Back to basics can be frugal, simple, and fun

Can spending money make us happy? Maybe it depends on what we buy:

We can use tough economic times to re-evaluate our priorities, including where we are spending our time and our money. Does spending more and more money on stuff make us happy? The recent New York Times article But will it make you happy suggests that it doesn't and the article goes on to include some of the research out there to prove it.

It appears that many of us get more satisfaction for our dollars, when we buy experiences rather than stuff.  Humm. Another shirt jammed into the crowded closet or tickets to an event? A fancy belt or a board game to play with the family? They don't seem like  difficult choices when they are expressed in those terms.

I am hopeful. As a nation of consumers, we are showing changes in how much we consume and what we consume. This is a time for cautious optimism!

Simplify Thanksgiving or Christmas?

It can be tough to change holiday traditions because they involve other people's plans and wishes too. Thanksgiving can be used as a time to discuss simplifying Christmas while the family is gathered together. Maybe it is too late to simplify the holidays this year, but you can plant seeds to simplify things for next year!

Please share your thoughts of what works and doesn't work to simplify holiday get-togethers. Thank you!

A dusting solution that wasn't as "simple" as it looked!

I found an idea at www.thriftyfun.com to dust flat lampshades with a lint roller. I have dogs, so by definition, I have lint rollers. Many lint rollers. Lots of lint rollers scattered throughout my home. This lint roller lamp dusting concept seemed like a good idea to me.

At 6:00 a.m. this morning, I tried it. Yes! I had just showered and dressed, and, you guessed it, grabbed the lint roller in the bedroom to get the dog hair off my jeans...I started working on the four-sided square shade with the roller. It appeared to be working! Unfortunately, the shade was turning in place as I was working on it, so I grabbed the finial and instead of tightening (okay, I am a lefty and I probably turned it the wrong way), it came off in my hand.

Next, I dropped the heavy metal lamp finial. On its way down, it broke the lamp's light bulb. Now I was standing barefoot in my darkened bedroom at 6:00 a.m. with electricity in a broken lightbulb and broken glass to clean up.

Of course, I "survived." I unplugged the lamp, cleaned up the glass...The whole incident just put a bit of a damper on the little dusting tip I had discovered.