What is Pilo?
My name is Milo (rhymes with high-low), and I'm a human with a cute apartment. Pilo, on the other hand, is a demon. Tempting starlit eyes, crooked smile, stubborn as a glacier, and hiding in your closet! The ancients knew that demons aren't necessarily evil, that they are simply powerful forces of chaos. Pilo is no exception. It has power that can be harnessed and tamed, but it will torment you if left to its own devices.
Pilo is the name I gave to the worn-once-but-still-clean pile of clothes that would inevitably clutter my room. Being a human is hard, and creating systems has always helped me with that. So, when faced with this force of entropy, I tried to psychically blast it out of existence in the only way I know how. It took a year or two, but after months of watching it, cleaning it, thinking about it, hating it, and sometimes crying into it, I discovered the art of taming Pilo. In the process, I learned that Pilo is much, much more than a pile of clothes. It is a force of nature, a product of the human need to create, it is the demon that haunts every human with a home. The same methods I have used to tame my Pilo can be used against the Pilo that lives in your kitchen, in your car, in your backpack — even the one in your mind.
The Philosophy
Too often, the voices around us demand that we be perfect or else give up — and that attitude isn’t constructive or healthy. My philosophy leans into the idea that we all suck, and there’s nothing wrong with that. (Its even a good thing!) The best way to win is to sometimes lose, and let ourselves stand up again and keep trying.
It goes like this:
- Slip Up
The most sustainable habits have room for failure. Only ever go 95%, and feel good about it. Its okay to be mediocre! ←(some of the best advice I’ve ever gotten) - Humility
Everyone (me included) is an idiot. And that’s also okay. - Buy Less
1. If you have the means, buy a high quality thing that won’t break in a year, rather than getting a cheaper version that you’ll have to replace.
2. Buy things second-hand, it’s cheaper, environmentally responsible, and those second-hand treasures always have more personality <3
3. Do it yourself! DIY is empowering, cheap, FUN, and environmentally responsible! - Vote with your dollar
In a capitalist society, your money is your best method of voting. Essentially:
⮑ Buy from businesses who have values you believe in (BBB)!*
⮑ Shop local to support your town!*
⮑ Avoid big chains when possible!*
⮑ and booo hisssssss at Am@zon.*
*But only if its financially possible for you! Sometimes Am@zon or W@lmart is the only way you can get things you need, and there is no shame in that because the system is designed to screw you over. - Eco-friendly AND self-friendly
Even though climate change is really in the hands of the big corporations, always do your part, but ONLY to the best of your ability. If that means doing a good job only half the time because of time, money, or energy, then that’s good enough, and you deserve feel good about it :)