I believe the key to a frugal life is organization. When I consider all the purchases I make needlessly, they are usually the result of my lack of organization.
Case in point: my husband has approximately 100 pairs of socks. I have no organized system for doing laundry or storing clothes. The girls have two broken dressers in their room. (They were purchased about two months ago by my mother-in-law for $100 each. I am going to write Target a letter to complain because these were the cheapest dressers ever made...)Prior to the dressers, we used a system of cubbies and cubes. This worked fine for the smaller kids, but the bigger the clothes, the fewer pieces you can fit in a cube. Because the bottom falls out of the dresser drawers everytime they are opened, clothes fall on the floor. Sometimes these clothes get picked up, other times they are left on the floor. The clothes on the floor must become invisible because the girls walk on them like they aren't even there. Ultimately, all of those clothes have to be washed again. The turn-around time on our laundry is about 10 days for clothes we "need". If no one needs it, the item may sit indefinitely. There have even been items that I forgot I owned they sat in the dirty clothes for so long. Michael was trying to find socks a few months ago, and I honestly had no idea where they were. My solution: buy new socks. Then we repeat the whole cycle over and over. Does Michael need 100 pairs of socks? Unless the laundry turn around time increaese significantly, probably not. My lack of organization resulted in spending a lot of money on socks we didn't really need. Socks aren't the only item this applies to. I have purchased extra of just about everything because I couldn't "find" the itme I needed.
How many times have you had a stressful day and stopped for fast food because it was the path of least resistance? We can purchase $5 pizzas where I live, and you bet I take advantage of this...over and over and over. Unfortunately, while 2 pizzas only sets me back $10, by the time I add in some breadsticks, I'm up to $15 and I may as well have just gone to McDonald's. While it was "convenient" it wasn't healthy, and if I saved that money over the course of a year I would have $540.
We are currently in the process of becoming more organized in order to become better stewards of all that God has given us. Check back for pictures of what we are working on. (I'll try to post them today :)
6 comments:
I have a couple of those same dressers I think--come off the track and sag so you can't push the drawers back in....
I think you have hit the nail on the head. The strategy you use is irrelevent, but you have to have a plan and a system if you want to save money. If you think you will just make the most of the random opportunities, I think you end up only doing a few budget saving things and then looking back later and realizing how many opportunities you have missed out on.
I once bought a dresser from target, and after at least 3 hours of messing with it, I finally had it all together...and it fell apart, I had to trash it...no money back for that one:(
So I guess the general consensus is that Target dressers are junk?!
When you figure out this organization thing let me know...You can write a book! Then I'll buy it and put it up on the shelf next to all the other organization books I forgot I owned...:-) But all kidding aside, I think as you get older, you naturally become more organized because you realize how chaotic life is without it!
By the way, all of you that got rotten target dressers, do the rest of us a favor and get online, find the dresser and "rate it" so nobody else makes the same mistake....I think it's sometimes true that you get what you pay for...Terry
Amen, sister! Gary and I have been in a declutter/get-organized mode all year long! The first rule of thumb I've read and seen, and does help, is if you haven't used it in a year, get rid of it! You obviously don't need it and it's cluttering your life. Second, don't go buy a bunch of organizational bins and boxes first. Decide exactly what you need, then go buy the storage for it. Hope those help!
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