Thrify Times
With the economy the way it is at the moment, here in the UK. We seem to have warped back in time and become truely thrifty. My idea of thrift was originally buying something from a charity shop that has been floating around for 30years. Yes this is thrift. But its not a thrifty life.
I’m working in an Arts and craft shop, which I feel is one of the best places to be at the moment. I’ve been here two weeks and already have started and completed three craft projects. I don’t think I’ll ever get to the level of the Lois/Harriet household, as they have a world of creativity buzzing around their home, and whilst Dave is creative, I doubt I’ll ever see the day when he’s crouched over my sewing machine. I actually think having to watch what you spend more closly is a great thing to happen in the long run. As It’s opened my eyes to just how spoilt we are in the western world.
Normally we’d go to Tesco and buy whatever we wanted, at whatever cost. Now we actually have to say, we can’t afford that. Let’s buy the cheaper or do without. Dave had the clever idea of us growing our own veg, which is very exciting for me, as my palette is becoming more varied day by day. And I’d love to be able to just pick the vegetables and be able to taste them without a care, like they do on River Cottage. So Dave’s made a bed out of recycled timber, and put the compost down. All we need now is the seeds and were away 
We already have strawberry plants coming into full grown, they were planted this time last year though.
The garden is still quite a mess, we have both been working hard to try and made it look nicer, and become habitable for when we purchase chickens. I’ve weeded the patio and am making headway on the borders, and Dave is in charge of mowing and generally looking manly.
Another area that has become totally thrifty is my shopping habits. I love shopping, I love touching all the different textures, the displays, the smells etc etc. This….has all stopped.
Stopped. I haven’t bought a new piece of clothing now for three months. Part of me is sad, part of me is very proud. Instead of buying anything, I have been customising my own clothes and have dusted off my sewing machine to start making my own clothes. Something my Mum and Nana did in the 60’s. My Mum has given me her two year stash of Prima magazine, meaning I have patterns galore to play with! I hope when I have mastered many crafts, I can come up with some sort of temporary store to sell some things. It will bring in extra income and also help me to de-clutter regulary. With all this in mind, I have decided to have a crafty christmas. By this I mean that I will be making most if not all of my friends and families presents. Again another reason thrify living works! You can tailor your crafting to the individual, so they should love it. (fingers crossed).
*rushes back to work*