As I simplify my life and remove myself from the consumerism and materialism of our society I find myself doing a balancing act of sorts. I try to reduce, reuse, recycle, upcycle and refuse as much as possible. In reusing and upcycling I come upon the dilemma of saving things. Saving things goes against minimizing and simplifying. But it works with my desire to remove myself from consumerism, from buying new, from supporting companies that don’t pay their workers well and from supporting the consumption of “cheap crap” and adding all of that to our environment. So I save some things and try to come up with ways of reusing them.
Right now I have a bag full of those mesh produce bags, the type onions would come in. I keep thinking there has got to be a way to turn them into dish scrubbers or something. For awhile there I was in need of old t-shirts to be used as solutions for various problems I had. At that time I had no old t-shirts and had to purchase one cheap in order to use the fabric. Now I have several t-shirts that we are getting rid of; they are not good enough to donate to the thrift store, so I am going to save them for the next time I have a need for some soft jersey cotton fabric.
So do you see my dilemma? Where do I keep those t-shirts and scrubby mesh? How many of them do I keep? Are they going to start cluttering my world? Or can I get a good place to store them where they are out of the way, organized and not forgotten about?
I am however very comfortable with this new lifestyle. We are not spending our money on anything new, except for underwear. (Now in my head I am singing the “Underwear” song from camp… anyone care to join me??? “underwear, underwear, how I itch in my woolen underwear. How I wish I had gotten a pair of cotton I wouldn’t be so itchy everywhere….”). We are finding items we need used; either to purchase or put out on trash day. We are shopping for needed items at thrift stores or on craigslist, and I am only purchasing used books when I want a book (I still like paper books, especially reference books).
The problem is, sometimes you find a lot at the thrift stores! How do you limit yourself? I think some of these thrift store scores are going to put a dent in our budget! But how can I turn down a winter coat, boots and blouse that all fit me like a glove and that I have been looking for for years but couldn’t afford them at the regular store? I didn’t and am enjoying wearing them already.
So I continue with my balancing act of clearing out the clutter, weeding down our possessions and staying out of the world of consumerism and materialism. I guess if I am going to walk this tightrope I might as well enjoy it and put on a show!
Desire 4 Simple 
I love thrift stores. When I moved into my house I started buying old furniture at Goodwill and the Habitat For Humanity ReStore ( or anyplace really ) and would sand it down, paint and add new hardware if it needed it. I could do it all for under $20 and see the same style at the store for like $100 or more, for the same small night table. I like my work better too. I love love love do-it-yourself projects and have actually made some really cool things.
Pinterest is totally my friend when it comes to finding new ideas for things. I think the last thing I made was a cork board using a wooden frame from an antique mirror that was cracked. I painted it and placed in the cork and it’s awesome. Looks nice too hanging in my bedroom. The tooling in the wood was worth saving the frame and making it into something else. I don’t know that I would have been able to cut the glass to fit it. So now its a cool frame for photo’s.
And I spend way too much money doing this stuff but it keeps me occupied and it makes me happy. So, that evens it all out and creates the perfect excuse, right? Amiright?? I don’t know how to limit myself. I tend to get 3-5 projects and don’t allow myself to get anything else until I finish what I have.
I’m also self banned from Michaels, Jo Ann Fabrics and Hobby Lobby until further notice.
Funny thing is just today I spotted a kitchen table out for the trash. Heavy duty wood, nice sturdy legs, solid! It is now in my car waiting for hubby to help me get it out. I managed to hoist it into the car myself. I envision it painted a dark teal maybe with black legs. It looks good in my head now I just need to get to work!
Haha I pick up stuff from the side of the road too!! I just set it in the garage for a couple of days in case it’s funky 😝
That’s a great color idea and I bet it will turn out cute. I have an old sewing table (maybe from the early seventies) that I’m going to paint and use as a vanity. It’s too cool to throw out. I just got some fabric to redo the seat on the chair. The chair is too cool also. The seat comes off and there’s storage inside for bobbins etc.
I should start a blog about DIY projects. ☺️
Thanks, in my head it looks good- now I just have to convince my husband. I think I just have to do it…. and then he’ll see. The sewing table sounds great. I have one from the 60’s with a sewing machine in it still. They are really neat table.
Put the t-shirts inside the mesh bags. Hang them on a nail out of the way in the front closet. If you haven’t used them in six months their them out. Done.
oooooooo- nice! good idea!