Cleaning my House Gives Me Christmas Money

Friday is typically errand day for us. Our weekly trip to town includes doing laundry at the laundromat and grocery shopping. We buy some household supplies at the discount store. We stop at a few garage sales and find a couple of bargains. We pick up our weekly mail accumulation.

Putting away my clothes, the cabinet door won't quite shut. I really have to squish down the pile of washcloths to get that drawer to close. It takes a bit of rearranging to get those bottles of cleansers onto the shelf. My husband opens the refrigerator door with a pound of bologna in hand, stares for a bit, closes the door, sets the bologna back on the counter, and says, "Honey, you'd better do this. You're better at cramming things in than I am." (I don't think he meant that as a compliment!) My attention turned toward the bologna, I don't need to immediately find a place for the set of crystal stemware I just bought - a real garage sale steal at $2.00. And the mail, well, suffice it to say my inbox runneth over.

It's time I clean house and purge my over-stuffed trailer of summer's accumulation of excess things. Here's what I do.and how I find enough money in the process to do my Christmas shopping.

1. I put a moratorium on food buying. The only grocery items I will buy in the next weeks are milk, eggs, and cheese. Yes, that means we will have some creative meals as we use what is in that crammed fridge and on the pantry shelves. It also means I'll be spending very little at the supermarket the next couple of months.

2. I get rid of things I don't use. Although every list of "kitchen essentials" I've ever read says I need mixing bowls, I don't use them because I mix things in kettles (I like having the handle to hang onto while I stir). I put them, and other household items I don't use, in a box to take to the local auction house.

3. I get rid of things I don't like. Yes, it maybe was a gift from someone I love. If so, I write them a letter, telling them I thought of them today - and still put the thing in the boxes for the auction.

4. I get rid of things I don't need. Yes, I like the set of crystal stemware I just bought at the garage sale, and yes, I would use it sometimes. But, I already have regular glasses and I already have a pair of wine goblets. I just don't need any more glassware of any kind. Hoping that someone else will know their value, I add them to the auction boxes.

5. I set reasonable quantity limits and get rid of the extra. Sometimes these are mandated by the size of the storage space. Yes, those washcloths I bought for a dime each were a great deal. No, it is not reasonable to travel around the country with more than one drawer full of them. Those auction boxes are getting as full as my cupboards used to be!

6. I try on all the clothes I own and set aside any that do not make me feel good. That is the sole criteria for what I keep - I must feel good wearing it. Everything else goes to the thrift-store.

7. I substitute what I have for what's on the shopping list, putting items to double or triple use. Rubbing alcohol mixed with ammonia makes a great window cleaner, is an excellent kitchen degreaser, and makes the shower shine. That means there's three less containers in the cleaning supplies and three expensive products I won't be buying.

8. I look through catalogs, admire the pretty things on the pages, and enjoy seeing them. Then, I throw those catalogs - without ordering a thing. That means a shorter stack of papers and no money spent.

I'm not spending the money on groceries or cleaning supplies that I normally would be - that's money that stays in the bank. Likewise for things from the catalogs. There's a nice check from the boxes of stuff I didn't like, use, or need that went to the auction and thrift-store. That all adds up to a good size chunk of cash - enough to buy Christmas gifts for everyone on my list - and all I did was clean my house!

Joy and prosperity.Coleen

©2000 Coleen Sykora

About the author: Coleen Sykora is the editor of Workers On Wheels with her husband, Bob Nilles. This is their eighth year of full-time Rving. Together, they combine work and travel. Coleen’s magazine, WOW also has articles written by other working RVers, employers who hire mobile workers, and resource people knowledgeable in the lifestyle. Any questions and comments are always welcome, e-mail Coleen at moms@workersonwheels.com and check out her website and magazine, Workers On Wheels