Today I made big boy (the kid...not the hubby LOL)a new long-sleeve shirt for Fall. It came out amazing, I'm really proud of myself! I condensed the girls' wardrobes down last week to 10 or less outfits each. The oldest, who isn't privvy to all the hand-me-downs has the least, about 6 outfits. I paired it all up in their drawers in outfits to make getting ready in the morning quicker and easier. It seems to be working very well so far. I kept all the leftover seperates. For now, they are on top of the dryer, and I hope to make a few pants/shirts to match them up with. If they are still sitting there in 2 weeks...they go to a thrift store. I promise.
I worked on the playroom today. We acquired a free very nice full-size mattress last week, so we took the computer desk out, put it in the free corner of the living room, and set the "playroom" back up like a guest bedroom. My oldest gal slept in there last night, so we hope she is moving towards getting her own room and a little more independence from her sisters. Anyway...hubby set the bed up this weekend, and today I went through the toys and crapola on the floor. Throwing away the pissy-smelling rug. After I cleaned through all the toys week-before-last, I've been watching the toys and which get *really* played with. I put those that have had zero activity in a big black bag for Goodwill.
It's really AMAZING how much we have gotten rid of in the last month. Amazing, and frankly- DISGUSTING. With what I have given away, an entire family could cloth their children and set up a small house. It really puts in in perspective for me. Have you ever noticed my link over on the right for Oaxaca Street Children Grassroots? I went there 2 summers ago and volunteered. Every year at tax time, I've said I'm going to sponsor a child, and something has always come up. NOT ANYMORE. This will be the year. I've slacked on it, too, because it's a true commitment. It's a sponsorship that you really need to maintain until the child graduates. But no more slacking- this is the year! When I think of all the money I have wasted on crap in my lifetime, it makes me want to cry. There are people in this world starving of hunger and living on the streets, I don't "need" a freakin' laptop (my last big stupid purchase that I regret).
We all have those big buys that we regret later on- the car we traded in on a whim, the laptop when we already had a perfectly good desktop, the extra tv because "it was a sale I couldn't pass up". Do you have big purchases that you are PROUD of? I do. My sewing machine. Best damn investment I've ever made. I got my first machine at age 12. JCPenney's store brand basic, and I used that baby through High School. I graduated, went to college, and thought more of boys and weed that the domestic life and forgot my love for the sewing machine. After college, I got pregnant and married. Still missing "something", but not sure what! When I became pregnant with my 2nd daughter, I realized that diapering 2 babies at the same time was going to be REALLY expensive, so I had the idea to sew my own cloth diapers. Well...I never sewed the diapers, but it did bring me a new sewing machine for some holiday. Basic Kenmore this time. After a few more years, I DID actually sew that diapers, and thousands more on that machine. When it finally pooped, I bought another basic $200 machine, and it broke 3 times in the first 2 weeks. Figured I had a lemon, so I traded it. Nope, apparently, they all sucked. So I returned it and made the biggest investment aside from house and car of my lifetime- a Viking sewing machine. The first thing my Father asked was "where was it made?", I replied "Sweden", and he said, "That sonofabitch will outlast you." It was then that I KNEW I'd done the right thing ;)
So when I get depressed over all the waste I've caused in my life, I try to remember the good things, too, the smart choices...which as luck would have it are waaay farther apart than the dumb ones.
Of course the BEST purchase I ever made was that $50 membership to eHarmony ;) Best $50 I ever spent.