinsing them. If you consider paper towels a luxury item and try to make them last as long as possible, you will save money and paper.

I don’t recommend buying the cheapest paper towels possible because they aren’t as absorbent and you will end up using more to do the same job.

The same goes for toilet paper. This isn’t really a cleaning tip, but I think buying the cheap 4-pack of generic toilet paper is a rip-off because it doesn’t last. Same goes for the Sam’s Club box of POM. Instead I buy the Scott 12-pack of regular toilet paper. I don’t know such a long-lasting off-brand, so the name brand is worth it here. Don’t spring for the extra-soft variety or any other gimmicks. This is your butt we’re talking about. It really doesn’t matter what you wipe it with. You should just be grateful that the days the Sears-Roebuck catalog pages are over. I’ve converted die-hard soft-toilet paper fans to Scott, and they agree that while it isn’t cushy-soft, it isn’t rough either. And for those who like the feeling of rolling off a lot of sheets, you can do that with Scott and it won’t be gone by the next time you have to go.

2. Keep your cleaning products basic. You don’t need a million different bottles for every type of surface in your home. I like to have glass cleaner, cleaner with bleach, Comet, wood cleaner, and some mold/mildew spray. The best place to buy these is the dollar store, where they are usually $1/bottle. For dish soap, generic doesn’t last nearly as long so I usually buy a large container of Dawn.

3. As I’ve discovered from recent research, I’m probably over-doing it even with those supplies. So here’s the real poor man’s way to clean:

Baking soda (get a big box)
Bottle of bleach
White vinegar (distilled is better)
Liquid dishwashing soap
Tea tree oil (look at a pharmacy)
Spray bottles (save old ones from cleaning products and rinse them out)
Some rags and sponges

Here are the “recipes” for cleaning products made from these supplies:

Soft Scrub: Mix 1/8 of baking soda with just enough liquid detergent to make it look like frosting.. Cover a sponge with the mixture and use it to wash surfaces, especially bathtubs and tile. It also works as an oven cleaner, but first add a little bit of water. Then rub a layer of the mixture all over the inside of the oven. Let it sit overnight before scrubbing it off.

Windex: In one of the spray bottles, mix half a teaspoon of the liquid soap, three tablespoons of vinegar, and two cups of water. Shake it up and use it as you would Windex.

Pledge: Mix half a teaspoon of the tea tree oil and a quarter of a cup of vinegar together; polish furniture.

Glade: Regularly spray stinky spots (like the sink, garbage disposal, and trash can) with a mist of vinegar at night.

Tilex: Mix two teaspoons of tea tree oil and two cups of water in a spray bottle, shake it up, and spray it mold or mildew spots. Don’t rinse it off. It will smell strongly at first, but the smell will dissipate, as will the mold and mildew.

Spray Cleaner: Put ¼ to ½ cup bleach in a spray bottle and fill the rest with warm water. Shake and use as a general spray cleaner.

With the exception of the bleach, everything is non-toxic, which is a perk for those with small children.
Recipes from thesimpledollar.com.

4. For laundry, I use Astra from Aldi’s, which is $2 for 32 loads. The big boxes of powdered laundry detergent are also a good deal, but make more sense for my small family. I only use half a dryer sheet for each load I dry, which of course makes the box last twice as long. Again, purchase these at Aldi or a dollar store. My mom always did this and the clothes get just as a softened as if you use a whole sheet. If you’re at the laundry mat and drying several loads then use the whole sheet.

Now that I live in a house I’m hoping to get a clotheslines set up when it gets warmer. If you have kids, hanging clothes is a great task for them. I started pretty young, some time in elementary school. Kids like to be outside and it’s good for them to do something useful. But does Stow have any rules about no clotheslines?

Happy spring cleaning!

Waste not, want not. This phrase, first recorded in 1772, is valuable wisdom for those who wish to live frugally. Consider the original audience. In the 1770s you had to make the most of what you had, because you couldn’t just drive to Walmart and get more when you ran out. And even if you could have, you probably wouldn’t have the money to buy it.

Now open up your ‘fridge and venture to ask yourself how much old or rotting food it contains. Think about how much you throw away because you forget to use it, or don’t feel like eating leftovers. I’m sure your parents pulled the whole starving Ethiopian card innumerable times during your childhood. And it’s true. But try this one out instead: perhaps you can’t buy something you want or give more generously because you throw out $100s of dollars worth of food and other products.

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It really bothers me to waste things, and it bothers me even more when other people waste things. Which is not to say I never waste anything, but I certainly try to avoid it. Perhaps it’s just a pet peeve, or maybe it’s an extension of my cheapness. But it’s not a bad idea to develop a healthy aversion to waste.

So here are my tips on how not to waste, and hopefully not wanting will follow.

1. Keep stock of what you have. Don’t buy so much that you can’t keep track of it, particularly with perishable food. Buying similar items each week makes this easier. For example, I always bag one bunch of bananas and one bag of fruit. I know how much I have, and we eat about the same amount each day. This way we don’t let it go to waste.

It is hard to predict how quickly bananas will ripen. But you can always freeze them when they get too brown to eat. Next time you want to make banana bread or a smoothie, you’re ready to go. Here’s my favorite banana bread recipe. It’s also good with oatmeal or chocolate chips added:

The Best Banana Bread: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/The-Best-Banana-Bread/Detail.aspx

2. Along these lines, learn how to use ingredients in a variety of recipes, and plan your menu accordinly. If you buy a big bag of potatoes, you’d better know how to use them before they go bad, especially if you’re single or don’t have kids. You don’t have to eat potatoes every night, but plan for three meals a week using them. And make them three different ways so you won’t get sick of them and not want to eat them.

If you buy a special fresh ingredient like herbs, scallions, or vegetables, make sure you have planned several recipes using them (if you won’t use it up in one recipe). For example, if you buy cilantro for Mexican food, consider making Thai as well.

3. Learn how to re-invent leftovers. What do you do with all the chicken breast from the whole chicken you cooked? Shred it and make barbeque chicken sandwiches or maybe enchiladas. Turn your leftover mashed potatoes into delicious gnocci. Make your extra spaghetti noodles into Thai Peanut Butter noodles. If your eggs are almost experied, make a quiche. (See Part 5 for recipes). Or go on Allrecipes.com and use the “Ingredient Search” to find recipes you can make with what you already have.

4. Freeze what you don’t use. If you just can’t bring yourself to finish that dish of lasagna, give it to me. Just kidding. Actually, you should freeze it in an airtight container. Then you’ll have a convenient meal later on which you can grab instead of prepackaged groceries or fast food. You didn’t waste it, and you weren’t lacking something to eat later on. See, now this waste not, want not phrase is starting to make sense.

This sounds so simple, but the only tricky part is you have to remember to do this before the food goes bad. As a general rule, if you haven’t finished it four days after making it, you should freeze it. It’ll probably be bad after a week passes, so get it taken care of well before that. Four days still gives you plenty of time to enjoy the leftovers.

5. Learn how to cook for two. Our four. Or however big your family is. Figure out how much they generally eat, how much you want to have leftover, and make that much. Then you won’t have mysterious containers of food rotting in your fridge all the time. Allrecipes.com allows you to scale your recipe for smaller or bigger quantities. I usually cook four servings, because Neil will eat 1.5 servings at dinner, I’ll eat one, and that leaves him 1.5 more for lunch. Sometimes the lunch gets the shaft but then you can make up for it with sides and snacks.

6. Neil has a trick to make his pop last. I usually buy one 2-liter a week for $1. So he gets his beloved pop and we spend less than $5 a month on it. But to keep it from going flat, he treats it with special care. He screws the cap on as tightly as possible. I can’t get it off, but that’s how he keeps me from drinking his pop. Kidding again. But it keeps it carbonated. And he feels good when he has to open something because I’m not strong enough. Also, he tries not to jostle the bottle (and commands me to do the same). And he says to pour it like a beer, down the side of a glass held at an angle. So that’s how to not get flat pop that you’ll want to waste.

7. If you have something you can’t use or don’t want, try to find someone who can use it. While we’re on corny axioms, I’ll point out that one man’s junk is another man’s treasure. When it comes to food, you can usually find someone to feed your unwanted leftovers to, as long as they aren’t actually spoiled. This is why I’m always force-feeding people bakery; I like making it but don’t want to it, so I must find others who will waste not, want not for me.

8. Don’t waste energy either. Now that I’m writing Ted’s newsletter I can’t help but mention a few ways to save: Turn off the lights when you’re not using them. Put your computer in sleep mode. Use natural light from windows. Using caulk and weather strips to seal the heat in your home. These may be obvious but many of us find it more convenient to waste than to convserve. But you end up paying for it in your utility bills.

9. Reject the “throw-away” mentality prevalent in our culture. Water bottles, grocery bags, Ziploc bags, Gladware, and many other “disposable” products can (and should) be used more than once. Just rinse out your water bottles, wipe out sandwich crumbs, and wash your Aldi’s brand gladware and set them to dry. You won’t die.

Also, if you need more plastic containers, don’t buy them. Instead, save containers from sour cream, cottage cheese, and other products you’re already buying. Then wash it out thoroughly and you’ve get “free” Tupperware. Now that’s something worth throwing a party about.