[-] sunshine@slrpnk.net 2 points 1 year ago

I don't live in the UK, would you be willing to give an example of what the yearly lump sum is vs the monthly fee? I'm genuinely curious!

[-] sunshine@slrpnk.net 4 points 1 year ago

Fair opinion, it can be a little rough to follow along if you're not in the mood for comedy. Rating things as cringe is so dead tho.

[-] sunshine@slrpnk.net 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

If you work on your feet/have to stand on concrete/tile, definitely look at "Heel That Pain" brand heel seats. Full price is way too much (44$ for two boxes), so look for sales.

There's a gel one and a more firm one. The gel one helped with sciatic pain, and still works ~3 pairs of shoes later.

(I've also layered the heel seats over top of the typical Dr. Scholl's work gel inserts. Works great for me but my partner hates the feel. YMMV.)

[-] sunshine@slrpnk.net 2 points 1 year ago

The mushy flipflops!! I can't believe I forgot about those things. I had a pair as a gift when I graduated and they lasted me years. Once they died I wanted a new pair. Coughed up for the same brand and they.....leave weird black rubber bits on everything.

[-] sunshine@slrpnk.net 3 points 1 year ago

Unfortunately, I can't afford the price just to try Hokas. They were recommended by another nursing student, and seem to be a gold standard shoe for a lot of healthcare workers.

From what I've heard, though, it "depends on your usage".

What do you do to make your 20$ shoes last as long as you can? And tips and tricks?

[-] sunshine@slrpnk.net 9 points 1 year ago

Super neat!! Thanks for the link. :) If anyone likes the style of writing, go look at the Discworld community. These books are great.

I'm hoping this quote can drive some critical thinking about sustainability, and maybe some discussion about how to better what people CAN afford/already have.

[-] sunshine@slrpnk.net 3 points 1 year ago

Here's my example: Nice Hoka shoes are typically 100$+, but Sketcher's Work Sneakers are ~40$. The Hokas would last a lot longer and be more ergonomic, but that price is way out of my reach. The Sketchers get disintegrated by a year of use.

What I do is add arch supports and gel shoe inserts (9$ iirc) into the Sketchers, and replace those when they wear. It adds about two years of life to the shoes! :)

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submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by sunshine@slrpnk.net to c/solarpunk@slrpnk.net

Based on the excerpt from this Discworld book, what other items do you use regularly that would fit in this theory? (Boots and shoes are fair game!)

Text transcript for people who want it:

[The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.

Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.

But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.

This was Captain Samuel Vimes 'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness.]

Bonus: suggest ways you can repair/restore your item/other people's items.

[-] sunshine@slrpnk.net 3 points 1 year ago

Very interesting documentary on YouTube about using wood, wind, and sunlight as the sole powers to support a house and a family. Definitely sustainable! Thanks for sharing.

[-] sunshine@slrpnk.net 10 points 1 year ago

One good way for people in apartments to start some sustainable living is regrowing veg whenever you can. I don't necessarily mean container gardens/etc, but using veggies from the store to grow new ones in water trays left on the windowsill. There's lots of guides online!

Keep in mind that this is in your house and can't be affected by any right-to-garden laws, but I have heard of certain brand name veggie companies wanting to make it illegal. :) What they tend to do is trim off all that root fiber to make the veg "prettier" and thusly it can't regrow. Or they deliberately make sterile crop, but that's a whole other bucket of worms. Pick your veg wisely, especially from a farmer's market if you can!

sunshine

joined 1 year ago