As I work with more and more clients as your Indiana Wardrobe Stylist, I find some common themes that I think you can relate to. I can relate to them as well because I am a consumer and lover of color, style, new outfits, etc. But my budget is not unlimited, and I am finding I am more and more aware of waste and convicted to be a more responsible consumer.
How Your Indiana Wardrobe Stylist Saves
In small ways this past year, during COVID, with a little more time on our hands, my husband and I made some small changes to eliminate waste around our house. We live in the city of Indianapolis, and we love it. We moved here because it is a walkable neighborhood, there is a running/walking trail.3 miles away, and there are two trendy neighborhoods very close by. For us, the suburbs did not attract us at all. However, our taxes here are very high — so who knows.
Anyway – how what changes did we make. (They are small, so please don’t laugh at me!).
Here’s what we did:
- We switched from big bottles of body wash to bar soap. It all started with my earth-conscious friend giving us some amazing soap for Christmas. We loved it and have switched to all bar soap. I like to buy some moisturizing soap and have found soaps made by some small businesses that are wonderful.
I found a signature perfume last year during an online class with an image consultant colleague from Paris. It is Alien by the late Terry Mugler. The scent is fantastic, and what else I love: It’s refillable. when the bottle is empty I head to Nordstrom and fill it up. Here is more info.- We buy the large refillable versions of our products. For instance, for hand soap, we buy large sacks or bottles of the products to fill up the decanter in the bathroom. This is an okay thing to do – but I know, of course, the large containers are still there.
- We added another recycle trash container to the one we already have. We are surprised that we fill it up every two weeks.
- When I shop, if I remember, I put all my purchases in a large shopping bag that I have. I tell the store — I don’t need that wrapping thank you. (One of my clients has a handy little bag she keeps in her purse that is lightweight and foldable for just this very purpose.) Here is one I just purchased from Walmart.
- We take the bus or Uber instead of driving when it makes sense. Since we live in the city, and the new electric bus service, has two stations within a half-mile of our house, we often take the bus when we go downtown Indianapolis for entertainment.
- We dry clean much less. I once heard from a retailer that every time you dry clean a garment you are basically killing it softly. Isn’t that wild? As your Indiana Wardrobe Stylist, I don’t think we need dry cleaning as often as we think we do. (If there is a visible stain or a smell, we do need to dry clean.)
- We drink more water and less soda. Thus, we have much fewer empty cans and soda bottles.
If you have other ideas on how to conserve, please write me!
Keep it sassy, Indy.
Beth Divine, MA, AICI-CIC
Image Consultant, Indiana Wardrobe Stylist
