Thursday, July 14, 2011

#PurJuly day 9

Utensil drawer

One of the things I've learned from this project is that in the past I definitely bought more stuff than I needed. (as evidenced by the 3 (yes, 3!) melon ballers) I also bought a lot of low quality items because "Hey, it's cheap!" so what was I really risking/losing by buying it? I lost space by buying cheap items, as evidenced by the photos. I also lost money, even if it was a small amount-and those small amounts add up quickly. When we buy things we don't really need, it's the same thing as throwing our money down the toilet. Especially if we buy things that have no resale value or quality.

Our utensil drawer "before"

And "after" This drawer sometimes would not
close properly because of too many
things jammed in it. Now? No problem!

Another side effect of this project is that I'm much more aware of the items I own that do have quality. I was doing my laundry the other day and realized I've had some of my clothes for years. I read an article once that said something like whenever the author looked at the lint in his dryer, he felt like he was seeing the life that had been beaten out of his clothes. Now, I try to hang my clothes as often as possible. I'd say, on average, my clothes go through a dryer maybe 1 out of every 4 times they're washed. The residual heat in our house has always been more than enough to dry my clothes on a collapsible clothes frame I bought from Ikea. Every time I spend that extra few minutes hanging my clothes instead of throwing them in the dryer, I'm saving the energy that the dryer would have used and the wear and tear on my clothes.

How about you-what do you own that has quality? Have you owned something for years and still love it? How about the other side-have you bought stuff in the past because it was "cheap" and then realized later that you didn't use it or it wore out quicker than it should have because of shoddy construction?

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