Mad Cat Capsule | Buying Pants and Finding a New Style

One of the reasons that I started a capsule wardobe, many years ago, was bc I felt I had lost touch with my style. I wasn’t sure what my personal style was anymore. I wanted to find a style that worked for me without constantly buying clothes and buying into trends.

All these years later, I find myself on a parallell journey. I’m still staying away from trendy things, but I have fallen into a trend of sorts.

I’m sick of wearing jeans.

It took a long time in the pandemic to get to this point for me. But I really only want to wear comfortable pants. Ideally somehting as close to pajamas as possible. You know, “going out pajamas”.

So lately I went on a thrifting quest. To find some comfy pants that are not jeans and are not skinny legged. And are high wasted, and have pockets (front and back). Is that really asking too much?

Oh, and also, they have to fit my style. But what is my style when it comes to pants like that? I guess I’ve got to find out, now.

I bought about 10-12 pairs of pants but swiftly whittled it down to only a few. Even some of those I might not end up keeping. Many of the thrifted pants simply didn’t fit. Some were not the leg I was after, or were too cropped (not a huge fan of that), some were the wrong material or didn’t have enough pockets.

When thrifting, I don’t tend to try things on in the store. The prices are cheap enough, and I usually know my style well enough, that I can pick out with out trying on and know I will get about 80% accuracy. I don’t mind supporting local thrift shops and I don’t mind donating back what I don’t end up using. But clearly when trying to find a new style my level of accuracy goes way down. I only got about 20% accurate with this venture. For this outing I felt lost, and I lost sight of some of the details I usually make sure to always check (the fabric, the pockets, etc….).

Finding new pants will be an ongoing journey. I have a few now that I like and are in a new style. I have to wear them, see what I like and what I don’t, learn about this new aspect of my style. I’ll let you know what I find out!

May in Review

What a weird month May was…. Have I said that about every month this year?

It was cold, summery, rainy, hot, busy, restful, and unexpected. The month started out cold but sunny. Seemingly, Spring had totally passed us and we were in a weird limbo between Winter and Summer. Flowers were out and blooming, pollen everywhere, animals were out. We saw #watchercats, deer, rabbit, and new birds. By mid month, it was hot, all Summer all the time. Plants were happy, the tomatoes shot up. We had peppers, peas, and herbs. But by the end of the month, storms rolled in. It was torrential rains and strong winds for memorial weekend. The temps have dropped and we are back to Spring like 50s and 60s as we start the new month.

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We traveled and explored a little this month, ate in a restaurant (but still sat outside), and get a lot of big looming, but boring tasks crossed off our to-do lists. We are back down to only one car which is very exciting!

I’m totally thrown off by this year so far. Much more than last year, so that’s saying something. What will June look like? I have no idea.

Mad Cat Capsule | Winter 2021 (Jan, Feb, Mar)

One reason for making a Capsule Wardrobe is to make getting dressed simple. Having a set capsule allows you to easily get dressed, easily have each outfit reflect your style, and take the doubt and confusion or concern out of getting dressed so that we don’t suffer from decision fatigue, over buying, and negative body images.

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Ideally, everything in your capsule, no matter the season, goes together for the most part. Every piece is something that you like and fits you well, and that you feel good in. A Capsule should be curated and therefore thought out before buying, cutting down on over-buying. If you are interested in sustainability, many of your pieces will be slow fashion. In my opinion, even if you are not interested in sustainability most of your capsule will be slow fashion as well, bc I believe that that is what makes up the best capsule. Clothing that you have had a long time and love, staples that are well made, thrifted items (in order to try out new trends without spending too much money), are all items that should be your capsule and these are all slow fashion.

Things to avoid in your capsule are cheap fast fashion. Not only are these mostly made by slave labor with deplorable conditions (which we do not want to support and also do not want to let that energy into our lives), but they are made with only easy money and changing trends in mind. These clothes don’t fit well, don’t last, aren’t made of quality fabrics, get stretched or misshapen or simply fall apart. Not to mention a drain on our environmental resources, human resources, and our mental health. We should also avoid the clothes we love, but do not fit us, or make us feel good. Keep tee clothes somewhere and try them on periodically but don’t wear them if you they don’t serve you at this time.

For my Capsule this Winter, I’m thinking about all these things, but I’m also striving to push myself when getting dressed. Now that I will be going to work less, I could and have easily fallen into the trap of never getting dressed. Staying in PJs all day is very enticing. But this quarter, I want to make sure that my capsule is serving me and making my life easier, but also inspiring me to get dressed!

One of the great things about a capsule wardrobe, especially a slow fashion based one, is that you can play with it! It has all clothes you love, that you know work, so you can add a few pieces to try, or bunch some together that you normally wouldn’t. Do you usually wear all dresses, but have a pair of pants in each quarter? why not try all the pants together? If you don’t usually count athleisure in your capsule, but find that’s all your wearing, why not make a capsule of those clothes and see how you like wearing them in different environments? Have a collection of silk pajamas you just don’t want to take off these days, try making them outerwear!

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Personally, I was in a rut of not getting dressed, so the first thing I want to do with this capsule is use it every day. It’s even one of my 2021 quarterly goals. Next, I want to wear things that usually get neglected in my capsule, especially in winter. Dresses, flowey pants, and specifically skirts are a priority for the next few months. Making sure I wear them and making them winterized is the challenge.

4 tanks - brown (10+ years), blue and white (above, 10+ years,) black strappy (15+ years). white lace (5+ years)

3 vests - this is an unusual category for me, but I want to wear my vests! - lace (5+ years), orange (handmade, thrifted, vintage?), blue wool cut out (15+)

5 T shirts - Forgotten Boardwalk (local biz), parthanon (3+ years), vermillion (thrifted), grey AA (ethical, sustainable, 10+ years), Sounds (gifted).

5 short sleeved shirts - grey wool sweater (vintage, thrifted), brown silk (vintage, thrifted), emily pleated (hand me down), black and white crop (10+ years), brown floral (vintage, thrifted).

8 long sleeved shirts - grey silk button down (vintage, thrifted), snake print turtle neck (vintage, thrifted), grey mockneck (vintage, thrifted), white button down (15+ years), grey scoop neck henley thermal (10+), blue tie dye sweatshirt (thrifted, perhaps my newest piece), AA grey thermal henley (15+), brown extra long thermal (18+), leopard turtleneck (vintage, thrifted), grey thermal (hand me down, 5+).

9 sweaters - grey cardi (hand me down, vintage), anchor (thrifted), grey turtle neck (thrifted), black and white (hand made, thrifted), vermillion cardi (10+), cream mockneck (thrifted), confetti (thrifted), brown cardi (vintage, thrifted).

1 jacket - leopard silk (vintage, thrifted).

3 dresses - this isn’t too many, but my plan is to wear them more often that in a usual capsule - white eyelet (hand made, vintage, thrifted), black sweater (5+ years), black and white rabbit (5+ years).

4 Pants - brown silk harem pants (vintage, thrifted), brown linen (ethical, sustainable, thrifted), brown plaid (vintage, thrifted), AA blue linen (sustainable, ethical, 10+).

5 jeans -fleece lined wranglers (vintage, thrifted), blue skinny (sustainable, ethical), Grey skinny (sustainable, ethical), black skinny ( thrifted, 5+), engineer (thrifted).

7 skirts - here is the meat of what I’m going out on a limb with this capsule - black sweater (vintage, thrifted), grey wool (vintage, thrifted), brown leather (vintage, thrifted), orange mini sweater (10+), floral cord (vintage, thrifted), black velvet skater (hand me down), black flowy (10+).

Thats a little over 50 pieces, which is right where I usually hover with my 3 month capsule. The prominent colors are grey (duh), brown, black, and vermillion with some white and cream, and orange. I didn’t include leggings and tights or shoes here. I’m counting them as the winterizing accessories this season.

A full flip through will be going up on the channel soon and I will add that link here when available.

Are you challenging yourself this season with your capsule? What challenges are does your current environment (working from home, the weather, your job or home life changing) present? How are you thinking about your capsule this quarter? Keeping it the same, or trying something new?

Leave your thoughts in the comments!

6 More Months of Zero Waste | Find the Hidden Plastic | November

At this point in your Zero Waste Journey you might be getting pretty adept at avoiding the major plastic and waste items. Plastic bags, plastic straws and single use water bottles are among some of the easier, more obvious, single use waste generators to avoid. Some items we have identified, like tetra-paks, to go coffee cups, disposable bathroom items might be less obvious and took us more time to root out of our lives. These items may be harder to give up completely.

Having become used to avoiding these two categories of waste, we have to move on to the next step. Time to level up in our zero waste journey and learn to avoid the more hidden plastic in our day to day lives.

Moving to the next step definitely involves more research and attention to detail. Reading labels, identifying what other names plastic goes by, and making sure to weed out hidden plastic items that we already own will take work.

I’m not much a tea drinker, so it’s taking me a while to get thru these old tea bags. When I use one, I rip it open, put the leaves in the compost and throw away the bag that contains plastic.

I’m not much a tea drinker, so it’s taking me a while to get thru these old tea bags. When I use one, I rip it open, put the leaves in the compost and throw away the bag that contains plastic.

Here are some items you might not know contain plastic:

Kraft or paper looking to go containers - similar to to-go cups, these seem like paper, but are lined with plastic cannot be recycled or composted. Don’t be fooled! Bring your own togo container, or choose take out that use non coated containers.

Most clothing - polyester, acrylic, and nylon, are all plastic fibers. try to avoid them. Check labels, and try to buy only natural fibers. You don’t have to donate or throw away the clothes you love that contain plastic, but get a micro plastic catching bag to wash the plastic items you have already in your wardrobe.

Tea bags - almost all tea bags have plastic in them. Get loose leaf tea to avoid worrying about it!

Tampons and other menstrual products - tampons and pads are mostly made from or packaged in plastic. There are many alternatives, like menstrual cups, period underwear and reusable pads.

Disposable masks - these may seem like cloth but they are actually mostly plastic and will break down to micro plastics that will get into the soil, sea and air. These and other disposable PPE are quickly becoming the fastest growing litter on land and in the ocean. Use reusable cloth mask to protect yourself and others!

These are only a few examples of everyday hidden plastics. Are there others you know of and avoid? Share them in the comments!

I try to avoid take out, but sometimes we do end up getting something to go in a box lined with plastic. I wash these out and reuse them as much as possible.

I try to avoid take out, but sometimes we do end up getting something to go in a box lined with plastic. I wash these out and reuse them as much as possible.

If you are new to this series, here’s what we are working on for this 6 moth block. Follow along or pick and choose challenges to try:
June 2020- Say NO, Say Yes
PLASTIC FREE JULY
August 2020 - Carry No Disposables
September 2020 - back to school/educate
October 2020 - Beach clean
November 2020 - Hidden plastic
December 2020 - Repair before you replace

We started our tackling new zero waste challenges six months at a time in 2019:
January 2019 - Trash Audit
We separated and looked our trash to see what we are throwing away and what we can reduce.
February 2019- Declutter Everything
We went thru what we have to declutter and reduce.
March 2019- Switch to Paper
This month we moved to paper to get one step closer to reusables.
April 2019- Compost
Composting is an easy way to reduce food waste and prevent it from reaching the landfill.
May 2019- Meatless Monday
One of the best ways to improve the environment is to stop eating factory farmed meat and industrial fish. Small steps lead to big change so this month we gave up meat (or dairy or fish) for at least one day.
June 2019- No Bottled Water
We gave up bottled water as an avenue to give up more disposable plastic in Plastic Free July.
July 2019 - Plastic Free July!
Go plastic free this month!

In late 2019, we continued our journey to becoming more zero waste:
November 2019 - Zero Waste Kit
We created a zero waste kit to help us be more zero waste in our day to day life.
December 2019- No Gifts
We took Dec to give no gifts and get no gifts.
January 2020 - Clothing and Fast Fashion
This month we explored what fast fashion is, and how we can stop buying it forever.
February 2020- Use Mass Transit
The shortest month seemed like a good time to explore alternatives to driving our cars.
March 2020 - Bathroom Make-over
You’ve swapped out a few items to more sustainable choices around the house. It’s time to tackle a full room.
April 2020- Grow Your Own Food
April marks the start of spring in the continental USA, and when we can start growing food easily. But there are many ways and time to grow your some of own food.

Pandemic Pantry | Zero Waste Winter Meals

Recently, I mentioned the joy of using up the last of summer’s bounty. We love summer for it’s fresh fruit and veg. We don’t buy many of these items in the winter bc they are heavily packaged, out of season, not local and don’t taste as good. It worth waiting for a really delicious fresh tomato in our opinion.

In the summer we tend to choose light fresh easy to make meals.

In the winter, we like to have the stove or oven on. We make heartier, warmer, more elaborate, more comforting meals. Here’s what we have been eating more since the weather has changed.

Soup!!
I was soo excited to start making soups again. I am a soup all year round kinda person, but in Fall and Winter, they are particularly enjoyable. Soup is great for your pandemic pantry: Inexpensive, great for using up ingredients that might otherwise go to waste, they freeze well, are quick and easy to make or reheat, among other reasons. We love creamy soups, ramen, and miso soup the most.

Tacos, quesadillas or taco like things
Rice, beans, veggies, tofu, cheese, hot sauce, sour cream, etc… add any and all the good thing to a tortilla, chip or bowl and you got a great meal. These are great Summer meals, with fresh Summer veggies, pico de gallo, but works just as well with pre made salsa, a good way to use the tomatoes you froze, or try winter veggies. All good ways to get the most out of your Winter pandemic pantry.

Pirogies
We love these warming hearty potato and pasta pillows with onions and sour cream. We buy ours pre-made, but choose them packaged without plastic. I like lots of onions, practically burnt. The sour cream in this meal isn’t zero waste, although I have been trying out vegan sour creams to reduce the waste it creates. I would also like to learn to make my own vegan sour cream someday.

Pasta with red sauce
I’m so happy that my favorite pasta company now uses less plastic! I was buying it anyway and recycling the bags, but now I feel even better recycling the cardboard. Pasta is always a great option and so easy top keep in your pandemic pantry. I always make my own tomato sauce: you can check out my recipe here. Make the sauce and keep in the fridge for about a week, or freeze in portions and defrost as needed.

Sides meal
Mashed potatoes, corn, broccoli, stuffing, and/or anything else you can think of can be a sides meal. We def always have mashed potatoes and veg, but other than that, go nuts. Sometimes we play it up with gravy, or sauces and dressings, but mostly we just eat up what ever needs eating in the fridge.

Tofu and rice
This is one of the simplest meals we make, but literally every time we eat it, I’m amazed at how delicious it is. I make the rice, set aside, boil broccoli for about 2 minutes, throw large diced tofu in there right before draining to warm through. Assemble and serve. We like chili garlic sauce, soy sauce, sesame seeds, and peanuts as toppings, but this is another area where you can use up any sauces or extras you need to eat.

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We’ll rotate these meals a few times a month in the Winter. With some of the meals, like soup, we’ll eat them a few days in a row. when this happens we often have a big soup for dinner, bread, maybe a salad, and then the next day soup for lunch with any left overs. Finally, we may have the last of the soup as a side, or starter.

None of these meals are totally zero waste, but we try our best and that’s all you can do. With Winter meals we just try to be as mindful as possible.

What are some of your favorite Winter meals? Do you eat differently season to season?

6 More Months of Zero Waste | September - Back to School!

It’s time for back to school, but this year is a little different for most people for many reasons. For anyone starting on their zero waste journey, this is a great opportunity to practice your zero waste and plastic free skills. For those who have been practicing for years, this is a good reminder to keep learning!

Back to school means new text books, new notebooks, new supplies. But make it zero waste! Once you’re used to thrifting and foraging, it’s easy to find school supplies second hand. Family and friends might have pens and notebooks they will not use (almost everyone has a surplus of pens somewhere in the house, right?), thrift shops and rummage sales usually have school supplies. Backpacks, school clothes, lunch boxes, water bottles, and other supplies are easy to thrift. Keep your eye out for yard sales! Pens, pencils, paperclips, and rubber bands are surprisingly easy to find dropped on the sidewalk. A quick sanitize and they are good as new. Most college bookshops have almost all the books in a syllabus second hand. Make sure you are donating your books at the end of each semester!

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We can work at not using plastic and not generating waste while we are in school, too. We can pack our lunches, use digital media, avoid the campus cafe and bring our coffee from home. Many hand outs can be recycled, or reused. Art supplies for projects can be foraged, borrowed or culled from “junk”.

The other opportunity we have while going back to school is to educate anyone and everyone who might not be familiar with zero waste. When we lead by example, when we reach out to answer questions, or notice when people are surprised at our choices and make the effort to talk about and explain them, we are starting the seed that could grow into someone else’s Zero Waste Journey. It’s important to talk about your zero waste choices when ever and how ever you can! Teaching others about the perils of waste and plastic is an exciting avenue for our knowledge.

Back to school is a time to educate others about zero waste, but it’s a good time to educate ourselves as well! Even if you’re not in school, the school season is a good time to pick up a new book, delve into research on a subject you want to know more about, or talk to someone you’ve been meaning to about their lifestyle.

It might seem daunting when you have life milestones, like going back to school, sending your kids to school, or whatever circumstances you might be in near the school year, to stay zero waste. But thinking ahead, putting aside convenience, and remembering our overall goal for ourselves and the planet, will make your back to school one more step our our zero waste and plastic free journey!

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If you are new to this series, here’s what we are working on for this 6 month block. Follow along or pick and choose challenges to try.:
June 2020- Say NO, Say Yes
PLASTIC FREE JULY
August 2020 - Carry No Disposables
September 2020 - Back to School/Educate
October 2020 - Beach Clean
November 2020 - Hidden Plastic
December 2020 - Repair Before You Replace

We started our tackling new zero waste challenges six months at a time in 2019: January 2019 - Trash Audit
We separated and looked our trash to see what we are throwing away and what we can reduce.
February 2019- Declutter Everything
We went thru what we have to declutter and reduce.
March 2019- Switch to Paper
This month we moved to paper to get one step closer to reusables.
April 2019- Compost
Composting is an easy way to reduce food waste and prevent it from reaching the landfill.
May 2019- Meatless Monday
One of the best ways to improve the environment is to stop eating factory farmed meat and industrial fish. Small steps lead to big change so this month we gave up meat (or dairy or fish) for at least one day.
June 2019- No Bottled Water
We gave up bottled water as an avenue to give up more disposable plastic in Plastic Free July.
July 2019 - Plastic Free July!
Go plastic free this month!

In late 2019, we continued our journey to becoming more zero waste:
November 2019 - Zero Waste Kit
We created a zero waste kit to help us be more zero waste in our day to day life.
December 2019- No Gifts
We took Dec to give no gifts and get no gifts.
January 2020 - Clothing and Fast Fashion
This month we explored what fast fashion is, and how we can stop buying it forever.
February 2020- Use Mass Transit
The shortest month seemed like a good time to explore alternatives to driving our cars.
March 2020 - Bathroom Make-over
You’ve swapped out a few items to more sustainable choices around the house. It’s time to tackle a full room.
April 2020- Grow Your Own Food
April marks the start of spring in the continental USA, and when we can start growing food easily. But there are many ways and time to grow your some of own food.

6 More Months Zero Waste | August - Carry No Disposables

6 More Months of Zero Waste is where we explore how to create a more zero waste and plastic free lifestyle one monthly challenge at a time. Zero waste is the goal, mindful reduction and exploration of less waste is the action.

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We talk a lot about disposables in this series. We’ve switched from using plastic bags to paper or reusable, we’ve given up plastic bottled water, we try to carry our zero waste kit. 2020 has made all these things harder.

Maybe you were really good about bringing your own coffee cup but now they cafe won’t let you use them. Maybe always had your reusable bags, but now the grocers wont touch them, maybe you got take out in your own container and now you can’t. What a bummer.

But for the rest of August, let’s pledge to carry no disposables. Things are a little more relaxed in places so many coffee shops will let you bring your cups again, or stop in at a spot where you fill your own. No more take out containers: let’s eat at home, or dine out safely. We can always bring our own container for left overs!

Sticking to reusable will be hard going for a while longer, but the sooner we start making reusables the norm again, the sooner others will follow. Remember, switching to a more zero waste life style isn’t about grand sweeping changes, it’s about the small change we can make each and every day.

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If you are new to this series, here’s what ew are working on for this 6 moth block. Follow along or pick and choose challenges to try.:
June 2020- Say NO, Say Yes
PLASTIC FREE JULY
August 2020 - carry no disposables
September 2020 - back to school/educate
October 2020 - beach clean
November 2020 - Hidden plastic
December 2020 - Repair before you replace

We started our tackling new zero waste challenges six months at a time in 2019: January 2019 - Trash Audit
We separated and looked our trash to see what we are throwing away and what we can reduce.
February 2019- Declutter Everything
We went thru what we have to declutter and reduce.
March 2019- Switch to Paper
This month we moved to paper to get one step closer to reusables.
April 2019- Compost
Composting is an easy way to reduce food waste and prevent it from reaching the landfill.
May 2019- Meatless Monday
One of the best ways to improve the environment is to stop eating factory farmed meat and industrial fish. Small steps lead to big change so this month we gave up meat (or dairy or fish) for at least one day.
June 2019- No Bottled Water
We gave up bottled water as an avenue to give up more disposable plastic in Plastic Free July.
July 2019 - Plastic Free July!
Go plastic free this month!

In late 2019, we continued our journey to becoming more zero waste:
November 2019 - Zero Waste Kit
We created a zero waste kit to help us be more zero waste in our day to day life.
December 2019- No Gifts
We took Dec to give no gifts and get no gifts.
January 2020 - Clothing and Fast Fashion
This month we explored what fast fashion is, and how we can stop buying it forever.
February 2020- Use Mass Transit
The shortest month seemed like a good time to explore alternatives to driving our cars.
March 2020 - Bathroom Make-over
You’ve swapped out a few items to more sustainable choices around the house. It’s time to tackle a full room.
April 2020- Grow Your Own Food
April marks the start of spring in the continental USA, and when we can start growing food easily. But there are many ways and time to grow your some of own food.