SHAKE IT BABY!

One thing that makes Etsy so daunting and overwhelming are the unbelievable, creative, well priced items that can be found. This is making my next Etsy purchase extremely difficult.

If any of you did not know, I dye all my own clothes for my etsy store Enuwbe. Therefore I keep salt in my house by the 25 pound bags. When I cook, I take a pinch from one of my open bags. I have decided to take the plunge and get a real salt an pepper shaker.

The choices were all top notch. Some were hand thrown like these from PatsPottery

Or hand painted with many fun colors and happy feelings such as, ARToutOFherMIND

And , mimiware

However, I ended up going for a more simple set that made a HUGE statement. Our family loves the outdoors. We love to bike, hike, mountaineer and everything else. So the salt and pepper shaker that seemed to fit our family best was made by AceroStudios from New Bedford, MA.

It is rather interesting how personal this became. If I had gone to a traditional store, I may have had a couple of choices. Most would probably be neutral and all purpose. Something that thousands of people would not mind spending a few bucks on. These will be more than just salt and pepper shakers I bring out to spruce up a dish. Or put on the table for some salt loving company. These will be a conversation starter. They will also outlast some cheap shakers I could buy else where, because I will love them and take care of them.

As you see with my few examples there is a special salt and pepper shaker out there for everyone. One that fits you perfect and makes you want to be at home in the kitchen using them.

Grocery Shopping Budget! On the Etsy List: Taco Seasoning

While my husband is studiously studying, I will go grocery shopping. I am rather picky so this usually includes 3 stores to get what I want. Cosco, because we are a large family that includes 3 kids on a budget. Whole Foods, because I believe we vote with our money. Also the traditional grocery store, because it's cheaper and I can get organic foods there as well.   Now adding this project, it will at times include a fourth store, Etsy.

Our family has a goal this year of erasing about $20,000 dollars worth of credit card debt. This requires a very tight budget. Therefore we very rarely eat out. I also meticulously plan my meals out a week in advance. I then list the things I need to buy according to the store I should get them. This may sound crazy, but it is a must because of my hectic lifestyle. I homeschool my kids, act like little miss suzy homemaker while the hubby is in school, own my own business (www.enuwbe.etsy.com), and am learning Spanish. If I do not keep the grocery shopping organized to a T, I end up going out to eat quite often, and I LOVE to go out to eat. I have a few other tricks up my sleeve in order to keep this eating-in goal achieved, but keeping things organized and always having food in the house would be the main one.

So, now that my shopping list is done, I had to do a little research. What can I buy off Etsy from my grocery list? After a long search, I found I can order my Taco seasoning from Etsy! There was not a huge selection in my search. Most of the sellers were also selling very small quantities. As I mentioned before, I like to shop at Costco due to having a large family. We also like to make Taco soup about 2 or 4 times a month. Therefore, I tend to go through quite a bit of taco seasoning. I chose to buy my seasoning from  LipSmackinCreations which included free shipping, and what she described as 5 servings. Most stores sell a single serving for a little over a buck. So, the price appears to be VERY similar. I feel so good about my purchase. I can't wait to taste this seasoning in my soup and tell you'll how it is!

One thing I have learned from these recent purchases: When buying food, make sure that you click on the "plants and edibles" category. Otherwise all the listings that include that food name in its description will show up.This could take years to weed though.

Next purchase, Salt and Pepper shaker!

Etsy For One Year, Day 1

January 14th marks a day I will begin to buy as many of my needs for one year from Etsy.

My goal for this experiment is to prove that handmade/eco friendly can be more than a unique nick-knack boutique full of art and strange gifts. In order to do this, I am embarking on a fun, yet arduous task of buying as much as I need from Etsy for one year. Do to the unique philosophy of Etsy, I will be able to buy handmade, vintage, and craft supply items.

Every penny I spend for the next year will be documented here. Etsy obviously can not supply me with all of my needs for a whole year. There are some items that will NEED to be outsourced. These items will include things such as gas and food. I will document every purchase I make including these items. When I outsource, every effort will be made to get it used, recycled, or in some form eco friendly in order to maintain the philosophy of this project.

This experiment will prove that American consumerism can be brought back from our current convenient wasteful way of life, and still be fun. Over the past 2 generations, Americans have become accustom to quickly replacing, old used and broken items. Even I have fallen trap to doing this many times. Often in order to hush my whining children over a lost or broken toy I quickly tell them, "we can just buy another one". However, each time I am teaching my kids to fall prey to the same convenient lifestyle that is slowly tearing our country, land, and economy apart. How are my children supposed to grow up and take finances seriously, when they are taught to just "buy another one."? How are they supposed to care for and tend to the things they already own? This has stemmed from an ever growing global market and the ability to purchase ever cheaper stuff. Although a global market has many great advantages, it has come with many dark often unseen pitfalls. The advantage of Etsy, is the fact that you are buying something that comes with sentimental value from the beginning. The buyer will be more opt to care and tend to the item. Everything is also made by the artist. Therefore there is no middle man. As a buyer you have more opportunity to know where your product is coming from and make a more educated purchase. This means that what you will not feel a need to replace it as often, and it will require less shipping, and packaging.

We are all young enough to be a part of this consumerism, and we have all been trained and actively take part in it our whole lives. I will also be doing this in a large metropolitan city that will bombard and encourage me to buy stuff everyday. Therefor, I am sure you can imagine how hard this will be.

I am hoping that a side effect of this adventure is, I will save money, cherish and care for the things I buy, help the planet, put money in the hands of the maker, and help fund the USPS.