vass: Rewards

Vass (

vass) wrote,
@ 2013-01-02 07:42 pm UTC

Current mood:	accomplished
Entry tags:	goals

Rewards

Quick brainstorm: what are some cheap treats/rewards, around the five dollar mark, that meet these criteria:

- not food (I don't want to cross food with rewarding/withholding)
- not clutter (I'm trying to cut down on that)
- not very time-consuming (for instance, I have such a large backlog of books to read that I'm starting to feel guilty about buying new ones. And no, 'you can do it later' doesn't help - see 'clutter' above.)
- not symbolic (so, not an affirmation or a gold star sticker or a stamp)

So far I've thought of cut flowers, nail polish, postcards and stamps, and upgrading household items and clothes (like getting some nicer socks or teatowels and disposing of the old ones.)

What else can you guys think of?

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	no subject lilacsigil 2013-01-02 09:49 am UTC (link)
	Running with your socks and teatowel idea: organisational items! Like a container to store something that's currently messy, or book ends, a basket to put that pile of books in, new cutlery or small kitchenware items (like measuring spoons) to replace aged ones. (Reply to this)

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st_aurafina
2013-01-02 09:49 am UTC (link)

New socks are a lovely little present to oneself and I keep a few new pairs for when I'm feeling really grim about going to work. A new pair of socks is very cheering, and it gives me a reason to throw out old socks that I should not be hoarding.

Handmade soap? I can rec Inner Earth Soaps, which probably goes over the $5 limit if you're buying single bars, but I buy a few bars at a time, and keep them in the linen cupboard to make the towels smell nice until I use the soap. (I guess you could go to a Lush store or something like that, since you live in civilisation.)

If you're trying not to buy books, could you maybe put money/time towards giving yourself dedicated reading time? Like, go to a cafe, get a nice coffee (if that doesn't count as food) and read for an hour or so? Or does that go into the time-consuming category?

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vass
2013-01-02 01:36 pm UTC (link)

Socks are great. They really are cheering. I need to find some more good places to get them.

Handmade soaps aren't so great because I don't really use them. I've never gotten the hang of solid soap. Body wash is great, though.

"Go to a cafe" sounds more like something I'd do to earn a checkmark for than something I'd use as a reward, unfortunately.

But I just thought of another one: second-hand magazines. Like from op shops. If I buy one at a time, and go through it right away and read the articles I want to and cut out the parts I like to use for scrapbooking/card-making/whatever and recycle the rest, then it won't become clutter (I fear the towering stacks of unread magazines.)

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	no subject rydra_wong 2013-01-02 09:51 am UTC (link)
	Not sure if you have any interest in this, but: perfume decants! The five dollar mark is about right to get you a little 1ml sample vial of something interesting. (A friend of mine is using samples as rewards for progress in her OCD therapy.) (Reply to this) (Thread) (Hide 3 comments) (Show 3 comments)

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vass
2013-01-02 01:29 pm UTC (link)

Good idea.

I used to be into BPAL in a small way, but I found that I never use the perfume oils I already had, and the main reason for that is that they're so strong that I can't get away from the smell when I'm wearing them, and I get overwhelmed.

I should find out how to dilute perfumes.

To give an idea of my tolerance, these days I'm washing with Old Spice shower gel, and when I'm clean and dry and dressed again, that's just enough perfume that I occasionally get a whiff of it and think "yum", but not enough that I can smell it if I don't bring my arm up to my face.

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rydra_wong
2013-01-02 05:41 pm UTC (link)

If you can find an unscented shower gel base, you can scent it yourself (dump a sample vial in, shake a lot).

Ditto with unscented body lotion.

It'll vary depending on the strength of the perfume and your sensitivity, but a ratio of 1ml eau de toilette to 175ml body lotion seems to work well for me -- used all over, I get a faint but not obtrusive scent.

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	no subject azurelunatic 2013-01-03 11:47 am UTC (link)
	BPAL is oil-based, so a light low-scent oil like almond or grapeseed works. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

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tyger
2013-01-02 09:52 am UTC (link)

/via network, though I vaguely know of you hi fellow Melbourne person!

This is what I can think of right now, though I think the kind of person I am kind of shines through a lot. ¬¬;; You may or may not have similar tastes. Have tried to put in some things that I know other people like, but yeah.

The first thing I, personally, would go to are cooking implements - there's a whole bunch of cool cheap colourful stuff at $2 shops at the moment; silicone spatulas and patty pans, whisks, that kind of thing, that I really want but have no reason to get. That of course assumes you cook, though, and don't have enough already that more would be clutter. If if you make bento, novelty bento things; there's a lot out there.

Stationary, maybe? Nice pens make a lot of people I know happy, though depending on just how nice you like your pens $5 might not be appropriate. Or patterned sticky tape, or zig-zag scissors, or whatever it is that you like!

Non-cluttery decorative stuff? Cheap art prints, or getting photos printed, things that go straight on your wall or in a frame, not dust-gathering.

Flash drives are often about that price these days, and there are some cute but functional ones, or colours, or whatever.

Hair clips or ties if you use them, or cheap junk jewellery if you wear that.

Magnets! Phone tags! Stickers to put on your postcards? Cheap but cute headphones? Small torches.

Soap, or bubble bath, or other sorts of toiletry... things. IDK, if you like them you probably do. Also make up?

Stuff to put other stuff into? Plastic locking bins or tupperware or paper trays or whatever.

..I think that's all I can think of at the moment. Hope it helps!

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vass
2013-01-02 01:22 pm UTC (link)

Thank you! And hi. :D

I do cook, and while I'm trying to avoid a huge amount of kitchen clutter, there are definitely some equipment upgrades I could do, like a nicer skillet and medium saucepan, as well as some smaller things like tea tins, tupperware.

Also, magnets are a brilliant idea. Particularly if I can relate them to the thing I've earned them by doing. Like a writing-related quotation to put on my fridge when I've achieved a writing goal.

Last edited 2013-01-02 01:23 pm UTC

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	no subject tyger 2013-01-02 01:25 pm UTC (link)
	:D Hi! nodnod There's usually something, with kitchens! :D \o/ I'm glad that was a good one! (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

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azurelunatic
2013-01-02 10:13 am UTC (link)

Does "five dollars into the cookie jar earmarked for $LARGEREWARD" count as symbolic?

Depending on your crafts-and-clutter threshold, craft supplies such as beads and ribbon may or may not be clutter.

I don't know if there are cheap movie theatres around your area, though that may be time-consuming and also Out In Public With People and transit costs.

Sample size packs of Exotic Lubricants? (My local Good Vibrations has these.)

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vass
2013-01-02 01:18 pm UTC (link)

Does "five dollars into the cookie jar earmarked for $LARGEREWARD" count as symbolic?

Hum. The way you're phrasing it, potentially not.

I had in my head that I couldn't save up for larger rewards because then it turns into this thing where if I don't have perfect compliance for six months, I don't get $THINGTHATIWANT and I've ruined it for myself, am I happy now? Huh?

That's why I wanted small rewards for small units of progress.

But if I make the partial reward fungible, so one week of going for walks can contribute to the same reward as one week of writing every day, that might work.

Thank you.

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	no subject azurelunatic 2013-01-02 02:02 pm UTC (link)
	In the clicker-training course that my aunt and I attended, the instructor recommended 90% success at the incremental goal before moving on to the next threshold. Thus I'm planning to step up my step goal about 10% once I'm hitting or nearly hitting it just about every day. Hooray for small units of progress! (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 1 comment) (Show 1 comment)

	no subject vass 2013-01-02 02:48 pm UTC (link)
	I used to read a lot of distance running forums, and I remember that common wisdom was that 10% was the maximum by which any person, at any level of running, should increase either their volume or their distance of running. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

	no subject deird1 2013-01-02 10:37 am UTC (link)
	Bath bombs! (Reply to this) (Thread) (Hide 1 comment) (Show 1 comment)

	no subject vass 2013-01-02 01:13 pm UTC (link)
	If I had a bath, yeah. My bathroom's getting renovated this year after the shower stall caved in. There still won't be a bath, but at least it won't be this terrifying, claustrophobic glass capsule arrangement in which there isn't room for me to bend over. ETA: oh hey, idea. After the renovation, shower curtain! Last edited 2013-01-02 01:14 pm UTC (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

	no subject laurajv 2013-01-02 01:57 pm UTC (link)
	Stationery items? If you'll use them, of course -- address labels, notecards, etc. (Reply to this)

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some_stars
2013-01-02 04:01 pm UTC (link)

well, if I ever need to do something like this, I'm definitely using flowers. I hadn't realized how much I like them until I saw them in your list. They're a bit more expensive though, especially if you get ethical flowers (fair trade, they don't take over vast swathes of land previously used for subsistence crops, no destructive pesticides or farming techniques, etc.). So it would have to be, like, a gold star for each goal and then when you get three or four you can buy a bouquet. IDK exactly what your goals are so that might not work. --unless you have places where you can buy flowers individually? Sometimes I can do that at the farmer's market. That would solve the problem.

I also second the sock suggestion above. There's a ton of online stores selling cute/funny/otherwise charming and cheap socks; you could check if there are any in AU that have free shipping. Here a pair of novelty socks is usually $6-9, but of course IDK what clothes cost elsewhere.

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nixwilliams
2013-01-02 05:19 pm UTC (link)

Other people have made the suggestions I'd usually make, but I would probably add that along the lines of new-for-old teatowels, you might be able to find some nice crockery/kitchenwear online that you could use to replace your old stuff. For example, mugs, chopstick sets, vintage bread and butter plates, salad servers, glasses...

Of course, this only works if you don't like your old stuff! Plus, I would probably end up hoarding, which obviously isn't great from the clutter POV.

Oh, another idea: 2nd hand CDs or mp3 DLs of music you'd like to have? IDK if that counts as time-consuming to you, though.

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	no subject basingstoke 2013-01-02 07:23 pm UTC (link)
	Would tea count as food? It doesn't for me, but everyone's different. Fancy tea is around $5 a box. (Reply to this)

	no subject cyprinella 2013-01-02 11:55 pm UTC (link)
	Silly things for the cats? It might be too close to clutter and/or food, but I have a lot of fun going to the local closeout store and picking up random treats or toys for Greta, especially given how fast we go through them. (Reply to this)

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lauredhel
2013-01-03 04:26 am UTC (link)

Stationery and nail polish/nail art were my two go-tos, but they've been covered. Some of these may not apply to your particular situation: Nice bookmarks? (I love Book Darts, but your mileage may vary.) iTunes songs? Candles? Fake-jewelled fridge magnets? Ribbons? Lip balms? Cotton table napkins? Xmas ornaments, if you do them? New eyeglass-cleaning cloths? Pretty pill cases? Suncatcher? Hair chalk? Handkerchief? Lottery ticket? Silly putty/Playdoh/Slinky/kaleidoscope? Rainbow shoelaces?

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