Monday Message

"Those families will be fortunate who, in the last days, have an adequate supply of food because of their foresight and ability to produce their own." (Ezra Taft Benson)

We need to keep working on getting storage and supplies.

When I was young and could go to yard sales to get needed items, I would make a list. Canning jars were always on the list as well as other things we needed...popcorn popper, soap, blender, food processor, and toaster, canners, dehydrator.

...Christmas gifts that I could clean up and fix up and have nice gifts for our girls and others, sewing supplies and fabric, knitting supplies yarn, and crochet supplies.

...School clothes and snow suits and winter coats, church clothes. Books on teaching sewing and knitting and crochet. Cookbooks, school supplies. Sheets, things that would beautify our house. Whatever I felt we needed.... And now I'm still using these things and I am sixty-eight.

Having not the money we had back then, these things are serving us very well now, because I can dry and can foods, sew my clothes and make gifts.

I worked very hard back then to take care of us now.

Thinking ahead and having a list when you go to thrift stores and yard sales helps you stay on task.

I think how much it costs to eat out. That amount of money could buy many meals for your storage.

When I would have five dollars free to spend, I might want something but I ask myself what would I had wished I had spent it on instead if we had no money?

Also, you have no idea how bad I hate gardening - utterly hate it, but I do it so we will have food to eat in our pantry. So you may stretch what is in your pantry by growing food too. You can put tomatoes in your flower beds, green beans too, things that can stretch your pantry items.

With the way things are you might like to go through your recipes and pull the cheapest ones your family likes. Get those for groceries but take the difference and use it to put in storage. I try to do this when I can.

If you get taxes back, use part to build up your storage.

Any windfalls you get, do the same.

Would it be fun to spend on fun things? Yes, but it would be better to be able to care for your family.

That said, I stocked what we needed plus nonfood items as well, but I too stocked items like when I would see basket supplies or fabric and sewing supplies and yarn and supplies.

At yard sales I would get those as well.

I accepted things that were offered to me, which this sewing machine was and still works.

Now you might be saying, but then you have to store this stuff. The answer to that is yes, hence I shift things about to make it organized. At today's prices I could not buy one cone of yarn.

So to me it was worth hanging onto things I knew I would need.

Not everyone has my interests but think what yours are. I would add my interests to the lists as well and when I saw something at a yard sale, I would buy it. Back then things were a quarter or even free box items.

I even got this serger at a yard sale though I paid ten dollars for it. As I did not know if it worked and they could not tell me, only that it was their mom's machine. I took a risk the motor worked but it wasn't threaded and I did not have four cones of thread with me as I was yard sailing. As it turned out, it works terrific! I am glad I purchased it. Was yard sailing lots of work? Yes, it was. For every one that was good there were four that weren't. But oh how blessed to have gotten what I did then.

I am grateful for things people have given me when they downsized and places like freecycle. There was a class at church one time about decorating your homes inexpensively and that was where I first heard of freecycle. The fabric in the picture was freecycle. I needed fabric and she needed to get rid of it and we helped each other. Then I was able to get this knitting machine at a yard sale...

I am still learning it, and many things, but I did take a few classes on this which helps.

That knitting machine has to have thin machine yarn. One day I was at the class and my teacher asked if I could take her to this auction house. They wanted her to purchase some used machines. So I took her. They had several but what caught my eye was cones and cones of this yarn. They got a fiber studio of stuff. They only wanted the furniture but they said all or none, so I offered to purchase all the yarn and fifty-two knitting books for a hundred dollars, which they said yes. So I ended up with a pick-up load of yarn and books and she did buy one of the machines.

These are my stories on how I have been frugal. Tell us some of your stories in the comments below.

Missy says all those knitting needles behind her came from yard sales too. She wants you to know though that she was free but her cuteness is priceless! :p

Tippy Longstockings says find joy and contentment in all you do.