Shopping, for most women, is a relaxing and fun experience; something to look forward to greatly. However, shopping during the Christmas holiday season can be far from relaxing.
The people infested malls and stores might turn around the relaxing shopping spree altogether, make you feel uncomfortable and more stressed! The added pressure of needing to buy so many things in a short period of time definitely does not help and continue to add to the pressure.
During the Holidays, shopping around would be so much easier if everyone knew exactly where to go and which shop to visit, to find items needed. Going into a store with the assurance that the item you are looking for will surely be found, would make any stressed out shopper so much more relieved. How many hassles and headaches would be avoided!
In this article I attempt to relieve some of that tension, by guiding curvy women to the right plus size clothing stores. For easier reference, I have separated the suggested plus size clothing stores by type of person targeted and area of specialization.
Curvy Teen
1. Torrid - Torrid has quickly, and rightly so, become one of the favorite plus size fashion stores among teens and the young at heart. Specializing in sizes 12 to 26, Torrid offer a very wide variety of fashion items, including accessories and footwear, which would appeal to any plus size teen who is looking for something fun, stylish and colorful. Here you can find clothing to suit any time of the day, from career wear, formal wear and casual items.
2. Alight - Carrying plus size clothes in sizes 14 to 28, Alight is often termed as an online plus size shopping mall, and for a good reason too! Alight features a very extensive collection of fashion for full-figured ladies from a handful of different clothing lines and designers. This extensive choice ensures that teens will find what they need at Alight.
3. Sydney's Closet - I have said this before, and I still think that Sydney's Closet is a plus size teen girl's dream come true! Teens who are looking for a formal dress or ball gown for a special occasion, especially with the Holidays on the way, will find a wide variety of options at Sydney's Closet.
Plus Size Career Woman
1. Avenue - Avenue is without a doubt a familiar and dear name with all plus size ladies. A name that crops up in any plus size fashion search, Avenue offers great options for the busy curvy career women who always need to look their best. Whether it is shirts, skirts, blouses or suits that you are looking for Avenue is indeed a place to check out. Catering to sizes 14 to 32, Avenue also carries the CloudWalkers footwear line.
2. Jessica London - Catering to sizes 14W to 32W Jessica London should become another go to spot for career women looking to update their wardrobe. Again Jessica London offers women a wide variety of options, including suits, skirts, blouses, jackets and even footwear. With prices to suit all pockets, and promotions going on frequently to help you save some dollars, Jessica London is another option which should not be overlooked.
3. Lane Bryant - Another name which is very familiar with plus size women, Lane Bryant, is a great place to go to for formal and career wear. Quality, as well as reasonable prices, reigns highly at Lane Bryant, where the area of specialization is sizes 14 to 28.
Sophisticated Cat
1. IGIGI - Any plus size woman who wants quality and stylish fashion, created to make her stand out from the crowd will fall in love with IGIGI. Catering to women who wear size 14 to 32 IGIGI carries a wide variety of items, all of which scream out style, and most of all class. If you're looking for dresses, or skirts, or tops, or pants, check out IGIGI.
2. Kiyonna - Sophisticated plus size fashions in sizes 12 and up are all you will find at Kiyonna, that is their area of specialization, and they pull it off well! Again, Kiyonna carry a wide variety of items which will help any curvy woman complete her wardrobe in style.
3. Monif C - If you are looking for something classy, sophisticated and one of a kind, definitely check out the clothing offered by booming plus size fashion designer Monif C. Her items scream out style, are very colorful, and make the most of a woman's curves.
Full Figured and Mature
1. Catherine's - Catering to sizes 16W to 34W Catherine's is a sure winner for mature plus size ladies. Mature women are able to find at Catherine's a multitude of clothing items available in plus sizes, including intimates and swim wear. Classic styles and impeccable quality will put Catherine's in every mature woman's good books.
2. Ulla Popken - The clothes found at Ulla Popken epitomize quality and style for the mature plus size woman. An all rounded store which will help women fill up their wardrobe! The styles and designs offered will surely appeal to mature women who are looking for something special to wear.
3. Zaftique - Zaftique offers a variety of quality plus size items in sizes 12 to 38. Again, Zaftique features a wide variety of items, including accessories and swim wear which appeal to the mature plus size woman.
The stores detailed above give you a very good round up of the best places to turn to during your Christmas holiday shopping spree. Knowing where to look, will help you greatly save time and find the items you need.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
The Plus Size Clothing Nightmare
I've worn plus size clothing most of my adult life. And let me tell you, clothes shopping has really been an agravating experience to say the least. You go to the mall and visit the one store that carries sizes more than 1X. You browse the racks and find a nice pink blouse you'd really love to buy, and they DO have plus sizes, but YOUR SIZE PINK BLOUSE IS MISSING. ARRGH!
Or, you might find a pretty black bra that you'd love to have, but they are out of the 42DD. Plus size clothing can be Pure Frustration.
At first glance it looks like the big and beautiful store has a lot of items, but when you take into account that each item probably is displayed with 4-6 sizes, there really isn't that much in one store. Even the big chain stores like Target, Walmart and K-Mart really have a limited supply of plus size clothing. And most of it isn't very stylish.
And why do all other stores always put the women's plus size clothing section right next to the Maternity section? I'm offended by that as a large woman, and I'd be offended by that as well if I were a pregnant woman. You have to make sure that you aren't checking out the clothing that belongs in the maternity section.
Speaking of maternity wear, I know from personal experience that finding maternity clothes as a larger woman is murder! I seems that only the skinny girls get pregnant as far as the clothing manufacturers think. You have to find a special store that carries nothing but plus size maternity clothing, and lots of it.
To add to the frustration, they put the Petites section on the other side of the Women's section. Come on...no big woman wants to shop next to all those perky little skinny girls.
It's all so darn frustrating. But there is a solution. Shop online. More items, and more sizes, and total freedom to choose in your own home. An online store doesn't have space restrictions and can display a thousand items with relative ease.
That's easier said than done. Some online plus size women's clothing stores carry a limited line. You have to visit many online shops to find what you want. It's hard to find an online plus size fashion site that offers bigger size shirts, pants, suits, etc., from many designers and retail stores. An online plus size clothing store can pick clothing from many suppliers and designers, and make plus size clothing available at all price ranges. It can offer plus size lingerie, plus size boots, plus size coats and plus size swimwear. And it can stock a limitless selection of products, and sell them all in one place.
Sure, there are one or two large scale (excuse the pun) plus size clothing stores online, if you can find them. Still, online shopping is definitely the way to go for us plus size women!
Or, you might find a pretty black bra that you'd love to have, but they are out of the 42DD. Plus size clothing can be Pure Frustration.
At first glance it looks like the big and beautiful store has a lot of items, but when you take into account that each item probably is displayed with 4-6 sizes, there really isn't that much in one store. Even the big chain stores like Target, Walmart and K-Mart really have a limited supply of plus size clothing. And most of it isn't very stylish.
And why do all other stores always put the women's plus size clothing section right next to the Maternity section? I'm offended by that as a large woman, and I'd be offended by that as well if I were a pregnant woman. You have to make sure that you aren't checking out the clothing that belongs in the maternity section.
Speaking of maternity wear, I know from personal experience that finding maternity clothes as a larger woman is murder! I seems that only the skinny girls get pregnant as far as the clothing manufacturers think. You have to find a special store that carries nothing but plus size maternity clothing, and lots of it.
To add to the frustration, they put the Petites section on the other side of the Women's section. Come on...no big woman wants to shop next to all those perky little skinny girls.
It's all so darn frustrating. But there is a solution. Shop online. More items, and more sizes, and total freedom to choose in your own home. An online store doesn't have space restrictions and can display a thousand items with relative ease.
That's easier said than done. Some online plus size women's clothing stores carry a limited line. You have to visit many online shops to find what you want. It's hard to find an online plus size fashion site that offers bigger size shirts, pants, suits, etc., from many designers and retail stores. An online plus size clothing store can pick clothing from many suppliers and designers, and make plus size clothing available at all price ranges. It can offer plus size lingerie, plus size boots, plus size coats and plus size swimwear. And it can stock a limitless selection of products, and sell them all in one place.
Sure, there are one or two large scale (excuse the pun) plus size clothing stores online, if you can find them. Still, online shopping is definitely the way to go for us plus size women!
How Much Should You Be Spending On Clothes
It's a question that I receive from time-to-time from people trying to get a handle on their clothing expenses. Whether you have a lot to spend or a whole lot less than you'd like, there are a couple of ways to go about figuring how much of your budget you should be allocating to clothes.
1. The Historical Method
If you typically keep track of all of your expenses by hand or by computer, you can usually find this number with very little effort. Simply tally the amount you've spent by year for the last few years and see how they compare to each other.
If your spending habits are pretty predictable, the amounts will probably be similar for each year. If you've had a job change that impacted your wardrobe requirements (got a promotion, went to uniforms, left Wall Street to start a goat farm in Vermont)-or had a teenager enter or exit your midst-you'll no doubt see the impact in your clothing expense history.
Simply determine how long the impact will be felt (from here on out, for three more years, etc.) and adjust the rest of your budget accordingly. If the number seems high or low in proportion to the rest of your income and expenses, you may need to adjust your spending habits to meet your business and image goals.
2. The Percentage Method
For those of you who don't typically keep records or who want a more definitive answer, you may want to look at the percentage method.
The percentage method is where you allocate a certain percentage of your income to specific expenses.
Because these can vary wildly depending on your marital and dependent status, work environment, local cost of living, etc., use these AS GUIDELINES for forming your budget, then adjust as necessary for your particular situation:
Housing: 20-35% Taxes: 15-35% Food: 15-35% Clothing: 3-10% Transportation: 6-20% Entertainment: 2-6% Savings: 5-9% Miscellaneous: varies
Now before you use this as a permission slip of sorts to head to your favorite store to spend 10% of this year's salary on clothes, there are a couple of things you need to keep in mind:
1. Your Lifestyle
If you wear a uniform to work, work at home or in a casual environment, are retired or are getting ready to retire, you can probably get by on a 3-5% clothing budget (or less).
If you are regularly photographed, are a public official, speak, consult, or charge a lot of money for your products or services, you will need to spend more on your wardrobe, typically 7-10%.
2. The Needs of Each Dependent
If you are married and raising children, you'll need to spread the budget between everyone in the household. So as the number of bodies to clothe goes up, the amount to spend per body goes down.
Now while your teenager (or pre-teen) will no doubt argue that she should be allocated the bulk of the budget to buy the status symbols of her peer group, don't do it; the distribution should be based on each person's lifestyle requirements. Look at the wage earners' needs first, then work your way through each person in the family.
So if Dad does computer programming for a hospital, for example, Mom sells diamonds to socialites, Junior is heavily involved in sports, and little Susie is the scholarly type who prefers books to friends, then the allocation might goes as follows:
*Mom should spend the most (sells a high dollar product) *Then Junior (school clothes, sports gear and uniforms) *Then Dad (casual, low-profile work environment) *Then Susie (school clothes, a few casual clothes)
Make sense? Determine the needs per person, then allocate accordingly.
Whatever you do, don't scrimp on your own wardrobe to dress your kids "to the nines." While this is common practice in a lot of families, it's counterproductive: the most money goes for the clothes that are worn the least and that have fleeting impact, while the least amount goes for the clothes that are worn the longest and need to have the greatest impact.
So knowing that the more polished you are, the more money you make and the less polished you are, the less money you make, don't sacrifice your own image goals to buy expensive clothes for your kids that they'll outgrow in six months. Instead, put your own needs as the wage earner first, increase your income, and you'll have more money to spend on clothes for everyone. Make sense?
3. Your Existing Debt Load
Now this whole spending plan assumes that you operate your household on a cash basis, meaning NO DEBT. If you're carrying a lot of debt-or even a little-beyond your mortgage or car note, then you need to reduce your expenses to bare-bones minimum until you've satisfied your creditors first.
So if you're still paying off last year's fall wardrobe or that spending spree you went on after you broke up with Mr. Wrong, don't add to your strapped finances by assuming that these spending percentages are etched in stone. They're not. Spend low while you pound away at the debt, then re-adjust as necessary once you're back in the black.
So what's the bottom line?
If you commit yourself to staying within your budget, you'll spend less, make wiser clothing purchases, teach your kids how to handle money appropriately, AND be able to sufficiently fund your retirement to dress well for years to come.
So how much money should you be spending on clothes?
Enough to help you look good, feel good, boost your income, and meet your financial goals. No more, no less.
1. The Historical Method
If you typically keep track of all of your expenses by hand or by computer, you can usually find this number with very little effort. Simply tally the amount you've spent by year for the last few years and see how they compare to each other.
If your spending habits are pretty predictable, the amounts will probably be similar for each year. If you've had a job change that impacted your wardrobe requirements (got a promotion, went to uniforms, left Wall Street to start a goat farm in Vermont)-or had a teenager enter or exit your midst-you'll no doubt see the impact in your clothing expense history.
Simply determine how long the impact will be felt (from here on out, for three more years, etc.) and adjust the rest of your budget accordingly. If the number seems high or low in proportion to the rest of your income and expenses, you may need to adjust your spending habits to meet your business and image goals.
2. The Percentage Method
For those of you who don't typically keep records or who want a more definitive answer, you may want to look at the percentage method.
The percentage method is where you allocate a certain percentage of your income to specific expenses.
Because these can vary wildly depending on your marital and dependent status, work environment, local cost of living, etc., use these AS GUIDELINES for forming your budget, then adjust as necessary for your particular situation:
Housing: 20-35% Taxes: 15-35% Food: 15-35% Clothing: 3-10% Transportation: 6-20% Entertainment: 2-6% Savings: 5-9% Miscellaneous: varies
Now before you use this as a permission slip of sorts to head to your favorite store to spend 10% of this year's salary on clothes, there are a couple of things you need to keep in mind:
1. Your Lifestyle
If you wear a uniform to work, work at home or in a casual environment, are retired or are getting ready to retire, you can probably get by on a 3-5% clothing budget (or less).
If you are regularly photographed, are a public official, speak, consult, or charge a lot of money for your products or services, you will need to spend more on your wardrobe, typically 7-10%.
2. The Needs of Each Dependent
If you are married and raising children, you'll need to spread the budget between everyone in the household. So as the number of bodies to clothe goes up, the amount to spend per body goes down.
Now while your teenager (or pre-teen) will no doubt argue that she should be allocated the bulk of the budget to buy the status symbols of her peer group, don't do it; the distribution should be based on each person's lifestyle requirements. Look at the wage earners' needs first, then work your way through each person in the family.
So if Dad does computer programming for a hospital, for example, Mom sells diamonds to socialites, Junior is heavily involved in sports, and little Susie is the scholarly type who prefers books to friends, then the allocation might goes as follows:
*Mom should spend the most (sells a high dollar product) *Then Junior (school clothes, sports gear and uniforms) *Then Dad (casual, low-profile work environment) *Then Susie (school clothes, a few casual clothes)
Make sense? Determine the needs per person, then allocate accordingly.
Whatever you do, don't scrimp on your own wardrobe to dress your kids "to the nines." While this is common practice in a lot of families, it's counterproductive: the most money goes for the clothes that are worn the least and that have fleeting impact, while the least amount goes for the clothes that are worn the longest and need to have the greatest impact.
So knowing that the more polished you are, the more money you make and the less polished you are, the less money you make, don't sacrifice your own image goals to buy expensive clothes for your kids that they'll outgrow in six months. Instead, put your own needs as the wage earner first, increase your income, and you'll have more money to spend on clothes for everyone. Make sense?
3. Your Existing Debt Load
Now this whole spending plan assumes that you operate your household on a cash basis, meaning NO DEBT. If you're carrying a lot of debt-or even a little-beyond your mortgage or car note, then you need to reduce your expenses to bare-bones minimum until you've satisfied your creditors first.
So if you're still paying off last year's fall wardrobe or that spending spree you went on after you broke up with Mr. Wrong, don't add to your strapped finances by assuming that these spending percentages are etched in stone. They're not. Spend low while you pound away at the debt, then re-adjust as necessary once you're back in the black.
So what's the bottom line?
If you commit yourself to staying within your budget, you'll spend less, make wiser clothing purchases, teach your kids how to handle money appropriately, AND be able to sufficiently fund your retirement to dress well for years to come.
So how much money should you be spending on clothes?
Enough to help you look good, feel good, boost your income, and meet your financial goals. No more, no less.
The Bitch and the Emperor's New Clothes
In the age of the Emperor's new clothes the child has finally spoken up. From out of the thronging masses of people, all eager not to look stupid in front of their neighbours, the words we needed to hear have at last rung out: "But he has nothing on!"
It's time now that we all accepted the truth, the real truth and not that of some people with misplaced vocations who would have been better employed selling used cars or vacuum cleaners, and that truth is that we are doing no good in Iraq - we are only making matters worse. We should leave.
Like a breath of fresh air rushing into a stuffy room, General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the British army, has called for our troops to be withdrawn from Iraq - and soon! As I write this I am hearing the expected response of "words taken out of context" from Tony Blair and the infamous "Downing Street spokesmen", but they count for little - the words that matter are abounding on the unofficial military internet forums. The forums have been inundated with praise for Sir Richard and his words from serving military personnel - with the words taken in any context you care to name - because they hold the truth, they tell the truth, and they pass the test. They have been widely welcomed by his troops, by opposition MPs, and (as to be expected) by anti-war groups. And I'm betting by the world at large, too!
One of the most senior officers in Iraq when we invaded in 2003 was Colonel Tim Collins. Speaking to the Today programme, he said that Sir Richard had given a "refreshing and very honest insight into what the Army generally feel. That is that the political shortcomings and the shortcomings in the planning for the occupation of Iraq have made the job of the Army very much more difficult. And there comes a time when the realisation on the ground is that the people of Iraq do resent foreign intervention and there comes a time when we have got to look forward to when we can hand it over to the Iraqis for them to sort out."
Colonel Tim Collins went on to say: "I think we have to salute the honesty of the Chief of General Staff and understand that he is reflecting the beliefs of the Army, the people on the ground. He is not a politician and he is not given to spin, so what you hear from him is absolutely ground truth."
Hear! Hear! The absolute ground truth at last, and from people who have nothing to gain - perhaps something to lose - but who better than any politician know the real truth - they have to live with it. It's time the nation now listened to the truth "as it is", rather than "the truth" as spun to us by some to gain political advantage.
The word is spreading fast: the Emperor has no clothes on; the garments supposedly hiding the truth from us don't really exist; the cover-up is over - Tony stands naked in front of us all, and the stories he has told of how much good we were doing occupying another's country are shown to be pure fabrication.
We need to remember that over 600,000 civilians have died violently in Iraq since the invasion in 2003 - figures released by a team of American and Iraqi public health researchers - and that the rate of violence, along with the deaths, continues to escalate. It is inhumane for us to stay there. Our very presence may be promoting the killings by the three main factions making up the country, but the horrifying truth is that 70% of all those civilian deaths to date can be traced to being directly attributable to the occupying troops.
It is time to realise that we are living through one of the most shameful times for our country in living history. From the very beginning, the time of the famous "sexed up dossier", along with the alleged suicide of David Kelly, and all the deceit of how we were allowed to believe our shores were actually being threatened, and through the "knowing" by Tony Blair above all others that Iraq definitely had "weapons of mass destruction", even after no proof was found, the whole saga stinks. It is a disgrace to this country. It's time to wash our hands of this war, to allow others to clear up our mess, and for this country to start demanding the truth from our government, and all our authorities.
Since Tony Blair came to power with his style of government it seems to have become fashionable for the truth to be hidden. The real story doesn't matter any more. It's what you can make from it that matters - what you can spin. It has become sort of acceptable, and now it happens everywhere: from government, through big business and the utilities, right down to our local authorities. When found out, faced with the exposure of knowingly deceiving us, no longer do people slink away and leave office ashamed - they merely smile sweetly, and carry on collecting their salaries.
The stupidity of this whole situation is that all along we sort of know we are being lied to, we sense it, yet we too smile sweetly and allow it to happen. What we need are a lot more people like General Sir Richard Dannatt. If ever a country needed a breath of fresh air, it is ours. There's another one too, a bigger country across a pond. That could do with more than a breeze.
Before I go I shall give you an instance of these fashionable hidden truths. By now we must all have heard of the chips that are being added to the wheelie bins provided for refuse by some councils. These electronic bin tags are about the size of a penny. They are normally placed under the lip of the bin, and can be scanned as the bin is tipped into the refuse collection vehicle. Electronic weighing equipment has been installed on some of these refuse carts which is able to collect, and link to the council, information on the amount (or perhaps more accurately: the weight) of rubbish collected from each owner.
Residents are not happy with this spying on them, and many have ignored the council's warnings that they could be charged with criminal damage should they remove the tags. Despite this, some have posted theirs back to the council offices.
We know all this as fact - but here's the crunch: the director of community and environmental services for one local authority claims the chips simply contain an identity number that identifies which wheelie bin belongs to which house.
Now you might at first find that statement somewhat reassuring. Perhaps by now you are even thinking the implants are solely for the purpose of stopping the bin being lost or stolen. How wrong you would be!
The smiling face that tells you it is only to identify who owns the bin, still smiling sweetly omits to tell you: so that they know who to charge and just how much when this policy is, as it will be, adopted.
It's time now that we all accepted the truth, the real truth and not that of some people with misplaced vocations who would have been better employed selling used cars or vacuum cleaners, and that truth is that we are doing no good in Iraq - we are only making matters worse. We should leave.
Like a breath of fresh air rushing into a stuffy room, General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the British army, has called for our troops to be withdrawn from Iraq - and soon! As I write this I am hearing the expected response of "words taken out of context" from Tony Blair and the infamous "Downing Street spokesmen", but they count for little - the words that matter are abounding on the unofficial military internet forums. The forums have been inundated with praise for Sir Richard and his words from serving military personnel - with the words taken in any context you care to name - because they hold the truth, they tell the truth, and they pass the test. They have been widely welcomed by his troops, by opposition MPs, and (as to be expected) by anti-war groups. And I'm betting by the world at large, too!
One of the most senior officers in Iraq when we invaded in 2003 was Colonel Tim Collins. Speaking to the Today programme, he said that Sir Richard had given a "refreshing and very honest insight into what the Army generally feel. That is that the political shortcomings and the shortcomings in the planning for the occupation of Iraq have made the job of the Army very much more difficult. And there comes a time when the realisation on the ground is that the people of Iraq do resent foreign intervention and there comes a time when we have got to look forward to when we can hand it over to the Iraqis for them to sort out."
Colonel Tim Collins went on to say: "I think we have to salute the honesty of the Chief of General Staff and understand that he is reflecting the beliefs of the Army, the people on the ground. He is not a politician and he is not given to spin, so what you hear from him is absolutely ground truth."
Hear! Hear! The absolute ground truth at last, and from people who have nothing to gain - perhaps something to lose - but who better than any politician know the real truth - they have to live with it. It's time the nation now listened to the truth "as it is", rather than "the truth" as spun to us by some to gain political advantage.
The word is spreading fast: the Emperor has no clothes on; the garments supposedly hiding the truth from us don't really exist; the cover-up is over - Tony stands naked in front of us all, and the stories he has told of how much good we were doing occupying another's country are shown to be pure fabrication.
We need to remember that over 600,000 civilians have died violently in Iraq since the invasion in 2003 - figures released by a team of American and Iraqi public health researchers - and that the rate of violence, along with the deaths, continues to escalate. It is inhumane for us to stay there. Our very presence may be promoting the killings by the three main factions making up the country, but the horrifying truth is that 70% of all those civilian deaths to date can be traced to being directly attributable to the occupying troops.
It is time to realise that we are living through one of the most shameful times for our country in living history. From the very beginning, the time of the famous "sexed up dossier", along with the alleged suicide of David Kelly, and all the deceit of how we were allowed to believe our shores were actually being threatened, and through the "knowing" by Tony Blair above all others that Iraq definitely had "weapons of mass destruction", even after no proof was found, the whole saga stinks. It is a disgrace to this country. It's time to wash our hands of this war, to allow others to clear up our mess, and for this country to start demanding the truth from our government, and all our authorities.
Since Tony Blair came to power with his style of government it seems to have become fashionable for the truth to be hidden. The real story doesn't matter any more. It's what you can make from it that matters - what you can spin. It has become sort of acceptable, and now it happens everywhere: from government, through big business and the utilities, right down to our local authorities. When found out, faced with the exposure of knowingly deceiving us, no longer do people slink away and leave office ashamed - they merely smile sweetly, and carry on collecting their salaries.
The stupidity of this whole situation is that all along we sort of know we are being lied to, we sense it, yet we too smile sweetly and allow it to happen. What we need are a lot more people like General Sir Richard Dannatt. If ever a country needed a breath of fresh air, it is ours. There's another one too, a bigger country across a pond. That could do with more than a breeze.
Before I go I shall give you an instance of these fashionable hidden truths. By now we must all have heard of the chips that are being added to the wheelie bins provided for refuse by some councils. These electronic bin tags are about the size of a penny. They are normally placed under the lip of the bin, and can be scanned as the bin is tipped into the refuse collection vehicle. Electronic weighing equipment has been installed on some of these refuse carts which is able to collect, and link to the council, information on the amount (or perhaps more accurately: the weight) of rubbish collected from each owner.
Residents are not happy with this spying on them, and many have ignored the council's warnings that they could be charged with criminal damage should they remove the tags. Despite this, some have posted theirs back to the council offices.
We know all this as fact - but here's the crunch: the director of community and environmental services for one local authority claims the chips simply contain an identity number that identifies which wheelie bin belongs to which house.
Now you might at first find that statement somewhat reassuring. Perhaps by now you are even thinking the implants are solely for the purpose of stopping the bin being lost or stolen. How wrong you would be!
The smiling face that tells you it is only to identify who owns the bin, still smiling sweetly omits to tell you: so that they know who to charge and just how much when this policy is, as it will be, adopted.
Rotating Seasonal Clothing
Seasons are changing and it is time to think about putting away your summer or winter clothing—depending on where you live---and getting out the clothes that have been stored away.
This is a good time to look at every article of clothing you have in your closet. Take out each one and check it for rips and stains. Analyze if you still like it, if you even wore it this year and if you want to keep it. The statistic is that 80 of what we have hanging in our closets.
When you find something that needs repairing then place it in a basket to be mended. I prefer a basket because the items can be seen and in a bag they can be forgotten. "Out of sight, out of mind." Either take these items to the room where your sewing supplies are if it is something you can fix or place it in a pile to give to someone else to mend. If it needs mending but you know you will never get it done do not hang on to it. Get it out of your closet. Either give it to someone you know would like it (letting them know the problem) or donate it to a charity.
For clothing that needs to be dry cleaned place in a bag and take it out to your vehicle, then when you are out and about you can drop it at the cleaners. Schedule the day you will go to the cleaners in your planner, the chances are greater that you will get the articles there. If your clothes are dirty or have stains on them now is the time to wash them and remove stains so you can put them away clean. The longer a stain is left the harder it is to remove.
For the clothes that are clean and in good repair but you don't see yourself ever wearing them again, or don't any more donate to a local charity.
Now the clothes you are keeping for next year which are left in your closet either move to a different closet in your home, or possibly store in a large garment box movers use. The clothes can hang and you can put the box in your garage or storage room. If your closet is large enough you can move your clothes to the back of your closet if you have no where else to move them to.
For the clothes you fold, place in plastic bins that are clearly labeled on the outside. You can label the boxes by using a label maker or a 3X5 card taped with clear packing tape on the outside of the box. You can label either by the season or just seasonal.
Go through your coat closet and take out winter coats and winter sport clothes and put either in a different closet or with your seasonal clothes.
After you have taken out all of your seasonal clothes take the 'current season' clothes and organize them in your closet. Check to see if any of these need repairing or cleaning in case they slipped past inspection last year.
Shoes can be stored with out-of-season clothing. Clean and polish all shoes and boots and check to see if they need repairing. If they do, now is the time to take them to the shoe repair shop. Place them in a bag and put them in the car so they can be dropped off when you are out and about. For tall boots to keep their shape and prevent creases insert an empty paper towel roll into the boot and store them upright. Or stuff with tissue paper.
By rotating your clothes you have space in your closet to see what you have to wear and it is also a time to weed out clothes you don't want to keep.
This is a good time to look at every article of clothing you have in your closet. Take out each one and check it for rips and stains. Analyze if you still like it, if you even wore it this year and if you want to keep it. The statistic is that 80 of what we have hanging in our closets.
When you find something that needs repairing then place it in a basket to be mended. I prefer a basket because the items can be seen and in a bag they can be forgotten. "Out of sight, out of mind." Either take these items to the room where your sewing supplies are if it is something you can fix or place it in a pile to give to someone else to mend. If it needs mending but you know you will never get it done do not hang on to it. Get it out of your closet. Either give it to someone you know would like it (letting them know the problem) or donate it to a charity.
For clothing that needs to be dry cleaned place in a bag and take it out to your vehicle, then when you are out and about you can drop it at the cleaners. Schedule the day you will go to the cleaners in your planner, the chances are greater that you will get the articles there. If your clothes are dirty or have stains on them now is the time to wash them and remove stains so you can put them away clean. The longer a stain is left the harder it is to remove.
For the clothes that are clean and in good repair but you don't see yourself ever wearing them again, or don't any more donate to a local charity.
Now the clothes you are keeping for next year which are left in your closet either move to a different closet in your home, or possibly store in a large garment box movers use. The clothes can hang and you can put the box in your garage or storage room. If your closet is large enough you can move your clothes to the back of your closet if you have no where else to move them to.
For the clothes you fold, place in plastic bins that are clearly labeled on the outside. You can label the boxes by using a label maker or a 3X5 card taped with clear packing tape on the outside of the box. You can label either by the season or just seasonal.
Go through your coat closet and take out winter coats and winter sport clothes and put either in a different closet or with your seasonal clothes.
After you have taken out all of your seasonal clothes take the 'current season' clothes and organize them in your closet. Check to see if any of these need repairing or cleaning in case they slipped past inspection last year.
Shoes can be stored with out-of-season clothing. Clean and polish all shoes and boots and check to see if they need repairing. If they do, now is the time to take them to the shoe repair shop. Place them in a bag and put them in the car so they can be dropped off when you are out and about. For tall boots to keep their shape and prevent creases insert an empty paper towel roll into the boot and store them upright. Or stuff with tissue paper.
By rotating your clothes you have space in your closet to see what you have to wear and it is also a time to weed out clothes you don't want to keep.
Baby Won't Wear Clothes
Most first time parents get a shock when at about fourteen months their darling decides they don’t want to wear clothes! The first thing to realise is that there is nothing unusual about this it is just a small part of baby growing up.
Granted it can be quite embarrassing if you have guests around and baby decides to bear all! Embarrassing for you and the guest.
Don’t get over excited and insist that baby wears his or her clothes ALL the time. No it is best if you set limits on when you will allow baby to un-cloth and when you will not all them to un-cloth. You are teaching baby a very important social norm at this point so be firm.
Once you have set your limits be firm, and enforce the rule. You may feel like screaming, but every time baby breaks the rules and starts to undress then redress him, again and again and again. Babies are not stupid and pretty soon they will get the message. Remember though babies are also great manipulators!
Think carefully about when you are going to let baby ‘bear all.’ Common sense will dictate that this is best done when there is little likelihood of traffic into and out of the home. Baby may not be embarrassed by his physique but others outside the family might feel uncomfortable with a naked baby running around them.
Because baby will feel less restricted without their clothes they will be rushing around that little bit more and are therefore more likely to get a knock on some of their more exposed areas.
When naked time is over a good way of getting your child to re-robe is to let him or her pick their own clothing you can do this by laying out a small selection of suitable clothing. Most babies enjoy this exercise and in the long run they become more interested in clothing and it may even help them get over their naked period.
I’ve watched parents visit their attitudes about their bodies onto their children. You are the biggest influence in your child’s life and a little carelessness could make your child feel ashamed of his or her body.
Children have to explore in order to develop, and this is all part of that journey and with a little bit of though before hand you can let the child figure out that undressing in public is not right and this is much better than just telling them ‘don’t do that. That’s bold.’
Baby is now busy exploring the world around them, educate them well and it will pay handsome rewards in the future
Granted it can be quite embarrassing if you have guests around and baby decides to bear all! Embarrassing for you and the guest.
Don’t get over excited and insist that baby wears his or her clothes ALL the time. No it is best if you set limits on when you will allow baby to un-cloth and when you will not all them to un-cloth. You are teaching baby a very important social norm at this point so be firm.
Once you have set your limits be firm, and enforce the rule. You may feel like screaming, but every time baby breaks the rules and starts to undress then redress him, again and again and again. Babies are not stupid and pretty soon they will get the message. Remember though babies are also great manipulators!
Think carefully about when you are going to let baby ‘bear all.’ Common sense will dictate that this is best done when there is little likelihood of traffic into and out of the home. Baby may not be embarrassed by his physique but others outside the family might feel uncomfortable with a naked baby running around them.
Because baby will feel less restricted without their clothes they will be rushing around that little bit more and are therefore more likely to get a knock on some of their more exposed areas.
When naked time is over a good way of getting your child to re-robe is to let him or her pick their own clothing you can do this by laying out a small selection of suitable clothing. Most babies enjoy this exercise and in the long run they become more interested in clothing and it may even help them get over their naked period.
I’ve watched parents visit their attitudes about their bodies onto their children. You are the biggest influence in your child’s life and a little carelessness could make your child feel ashamed of his or her body.
Children have to explore in order to develop, and this is all part of that journey and with a little bit of though before hand you can let the child figure out that undressing in public is not right and this is much better than just telling them ‘don’t do that. That’s bold.’
Baby is now busy exploring the world around them, educate them well and it will pay handsome rewards in the future
Baby Clothes for the Bargain Hunter
Baby clothing has become very expensive. In this day and age, many new parents struggle to make ends meet and to make certain that they have all of the clothing items that the need for their baby. If you are such a person, you will want to spend some time on the Internet. At this point in time, a new parent can find an array of solid bargains on the Internet when it comes to clothing for a baby.
If you have spent any time looking for brand new baby clothes at stores in the brick and mortar world, you may have found yourself suffering from complete sticker shock. Over the course of the past couple of decades, the cost of clothing for babies has escalated significantly.
In recent years, an ever growing number of parents have turned to the Internet in search of more reasonably priced clothing for their children. One type of websites venue that has gained in popularity in recent years when it comes to the search for lower cost baby clothing is the overstock website.
The typical overstock website generally carries a wide range of different types of merchandise. Oftentimes, you will be able to find a number of different products line for children -- from toys to clothing. In addition, frequently you will be able to find very high end baby clothing products at this type of website -- items that literally have been overstocked in other stores and have been reduced in price at such a site for quick clearance.
There are thousands of different websites in operation now that cater exclusively to the marketing of products and services for babies. These include sites dedicated to the selling of baby clothes. Of course, some of these sites cater to parents who are interested in buying more expensive -- perhaps even designer -- clothing for their baby. However, a large number of these sites have been established to lend assistance to the budget conscious parent in his or her search for more reasonably priced clothing.
Finally, in the grand tradition of hand-me-down clothing for a baby, a parent interested in finding lower cost baby clothing might want to surf over to one or another of the different auction sites on the Net. Through these sites, you will be able to find a large selection of different types of products for children and babies, including clothing. Oftentimes the items being offered for sale -- at very low prices -- at these sites are brand new items.
If you have spent any time looking for brand new baby clothes at stores in the brick and mortar world, you may have found yourself suffering from complete sticker shock. Over the course of the past couple of decades, the cost of clothing for babies has escalated significantly.
In recent years, an ever growing number of parents have turned to the Internet in search of more reasonably priced clothing for their children. One type of websites venue that has gained in popularity in recent years when it comes to the search for lower cost baby clothing is the overstock website.
The typical overstock website generally carries a wide range of different types of merchandise. Oftentimes, you will be able to find a number of different products line for children -- from toys to clothing. In addition, frequently you will be able to find very high end baby clothing products at this type of website -- items that literally have been overstocked in other stores and have been reduced in price at such a site for quick clearance.
There are thousands of different websites in operation now that cater exclusively to the marketing of products and services for babies. These include sites dedicated to the selling of baby clothes. Of course, some of these sites cater to parents who are interested in buying more expensive -- perhaps even designer -- clothing for their baby. However, a large number of these sites have been established to lend assistance to the budget conscious parent in his or her search for more reasonably priced clothing.
Finally, in the grand tradition of hand-me-down clothing for a baby, a parent interested in finding lower cost baby clothing might want to surf over to one or another of the different auction sites on the Net. Through these sites, you will be able to find a large selection of different types of products for children and babies, including clothing. Oftentimes the items being offered for sale -- at very low prices -- at these sites are brand new items.
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