Community

Angie and Jon here! When we took over Half-Pint and were talking about what we wanted Half-Pint to be, it was clear to us that it’s not just a twice a year sale of gently used children’s items. We want this to be about the community. We want to create a place where people come together and are more than what was brought into the room. We want this to be about families – a resource that helps all the different, messy groups of people we call our families, thrive.

To us, this means three things: affordability, sustainability, and healthfulness. Some of those might resonate more with you than others – Angie is more into sustainability, Jon more into healthfulness. He rolls his eyes a bit when she washes plastic zip bags to reuse them, and when he’s not around, she cheats on the whole food, plant based diet he has us on. But we both agree that we feel better on this diet and it’s nice buying less plastic bags.

Long story short, we believe the Half-Pint community can benefit from sharing ideas and talents. And that’s what makes this community wonderful, isn’t it? Add what you can, take what you like, and leave what you don’t.

Affordability

Raising kids is expensive! And the bigger they get, the harder it is! I think my eight year old is already eating more than I do – not sure how we’ll buy groceries in a few years. The biannual Half-Pint Resale has been in the community for over a decade, helping us and others buy nice clothes at a fraction of the retail cost. And if you consign, that’s more money in your pocket! There are also activities though. It seems like every fun thing my kids want to do costs so much that it’s hard to go do them. So we’ve developed a go-to list of free and low-cost activities in the area that we bring out and let the kids pick from instead of saying “what do you want to do today?” so that we can get ahead of the requests for an expensive indoor amusement park. We are always looking for new ways to live affordably and enjoy what this area has to offer – and suspect you are too!

Sustainability

One of the great things about resales is how they keep good quality items in our community, and out of the trash. There are so many other ways to become more sustainable too. A couple years ago we put up a solar array, and couldn’t be happier with our energy bills and our lowered carbon footprint. I’m also working on becoming a certified Master Recycler! I’ve learned so much about how to recycle, which has changed what I throw into which bin, and how I decide what to consume (plastics – so hard to recycle!). There are so many other things we can do to limit consumption too. Together, we can make a difference.

Healthfulness

There are a lot of aspects to health. Physical, emotional, financial. They are all important, and it can be hard to know where to start with any of them. 

I remember being taught the food pyramid that puts meat at the base, topped by grains, and so I thought meat and grains were supposed to be part of every meal (and growing up in rural Wisconsin, that usually meant enriched pasta or bread). When we went to a mostly whole food plant based (WFPB) diet, I was shocked how much weight I lost and how far my blood pressure came down, and I wasn’t exercising more or feeling at all hungry. I can’t believe how long it took me to figure out the benefits of ditching the food pyramid. 

Finances on the other hand, is something that has interested me for decades. Having an appropriate emergency fund and watching cash flows frequently are so important to long-term health and short-term stress. 

Deciding to learn more is the first step. Finding the right resources to do so can be hard, and we are here to help! Jon has a lot to say on this topic. More to come, but for now, we’ve started working on a list of our favorite WFPB recipes and other topics.