Editor’s Note:
April 22, 2021 is Earth Day! Many of our ‘Keeters have a deep reverence for our planet. So, to celebrate this wonderful holiday we asked two ‘Keeters to share how they honor our planet.
We are grateful to Sr. Human Resources Administrator Nicole Burun and SEO Analyst Adam Nutting for sharing their stories with us this week. Read below for the full interview!
Q1: How has the flex benefit positively impacted your work-life balance, and how do you use your off time to show the earth some love?
Nicole Burun:
I have always used clothing as a way to express myself. I even have an Instagram account dedicated to my love of vintage-inspired fashion! Something I try to keep in mind when buying clothes is how can I reduce my carbon footprint. The “fast fashion” industry releases around 1.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide annually. I love my dresses, but I don’t want to be a part of that. I try to find good quality clothing that will last a long time, but sometimes that can get expensive.
In the past few years, I have shifted my mindset on how I shop. I buy mostly second-hand clothing and try to stay away from “fast fashion” brands. At the end of 2019, I started my own second-hand shop on Poshmark. I sell items from my own closet and buy almost everything I own from either a local thrift store or from Poshmark.
Our flexible work benefit has allowed me to thrive with my side gig. Throughout the pandemic, flexible scheduling has made it easy to ship out items daily right from my home. When we were in the office, flex scheduling allowed me to run to the post office before or after work to drop off packages. On the weekends, I turn my home office into my Poshmark store and move the furniture around to create a blank wall to take photos. Having the flexibility with my hours has really helped me keep this business going.
If you have never thought about buying secondhand, I highly recommend it. Here are my tips for buying on Poshmark:
- Like an item first! A seller will typically offer you a discount or discounted shipping.
- Ask for measurements! This one is important. You can’t return the item, so you want to make sure it fits. So many of us have gotten in the habit of buying a bunch of items online and returning half of them when they don’t fit. This is not very sustainable when you think of the gas, postage and the fact that some stores don’t resell what you returned.
- Find a seller you like and purchase a few items from that shop. The closet that you are buying from is likely to have a few items in your style and size. I try to find smaller shops where you can tell it’s someone cleaning out their own closet versus the larger re-sellers. When you buy in bulk you save on shipping!
Lastly, don’t be afraid to buy second hand. You save money, extend the lift of the garment and there is something special about wearing an item that was previously loved!
Adam Nutting:
Having the ability to not only take time off but be able to have a flexible work schedule allows for an amazing work-life balance. Many places give you time off, but rarely do you actually get to use it. Terakeet is the complete opposite. We always hear about the work hard play harder phrase but we can really do that here. I spend as much of my time as possible in the outdoors unplugging and recharging. If I am hiking, kayaking, or camping I can always count on being able to fully unplug without having to worry and stress about “things back home”. This allows me to truly enjoy the time I am away from the office. With our public lands and National Parks growing in popularity in the last few years so do the numbers of folks who do not always respect them as we hope they would. Because of this, I have continued my Eagle Scout mission to leave things better than you found them. Picking up trash, helping local groups take care of and maintain campsites and trails is something that I enjoy but also helps reduce the impact left behind by others.
