The Linsey List Epi. 1

I have a Linsey. She's the best.

Linsey and I. She's the best.

Linsey is my cousin. We spend an awful lot of time together partially because we share many of the same beliefs and views and love to bounce ideas off each other. I am constantly peppering her with ideas and links and interesting things I've read. So much so, that I thought of compiling them in to a single once a week digest to send to her at once.

Then I figured, why should I keep all this goodness to myself? If Linsey would love it, hell so would y'all.

So here it is. The Linsey List.

Not sure how often I'll be putting these out but here's a round up of incredible and/or interesting things I've seen on the internets lately. Let's talk about it in the comments.

Bioregional Herbalism means using plants that grow naturally in your area to heal yourself. This blog post digs into what we think of as invasive and useful and why. She also talks a lot about "invasive" plants brought by humans and their role. A plant didn't ask to be here and it itself isn't invasive but rather the actions humans take to bring it here. If something is in abundance, we should ask ourselves why and how it can be useful. Even when something is in abundance, we should be foraging mindfully of the environment and harvesting respectfully. Super interesting take and one I'm chewing over.

Forested in Bowie, MD Sooooo apparently there's a whole ass permaculture food forest in Bowie!! I had no idea. AND they do dinners in the forest and tours and volunteer opportunities!! I'm pretty excited to see that this exists and am eyeballing my schedule to see when I can check it out. They're doing some pretty exciting things!

Slow Fashion is something I've literally never thought about. I mean, I'm not a shopper so I don't pay much attention to trends and I typically buy stuff at the thrift store. I own many repeat items and would wear some variation of leggings, a tank top, a flannel, and a hoodie every day. All black if possible.

Oh look, it's what I'm wearing right now.

It seems every place they say slow, I replace it with intentional. Being intentional with where you spend your money and the resources that are used to produce your clothing. The term slow fashion is in opposition to fast fashion, where clothes are produced quickly, cheaply, and on (passing) trend - with little attention paid to the resources used and the labor involved with making it. This post compiles a few slow fashion brands at different price points. I do want to make note though, that buying something brand new should be a last resort. Can you repurpose something you already have? Make it? Borrow from a friend? Buy it secondhand? Buy it with a friend and share it? With the exception of underwear and socks. In those cases, treat yourself.

Buy yourself new panties. You deserve it.

"There is no such thing as total self sufficiency. There is only interdependence. And when that interdependence is denied or erased, it doesn’t disappear—it just becomes invisible labor, unpaid labor, exhausted labor. The labor of women, of mothers, of the land itself."

WHOA. This article spoke to me and what I want to build. We are all in this together. We should not and cannot buy in to this idea that we're all rugged individuals - here to make our own way in the world. We are in this together. We need villages, we need each other. This homesteading ideal of isolation and self sufficiency is a lie. We need each other to thrive. Instead of homesteading and individualism, we should be working on village and community building. Raising our families and taking care of our elders together and closer to the earth. We need each other.

Big List of Online Shopping alternatives from Sustainable Jungle!!

I know I'm not the only one mindful of where my money goes. I no longer use Amazon, Walmart, or Target and try to avoid big box altogether. The majority of what I buy comes from small and local. BUT sometimes it's hard to find stuff! I'm excited to pour over this list to see what's offered and what's available. There's a lot of zero waste alternatives here too!!

I hope you find these links interesting and helpful. Let's talk about it in the comments!!