Old Stuff

Yesterday I placed a pair of shorts in the donation bag.  I came across them while cleaning my closet. After trying them on, I realized that I bought them about a month before my wedding, which was in February of 1999! My choices were limited in January in northern California, which may well explain why I bought a pair of dark blue shorts. I should never, ever wear dark shorts against the white skin of my thighs, especially on a vacation taking place in the middle of winter! Oddly enough, they're still fairly fashionable, so to the donation bag they went.

This morning I plugged in my electric kettle to heat up some water. I heard a strange noise, and saw the cord sizzling a little. Little wisps of smoke rose up. The water heated up just fine after that, but I think it's time to toss the almost 16-year-old kettle (bought in December of 1996). I looked at a few kettles on Amazon this morning. They've really come down in price over the last 16 years! Then there's the fact that I can boil water in a pan on the stove. I'm not the tea drinker that I use to be, so maybe a pan's the way to go.

Sometimes I wonder what I've spent our money on. I live in a country where shopping is encouraged, excess is rampant, and frugality is viewed as odd. I'm frugal when it comes to grocery shopping, stocking up with sales and coupons and trying to purchase the best quality at the best price. I rarely buy clothing when it's not on sale or clearance. Then there are times that I wonder why I bought something. We don't use it, don't eat it, or it doesn't fit right. What  was I thinking? Am I just being wasteful?  Enter this week, and the day that I gave away shorts that are 13 1/2 years old, or tossed a kettle with a faulty cord. My curling iron of 9 years broke a couple of weeks ago. Maybe I'm holding on to things too long, but it was nice to know that I'm not entirely wasteful with everything I buy!