Simplicity vs Frugality

This freebie makes me wish I had a Kindle. But then again, that's more "stuff," right?

Free e-book

http://www.amazon.com/Getting-Rid-Step---step-ebook/dp/B0068EMZ5K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327412621&sr=8-1#_

The idea of having less and enjoying it more keeps bubbling up from deep within me and, for the most part, it's one that I espouse. Yesterday I was kicking around the idea of going "discretionary spending-free" for the month of February.  When I mentioned it to Jer, he said, "But if we do that, what happens when we find a grill on sale?"

Frugality dictates that we buy "on sale" and we have been waiting to get a new grill for several seasons.  (For the last two summers we have been using a grill our neighbor threw away.  It was on its last legs when he discarded it and since then we have coaxed every bit of life out of it that was left.  That grill is seriously ready for the recycling center.)  All our neighbors are on the lookout for us and the big score is liable to hit in February.  Frugality or moratorium?  That is the dilemma!

A grocery store nearby is going out of business and tomorrow everything goes on sale for half-price.  What merchandise they have left will genuinely be bargain priced.  Do we buy enough deodorant to last four years?  An extra broom?  Toothpaste for a decade?  It's a slippery slope.  If I'm going to buy it anyway, should I buy it now?  Would that make me a smart shopper or a hoarder?

Never at a loss for reading material

It's easy to get rid of stuff that doesn't matter to you.  The real trick is culling things that you value.  Since I'm the Imelda Marcos of books, maybe I should focus on our  bookshelves.  Books around here seem to multiply faster than a proud third-grader. 

The baskets full of magazines are another possible target, too.  I have no clue where they come from!  I never buy check-out counter magazines and don't subscribe either yet, somehow, the piles grow at an alarming rate.

Maybe that Kindle isn't such a bad idea after all.

Vacuuming

I have a wonderful Oreck vacuum that we bought at the Habitat for Humanity Restore for thirty-five dollars.  Jerry installed new brushes and it's almost as good as new.  Almost. It vacuums fairly well and is feather light, so I can carry it up and down the stairs with only one hand.   The only problem is that when I turn it on, it sounds like an airplane is taking off in the room, so I wear an industrial set of ear muffs like the guys on the runway wear.  When I have them on, I can hear only blissful silence.

I vacuum a lot, especially very early in the morning.  So if you call me at, say, 8:15 a.m. for example, (well, any time before 10:00 a.m. really) I'm not in bed asleep, I'm vacuuming. 

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.