Just a thought...

[Penelope]

Haven't you heard? The sky is falling!!
Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?
What percent of homes were foreclosed on in an average year? No, I do not currently have any stocks, but I did and I saw the value of them drop considerably - as Sam Walton put it at that time - ON PAPER! You do not really lose it until you sell. And when I did end up selling my stocks to pay medical bills, I sold every share for a lot more than I paid for it in the first place. I held on to it and gained, not lost. The people who will actually lose right now are the faint-hearted who sell because the price dropped..

I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

Did you ever wonder why the sky is falling NOW? Why not back in April? Why not this December? Why now? What happened?

What happened is that all these banks with all their foreclosed loans went and claimed their mortgage insurance at the same time, driving AIG under.
It's a domino effect and the dominos have already started falling...
=)
Kk.
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I changed the world today... packed up the size 3, moved the size 4's from one dresser to the other and put size 5 in. (Ds4x2 don't wear the same size and are almost 5.)

I changed the world today, too. I helped my kids go thru their toys/clothes/books/STUFF to give it to Goodwill. It was so nice to be able to take bags of things out of their rooms for donation. Hopefully, in my ideological world, I helped the kids understand that it isn't what you have that makes you a good person, it's what you do with it.
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There is one more rule I insisted upon with my kids. Unless you would be willing to be seen wearing/playing with the item, you do not give it. If you would not want it, no one else would either and it goes in the trash.
DH's wife had died and left him with 5 kids. He had been off work for several months trying to find out what was wrond with him (a person with high BP does not eat salt but no one told him that) and the church they had been attending had been sending over a casserole on Friday night since she died. That was very nice BUT without asking anything, they brought over a ton of groceries and wrapped packages for the kids at Christmas - nice right? Wrong! I had just bought a ton of groceries (we were dating) and had no room for more, he had income protection insurance so did not miss a check (something I did not know until we were married and here I was kicking in my meager earnings to supplement the $40 he gave me for groceries every week - not enough even in 1974!). The worst of it was the toys, when unwrapped, were dinged up crap that should have been thrown away. The good thing about the whole experience was that I could now remind the kids of how they felt that day. If you would not want it, you do not give it.
Sorry. Off soapbox. I know you would only give what was nice enough to receive.
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There is one more rule I insisted upon with my kids. Unless you would be willing to be seen wearing/playing with the item, you do not give it. If you would not want it, no one else would either and it goes in the trash.
Sorry. Off soapbox. I know you would only give what was nice enough to receive.

Yes, I agree with you totally. We did not give away junk, we cleaned out stuff. Things the kids outgrew physically, emotionally, mentally... I do not think of Goodwill/Salvation Army/Interchurch as an equal alternative to a landfill. I also know that is this economy and with Christmas coming up, many people in my area will be shopping at those stores for their Christmas gifts. I explained to the kids that what they were willing to part with might bring a smile to another child's face soon. It was certainly more of a "giving" cleanup versus and "decrapifying" cleanup....
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There is one more rule I insisted upon with my kids. Unless you would be willing to be seen wearing/playing with the item, you do not give it. If you would not want it, no one else would either and it goes in the trash.
Sorry. Off soapbox. I know you would only give what was nice enough to receive.

Yes, I agree with you totally. We did not give away junk, we cleaned out stuff. Things the kids outgrew physically, emotionally, mentally... I do not think of Goodwill/Salvation Army/Interchurch as an equal alternative to a landfill. I also know that is this economy and with Christmas coming up, many people in my area will be shopping at those stores for their Christmas gifts. I explained to the kids that what they were willing to part with might bring a smile to another child's face soon. It was certainly more of a "giving" cleanup versus and "decrapifying" cleanup....

What is the term "gently used" or something. I forget now, but it is a nice way to say not a bunch of junk.
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Yes, "gently used" is the PC term.

 

[Morticia]

I'm a member of freecycle.com - our area is not very active yet but I've done a few give-aways... filing cabinet, dog house, and misc things and have received a whirlpool motor. Freecycle is organized by state & town - check it out!.

I'm a member of freecycle.com - our area is not very active yet but I've done a few give-aways... filing cabinet, dog house, and misc things and have received a whirlpool motor. Freecycle is organized by state & town - check it out!

We have a local swap newspaper called Uncle Henry's. The state innkeeper's association head sends out an email whenever an inn is getting rid of good, used items. (Laundry carts, bedding, room suites, whatever.) We call it 'Uncle Greg's' after the head of the association. A lot of the stuff that is being changed out is only a year old (corporate changeovers in hotels may hit them after they've just bought all the 'old' style bedding & decor). I bought a couple of chairs for $10. Good deal.

 

[gillumhouse]

I'm a member of freecycle.com - our area is not very active yet but I've done a few give-aways... filing cabinet, dog house, and misc things and have received a whirlpool motor. Freecycle is organized by state & town - check it out!.

I'm a member of freecycle.com - our area is not very active yet but I've done a few give-aways... filing cabinet, dog house, and misc things and have received a whirlpool motor. Freecycle is organized by state & town - check it out!

We have a local swap newspaper called Uncle Henry's. The state innkeeper's association head sends out an email whenever an inn is getting rid of good, used items. (Laundry carts, bedding, room suites, whatever.) We call it 'Uncle Greg's' after the head of the association. A lot of the stuff that is being changed out is only a year old (corporate changeovers in hotels may hit them after they've just bought all the 'old' style bedding & decor). I bought a couple of chairs for $10. Good deal.
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At least 5 years ago (or more, I forget), the manager of the local Bob Evans told my friend who is a regular customer (so much so they sent flowers when her f-i-l died) that they were replacing their chairs and selling the old ones for $10 each. We went over and bought 6 - still using them today. Nice wood and picked out the sturdiest they had.

 

[hawley]

I'm a member of freecycle.com - our area is not very active yet but I've done a few give-aways... filing cabinet, dog house, and misc things and have received a whirlpool motor. Freecycle is organized by state & town - check it out!.

I use freecycle and the other yahoo groups that sell and barter plus craigs list for my city. When we converted the apartments, I used freecycle to get the stoves and refrigerators to new homes. One the Cat House (a no kill shelter for cats) took a refrigerator for their volunteers and couldn't get it moved so they came over and we loaded it into our pickup and took it over there for them. They unloaded and put it in place.
I have also given away book cases, stools and sinks, cabinets as I remodel.
We have a reuse store and I give to them and buy from them. The 5 bulb light in the beverage center we just set up is from the reuse store. I got it and 2 hanging lights for $20.
It really keeps things out of the land fill.
I bought 2 microwaves and a small refrigerator from craigs list and they are a great addition to the B&B.