February 23, 2018 ~ Frugal living... wait... what?!?! I have never considered myself "frugal" by no means and before y'all think that I am becoming a complete tightwad let me just tell you... that I kind of am! No, I haven't lost my mind! As I think about my goals for 2018 one of the things I really want to do is live with less. Not the "living with less" that means we will move to a remote part of the world, catch our water in tubs and live by sunlight - clearly there is nothing wrong with this lifestyle but I simply mean less stuff and less clutter.
I don't know why but I loved this picture from the moment I saw it. I do have an old soul that loves antiques blended with new things. Re-purposing old things to give them new life even makes me happy. I guess the simplicity of basic things, some of which are old or perhaps look old, with a simple arrangement of flowers in a Ball jar for example, just makes me smile. Simple is good.
In order to began the path to a frugal lifestyle I needed to declutter my life. My stress level began to rise when I realized that I had so much stuff that I didn't need. Seriously, who needs 20 random fabric bags, bedding for 10 beds, and enough clothing to cover 100 people?!?! I had totes, clothing, misc. household items and more scattered all over my house - something my OCD doesn't handle well.
My point is that I knew that I needed to get rid of things and figure out what I truly needed to keep and what I could get rid of and/or pass along to someone else. I began to make piles....
1. Keep - Items that I needed to keep such as family items, special or memorable items and things that I know I will use in the next year or so. I am almost embarrassed to tell you that I had nearly 40 totes that were completely cleared out and gone, making my storage area much easier to look at and not overwhelming when walking through the door.... nearly 40 totes y'all and we ain't talking little totes either! Crazy!
2. Sell - Items that are in great/good condition that are worth selling to make a little extra money to put into savings. This is something I didn't even think about. I mean I know I have several items that were totally sell-able but one day our receptionist, Nicole turned me on to a Facebook page called: Columbia / Boone County MO Swap Shop... {insert heavenly rays of sunshine here} This was a game changer in a major way and extremely simple to use. You simply ask to be added to the 39,000+ member page and then you snap a picture of the item(s) you are selling, put your asking price and done! I began getting private messages and requests to purchase my items - just like that I was running over to the Columbia Mall meeting people and exchanging the items they purchased for cash.... something my shoe-box loved! Every day I am trying to sell something and it's nice seeing that you actually have room (and a little extra money) for something you really enjoy! They have these types of groups all over Facebook and I would highly suggest that you give it a try!
3. Donate - Items that are in great/good condition and would be of value to an organization. Here in Columbia, MO we have some wonderful organizations that do great things for people in our community. When I have had items to donate I have simply asked my friends on Facebook for their suggestions - for example: I had 2 older luggage sets that my husband and I had taken on several vacations. The wheels were just about worn off but the luggage themselves were still good so when I asked what to do with them, one of my friends suggested donating to someone they knew going on a mission trip! Excellent idea! I have also donated items to Upscale Resale which is a great little store here in Columbia, MO that takes donations, sells the items and uses the money to put towards various things in the community such as: Operation School Bell, Parent Packs, Assault Survivor Packs and more! There are many more wonderful organizations, which I won't name for fear of forgetting someone, but ask around and make sure to ask for their "Want Lists" as you never know, you may just have extra items around your house that you can donate!
4. Trash - Items that should have not been stored, broken and not repairable or just junk. You know, when you see it and think "why in the world did I save that"!
I did find that I had an abundance of t-shirts and it seems like those are items that everyone has enough of so I decided to cut them up and make t-shirt rags out of them. They are great to use in the garage, dusting or use them for craft projects and throw them away when you are done!
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