Frugal Friday

"All Things want to fly. Only we are weighed down by desire, caught in ourselves and enthralled with our heaviness ...If someone were to fall into intimate slumber, and slept deeply with Things - how easily he would come to a different day, out of the mutual depth."

--Rainer Maria Rilke

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I didn't realize how heavily I'd been weighed down until I cleaned my bedroom. The room hadn't seemed all that dirty. Sure it needed basic maintenance - dusting, vaccuming, etc. And I set off to do just that. But then I noticed all sorts of items scattered about: books, old yarn, kid's toys, clothes. And as I was sorting through the mess it occurred to me: I don't need this stuff. Not only do I not need this stuff , I don't want it. These objects were anchors pulling me deeper and deeper into the depths of disorganization and subsequent despair.

So I purged. The slobbered on unraveled yarn (thank you Labradork) went into the garbage as did all junky plastic toys. Books I'd already read were listed on Half.com. Baseball hats found a basket in the closet and all laundry went into the hamper. Then I vacuumed, dusted and changed the sheets.

And the proverbial weight was lifted from my shoulders. I felt lighter, happier and more energetic. I learned a lesson last night:

Happiness is not made of stuff; it's made of Things.

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An off-shoot of yesterday's organizing binge was the unearthing of a flannel sheet set- still new in the package. It was Christmas in September! I pulled those puppies out, gave 'em a quick wash and onto the bed they went. Aaaaaah! Nothing beats freshly washed flannel sheets - nothing!

We have a down comforter and duvet so we don't use the top sheet. As I was admiring the new sheets, literally rubbing the material on my face, it occurred to me the top would make lovely pajamas. "Oh how I wish I knew how to sew pajamas," I lamented as I wistfully folded the top sheet and placed it on my fabric pile with all the other forlorn top sheets; like poor discards at a toy factory - all they ever wanted was to be used.

This morning I had a moment between shoving my son out the door (he rode his bike the four miles to school) and waking middle daughter. I sat down on the couch and had a revelation. Who says I can't sew pajamas? If I can sew a book bag then surely I can make at least the pants!

I searched the internet (don't you just lurve the internet?) and found this which led me to this. Yippy skippy - I set out to sew some pajama pants. My four-year-old, a.k.a. guinea pig, got to pick the material. She went with a snowman theme. I used a pair of her pants to make the pattern. (Here's a hint - use a paper discard roll from the local newspaper; most newspapers will give you these rolls for free). The pattern was then transferred to the flannel top sheet and a bit of stitching later - new pajama pants!



We adorned the cuffs with ribbon for an extra little sumpin' sumpin'. My daughter immediately put on the pants and she has been wearing them all day. (Okay - so some stuff does make one happy; especially free stuff).

During my morning surf (it's a great way to wake up without all the water associated with traditional surfing) I came across this site with adorable baby pants sewn from old cotton t-shirts. I may just have to give them a go ... they look too adorable to pass up.

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It's been two weeks since my last frugal Friday post. I am still using the same razor and have been religiously blow-drying it between uses. Now keep in mind - it's getting colder up here in the Pacific Northwest and I'm not shaving everyday. I typically shave every two to three days. But I'm still thrilled with it's duration. I'll keep you posted.

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Happy Frugal Friday!