Friday, September 26, 2008

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!


13 comments:

Helen said...

Lovely blog!

Our bedroom is the one room where the door can stay closed and locked throughout the day..and it often gets neglected and cluttered and it's often the last place to get cleaned :)

It probably should be the first..

Ingrid said...

So right there with you on the purging and the anti-clutter! We (by which I mean Jeff) have finally been making headway on the basement, which has been our clutter albatross... when we moved into this house, we basically put everything we didn't have an immediate need or place for in the basement, which filled the basement, and then we never went back. There were boxes and trash bags of crap that we moved from our LAST basement, unopened, into THIS basement. Horrors! The idea of having nothing in your home that isn't "useful or beautiful" is going to be my motto, moving forward.

I LOVE these pajama pants!! :D

Nicole said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Nicole said...

great blog! thanks for stopping by mine :0) how very brave of you to purge your yarn! and those pj pants are fabulous! i just might make some for my gals! have a wonderful weekend !

Jeanie said...

Hi, Shalet,

Thanks for visiting my blog. It's fun stopping by yours and resonating with this post in particular! I, too, really need to clean and purge -- and that's a challenge for me! But what fun to find the sheets! It's time! I will return!

AscenderRisesAbove said...

awwww i love the snowman pjs awwww but the curly toes really completes this sweet image.

Honorary Indian said...

I am loving these Frugal Friday posts. Our home is in desperate need of purging. Every. Single. Room.

I tell myself that I'm just too busy to do it. I tell myself that I just don't have the time.

But, as I tell my hubby and kids...we make time for the things that we really need to do and for the things that matter.

So. I'm apparently not following my own advice.

But, as always, you've inspired me. Thanks for that.

Anonymous said...

My first visit. I love this post. I am thinking I might be able to sew a tea cozy since all the ones I've looked at are over $30.00. Thanks for the inspiration. The jammies are adorable.

Monica said...

Thanks for the comment on my blog! You make beautiful things. I wish I had a friend close by to teach me how to knit. And I wish my sewing machine had some needles.

I'm also in the cleaning and purging mode. Feels good, but the mess that's made during reorganizing almost takes the wind out of my sales.

Bridge said...

I am loving your Frugal Friday posts.
I too, cleaned my room this weekend.
Purging is amazing!

amy @ Life in Pink Hi-Tops said...

Love the pajama pants! I usually see all other things that could be made out of something--like pj's from old sheets--that I tend to not get rid of anything! I think I will go start on something.....

Molly said...

i just have to tell you that i passed the blow dryer/razor tip on to my husband and it's working! he has doubled the number of shaves per razor. thank you!

spread your wings said...

i can totally relate to you on this post - cleaning out clutter. I am ready to purge this weekend and go at it full force. Lately I have been in this mode - i guess it's a lack of other more fun activities to do since my daughter moved away to college.

love those pj pants