My path to less consumption took an odd detour last month: to a sample sale across state lines.

In 2022, I began meticulously tracking all my clothing, shoes and accessory purchases. I made a detailed list describing what I bought and logging how often I used those things.

The first year, I just wanted to get a baseline number. I discovered that I purchased a few duds that I didn’t wear much. Each subsequent year, I’ve aimed to lower the number of new items entering my closet. So far, I’ve cut purchases by 30% from when I started keeping track.

It’s been slow progress toward my eventual goal: limiting myself to maybe a dozen new things a year.

My concern underlying this project was not about overspending; I know how to stick to a budget. I was more focused on the environmental impact of buying so many "wants" instead of "needs." The waste associated with fast fashion has bothered me more and more. I felt stuck on a hamster wheel of consumption, usually triggered by a vacation or an upcoming event.

Late last year, I discovered a small clothing brand called Wool& that makes comfortable and classic pieces out of merino wool. The company encourages its shoppers to think about quality over quantity.

“More stuff doesn’t equal more happiness,” it says on the company website. I embraced this motto, but my discovery of the brand also made me want to acquire more of its clothes. And they aren’t cheap.

I joined a resale group online and decided to wait for a promotion to add new things to my wardrobe.

Then, the tariffs hit. And inflation keeps rising.

In August, the company posted a note in its Facebook group saying they would have to raise their prices due to “rising material and production costs, increased tariffs and other expenses outside our control.”

The prices of everything, from cars to construction materials to food, have gone up for consumers. But apparel prices have been hit disproportionately hard: They’ve risen approximately 37% in the short term, with shoes seeing a 39% increase, according to the Budget Lab at Yale. Annually, consumers are projected to pay an additional $13.9 billion to $24 billion for apparel and $6.4 billion to $10.7 billion for footwear because of the tariffs, according to an analysis by Trade Partnership.

The American economy relies heavily on consumer spending, and that’s starting to show some troubling signs. As of June 30, the top 20% of earners accounted for more than 63% of all spending. The top 10% accounted for more than 49% of spending. That’s the highest level on record, according to data that goes back to 1989.

If rich people slow down their shopping, we’re cooked.

The shifting economic winds led me to reevaluate my original consumption-related goals. By the end of this year, I am determined to cut my purchases by half from 2022.

So when Wool& announced a first-ever pop-up sale in Chicago last month, I took stock of my options. I could drive 5 1/2 hours each way, stand in line for more than an hour for the doors to open and hunt for deals in the overstock supply -- or pay even higher prices later in the year.

I drove to Chicago.

I bought several things I plan to wear multiple times -- bringing down the “cost per wear” for each item to a reasonable number. But I’ve also done more research on what sparks our desire to buy things, and how to get that same satisfaction without purchasing more stuff. I'm working on redirecting my attention away from the constant marketing that surrounds me.

I’ve also found a community of like-minded women online. The latest group I’ve joined is called Simply Enough.

Toni Easter, 58, has faced the hopelessness familiar to any liberal voter living in a state dominated by conservative lawmakers.

Instead of despairing, she is spearheading a cause that is energizing thousands of Missourians -- across party lines -- who are determined to stop lawmakers from overturning the will of their voters.

Easter, a retired fashion industry executive in University City, Missouri, held a yard party in 2018 to support the Clean Missouri ballot initiative: a sweeping proposal to reduce corruption, increase transparency and reform how legislative districts are drawn in the state. She was so proud when it passed with 62% of voters supporting it.

“I was so proud when we won. I felt like I had effected change in my state,” she said.

But before any of the reforms could go into effect, the Republicans in the state legislature pushed for constitutional changes to scrap or weaken the redistricting provisions in Clean Missouri. Through ballot language that downplayed or buried the key changes, they got it overturned.

“I felt so betrayed by my elected officials,” Easter said. “The will of the people wasn’t enough.”

Easter got involved again when Republicans enacted a near-total abortion ban in the state after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Last year, she helped to collect 878 signatures to put the question about reproductive rights directly in front of the voters as Amendment 3, which would enshrine reproductive rights until the point of viability in the state constitution.

Again, Missouri voters supported this change, with 52% voting to restore abortion rights in the state.

How do you think Republicans, who control the state government with a supermajority, responded to the will of the people?

Yet again, Republican lawmakers approved a referendum that, if passed by voters in 2026 (or via special election earlier), would repeal Amendment 3 and ban most abortions.

The voters also passed Proposition A, a ballot initiative that increased the minimum wage and mandated paid sick leave. That measure passed with about 58% approval.

The Missouri legislature did not like that outcome, so it enacted House Bill 567, signed into law by Gov. Mike Kehoe on July 10, which repealed the paid sick leave provision and removed the automatic inflation-based increases to the minimum wage.

Clearly, there’s some tension between the will of voters and state lawmakers’ personal beliefs. They will use whatever means possible to limit or overturn the will of the voters, whether it’s through a new referendum, court rulings or reinforcement of existing restrictions.

“I knew even when we won at the ballot that it wasn’t over,” Easter said about the reproductive rights vote.

She started researching how citizens could protect the ballot initiative and its results. In December, she joined a Zoom call with activists from around the state. She told Benjamin Singer, CEO of Show Me Integrity, that if his group would take on a citizens’ initiative to protect the process and outcomes in Missouri, she was all in.

Together, they founded the Respect MO Voters Coalition: a statewide, cross-partisan, volunteer-driven effort to protect Missouri’s citizen initiative process. They are trying to ensure that voter-approved measures are respected. They launched a massive effort to collect signatures in order to present the issue directly to voters.

The Republican-controlled legislature, meanwhile, is pushing in the opposite direction with proposals to make the initiative process more difficult -- raising standards for signatures, requiring more votes and giving more power to the legislature. They want to increase the percentage required to pass an initiative above a simple majority -- but only for citizen-initiated measures, not for the legislature’s own.

“It’s the most stunning example of hypocrisy and malicious intent,” said Ray Hartmann, a journalist who unsuccessfully ran against Rep. Ann Wagner, as he spoke to hundreds of volunteers at the kickoff event.

Fred Steinbach, a Republican and the former mayor of Chesterfield, also spoke at the event.

“I am a proud Republican, but I am concerned about the attack on democracy,” he said.

The majority of people on both sides of the aisle do not want politicians overturning our votes, Easter said. She is committed to leading the effort to collect 300,000 signatures in Missouri by the end of this year to get the initiative on the ballot next year.

It won’t be easy, she said. But she’s not going to sit around feeling victimized or doomscrolling. She still believes in the power of the people.

“This is us reclaiming that,” she said.

I was recently trapped in a perplexing and potentially compromising situation that made me reconsider the impact of middle-aged brain fog.

It began innocently enough with a visit to the pool. When our children were younger, I spent many summer days poolside, watching them splash and go down the twisty slides. Now, nearly the entire summer had passed without a single dip in the water under a warm sun.

It was a glorious late-summer afternoon. I walked in 80-degree water while waning sunshine glistened on the surface. Later, as I walked out of the pool in my burkini (minus the head covering), I congratulated myself on making such a good decision.

Ah, the pride before a fall.

I returned to the locker room to change, and made a last-minute decision to shower there, rather than at home. This is where the outing took a turn.

As I stepped out of the shower, I realized I had forgotten to grab a towel from the rack. Given that this is a family locker room with individual stalls, I could not step out to grab one. I stood there, dripping wet, considering my options.

I had brought in my bag of clothes and discovered a sports bra I didn’t need to wear. I tried to use this small piece of fabric to brush the water off my body. Polyester and spandex are not very absorbent. In my purse, I found a sturdy napkin from a gas station. It disintegrated in my hand as I wiped my face and arms. I also tried shaking my hair as I’ve seen Frankie, my pup, do after he gets a bath.

I just needed to get dry enough so I could put my clothes back on and run out of this place.

I got close enough. When I emerged from the stall, I glared at the rack of towels piled high less than three feet away. The entire locker room was empty, of course.

As I walked out, I couldn’t help but remember the amount of paraphernalia I used to lug when taking two small children to the pool -- goggles, spare clothes, snacks, water bottles, sunscreen, sunhats, etc. I managed to pack a tote the size of carry-on luggage for all those trips, and now I couldn’t remember to take a towel to the shower?

This incident comes on the heels of finding it harder to recall names and why I’ve walked from one room to the next. Sometimes, I’ll pause mid-conversation and say, "Just give me a minute; it will come right back to me."

What is happening to my brain?

As the owner of a sputtering uterus that refuses to quit, I know that brain fog is a common symptom of perimenopause. But the situation at the pool made me turn to the experts.

I follow the work of Selene Yeager, co-author of “Next Level: Your Guide to Kicking Ass, Feeling Great, and Crushing Goals Through Menopause and Beyond,” and host of the podcast “Hit Play, Not Pause.” She also writes a “Feisty Menopause” newsletter.

Many women in perimenopause report memory lapses, poor concentration and mental fatigue, Yeager told me. These changes can be related to fluctuating estrogen levels, sleep disruptions or mood changes. Any or all of these things can affect brain chemistry.

“Everyone thinks they are experiencing early onset dementia,” she said. “It’s helpful to know you aren’t alone in that.”

Yeager said that some women have found relief by using creatine supplements. Some preliminary studies show benefits for short-term memory and reduced mental fatigue.

However, Dr. Becky Lynn believes the jury is still out on using creatine in this way. Lynn is a gynecologist certified as a menopause practitioner by the North American Menopause Society, and also founded Evora Women’s Health, a concierge practice in Creve Coeur, Missouri.

“It’s probably not harmful,” Lynn said of creatine. “There’s just not enough scientific evidence that every woman should use it for cognitive function.”

She also reassured me that she frequently hears from patients wondering how to deal with memory changes during this time.

“It’s common, and you’re not losing your mind,” she said. Lynn emphasizes getting treatment for sleep disruptions and incorporating regular exercise, especially cardio, into your routine.

The weirdest thing about the menopausal transition is how much guesswork is involved in trying to get relief from the vast array of symptoms that can appear.

I’ve found that being able to laugh about some of these unexpected changes also helps.

I’m going to try creatine and try not to go off the deep end.