Cleaning and Saving

This is for you penny pincher wise-spenders out there. I was pricing nightstands for our bedroom and was quite disheartened to discover what I discovered. What I found was that even the flimsy, self-assembly nightstands at, say a Target or Walmart, were over $100 a piece. Not being able to bare the thought of spending such a pretty penny on pieces that probably will not stand the test of time, I began thrifting for them. I came up with a pair of sturdy Broyhill matching nightstands in a less than desirable oak with outdated hardware. But they are substantial. And the appearance is easily altered. And they will be custom to my taste. And they were each marked 34.50!!! My equally thrifty friend Jen said, "Now don't pay that price. Tell him you'll give him 60 for the pair". And I did! And he said okay!

My plan is to keep my receipts and a running tab of my supplies and time spent. I will share that here as well as pictures of the finished product. This way we can compare and see if it was all worth it.

On to the next bit of business. This particular discovery has made my life so much easier already, and I just came up with it yesterday. Family is coming, so I was doing some preparatory cleaning. I reached under the sink in the kitchen for the wet mop attachments to the Swiffer, when I noticed the little box of dry attachments that I never use. I bought them a year ago and haven't touched them since because I am so in love with the scent of the wet attachments. Also, I have discovered I am pretty traditional and mostly enjoy using a broom if I am going to sweep. Like the true thriftster that I am, I wanted to make use of these dry Swiffer sheets. I took the box upstairs and used a sheet on my ceiling fan blades. I took a sheet to the baseboards in our bedroom. I dusted our TV, our dresser, our side table. I am telling you, these are miracle sheets for dusting your house. They trap the dust, not allowing it to fall down on your face, or stir up from the bottom and get in your nose. MIRACLE. Quick, easy, efficient, excellent. Nuff said.

Actually, not enough said because they are odorless and chemical free (I'm pretty sure) and I would imagine that if you had children this would be an additional plus. I guess it's a plus for us all because you aren't breathing in any fumes.

So I tried to Sew

Over a month ago I signed up for this beginner's sewing class. Now when I say beginner, I mean I have little to no experience with a sewing machine. The machine I had I opened the night before class. I was instructed to bring everything that came with my machine. That was exactly what I brought: the machine, the manual and the extra pieces in the storage chamber. I sat down, saw others walking in with their machines, sewing kits, getting things started. Beginning to feel a little uneasy at this point. These people are more prepared than I was, and it is starting to bother me.

Class begins and my cell phone rings. Super. Thought I had turned it off, but okay, whatever, I didn't, let's move on. We are instructed to get out a needle and thread it. Looking around, I see the class following suit. I have no needle. I have no thread. I was instructed to bring my machine and everything that came with it. I have my machine and everything that came with it, and it is obviously not right. The pet peeve rage is beginning to flame its little embers. I asked specifically what to bring, maybe I am the idiot that needs a little more specific than the rest of the class, but I did ask and I did bring what I was told and IT'S NOT RIGHT PEOPLE.

At this point, I begin to sweat, noticing this draws my attention to my armpits, which we have all heard about before. Quickly, I have a flashback to the earlier morning, getting ready in the bathroom. Not wanting to get deodorant all over myself, I got dressed first and wanted to put the deodorant on afterward. But I never did. And now I am flustered and I am getting sweaty and I have no deodorant on and nowhere to go until lunchtime to get some.

A kind soul next to me allows me to borrow supplies which is truly a blessing and a very sweet thing of a stranger to offer. If it were not for this particular individual, I might have cried a few tears at a break or cursed in the car later. Working further into our lesson, I realize we have to stand up and take each other's measurements. This means I have to remove the sweater I have been wearing to keep my armpits to myself and air them out to the poor person with the measuring tape. Think quick. There is a wet nap in my purse that looks like a miracle/million dollars when I find it. Go to the bathroom. Wet nap the armpits. Yes.

Many times I wanted to leave. Many times I felt like an idiot and that this was not the class for me. At one point I was pulled aside for one on one attention because I just really needed the extra help. But, in the end, I made a sort of box-shaped-belly-top nightshirt like the rest of the group. It was by far not the best work or the easiest thing I had ever attempted, but the point was that I finished it. Yay for me for not crying and for being persistent. All too often I have a tendency to shy away from trying/finishing things in which I don't feel validated. It was very liberating to know that I was bad and that it was okay. So what do I recommend? Try something new, fail at it miserably and always keep a wet nap handy.