Issue #31 Scrimp Scrimp Scrimp...

Apr 11, 2024

And…

Yes, I did use a padded mailer that got butter on it.

Someone ordered a book and I wrapped it up and then accidentally got it close to the butter dish and took it to the post office anyway.

And figured I could blame the good old USPS if the customer complained.

Hello, I’m Anne.

And I’m cheap.

Or you could call me thrifty.

Or economical, frugal, penny pinching – take your pick.

I can’t say that I grew up in poverty. But we didn’t exactly have a lot of extra money to throw around and my mother raised us to really know how to stretch a dollar.

There have been times in my life where I have really, really, really needed to tap into that training.

Which is why, if you know where to look in my house, you will find:

Many, many, many pencils of all sizes. (Including the two inch ones.)
Dozens of tiny shampoo bottles. (Plus all the other little items up for grabs at a hotel.)
Various condiment packets. (Actually, many of these might be pretty dodgy and I should pitch them soon.)
A refrigerated container of solid bacon grease. (The top layer is pretty recent. Lord knows how old the stuff at the bottom is – I don’t dig too deep.)
Important notes written on the backs of envelopes. (I don’t know why I do this - I have so many stacks of post-its.)
Duvet covers I’ve made out of old bed sheets for down comforters that have seen better days but can still keep you warm.
Every twisty tie off every bread wrapper ever.

I could go on but I’m sure you get the picture.

Perhaps some of those things are over the line. But I probably will not change much from that list because it’s not just about being economical, it’s also about being practical. And also keeping perfectly useful things out of landfills.

And not living a disposable life.

But the more you linger in that zone, the more it becomes a habit. And, perhaps, goes just a wee bit beyond.

One such example would be this:

Once upon a time, I went to an auction and saw two cool chairs. I figured in my head that I would be willing to spend up to $30 each on them.

The bidding began.

Crickets.

In frustration, the auctioneer dropped down to $5 “for openers”. I raised my hand and then waited for the other bidders to jump in.

No one did.

“Sold!”

What I hadn’t realized – I don’t know how I missed this but I think maybe I hadn’t been to many auctions yet – was that I had bid for “choice” out of an entire lot of chairs.

It turned out there were about thirty of them and I could now choose as many as I liked for $5 each!

Never one to waste an opportunity, I bought six of them.

That was in 1995.

Those chairs have served me well through two different living rooms, the back porch and sometimes the garden.

Two of them fell victim to the teething puppy (from previous newsletter fame) and got sent to the curb.

The others have been refinished and had the cushions recovered at least ten times but are now truly showing their age. They have been exposed to the elements and are starting to come unglued and the finishes are failing.

But I just can’t seem to let them go.

You would think that I could be content to realize that, not only did I get a fabulous deal in 1995, I have been “winning” every year since.

And there comes a time to move on.

Maybe this will be the year.

Although, I spent three hours restoring the webbing support last weekend.

So maybe next year…

Mark Your Calendars

I am happy to be part of Kenosha’s Small Business Saturday.

I’ll be playing my harp on November 25th from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. in this shop window:

to help lure Thanksgiving weekend shoppers into Dawn’s Style.

Not only does Dawn carry copies of my book, she has all kinds of terrific boutique items at affordable prices. Check out her FaceBook page here.

Dawn’s is located at 633 58th St in Kenosha’s Downtown.

If you are in the area please stop in!

The Anne and God book makes a great holiday gift so don’t miss this chance to grab a couple for folks in your life who could use a lift!

About Dahlias

So, it turns out that if you don’t stake your dahlias - I mean REALLY stake them - they tend to do this. (Lesson learned for next year…)

Although, that does mean you can go ahead and cut a bunch of them to bring indoors like this:

Bonus Pic

Keep The Messages Coming!

A big “thank you” to all of you who have messaged me commented or hit “like” after reading my poems and commentary!

I appreciate the feedback and knowing how often I have struck a chord with your lives.

Anne The Passive Aggressive Poet

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