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Joined 3 years ago
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Cake day: July 12th, 2023

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  • Look into volunteering some of your free time. Search for opportunities that put you out among people, do the things parents don’t have time or energy for. It’s okay if helping the community isn’t your main motivation, the work doesn’t care who does it. And it self-selects the other participants to be somewhat like yourself, especially if you let your interests drive your choice of where to donate your time.


  • It’s hard to “do good” while also making a profit. But it’s a little easier to not be evil, not support evil, and still be responsible about earning enough to support yourself when you can’t work (now or when you’re old) or have an unexpected need for cash. For instance there are socially responsible stock-market funds that exclude the worst companies, but you’ll want to check for your priorities like climate or worker exploitation because they vary in what they make compromises on.










  • Only buy in bulk what you can and WILL eat before it spoils. Staring into a cupboard that’s empty except for a huge box of something that seemed like a deal but now makes you gag is … a life lesson.

    Since it’s just you, buy cooking vegetables frozen in bags, so you can take out one serving and don’t have to hurry to eat up the broccoli wilting in the fridge. Unlike canned, frozen veg keep their nutrients. Which you do need. Being unhealthy isn’t frugal.



  • I understand the gut-level aspect, even though for me it’s the yucky feeling of bare feet on wood or tile floors. No carpet or rugs in our place, it’s easier for the wheelchair. Which by the way can’t change its wheels when coming in. I tried outdoor shoes but they were disgusting in a week. I’m trying out a habit of stepping barefoot into the room, (from the balcony) picking up my shoes and clapping them outside before putting them back on, rubbing each already-dusty-feeling foot on my leg as I do. We shall see. I’m terrible at consistency.



  • By the time I get to my apartment any dust I picked up outdoors (Los Angeles, little mud and no snow) has been lost to the hallway carpet. Meanwhile road grime blows in through every air gap, and the great majority of household dust is generated by indoor life, whether it’s the detritus of our own skin, lint from fabrics, particles of paper, cooking vapors, asthma nebulizer, and even cleaning products. What has made the most difference is using a MERV13 filter in my HVAC and keeping the doors and windows shut except when I go out to my balcony garden to tend to my plants.


  • I’ve tried it but I could’t keep track of which was which, especially when I go out one door, across the big balcony (10 meters) and in the other door, to a different room, which would have another “outdoor” pair but no “indoor” pair sitting there. I would have to put down the watering can, go back around the other way, and back around through the apartment.

    I also noticed no difference in floor dirt when I was trying to be strict about it. So it seemed like a lot of attention paid for no payoff, and I stopped.