Good to the last drop...

I know that everyone on TV screams that our economy is improving, but I just don't get it! It's not that we aren't doing OK....we are....but we are doing OK because we have self-imposed austerity measures that make our necessities into luxuries. My leather coat from 12 years ago still looks beautiful and it's warm. Yay! Not buying another. Green beans, 10 cans for $5 (but not my normal brand), yes, please! Water from the tap instead of bottled water--you bet; I need the fluoride to keep my teeth strong! (We cut out bottled water a few years ago, along with carbonation. It was the first "luxury" to go.)

There is nothing wrong with making do. Nothing. There is nothing wrong with DIY, repurposing, or regifting. There is nothing wrong with hand-me-downs--if they're new to me, they're new! There is nothing wrong with Goodwill, Garage Sales, or Swap Meets.

As a lifelong pack rat, a recent closet cleanout allowed me to see just how much jewelry I actually have collected over 35 years (that's right, some of it from college). I spent a whole day grouping sets together, figuring out what I would wear, what I would never ever wear again, and what was appropriate for LouLou to play with. The result was a ton of "good" jewelry to spare. By "good," I mean that my ex-boyfriend, Sam Moon, let me buy lots of items for under $10! I ziplocked each item or set of items and took them with me everywhere---to Bible Study, to my teenage neighbor, to my sisters---until they were gone! I didn't sell them,  because, believe me, I got my $10 worth by wearing them myself!

I am happier with less stuff. I never thought that I would hear myself say that, but I am.