So this is not something that’s very often discussed in minimalism communities, but I’ve recently gone through the process of minimizing the merchants that I interact with. A lot of mental clutter is bureaucratic, and anyone who tracks their spending rigorously knows how often things get messed up. Cards getting charged...
I’ve actually gotten into niche stores like bakeries. I’m not the stop and smell the roses type, but there’s nothing like a good loaf of bread. I’m also streamlining my diet, so that helps a lot because you can get the same “whole foods” virtually anywhere and you don’t need a thousand fancy packaged branded foods.
Everything about Loblaws just screams “lol fuck you”, because they’re everywhere and there’s nothing you can do about it and they know it. They’re a bit like Putin - he knows he’s lying, and he knows you know, but he does it anyway with a huge grin on his face as if to mock you. They’re even worse than telecom.
One subset is actually really smart, book smart even, but just doesn’t have a personality that aligns with the format of the education system. Those people tend to do really well in a different environment where they have more intrinsic motivation to succeed. For example, I know someone who didn’t do well in school even though he had the ability to because he just didn’t really see any reward, so he had no motivation. He went into finance and got through uni and his first few job with flying colors, because there was a reward at the end of the tunnel to pursue.
The other subset just doesn’t do well with any sort of “bookish” stuff - math, sciences, finance, engineering, etc. just don’t really fly. A lot of them I find feel a bit lost because they feel pressure to find a passion or orient themselves around a career when they just don’t have anything that sparks an interest. I find that those people tend to do well when they pursue “active” jobs that don’t feel like school. A person I know in this category struggled with school throughout his life, but was really good at working with people and interacting on that emotional plane. He went into social services and now works as a crisis counsellor. Most of the “schooling” was basically just situational training, and the job itself is so intuitive to him. Honestly if he didn’t have bills to pay I swear he’d do that job for free. Other people in this category are ok with a job just feeling like work, so any high paying trade tends to work well because they can go to work, do their hours, and then enjoy life.
I’m sure everyone has had at least a couple of cases. For me it was when a bank employee performed a cash advance, which I have never, ever consented to in my life, and then claimed I had given her permission to do it. Read: she fucked up and blamed it on me. I requested the contact info of her supervisor, who had the audacity to suggest that it wasn’t a large sum of money and I should essentially suck it up. That branch manager got an earful and a half and a phone call from the competition bureau (which was great, because it usually takes multiple complaints for them to take action).
Now this is the Karen-y part. Whenever a company that I’m a regular customer of does something morally wrong (as opposed to a mistake or a less than competent employee), I boycott them until, in my estimation, I’ve cost them 100x the sum of the initial disputed amount (I have substitute actions for cases that don’t have a clear dollar value). In this case I cancelled my credit products with them. My boycott is set to expire (i.e. reach the 100x mark) in February of 2024. The rationale behind this is that if 1% of consumers do it, it’ll no longer be worth it for them to continue the practice, and it gives you a satisfying end goal. You can’t boycott every company that wrongs you indefinitely - I only have a handful on my permanent blacklist - but I can make my peace with it if I know I’ve comfortably done my part.
The doc “Ivory Tower” really got me interested in alternatives to traditional higher education, i.e. the kind that will get you the same income without $100000000000000000000000000000 in debt compounding at a rate of 100% daily. Fuck colleges man, honestly.
Food is my #1 time suck and I’m honestly dying to get a consistent plan down, but it’s terribly hard to make a plan that allows you to buy the same things every week and use up all the perishables.
I’m not a dietitian either, but I am followed by one, and their recommendation for me specifically was to try it and report back with a list of what I ate and whether the Master Plan ™ stuck. The lack of variation isn’t ideal, but in my case, as per their rationale, the potential benefits outweigh the downsides because I tend to default to junk food when my culinary life gets too complicated (she isn’t wrong). Granted though, I don’t plan to eat the same thing daily, so for someone who’s literally on repeat every single day or who already has a very healthy diet, I imagine the recommendation would likely change.
There’s probably also a difference in the variety within each dish and the effect it has. “Eating the same thing” is probably better if you eat granola with dark chocolate, cashews, blueberries, and spinach topped with almond milk and banana for breakfast versus a banana for breakfast. The nutrient profile is still always the same and that’s not great, but at least the former has different nutrient profiles within it.
They own brands such as Pampers, Olay, Old Spice, Pantene, Oral B, Herbal Essences, Gilette, Dove, Hellmann’s, Axe, Knorr, Magnum, Breyers, and Lipton, among others....
These are pretty common products. There are tons of ethical alternatives, in fact personal care items are among the easiest and cheapest products to find ethical alternatives for and a good starting point if you want to develop more ethical consumption habits. You don’t need to make your own soap in order to avoid sponsoring genocide.
Frankly that’s an excuse, and a lazy one at that. Ethical products are widely available outside of the US, and I say this as a digital nomad who has lived on three continents and lived in the US for less than a year in total. If the inconvenience is unbearable for you then that’s your prerogative, but don’t try to justify it by saying things that simply aren’t true and thereby discouraging others.
No, it’s not just the taxes, though that’s obviously a component of it. A quick google search will lead you to find that they are obligated by law to directly contribute to Russia’s military efforts by registering its draft-eligible staff, turning over information relevant to the war, assisting in the delivery of military equipment, and providing physical infrastructure, among other things.
Ukrainian or not, this isn’t just “oh well you’re kind of indirectly supporting the war by funding the government”. It is a very direct form of involvement.
I bought a piece of 1.5 inch stiff foam to try to fix a sag in a bed. It didn’t work but having that thick piece of solid foam around has been a life saver....
So I am not a minimalist - I own tons of stuff. Books, records, clothes. I also have a baby and all the attendant material nonsense that comes with one....
Not judging or anything, but this is one of the many reasons why I’d never have kids. A lot of people just have kids because they’re on autopilot in their lives, and then all of a sudden they realize it’s completely incompatible with their lifestyle. I think that contributes to the popularity of being child free within minimalist circles. I grew up with younger siblings and can remember moving with them a few times, and the physical volume of stuff that such a tiny human needs is crazy, as is the immense marketing pressure on parents to buy stupid shit. It’s super predatory to see companies pressure parents into buying the most expensive car seat because otherwise their baby won’t be as safe. They can fuck off. Imagine gatekeeping safety, real or imagined, based so directly on money.
Ouch, that sucks. I only had a handful of things from my dad when he died and that was already too much, especially the sentimental stuff. I allow myself a small box of trinkets, but if I’m honest I hate sentimentality and the fact that I would be upset if I lost those items even though it’s completely irrational. Having to deal with a whole lifetime’s worth of stuff would be overwhelming. I wouldn’t even know where to start. Every dress that hasn’t been worn in 20 years and box of random papers that are damn near impossible to trace. Luckily I have some packrat siblings who I’m sure will scoop up a lot, but I dread having to clean up shop when my mom dies.
You’re definitely right on the cyclic thing - you can get a lot of stuff for free or close to it. It always used to blow my mind that parents would pay actual money for baby clothes. Like… there are SO many second hand ones out there, and they’re going to grow out of it in a month.
I use Sygic to figure out what I'm going to do there, it's such an underrated app. It gives you an idea o how long things are going to take and where your accommodation is relative to everything else and what your dates look like on a calendar. The logistics I physically draw out and write down on paper because otherwise it would be too complicated. I also have a very strong tendency to "wing it", so planning beforehand is necessary to counterbalance that.
I think I'm in the heavy minority because I really dislike the whole having children thing (maybe that's me projecting lol). I'd rather focus on my adult sims and usually adopt an older child and then age them up to a teenager if I want a new character. I like starting from scratch in different neighborhoods and stuff, but it's...
So yeah... maybe the turtle slowly waking up that he was just a Laptog for reddit and thrown away as soon as they didnt need him anymore ( moderation is allways a volunteer thing and shouldnt be like a 2nd job ).
Massachusetts couple denied foster care application over LGBTQ views, complaint says (www.nbcnews.com)
Michael and Catherine Burke allege that the state’s Department of Children and Families discriminated against them for their Catholic viewpoints.
Tried and can highly recommend "minimizing your merchants"
So this is not something that’s very often discussed in minimalism communities, but I’ve recently gone through the process of minimizing the merchants that I interact with. A lot of mental clutter is bureaucratic, and anyone who tracks their spending rigorously knows how often things get messed up. Cards getting charged...
Have you ever met someone who is not good at academics but is good at other aspects? What makes them that way?
Originally posted on r/AskReddit on April 23, 2022....
People on Lemmy/ kbin not called Karen - have you ever asked to speak to the manager - and actually had a good reason for doing so?
I have done this exactly once in my lifetime, two years ago. Maybe in another few decades, I’ll do it again, if I live long enough....
Is there a movie or show that changed how you see something?
I have never looked at the news the same way after watching Nightcrawler.
What's a philosophical (not overtly political) position that you hold?
People who have a weekly/two week/monthly meal plan that never changes, how did you plan it out?
Food is my #1 time suck and I’m honestly dying to get a consistent plan down, but it’s terribly hard to make a plan that allows you to buy the same things every week and use up all the perishables.
TIL that Proctor & Gamble and Unilever actively sponsor Russian war efforts and are on the International Sponsors of War list.
They own brands such as Pampers, Olay, Old Spice, Pantene, Oral B, Herbal Essences, Gilette, Dove, Hellmann’s, Axe, Knorr, Magnum, Breyers, and Lipton, among others....
What is something really stupid you purchased that turned out far better than expected?
I bought a piece of 1.5 inch stiff foam to try to fix a sag in a bed. It didn’t work but having that thick piece of solid foam around has been a life saver....
Moving house makes me hate everything I own
So I am not a minimalist - I own tons of stuff. Books, records, clothes. I also have a baby and all the attendant material nonsense that comes with one....
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What is your Destination Research planning process? (lemmy.world)
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/646533...
Any single generation players here? What goals do you set for your sims?
I think I'm in the heavy minority because I really dislike the whole having children thing (maybe that's me projecting lol). I'd rather focus on my adult sims and usually adopt an older child and then age them up to a teenager if I want a new character. I like starting from scratch in different neighborhoods and stuff, but it's...
Awkwardturtle The banned 1000 sub mod Talks about the admins after Ban and got a message "let all burn to the ground" (lemmy.world)
So yeah... maybe the turtle slowly waking up that he was just a Laptog for reddit and thrown away as soon as they didnt need him anymore ( moderation is allways a volunteer thing and shouldnt be like a 2nd job ).