Caitlin (CK): 0:29

it's Tuesday, is it? I don't know. I can't do it, I need Jenny. I need Jenny.

Ariella Monti: 0:34

It's Tuesday.

Caitlin (CK): 0:37

She'll appreciate that so much. I love you, jenny, me too. Friends, we're so glad you're here. Welcome to how to Be a Grownup, the podcast. That is the equivalent of calling your mom to help you fill out your tax forms. That is the equivalent of calling your mom to help you fill out your tax forms. So with me again today is precious precious pod friend and published author, ariella Monti. My, oh God, this is a stupid one, poetic mischievous squirrel, I mean it's accurate. Not poetic.

Ariella Monti: 1:07

I'm terrible at poetry, but squirrel is pretty on brand.

Caitlin (CK): 1:13

Yeah, it is for me too. Jenny is again out taking care of her busted up knee, and if I could sprinkle non-addictive painkillers all over her body I would do it, but I can't, so we just wish them to her. Actually, that is a funny thing. I sent her she's had a couple of rough weeks and I sent her some flowers and I asked her husband if he would be there to uh pick them up or like bring them in the house. And he was like yeah, can you just sprinkle them with some sort of? And I was like no, so I put in the note, like JK asked me to put in you know, sprinkle them with painkillers, but best I can do is pollen. Here you go, love you, anyway. So thank you so much again, ariella, for being here. I'm only funny when I have someone else to talk to, so you being here makes a big difference, I think you're funny all the time, but that's just me.

Caitlin (CK): 2:05

That is the exact correct thing to say. Flattery will get you everywhere, my friend. Okay, we are continuing finance February and this episode. So Ariella is the like queen of like knowing where to get the free stuff. So I think freebie February is a good way to finish off this month. So we talked about libraries last week and all the free things you can get there, but this time we're talking about like legit, free everything with buy nothing groups. Yes, yes.

Ariella Monti: 2:33

Buy nothing groups. So I'm going to give you the quick and dirty rundown of buy nothing groups. Do it Just like with libraries. Your mileage will vary with this because every buy nothing group is going to be run a little bit differently, so I can. The stuff that I'm giving you is from my own experience with them and hopefully you will enjoy your Buy Nothing group as much as I do.

Caitlin (CK): 3:02

I like to sit on the sidelines of my Facebook Buy Nothing group and eat popcorn, because it is sometimes. The stuff in there is so hilarious it's like here's my washer. That doesn't work. I swear I didn't put my washer in there that doesn't work. I made them all in a way, but you can get really good stuff in there and some people really really want other people to have these amazing things that no longer serve them and want them to go to a good person who needs them. So let's get into this, yeah.

Ariella Monti: 3:33

So what is Buy Nothing and the Buy Nothing Project? It's a benefit corporation, which is different than a nonprofit because it's a for-profit company that must legally perform a public good. And yeah, I just learned that when I was doing research for this podcast.

Caitlin (CK): 3:56

I did not know that at all. I thought it was just like hey, here's stuff I don't want in my neighborhood.

Ariella Monti: 4:01

Well, I knew there was like an overarching, like umbrella organization, but I didn't know that it was this benefit corporation. I figured, if anything, it was a nonprofit. But it sounds like legally it's not a nonprofit but all the individual groups are run by volunteers. And there is an app. Now I can't vouch for it, I have not used it Facebook, I guess. Up until the app came around, facebook was sort of the main central platform for these groups. So I can only speak to how I've been using it on Facebook. I cannot speak to the apps at all, but it's community based and the point is to reduce your consumption of new items by getting them used, you know, from your neighbors and to reduce the amount of stuff that you're throwing out or donating, which a lot of the stuff you donate just gets tossed anyway.

Caitlin (CK): 5:03

So awful.

Ariella Monti: 5:05

Right, you're just basically asking somebody else to throw out your junk, but you're gifting this stuff to neighbors who could potentially use it.

Caitlin (CK): 5:14

Yeah.

Ariella Monti: 5:15

Which you know is great, especially now where we're all trying to kind of reduce everything.

Caitlin (CK): 5:26

Yeah, I mean, spending is hard, especially for in the age when eggs cost as much as diamonds. So, like, anything that you can do to kind of minimize the amount of waste that you produce but also minimize the amount of spending someone else has to do, why not Exactly Like, why not? Yes, okay, so Facebook is where I'm familiar with it, but there is an app and it's community-based. It's a community-based organization. Okay, what else? Is there? Anything else we need to know there?

Ariella Monti: 5:56

is a set of like core values and guidelines that, like any group that's working under the buy nothing umbrella. So there might be like freebie groups that you can join, but anything that's going to be working under the buy nothing umbrella is going to have to, I guess, follow these core values and guidelines. But there I guess there is a bit of flexibility in it, which is why I said like your mileage may vary, because how people run it might be like there's no buy nothing police Like like there, are you sure?

Ariella Monti: 6:37

As far as I know, I have not been.

Caitlin (CK): 6:39

No, there's just. There's just those of us who sit on the sidelines of that popcorn. Exactly, exactly. Show me what's up. Okay, so how does it work? Cause I, I'm in one and I've put something out for people to pick up, but I've never actually utilized this service for myself. So I'm very curious how this've put something out for people to pick up, but I've never actually utilized this service for myself. So, I'm very curious how this works, right, so we'll start out with the, with gifting.

Ariella Monti: 6:58

So if you have a thing that you want to give to somebody else, so you take a picture. If you can take a picture, it's always appreciated If you do take a picture of the thing and post it in the group as a gift. So, gift house plant Couch.

Caitlin (CK): 7:17

Yeah, couch, okay, got it yeah.

Ariella Monti: 7:20

Just be transparent, with any damage or other important information.

Caitlin (CK): 7:24

Kind of like any Facebook marketplace post Right Cat scratched on one side of couch Right exactly, but otherwise in great condition. Doesn't smell.

Ariella Monti: 7:35

Right Cat scratched on one side of couch, Exactly, but otherwise in great condition doesn't smell Right Non-smoker household, exactly Okay, then include any guidelines for the potential recipient. So first come, first serve is discouraged. Oh yeah, because there are people who are just going to like sit on Facebook all day and just like grab stuff, yeah, and grab stuff.

Ariella Monti: 7:54

So, one of the guidelines is to let things simmer so more people can ask to be considered for the gift. So you're saying, please consider me for this gift. But then sometimes you know it's okay Occasionally, like if you're're moving, if you have something perishable, sure you know it's okay to do it every so often.

Ariella Monti: 8:17

When I gave away the last thing I gave away, I was like I'm giving this to whoever can pick it up this weekend because I need it out of my house. Yeah, but usually the stuff I have simmers for choosing people. You can do it any way you want, but you can say tell me what you do with it. Or give me like, if you're giving away a crock pot or something it could be like, tell me your favorite crock pot recipe or share a picture of your pet.

Caitlin (CK): 8:45

Yeah, give me all the doggy pictures. I want to see those.

Ariella Monti: 8:49

Exactly Like or you know. Sometimes it's like you know, I really want to give this to a teacher, so I'm prioritizing giving this to teacher that is actually how I got my second monitor.

Caitlin (CK): 9:00

Yeah, because I was like I am teaching, I'm in a school where I can't get a second monitor, but I need to have my things up on one screen and be able to talk to my kids on the other. Please help me.

Ariella Monti: 9:16

So now you're reminding me that I'd actually did get it from a buy nothing group and it's still sitting.

Caitlin (CK): 9:19

It's my favorite thing.

Ariella Monti: 9:19

It's like right here on my desk. Yeah, really helpful. Okay, I gotcha. So you let your thing simmer for a couple of days. You know you have. You know, maybe one person wants it, maybe like 15 people want it. You pick somebody based on the criteria. If you did criteria, personally I choose at random. I'll assign a number to each person and then I'll ask my kid hey, pick a number between like one and five and then like, whoever that person is, oh, okay. Or I'll prioritize people who I've never gifted to before.

Caitlin (CK): 9:49

Yeah.

Ariella Monti: 9:49

So that's something that you can do as well. Yeah, some things that I have gifted is a poker table top, so it's not a poker table, but it's like a table top to play poker. It was sitting behind our couch for I don't know 15 years and never used. Yeah, you just didn't.

Ariella Monti: 10:13

Yeah, it just never, never got used since moving down here. You know my husband used it quite a bit before we moved um but I was finally like take this thing away. But um, kids toys um a platform, bed, dishes, shot glasses, plants wow, all kinds of stuff, stuff that I've received. I've received plants, um, plants are fun. Everybody's looking for house plants um new bathroom light fixtures, so somebody redid their bathroom and my bathroom light fixtures are from the late 90s.

Caitlin (CK): 10:49

Ooh.

Ariella Monti: 10:50

So I bet they're gorgeous. Oh yeah, I love the like chrome and gold together.

Caitlin (CK): 10:58

Ooh, mixed metals. Okay, it sounds like, really, there's just anything that you can ask for in these sorts of situations.

Ariella Monti: 11:07

Yeah, exactly, and that is a good segue to asking if you have a specific, if you need a specific thing. So no ask is too big, just go for it, okay. I've seen people ask for a washing machine and, like you, never know what somebody has or what somebody is about to get rid of.

Caitlin (CK): 11:32

Yeah.

Ariella Monti: 11:32

Maybe they were planning on getting rid of a thing and they just hadn't done it yet. My favorite ask that I just kind of went for was a kayak and I got one.

Ariella Monti: 11:42

Yeah, oh my gosh yeah, I went kayaking and I was like you know what I really freaking love this. I went on. I was like, hey, I just went kayaking and I was like you know what I really freaking love this? And I went on. I was like, hey, I just went kayaking and I love this and I want to do it more often. Does anybody have one just like rotting under their deck that they want to get rid of? And I sincerely was not expecting anybody to say anything, but there was somebody who was in the process of cleaning out a family member's house who had passed away recently, and he had a couple of kayaks. So I went and now I have a kayak.

Caitlin (CK): 12:21

A kayak? That's amazing, I had not even thought of making that ask. All right. Okay, usually I ask for like little things, it's good for this feels like a really good way to avoid the impulse ADHD purchase.

Ariella Monti: 12:40

Yes, absolutely. This is like with the library, and if people haven't listened they should go back and listen.

Caitlin (CK): 12:47

Go listen to the library. Go, listen to the library episode.

Ariella Monti: 12:50

So you can try out a hobby before you buy all the crap for the hobby. So you can take the class at the library, yep, and then ask your buy nothing group for the supplies yes, I, I like this.

Caitlin (CK): 13:07

I also feel like, um, it's a good way to I don't know, this probably goes along with it but like, if you have something that you need to assist your hobby, like I'm just thinking about, like all the times that I'm on Amazon and I'm like I really need that need. Need is a very loose.

Caitlin (CK): 13:26

Yeah, I need this item to do X, y, z, but I don't want to wait for it to show up, I'll just pay for it. But how much money am I losing every time I do that? And so it's probably hundreds of dollars just since the start of 2020 and it's, it's good, like in my case.

Ariella Monti: 13:44

I had gotten rid of our like big ironing board because I'm a millennial and millennials don't iron anything. No, we use the dryer. Right, exactly I put everything in the dryer and ours was broken anyway, like it was all tilted and stuff.

Caitlin (CK): 14:03

You guys, this is supposed to be an earbuds out podcast and it almost wasn't out podcast and it almost it almost wasn't. So you are working. The code switching is is real. It is a thing that happens on this show every time because I am I am pg for my audience, but you and I both know this is a sailor's mouth.

Ariella Monti: 14:27

Yeah, yeah, all right okay, absolutely. Anyway, you said you got rid of your big ironing board because it was right, but I wanted a small one because I had started um, I started sewing and so I needed something to press the wrinkles out of fabric. So before I went and bought like a is that what irons? Do. It's amazing. Yes, it takes the wrinkles out of stuff. No way I know it's wild.

Caitlin (CK): 14:54

I don't know why you just wouldn't use your dryer for that, right, exactly. What's the point? Okay so, okay, so, did you, you got, did you? So you don't have a big one, but you have a small one now, right, so?

Ariella Monti: 15:04

before I went and like bought a small one. I just went on the group and said, hey, does anybody have one of those tabletop ironing boards that I can use for crafts? It doesn't have to be in super great condition. And somebody was like yes, I have one that you can have and I did not have to buy it. It's also good for stuff that comes in bulk when you don't need stuff in bulk, so like the bane of my existence, my goodness bane of my existence, my goodness.

Ariella Monti: 15:38

Oh right, so I needed a couple of um for crochet I needed a couple of like stitch markers or whatever they're called yeah, yeah, I know, yeah, and like you know, you go on Amazon and you know you can only get like 500 of them and I'm like I don't need 500 of them, I need like three, and so four yeah so I went on by nothing. I was like can anybody spare like three of these stitch markers? And yeah somebody was like I sure can, because I have 500 of them.

Caitlin (CK): 16:03

The last time, because I bought them on Amazon. And, by the way, it is totally a stitch marker, because, look, this is my crochet snoopy that made and it's, isn't he so sweet. I'm not sponsored by the company that helped me make this. If they ever want to sponsor me, I will do. I will make all the crochet animals for you.

Ariella Monti: 16:22

You know who you are, I didn't know you crocheted animals.

Caitlin (CK): 16:28

I well, that's a very loose interpretation of the word. I crocheted one animal and I have it there. Whenever I am not podcasting in my free time, I like to make. I can do it now. I feel very proud of myself that I can make a magic loop. I know how to do it.

Ariella Monti: 16:47

I either completely forgot that you crochet, that you also crochet, or this is new information, and I've known you for like nine years at this point.

Caitlin (CK): 16:56

This is a new hobby. I have not been doing it for very long. I've only been doing well. I started it like last fall, couldn't finish it, and then finally finished it over Christmas and have more stuff because I actually really really do love it.

Caitlin (CK): 17:09

Yeah, and I even got like a thing to put over my thumb because I was getting like that crochet thumb where it like starts to hurt after a little while and it goes over my long fingernails so I can stick my fingernail through it and not like have my nail be all messed up and rip it. I just haven't been able to do it in a while. But I have to make another Snoopy, and then I also have a woodstock that's waiting me and I have a hat and and and um, I want to make. The next thing I want to make actually is the, you know, the Snoopy, the flying ace. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I have the hat, I just need to make it oh yeah, I just haven't finished it.

Caitlin (CK): 17:44

Yeah, so that's the next anyway, if that company wants to sponsor us. Um, I know Ariella can actually crochet. I can only crochet with the pattern.

Ariella Monti: 17:50

I can't crochet, I can only crochet with the pattern in front of me. I can't crochet animals, though. I only crochet things in straight lines.

Caitlin (CK): 17:56

Okay, but the company gives you a video for how to do it. Okay, it gives you the entire pattern. All you do is you just go wait how many stitches and then you just count them up. This is beside the point. The point is oh my gosh, adhd is so bad. Right now, you can get five stitch markers from a person who has them nearby, as opposed to buying 400 from Amazon. Got it, okay, great, okay. What else, as I breathe horribly into the microphone, what else do I need to be successful? I'm literally covering the microphone with my hands so that I don't breathe super hard into it right now because I'm out of breath from laughing or trying to suppress my laughter. What do I need to do to be to have a good experience with this? Because I feel like this could end badly for someone like me who doesn't know what I'm doing.

Ariella Monti: 18:48

So how do I do this right? And so, once again, full disclosure and all of the warnings and stuff. All by nothing, groups are going to run a little bit differently. So you know, from being involved in mine for like six-ish years and using it, this is the stuff that I have picked up that I can share with with the world.

Caitlin (CK): 19:13

Yeah, share the wealth. That's important. Okay, you know, share the free things. No, no good keeping All right. Share the free stuff.

Ariella Monti: 19:20

So the overarching goal of the Buy Nothing Project is to build community and to get to know your neighbors, and it's very much like mutual aid, so don't be an a-hole. Uh, yeah, okay, great like, if like, save that for your regular neighborhood group or next door that's where that stuff belongs.

Caitlin (CK): 19:48

It's funny because it's true. That's where you really need the popcorn emoji. Right, like you need. You need the gif of Michael Jackson eating popcorn. Exactly that's what you need in Nextdoor.

Ariella Monti: 20:01

If you're going to be kind on any platform, like, just do it in your buy nothing group, you know.

Caitlin (CK): 20:07

Right, why not, oh God?

Ariella Monti: 20:08

Seriously, it costs nothing. It costs nothing to not be a jerk, Okay great, okay, so be nice.

Ariella Monti: 20:14

Follow whatever rules are the norm. So each group is going to have, like I said, those specific guidelines from the Buy Nothing Project. But there might be other rules that have been established by the volunteers. Just follow them. And if you don't like them, follow them. And if you don't like them don't complain about it, just talk to the volunteers about it. Like those rules might be in place for a reason. I can't think of a specific example, but I know at one point before our my Buy Nothing group split because it had grown, so it had split into two. The original one at some point had some kind of had a rule and there was a reason for the rule, oh no oh no, but yeah, just follow the rules.

Caitlin (CK): 21:03

I think what people don't understand and if you have ever been a child in a school, you should understand this, and if you are currently one of Miss GK's students, you better understand this. And if you are currently one of Ms GK's students, you better understand this the rules you break this year, the things you do this year that are not okay, become the rules for next year. So if you don't like a rule that's in a buy nothing group, it's probably because some dummy before you did that. So like that's what happens. Okay. So this kind of feels a little bit like Reddit, where it's like follow the rules because otherwise you but you can't.

Caitlin (CK): 21:38

Can you get moderated Like? Can they say like no, you can't be part of this.

Ariella Monti: 21:42

Oh yeah, yeah, I've seen people get kicked out because they were just drama Queens, you know, they were constantly stirring up stuff and you're getting free stuff and you're going to cause drama.

Ariella Monti: 21:50

Get out of here up stuff and you're getting free stuff and you're gonna cause drama. Get out of here. It's ridiculous. Yeah, I have to say, like the volunteers that that run mine are phenomenal, like they really are awesome and severely underappreciated and they really tamp down. They tamp down on drama pretty quickly, so there isn't a lot of it, but occasionally there are some troublemakers who need to take all of that and go to therapy, if not next door.

Caitlin (CK): 22:25

Oh gosh, Okay so, okay. So we got. We're going to be nice, we're going to follow the rules. What else do I need to know to do this right?

Ariella Monti: 22:32

Now you can gift as many items as you want, but it does become overwhelming if you have to track who is getting each of these things. You have to prepare all of these things, you have to manage picking up of all these things, so I personally only gift like one to three things at a time.

Caitlin (CK): 22:55

Okay.

Ariella Monti: 22:57

I really try to keep it at like one. Even if I'm doing like one one week and then I'll do one another week.

Caitlin (CK): 23:03

Yeah.

Ariella Monti: 23:04

I have tried to gift like five things just to get stuff out and it becomes like a part-time job.

Caitlin (CK): 23:11

It's too much.

Ariella Monti: 23:12

Right, yeah, so and when you gift something, prepare it whatever it is. Say, I was going to give away this water bottle, or something Like I would. After I took a picture of it, I would take the water bottle and I would put it in a bag and then, once I have chosen the recipient, I would put the name of that person, like on the bag, right away On the bag.

Caitlin (CK): 23:34

Yeah, or the box or whatever. All right, that makes sense, or the box Got it Okay.

Ariella Monti: 23:38

When somebody reaches out to you and you're trying to figure out pickup instructions, give clear pickup instructions. You know I live on a small cul-de-sac with like four houses on it, but I still tell them the color of my mailbox, I tell them what color cars to expect in the driveway, that they can even pull into the driveway. You know like, give people those kinds of directions so that they know what they're doing when they come to your house, where the thing is going to be located. So I always put stuff on my front porch and I will say it's in a box by the front door with your name on it.

Caitlin (CK): 24:17

Can I just say that, as a person who gets severe anxiety from not knowing logistics like that, that would be so helpful to me if I knew. Like, okay, there's a greenhouse and a blue house, and then there's a blue greenhouse, a blue house, and then there's a blue green house. Mine is the one in the middle of those houses and it has this color porch and there's a swing here on the tree and I'm going to put it in the box and the box is going to say Caitlin on it. Yep, because I get so stressed by those little tiny details that I don't know. Yeah, I could see that being a really big help, even like, if for no other reason than it's like that means that the person is there, picks up the stuff and then leaves and it's. They're not like the creeper hanging around your property.

Ariella Monti: 24:57

Yeah, exactly especially like pre-covid. You know, by nothing was kind of stressed more, you know, actually meeting the people that you were gifting to, no, and then covid kind of gave everyone a good reason to do porch pickup.

Ariella Monti: 25:13

It's on my curb and like that's not to say that, like I won't chat with people depending on like what? Like I had somebody pick up my kids old platform bed so like, yeah, I was there so I could help them, like, get it out of the house. Yeah, exactly, and I have made friends using this. So that's not to say that I won't engage in conversation with people, but I also am not going to schedule my life around somebody picking up something when I can just leave it on my porch. No, you know.

Caitlin (CK): 25:44

Okay, so that is an okay thing to do.

Ariella Monti: 25:46

Absolutely.

Caitlin (CK): 25:48

As long as you're very clear about, I'm not going to come out and meet you, right yeah, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, you just have to stay away from me.

Ariella Monti: 25:55

But here's where everything is Exactly, exactly, like it's going to be right here. You know, if you have any questions, you know, whatever, whatever, okay, what else? If you're picking something up, pick it up when you say you're coming. Oh, you say you're coming. Oh, for real. If you don't, or if you can't or you forget, like I have, I can't tell you how many times I have like I'm gonna come pick something up and then completely forgot because it's out of my routine. Just be honest with it. Like the, the gifter, 99 of the time is gonna be like oh, that, you know, happens to me all the time.

Caitlin (CK): 26:30

No, big deal, come by tomorrow.

Ariella Monti: 26:33

Especially if it's something that can be left on the porch. If it's something big, then really try to come there.

Caitlin (CK): 26:42

Okay, but if I forgot about it and you need it gone tonight and the person who's next on the list can come get it tonight, then I understand and you should be able to get it, yeah, yeah. That's the thing, if it needs to be gone.

Ariella Monti: 26:56

When it comes to gifting and choosing recipients and stuff like the gifter has, they can rescind the gift for for whatever reason, and a lot of times like that might be no shows, you know. So if you don't show up, the gifter could just move on to the next person. Sure, I would say, if you're going to do that, if you're going to just gift it to the next person, like, at least be clear about it. Like I've said that I need this gun within a week and if you don't pick it up within a week, I'm gifting it to the next person.

Caitlin (CK): 27:30

I'm choosing the next person, yeah.

Ariella Monti: 27:31

So it's just, you know, be transparent about it. Sure, that's how you avoid the trauma.

Caitlin (CK): 27:37

Yeah, for sure. Well, I would also think that maybe being transparent about what it looks like is going to be a big exactly.

Ariella Monti: 27:44

Yeah, yeah. So be clear and transparent about the condition that it's in the bait, like very basic, like if you dropped it off at goodwill or the restore or any other place where you can donate and then they sell it. If they can't sell it, if they're just gonna toss it, then then you need to not yeah, either throw it out or just be extremely clear about the condition, because you never know what somebody can do with a broken thing.

Ariella Monti: 28:16

You know, but be clear about it. This doesn't work Like that poker tabletop that we gave away because it had been behind the couch but kind of sticking out from the couch. The cats used it as a favorite scratching post for a very, very long time.

Caitlin (CK): 28:36

Oh, it's so annoying.

Ariella Monti: 28:37

Yeah, and so the case, like the carrying case, for it was beat beat up. Yeah, awful, yeah, it was totally beat up, but the actual table itself, because it was folded in half, the actual table itself was perfect, yeah, so when I, when I listed it, I said the carrying case has been demolished, it is garbage, you know, like you can use it, but it's garbage. But the actual table on the inside has not been damaged and somebody still took it. Yeah, exactly.

Caitlin (CK): 29:10

Okay, okay. So here's. I think let's summarize what we've got here. When it comes to gifting, be transparent about your conditions, the condition of the item. When you need a gone buy, don't give it away. If it's actual trash, right. When it comes to picking things up, use it to try out new hobbies or get something that you were planning to buy but don't necessarily have to. No, ask is too big and pick it up when you say you're going to. But otherwise, this sounds like a great way to save a bunch of cash on things that you probably need around the house and also probably trips to Goodwill, because if you're me, you have a box full of things that say Goodwill on it and it's still in the back, pretty much yeah.

Caitlin (CK): 29:55

And now there's probably a second, a box full of things that say goodwill on it, and it's still in the back, pretty much, yeah, it's probably. And now there's probably a second box that needs to be added, because I, yeah, okay, all right. Well, that all sounds amazing. I'm about to go, uh, check my buy nothing group for a couple of things that might need to be, uh, not purchased. Yes, do it right. Yes, okay, we will be right back for links to resources mentioned in this episode. Head on over over to ckandgkpodcastcom slash blog to find everything you need, and be sure to follow us on social media. Head over to your favorite social media network and find us at CK and GK podcast. And now back to the show. And now we are back.

Caitlin (CK): 30:41

Guys, I'm so good at this. I'm professional. I'm a professional podcaster. I've only been doing this for four years. You would think I'd be a lot better at it. Okay, it's obsession time. Usually, I talk about a product I'm obsessed with, but I haven't done that recently and I'm very proud of myself, so I'm going to wait, but I want to hear what yours is first before I share mine.

Ariella Monti: 31:01

So my new obsession, though I I struggle to call it an obsession, because that would require that I do it all the time and I don't. No, you don't, you don't have to, you can just be really into it. Exactly, but something I am really into is using tarot cards as writing or journaling prompts.

Caitlin (CK): 31:23

Did you just call it tarot?

Ariella Monti: 31:25

Did I? I probably did?

Caitlin (CK): 31:26

Isn't it tarot? It is.

Ariella Monti: 31:28

Yeah.

Caitlin (CK): 31:30

No, I'm here for it. I got you Okay. So tarot cards how are you using tarot cards as a journaling prompt? I don't understand.

Ariella Monti: 31:36

So what? Because I don't actually know anything about tarot cards. Obviously because I said can you read mine, cause I yeah Um so good, where am I?

Caitlin (CK): 31:49

I have a. I have a couple of friends who have like a. They're, they do a witchcraft podcast. I'm sure amanda is screaming right, right, like what is happening exactly.

Ariella Monti: 31:59

Yeah, but I have an app, so what I'll do is I shuffle the cards and I pull a card and then I'll go into my app to learn, like, what it means, and that app will give me like it kind of gives me like some key words or an affirmation and if I'm journaling I will use those words or use that as a focal point to reflect.

Caitlin (CK): 32:29

So oh, I thought you were meaning that you would just like you. You pull like the hammer and you'd be like today. I hammered something to make my I did not understand. Ok, I didn't realize that you could like go and look it up, right?

Ariella Monti: 32:44

OK, I know nothing about this, so all right this is cool.

Ariella Monti: 32:47

Ok, so you're give me an example of like one that you've done recently, because I'm very curious is so the last time I pulled the ace of pentacles and the app that I was using said it was opportunity, prosperity and new venture. The affirmation that it came with it said I grasp the opportunities that are being offered to me, okay. And then I kind of make some notes about like what it, what it means, and I kind of took that to mean that I need to take some risks in writing and book stuff and I need to learn from my mistakes and invest in connections and stuff like that.

Caitlin (CK): 33:27

Oh, this is cool. I took it to mean, like you just published your book, girl. I mean this could be a really good thing here. But all right, no, I like that. That's okay, that's very cool.

Ariella Monti: 33:38

I hadn't thought to do that, so the the app that I'm using is labyrinthos. Okay, I don't know if I said that right, so yeah it's been fun.

Caitlin (CK): 33:47

It sounds fun. I mine are always very different from Jenny's yeah, you have listened to the show, oh yeah, like she always has something that's like. She's like I'm obsessed with worms and here's why. And I'm like okay, well, I like, I like this cupcake this week, so so mine is is one of those like dumb, not insightful ones. Okay.

Ariella Monti: 34:05

Mine, mine last week was hazelnut Uncrustables.

Caitlin (CK): 34:09

So but this might this might be dumber, but I don't care, because it it is my. It is probably one of my favorite things that exists on the internet. Um, you know, when you get a close-up picture of someone's pet and you can see their teeth and they're like kind of crooked or like they're like snaggly or they're, it's just like a close-up picture of like your, of the dog's, like little. Yeah, I'm obsessed with that and I every time I see that I will go tea and I like get so happy because I love them. So I've talked about this on the show.

Caitlin (CK): 34:46

My sisters and I have a group chat and it's full of like animal pictures. Now this morning I got a picture of or no, a video of my sister's puppy plus a picture of my other sister's cat, and then I sent a picture of my cat and he was all curled up and like had a little paw tucked over his face. It's just cute. But sometimes I get pictures where like the little tiny teeth are there and I'm just like and I can't get enough. So this is a call to action If you have pictures of your pets, t-first I want to see teeth and this is t-e-e-e-e-e-e-f teeth. All right, that's how you say it, it's t-e-e-e-f. Like I always think of um in old school, when vince vaughn is like oh yeah, cheese. Old school, when Vince Vaughn is like, oh yeah, cheese Teeth. I need teeth in my life. So I told you it was dumb.

Ariella Monti: 35:42

I love it. I need teeth. That's pure serotonin right there. That's what it is.

Caitlin (CK): 35:49

There is nothing better than seeing an upside down puppy with its little toothers. Are you kidding me?

Ariella Monti: 35:55

It's the best thing on the planet Pure serotonin right there. There is no downside to that.

Caitlin (CK): 36:01

Like there is nothing bad about it. There is no, it's. It's a selfless good deed to send me a picture of your animals.

Ariella Monti: 36:11

Right First. Please just do it I just this is my please.

Caitlin (CK): 36:15

I'm begging you. You can please just do it. I just this is my please. I'm begging you. You can dm me, I will feature this. I will feature your pet on my podcast feed. If you just send me teeth, I I will screenshot, I will draw a picture around it and I will write teeth because I love them. They make me so happy. It just makes me like I could cry, thinking about how cute my sister's dog has the cutest teeth. Oh, my god. Okay, I'm really fine, I promise. No, I really. I'm like my face is getting red. I'm getting emotional. I love him so much. It's like you know how, um, have you ever seen, uh, chris and Belle react to the sloth?

Caitlin (CK): 36:50

yes that's how I feel about teeth. Like I'm so excited just to think about the potential of someone's. I'm so happy. Please send them to me. Okay, that's my obsession, and I talked about how. I talked about the word teeth for five and a half minutes. I'll never know, but here we are. All right, give me your, do you have?

Ariella Monti: 37:12

any gems? Um, it's not super recent, but I it like popped into my head when I was thinking about this. But I have this app called um sky guide astronomy astronomy yeah, it's an astronomy. Oh my god, I didn't even plan that astrology and astronomy so well, I guess tara's not astrology no, okay, sorry, okay, sorry. No, that's all right. Your witchy friends are going to be so mad at me now, this is the you know.

Caitlin (CK): 37:43

I need some white girl with a nose ring to tell me what the planet is making me say that's what it feels like. Earth yeah.

Ariella Monti: 37:49

Yeah, that's what it feels like right now.

Caitlin (CK): 37:51

Okay, so does it show you the sky?

Ariella Monti: 37:54

and stuff, like tell me about it. Yeah, so what you can do is you, when you open it up and then you can like like say you see like a really big, great star in the sky and you're like I want to know what, what, what that is. Um, so you just point it and then it will tell you exactly what it is.

Caitlin (CK): 38:08

Stop your phone. Can you point your phone at the sky that tells you what the constellation is? Jenny, you are missing this, so this girl needs it.

Ariella Monti: 38:20

So Sky Guide is the name of the app, so here's the thing that I've been loving about it and where it's a gem it will send me alerts when the International Space Station is flying over my house.

Caitlin (CK): 38:33

That's so cool Right.

Ariella Monti: 38:35

And it'll give me a 10 minute. It's gonna fly over your house in 10 minutes, yeah and you can see oh, that's so. Then we're a couple of times where, like me and the kid will go outside, and at the right moment and because then you also use the you know the app to like get you in the right to follow it and stuff. So yeah, you can watch it fly over the house.

Caitlin (CK): 38:58

Yeah, that's super cool. I like that. Uh, Jenny would love that I also. One of my favorites for that kind of stuff is um lunar phase widget. Lunar phase widget will tell you exactly the phase of the moon, what it looks like.

Caitlin (CK): 39:12

I recommended this to all my friends whose kids were having to go outside at night and study the moon. I was like um, but if your kid goes to bed at eight, how are you supposed to go outside? And they're like we don't know. So I was like none, here you go. Here's how you do it. Um, lunar phase widget folks. So here's, here's my ridiculousness of the week. Are you ready? Yes, this is so dumb. I actually think I might have told you this. So in this sister chat, I sent a message to them, which was normal. But here's what's not normal. I said Sissy's, I have an earworm which, in case you don't know, that means you have a song stuck in your head. And I feel like y'all will know the song. And I knew the song was by Talking Heads and I wrote the words and it sounds like ba-dum-dum, ba-dum-dum, ba-dum-dum, ba-dum-dum, Wait for it. And then there is a whistle sound. Oh, right.

Ariella Monti: 40:06

And then I typed out the whistles, right.

Caitlin (CK): 40:08

And then I typed out the whistle sound where it goes eee, that's what I typed out. And then I typed out a bunch of times, right. How on earth anyone was supposed to get that? I will never understand. And then, two seconds later, I went oh my God, I just realized how dumb it was that I just tried to send y'all that when I could have. I could have just gone to Spotify and typed in Talking Heads and found the song Like, how did I do that? Anyway, the song that I was looking for is this Must Be the Place by Talking Heads. Okay, that's the song.

Ariella Monti: 40:50

You could have also sent them a voice memo.

Caitlin (CK): 40:53

I could have done that. Here's the kicker. I was typing this Actually, I was voice to texting it and Siri was not getting it right, so I had to stop voice texting and type out but this is why the fact that Siri could not get that is why we don't.

Ariella Monti: 41:13

So we don't have to worry about AI coming for us, because smart AI would have been able to get that.

Caitlin (CK): 41:20

I could have just probably even sang it into Siri and said, hey, what song sounds like? And then, and then I have an idea for a TikTok series. I'm not going to tell everybody here because I don't want anybody to steal my idea, and I'll tell you off when we're done recording. But the next day I was trying to remember what song was the earworm in my head that I couldn't remember and I had no idea what it was. I could not think of it. To save my life. I couldn't think of the. I couldn't think of how the music started. So, like all that, but dump, dump stuff. I'm look, I'm reading it going. What was that? How does that song go? How did I get those words out? I had no clue what was happening.

Caitlin (CK): 42:02

And this is why people with ADHD, you need to know they have no object permanence whatsoever. This is how they can completely disassociate from their own emotions. This is why when someone says, how are you, I literally have no idea. Their own emotions, right like this, is why when someone says, how are you? I literally have no idea. Exactly because I truly do not.

Caitlin (CK): 42:19

I know in that moment that I'm angry, sad, hungry, gassy, whatever it is. I know those things. But if you were to ask me in four hours, I'd be like, um, I don't know, I guess I'm okay, well, my therapist will go. How are you? And I'm like I guess I'm okay, well, my therapist will go. How are you? And I'm like I don't really know, I guess I'm stressed, ridiculous. So anyway, this is me. Next time you listen to, this must be the place by Talking Heads. Just think of me being a dummy and not being able to say or look up the song Like why, why couldn't I, why didn't I think to just do that? Why did I have to text my sisters that this is what I was thinking about?

Ariella Monti: 42:59

because then we wouldn't have this amazing story.

Caitlin (CK): 43:03

This is true, yeah, I. If not, again, what are we here for? Downward social comparison, that is. If nothing else, that is jenny's line, right? It's like if you, if you can't, if you, if you have no concept of what's, at least you're not doing what we did, right. If you feel like you're not being a very good adult, first of all, I don't know why I think this show is going to help you, but second of all, you can just use us for downward social comparison, right?

Ariella Monti: 43:29

or solidarity.

Caitlin (CK): 43:31

We're all dumb join everyone knows what they're doing like no one knows what we're doing.

Ariella Monti: 43:37

You need an adultier adult than you to help you fill out all the forms, I am only an adulty, adult with the topic that I'm talking to you about today. Do not assume I will forget tomorrow not assume that I am an adulty adult all the time. It is only this specific topic.

Caitlin (CK): 43:56

Right, because I didn't even know that I could go to Spotify and look up the song and play the intro of each one of them until I found the one I wanted. I had to type out like a dummy. All right, that's enough of this, let's wrap this up. So Jenny would tell you guys to make good choices. Choices. So do that. And use the search function on spotify to find your own songs and use your local buy nothing group. Bye, oh, I'm ridiculous.