January fun money report + other miscellany

My fun-money report is a little brief this month, so we're just rolling it into a miscellany post this time.

I bought a lamp with my fun money

Objectively, I do not need another lamp.

Please see here.

and here.

and here.

and here.

and here.

And here.

However, this does not stop me from wanting more lamps, OKAYYYYYY?

So, when someone on the internet posted about a globe-shaped lamp from Ikea, I was immediately influenced.

I found a day off in my schedule and decided to make a little Ikea pilgrimage. I was going to splurge on coffee on the way, but as I told you guys before, I accidentally happened to go on a day when lattes were only $3, and I had a gift card, so this was not a use of my fun money at all.

Anyway.

I took a leisurely stroll through the entire store, which was a fun way to spend part of my day.

I did eventually find my intended purchase:

I brought it home and plugged it in right away. Ooh! Shiny!

Chiquita shared my excitement, clearly:

I put it in one of my built-in bookshelves, next to the fireplace.

I turn it on every night once the sun goes down.

I also bought a little set of three glass jars, largely because I wanted one for chipotle chili storage.

My current container has a rather narrow opening, so it's a little hard to get a spoon inside. This one has a nice wide mouth, though, so I think it'll work great.

I also bought them because hello, they are very cute. I am a sucker for little storage containers, especially if they are glass.

I don't know what I will store in the other two, but I'm sure something will occur to me.

I spent $29.99 on the lamp and $5.99 on the glass jars. So, $36, which means I have a lot leftover to roll into February's fun money budget. 🙂

Dye and bleach stains

When I mentioned that I use a black Sharpie to cover my bleach stains on my black scrubs, one of you asked if I'd considered just dying them.

Well....I tried that a while ago on a dress of Zoe's and it didn't work. You can see my whole process in this post.

So, if you have a bleached item, don't bother wasting time and money trying to dye it!

Free-bleeding

If you hate period talk, scroll on down.

Ok, so there is a...trend? out there right now called "free-bleeding" which involves not using period products other than, say, sitting on a towel, or using period underwear.

Proponents say it reduces costs, lessens cramps, and...shortens periods.

And I'm not sorry to say that I am giving that last claim a bombastic side-eye.

There is literally ZERO scientific reason that your body would have a shorter period because you bled onto a towel instead of onto a pad.

Or because you bled into period underwear instead of a pad.

That is not at allllll what determines the length of your periods! Your body does not know the difference between a towel or a pad. Are we out here thinking the uterus senses a cotton towel and then says, "Oh! I suddenly have less material to shed."?

I am so confused at the logic here.

Also, I would like to say that this is not remotely tenable for people who work outside the home, and it is also not realistic for those of us whose periods cause anemia. Ahem.

Obviously, free-bleeding is not a risky practice, and I don't think it's causing anyone harm, but I am annoyed by the utter lack of critical thinking when it comes to the period-length claim.

Me personally? I will continue using my menstrual cup and my period underwear because they are reusable and sustainable, and I will refuse to believe these products have anything at all to do with the length of my periods.

I think that's all the miscellany my brain holds today.

Discuss! Any topic here is fair game.

P.S. My original post about period underwear has helpful info, but the links are probably all wrong. And I no longer recommend Thinx. I'd go with Knix instead.