Pinching a Pretty Penny

As I sat down to post this morning, I heard a little voice in my head ask, "are you really going to evangelize more about spring cleaning?  Won't people think that's lame?"

And the answers: yes...and perhaps, yes.  Lame or not, I just can't help but sharing insight gleaned from simple and yet overlooked activities.  I mean, I recognize that in today's culture, with all of our fancy gadgets and important careers and highly developed parenting methods, that spring cleaning seems quite antiquated.  But as with all things domestic, I'm learning that sometimes rewarding solutions can be found in unlikely places.

So it is with the financial rewards of spring cleaning.  I already highlighted one possible financial benefit of clearing away your clutter yesterday, which is donation.  Not only do you get a little tax relief (and who couldn't use that!?), but you can invest in good causes in your local area too.  It's a win-win.

Beyond donation, there are other financial benefits I have discovered along my scrubbing path.  I wrote last week about "Make Do and Mend," where I testified about the convicting impact of seeing all my "stuff" piled up.  My well-developed affection for buying pretty things has been seriously challenged under the light of Windex sparkle, reminding me of just how often I purchase new things when the old ones will satisfy.  Why do I need new books when I've never even made it through my copy of Jane Eyre?  And can I really justify a new quilt for my bed when I have enough fabric stashed around to make my own?

Can you see how asking these questions can have a positive effect on my wallet?  As in I am persuaded to spend less?  Spring cleaning has unexpectedly refined my "do I really need this?" litmus test.

Finally, while rummaging through my medicine cabinets and pantry, I discovered that my disorderliness has lead me to buy a lot of stuff I already have.  Case in point, I counted 4 bottles of heartburn medicine and three boxes of butterfly bandaids while sorting--evidence that I've purchased these things from the store under the false impression that I had run out.  I wondered, how often do I do this?  How many times do I pick up things from the store because I'm not familiar with what I have at home?"  Can I honestly feel good about the stewardship of my resources when I don't even know when I've run out of something?

Getting clean and organized has reacquainted me with the contents of my cabinets and cubbies, and just in time!

Now, call me crazy, but I don't know of any personal accounting and/or tax software that will locate donation items, prevent me from purchasing duplicates, and improve my consumer conscience for the cost of some rags and a bottle of Windex.

Spring cleaning wins again!

Previous Related Posts:

UnClutter for a Good Cause

Sprucing up my Wellness

Resurrecting Jekyll & Hyde

10-Step Plan to a Well-Stocked Pantry (including why do I have 10 bottles of antibacterial gel and only one tampon?)

Un-Clutter for a Good Cause

If you have taken up the spring cleaning challenge like I have this year, and are finding yourself buried under a pile of things that you no longer use but would hate to throw away, consider donating them for a good cause!

For instance, my friend and former Marketplace Maven Laura from Uproar is co-sponsoring a local garage sale to raise money for her adoption.  I certainly have an armful to give to this worthy endeavor--a VCR, an old juicer, various home accessories, etc. etc.--and love that I have an opportunity to help bring kids into Laura's family!

I've talked a lot about the benefits, both to your pocketbook and to the economy, from purchasing used items from thrift stores or garage sales.  And we are headed into the perfect season for donating and shopping alike!

So, if you are in Northern Colorado, check out the garage sale by visiting the link in the sidebar anytime.  Or, if you hail from another region, search your home for donations, and your town for opportunities to give (and even spend) for a good cause today!

Previous Related Posts:

Craftivism & Compassion

The Trifecta of Domesticity

Ta Dah!  a room makeover, thrift style

Start your Trapper Keeper

After several days of intense spring cleaning, yesterday afternoon I decided that I needed to take a break and recharge my creative batteries a little.  So I turned to my faithful inspiration: my design notebooks.

I have been ardently compiling the contents of these notebooks for several years now, thumbing through the pages of magazines and tearing out anything that struck me as beautiful or clever or tasty.  As a result of my efforts, I now have half a dozen or so three-ring binders full of images and articles that I can turn to whenever I need a new gardening idea or a party menu or a design challenge.  They have effectively become my own personal home library, selectively filled with things that personally appeal to me.

Design is by far my most favorite category, and I'm well on my way to my fourth notebook on just that topic alone.  But I also have other categories, like "food and wine," "projects," and "life and health."  Last but not least, I have one special notebook I labelled "brain cache" where I keep articles that stimulate my thoughts about the world and the economy (have I mentioned that I'm a nerd?), which often show up on this blog under "Smarty Pants."

My husband often makes fun of me for these notebooks, especially when he comes home to find me pouring over one of them, plotting my next design project or planning a week's worth of meals.  He jests that it looks like I'm studying, which truthfully...I kind of am.  I credit most of my design ideas, and many of my "bigger picture" thoughts, to the inspiration sparked by these pages.  

So, here are four reasons why I think you, too, should start your own library:

1.  In the vein of spring cleaning, they do radically reduce the magazine clutter in your home.  Tear out what you like and recycle the rest.

2.  In time, you begin to pick up on your individual tastes and preferences.  Seeing my hand-picked selections from page to page, for instance, I realize that I often gravitate toward the same colors and styles in home design, and that I prefer a specific (healthy but not hard) type of menu.  This is why I particularly recommend notebooks for people who are wanting to decorate their spaces but don't know where to start.  I say start with your likes, and keep them in a binder!

3.  They provide a good reference for creative inspiration and often spark new insight.  I especially like picking up my "brain cache" binder and thumbing through it--often an idea that interested me months ago but was since forgotten takes on new meaning and dimension today. 

4.  Last but not least, they're cheap!  Binders and plastic page inserts hardly compare to the price of a fancy coffee table book or "special issue" magazine.  Save some dough and start clipping!

Previous Related Posts:

Ta Dah!  my new room makeover

Nesting is Creating

Putting things in Order (or at least in pretty boxes)