In the last 4 weeks since I last reported I have..
- Gotten rid of 99 items - just one item shy of the set goal of 25 per week.
- Gone through 18 spaces (2 shy o my goal)
- Not done a very good job of keeping my in-box completely cleaned out but it is better than it used to be. I want to get back on track on this.
- Not sold anything but we are planning a garage sale this week so I hope to change that trend soon.
- I went through a measly five photo folders. That is way short of my goal. But that is life.
Something that I have been thinking on as I seek to live more simply is the importance of fixing/mending things. I don't know about you but oftentimes in my life when things get broken/torn etc. I tend to look at it and realize I can totally fix that but then I set it aside, possibly on my desk or on a shelf and there it sits for a month, a year whatever. Sometimes it gets to the point of somebody growing out of it before it actually gets mended. It also truly clutters up my house in the meantime. Having broken things around is not nice clutter. It is ugly and messy.
I have really been working on doing some catch up on mending. And truly, I love doing it. It is very rewarding to have something that has cluttered up my desk for the past month become something that I love to use once again. Mending things can make things simpler because we no longer have to make do without it. Also it can save us a bunch of money because we aren't having to replace it.
Here are some posts that I have written in the past on how to mend various items:
Do you like to mend? Is there anything in particular that you enjoy fixing up? Do you mend anything unusual? I would love to hear your stories!
Wow!! 99 is wonderful!
ReplyDeleteOur 2 year old goes through one big box of diapers a month so my goal each month this year has been to fill that box with items to donate and when we have to buy the next box, I donate the other box on the way to the grocery. I have not been counting items so much but have been making sure at least one box leaves the house each month.
Thank you for the mending posts!
We live very frugally since my husband was laid off 2 years ago & we decided to do our ministry full-time, trusting in God to provide for our needs. We've had some very trying times, but God always came through -- He is so faithful & good!
ReplyDeleteI mend everything that is mendable! I mend our clothes & socks till they can't be mended anymore, then I cut them up to use as patches. Waste not, want not! My husband used to argue with me about recycling stuff (like washing plastic utensils), but now he's joined me in recycling. He's seen how much money we save by doing so.
In the fall/winter/spring, l crochet lap blankets for sick & elderly folks. This fall I would like to get some afgans from Goodwill & unravel them to make more_blankets as that would be a lot cheaper than buying yarn at Walmart. This is on my prayer list.
God bless you & your family, Abbi!
(Carol in Phoenix, AZ)
I really dislike mending, but I do try to do it. My husband fixed our reel lawnmower handles (the kind of lawnmower that does not use gas- even though we have a big lot we use these- we have 2 so we can have more than one person cutting at a time). He used electrical conduit piping and one of the pieces he actually found in the back of our lot in the "junk" pile that the previous owners had (that we have mostly taken to the dump as it was mostly all useless and I didn't want it there). I was very proud of him since it saved us a lot of money. He said it won't rust either since its galvanized. :)
ReplyDeleteI was just looking at my basket of mending tonight. Its a full laundry basket of things.
Hi Abbi! It's been a very busy summer here too! I applaud you for getting so much done with simplifying! I agree that it is hard to get to the mending pile at times, but it does feel so good once you do! We've been busy in our garden, and look forward to a good harvest this fall. Our strawberries are already producing, as are our peas, and greens. It feels wonderful to be eating food from our garden :) Hugs to you today, have a lovely weekend!
ReplyDeleteI loved hearing from all of you! Thanks for commenting!
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