*DISCLAIMER: Before anyone reads this article they have to understand one thing...I am a very thrifty, frugal person by nature. I LOVE saving money and never buy something for full price. I learned to sew because I wanted to buy clothes that weren't the cutest or were to big at a huge discount and alter them rather than buying clothes at full price. My drive to be self reliant is in part motivated by a desire to save money.
This article might lead someone to believe that I am a shopping maniac. Please keep in mind that sometimes when I get writing my literary license takes over. The moral of all this preliminary rambling is that I am careful with how I spend my money! :)



There are some things in life that are better empty. The kitchen garbage, coffins, a parking lot and diapers are a few of them. I suppose there could be more...like the lint collecting thing in the drier or the stalls in a public restroom, but after a brief bit of pondering on the subject I've decided more things are better full. Cartons of ice cream, tip jars, a dinner plate, Christmas stockings, gas tanks, the moon (unless you are a werewolf or want to do some star gazing), bank accounts, my fridge...I could go on and on.

2001 A Space Odyssey. Image found at
The Pleonastic Rants of C.S. Daley

Actually, I thought of something else that is, in my anti-constant-contact-with-humanity-through-technology mindset, infinitely better empty - voicemail boxes. Have you ever called someone hoping that they wouldn't pick up the phone so that the electronic savior of awkward phone conversationalists would allow you to leave a message. You wait with fingers crossed and heart racing for what seems like forever. The ringing stops and you inhale preparing to speak your purpose for calling into the mouthpiece. Suddenly a voice, who must be the wife of Hal from 2001 A Space Odyssey, informs you that she is sorry, but the mailbox of the person you are trying to reach is full...I wonder if all bringers of doom have such a smoothing, professionally personal voice? With that said, I'll get back to my original topic.

The door to this tangent of empty versus full was opened with my mailbox while I was in the post office today. I turned the key and looked into one of the most depressing voids of my current existence. An empty mailbox is almost unbearable when one is eagerly waiting on almost half a dozen packages.

Let me reassure you that although waiting on that many packages at once sounds like extravagance they all contribute to the health of my finances or qualify as a much needed accessory. Let me explain.

I have heard of budgeting compared to a dam. A budget is a means of controlling the amount of "water" that flows out of the financial reservoir.  It doesn't matter how much money is in your bank account as long as you always spend less than you have. I am fairly skilled at making and following a budget; however, it seems that the sudden rush of income into my account is causing my financial dam to bulge and strain. I look at my few small monthly purchases as dam maintenance; I am releasing some of the strain on my budget so it doesn't burst.

  

There are those who might think that a mortar and pestle is a luxury in any kitchen. However, the home chefs in these standard culinary establishments don't understand the needs of truly great food preparation. Grinding dried herbs and making natural lotions require this kitchen essential. I wanted one that would last through the years of my culinary explorations.

Every good chef and the editors of Bon Appetite magazine know that there are three knives which no kitchen should be without. A chef's knife...check, a pairing knife...check, and a serrated knife...check, pending. When I was generously offered a Wusthof serrated knife and natural wood breadboard at 60 percent off, with my mortar and pestle, I simply couldn't pass up the offer. No self-respecting iron chef could have refused.

Let me go off on one more tangent-within-a-tangent. There is another knife that I feel is absolutely essential, although less frequently used than the previously mentioned trio. Anyone who has tried to turn a whole chicken into stock will agree that a cleaver is a must. It is impossible to avoid bone splinters in your broth without one. Hammers, saws, a hatchet and even kitchen sheers can't take its place. With that said...

Fall is coming (or was, when I wrote this article) with it's crisp air and scarlet leaves. The whisper of cooler weather has brought with it the realization that I am...or was...lacking boots. Exchanging a few dollars for some fashionable, frostbite preventing footwear to protect my dainty feet is a small sacrifice to make. One might ask, was it truly necessary to get two pairs? I have seen people bend the fashion guideline of never combining blacks and browns many times...I have just seldom seen it done successfully. Ordering black suede boots basically condemned me to purchase the gray highheeled gems I found a few days later. They were drastically on sale...75% off. Regardless of how much something costs 75% is a huge amount; in fact, the larger the original price the more you save.

I could go on, but I think this horse is dead. It is plain that all of my recent online purchases, from the Excalibur food dehydrator to the 30+ packets of organic heirloom seeds, are a necessity.

Hopefully, tomorrow my little mailbox will be bursting at the...hinges with brown boxes of all sizes and origins.