Shopping In Your Own Home

I know everyone is trying to make ends meet in this tough economy. I would like to suggest you go shopping . . . in your own home.

This weekend we cleaned out our storage room. I mean, we opened every box and rearranged every shelf. We also defrosted and re-organized the freezers and refrigerators (we have a couple of each so we can take advantage of sales).

Even though we're hyper anal and organized, we were amazed at the things we had taking up space that could be donated or sold. Often times we can't bear to part with something, so we pack it away. When enough time passes, we can finally get rid of it. I think of it as a type of reverse layaway. There were a number of "useless" items we packed away months ago that now we had a use for. There were also several items we forgot we had, or knew we had, but weren't quite certain where we had them. There were even a few items we had purchased the day before.

So, we went shopping in our home. With all our new found treasures, we added them to our stock so we won't have to buy them again so soon. We made money on the sale of a number of items and gained a tax benefit for donations (as well as benefitted some of our favorite organizations). We now remember where everything is and, best of all, have extra space. Even if you don't throw away a single thing, reorganizing always gives you extra room because you find a better way to put it all back.

Go clothes shopping in your closet. Go grocery shopping in your cupboards, pantry and freezer. Go shopping in your garage, basement, or storage area. Such shopping won't stimulate the economy, but it WILL stimulate your life!

COMING UP: Tomorrow one of my favorite recipes will be featured on reducefootprints.blogspot.com. This has become one of my favorite blogs with lots of interesting articles on green living.

Make sure you check in the next couple of weeks. I have a ton of books to review and giveaway. The focus next week are a number of great books on relationships in honor of Valentine's Day.