pumpkin!

Since our summer storm killed my pumpkin plants, I was pretty bummed about not having any pumpkin in my freezer. I did replant and we ended up with 2 small pumpkins. Those will be carving pumpkins and ultimately, squirrel food!

We have a charity pumpkin patch in town. They sell pumpkins by the inch around the middle. I'm not sure how they calculated the price, but the volunteer had a premarked peice of rope} I found one for $8.00. All the proceeds benefit Habitat For Humanity. Of the profits made, half goes to the farmer and half to the charity. I like that. I hadn't been before, so it was actually fun looking at pumpkins. I usually just use what grows in the garden.

I forgot to take a picture before I cut, so here's my half pumpkin. Is it just me, or does it look like it's smiling? ☺

I cut it into smaller sections to roast.

Of course we roasted the seeds.
I ended up with 10 cups of pumpkin. These are now in the freezer. {except 1 cup which hubby will take in his lunch tomorrow}

I'm glad that I went to the charity patch versus the grocery store. It makes you feel good. I had $9.00 to spend, but just couldn't find a pumpkin to match that amount. So, I just bought the $8.00 one and donated the dollar. My contribution may only buy some nails, but I still feel good about helping!

to simplify the wardrobe....

As I was getting dressed recently, I discovered that I literally had nothing to wear. Well, nothing that would match, anyway. {laundry day} It occurred to me that I have too many tops that are multi colored. If I had more neutral, solid colored blouses, then I could easily mix and match.

My solution? Go through my closet and donate anything that can't easily be paired with at least 2 or more bottoms. {read: slacks, sweats, skirts, capris etc} I am left with solid colored blouses, solid colored pants and multi colored skirts.

I think the multi colored skirts will keep me from boredom. I also think it will be easier to get dressed if I have more matching items. I can get a coupon, for donating 2 bags of clothing, to the thrift store. If needed, I can go and get a couple more tops to balance this wardrobe out.

This change should also cut down on laundry, since I will have less articles of clothing.

You don't cook for your kids? and decluttering

I was talking with a neighbor yesterday. We were talking about cooking. She said she doesn't cook for her kids. "If it doesn't come out of a box or a can, they don't eat". Her kids are 6 and 12. I asked if they've ever had a home cooked meal and she replied "oh yeah, when we go to a restaurant"! WOW! This is the neighbor always upset over their lack of money. Well, I'm not here to judge, but if you maybe cooked some meals instead of eating out and heating up convenience foods, you might get control of your finances. I can't say that of course. We are neighbors. You just don't want to have bad relations with neighbors.

On an unrelated note, I woke up this morning with the decluttering bug. I just started in the closet and then went to the dresser and night stand. It feels so good to get stuff out of here. Some of this stuff hasn't been used in a long time. Better to find it a new home!

In January, I did the ole turn your hangers around in the closet bit. {you turn all of your clothes hangers backwards. After one full year, any hangers that haven't been turned around haven't been worn and should be donated} I actually have been donating some of my clothes this past year, so I didn't have as many backwards hangers as I might have had. I did find 3 today. All three items went into the Goodwill bag. So far I have 3 bags today. I need to get my family to clean out their closets.

The best part of donating is that if you donate 2 or more bags, they give you a coupon for your next thrift store purchase. Yay!

Time to declutter...again

It's so easy to let things pile up, and so hard to let them go! My family LOVES to have "stuff". It drives me nuts. The clutter and mess actually makes me uneasy. I can easily say it puts me in a bad mood. I just like tidiness and order. No, I'm not fanatical about it, I just like to walk into a room and know where everything is. I also do not like to dust. This is a problem when you have lots of stuff!

In the last year and a half, we have taken down and emptied 3 old metal sheds. We built a new one. It did not take long to fill up. Dang. We made about 4 trips to the thrift store, put countless items at the curb, had a yard sale and donated 2 truck loads to a local church for their yard sale. We had that much stuff! There is still so much I'd like to see go far away!

So I pledge, for the rest of the year, to donate or toss one thing per day. That's 64 items. {counting today} Today, I will donate a pair of shoes. I bought them years ago, and wore them maybe twice. They are in excellent condition. They will find a new home.

Support your local "green" artists!

This guy makes amazing art using produce stickers! I saved quite a few and just mailed some to him. He is accepting produce stickers and they just end up in the trash anyway! So...why not?


http://photos.denverpost.com/photogalleries/coloradoimages/#id=album-64443&num=content-1270608



Send stickers to:
Stickerman
P.O. Box 301
Erie, Co 80516