Finding Ways to Be Frugal

There's something to be said for having had parents who were brought up as farm kids during the Great Depression (and for having had close relationships with the grandparents who did the bringing up). You learn a waste-not/want-not mentality, and don't throw anything away before asking what else you could do with it.

I've never been able to get rid of the Depression-era mindset that shaped my own upbringing, and nowadays--when disposable dollars are in shorter supply for almost everyone--I'm glad those "be frugal" lessons stuck. They come in pretty handy. (Need any chickens plucked? Just call me!)

Seriously, I put the waste-not/want-not mantra to work just this morning, after Ed finished the last of the oatmeal in the cupboard. When I spied the cylindrical oats container in the kitchen garbage, I fished it out. The sight of it triggered a memory of how my grandmother had used a similar container to help me make a school project.

I'd been all worried about how I was going to fulfill an assignment to create a valentine receiver. "Don't worry, Honey," she said, before going to her stash of Stuff Too Good To Throw Away. "We'll just wrap this empty oatmeal container in some pink fabric scraps (she had boxes of those), cut a slot in the lid, and you will have a valentine receiver." My finished project was a hit with the teacher, and with me. Grandma hadn't just saved her old stuff. She'd also saved the day.

Fast-forward to the present. To what second purpose could I put the round Quaker Oats container? Hmm.....

Just last night, Ed had mentioned that he wished he had more than one hat stand for the top shelf of his closet. Wish granted! A Western hat fits perfectly over the top of the oatmeal box, with internal storage for a hat brush.

I'm not going to wrap it in fabric scraps, though. I like seeing the words "Old Fashioned" on the box's front. They help keep me in touch with a set of values that haven't gone out of style.