Oh Blog, How I have Neglected Thee...

I wonder if you could ever forgive me?

I am in an exhausted but accomplished (and therefor good) mood.

Do you know, I was thinking a lot today as I cleaned and worked on some things. Some people have a negative connotation with the word frugal. Many think frugal equals cheap. I do not believe that way. I believe that frugal is finding ways to make your money last. It also just so happens that many of my absolute favorite frugal ways are things that are considered being "green".

I do not purchase water. It is expensive and I get it in my home for free. We do not purchase paper napkins (aside from special occasions, instead I have a set of cloth napkins that I purchased at a garage sale for just a buck. They get dirty, they take up so little room in my washer that to try to calculate the cost of washing them is rediculous and in my humble opinion, it is going too far.

The majority of my furniture is pre-owned. If I'm not super happy with it's appearance, I like to fix it and make it so that I can be super happy with it's appearance. In fact that is why I am tired today. Pre-owned furniture. My great friend, Kim, purchased her first home (AGAIN, congrats, Kim) and was fortunate enough to be able to replace much of her furniture at the same time. So, we went down there and took much of it for her. I now have a designated crafting area (a small desk), enclosed DVD storage (no more frustration of trying to stop DD from removing every DVD from the rack), a new, better microwave cart (which made it so the old one could be used as a TV stand in the bedroom) and my daughter has a barely used recliner...in child size.

Do you know what else? I did a good deed while I did this. My mom has a friend who have fallen on very difficult times. She deals with deathly kidney problems, as well as other health issues. She has been unable to find a consistant roommate and has lost her items a few times when she was unable to pay her storage bills due to her health. Kim sent them a "new" bed through us, and we threw in a "new" lamp and some cabinets we had. Last week, we sent them some tables we no longer used.

We all know that the infamous spring cleaning is starting in many homes. I know I'm doing it! I challenge you to find someone who needs the items you no longer use in your home and give them away. You won't regret helping someone in need. How you go about finding that person is up to you. Go onto Craigslist and take a moment to email someone who has posted a wanted ad and sounds like they really need your item. Ask around.

You'd be amazed the people who won't speak up that they need or want something until it's offered.