Organization 011

I've been spending the past few days trimming down my house. I'm taking old, unused cookbooks off the shelves, deciding which towels are good, and which I'm converting down to rags. I am going through pots and pans, deciding which need to be replaced, which need to be given away, and which need to be stored in more functional places. In fact, I am going to make a small garage sale section at an upcoming Handmade and Homespun Winter Shop that I am organizing in February, to sell these items. I will be charging $0.50 per item, and having two boxes for people to put the money in, on the honor system. One box will be for donations to the local school system, the other for the art gallery to support the arts. This way, everyone benefits.

It's time to pull it together. The economy is still in the hole, and from what I've heard, it's only getting worse. Someone (who will remain unnamed) buys materials overseas, and said the trend is heading towards both hoarding and jacking up prices. Prices have already tripled in his industry. He joked that we should start stocking up on canned essentials now, but he may not be too far off. (For money saving tips from someone who's been retired over 45 years, click here.)

This is the perfect time to pare down, buy less, repurpose more. I successfully used my Evelyn Fields reusable snack bag yesterday, and now realize that I will no longer be needing Ziploc snack bags. I've also been using real towels in lieu of paper towels, and it's been great. More savings. I've been refilling my Sigg with filtered tap, and have saved at least $15 this week on single water bottles (that start at $1.59, I might add) while drinking much better water than any plastic bottling company can offer. I've only bought coffee out once, at the bowling alley. I always get coffee with breakfast at the diner; I am referring to carry out coffee.

Beautiful unbleached cotton reusuable snack bag by Evelyn Fields on etsy,
with artifically flavored and colored orange Boy Scout popcorn
(we aren't in Boy Scouts, just supported them)

On Monday, I took an old hobo bag out of the closet. It was given to me years ago by W's sister, Mary. It's a big, slouchy yellow bag with a painted butterfly on the front. Every day, literally, since the day I first used it, I got compliments on it. Every day. Never has this happened to me before. Last year, someone got me a new purse for a gift, so this yellow bag went into retirement.

Randomly, I had a dream about this purse, and decided to use it once again. Day 1, I got a compliment. Today is only Day 2 with it back in rotation, and I am sure I will hear about it again. It has no name brand, and I've never seen it before. It's very bohemian. I think I will be using this bag until it falls apart. I love it that much.

I wear and keep my clothes for years, but I'm going through to find things that I will never wear again to donate to the Market Street Mission. Mine and W's old tees are being given to a friend, ADeM, to be repurposed for bigger and better things. Stay tuned.

All of this is giving me the opportunity to give my house more space, more room for us to grow. Though we are in the heart of winter, I see only the promise of spring. Perhaps my spring cleaning has started a season too soon. I guess it can't hurt to get ahead of them game.