Abundance Everywhere

Recently, we have been doing some purging and giving from our bounty. I rearranged the kitchen by pulling out the table and creating a space in the larger living room to add the dining area and expanded the kitchen were I’m quite busy cooking and baking these days. Plant based cooking does require some prepping and cooking ahead and I’ve gone back to making bread by hand instead of always in the bread maker. I wanted space to move around and I wanted my island under the window looking out onto two lush yards and near all that warm sunlight that streams in. We have had a long winter, so sunlight is coveted right now.

My husband helped clean out and reorganize the pantry off the laundry room and in so doing we filled bags with canned meats and foods we try not to eat anymore. The bags of food and all the bags and egg cartons we save went to the food bank. I love the food bank. We go there when money is tight, which it is often now, and we take what we don’t eat and donate. I save bags and cartons for them and in the Summer my kids and I volunteer every week. I adore the people that work there tirelessly and it reminds us to be of service to our community to keep it healthy and spread the love.

I’ve been doing some early Spring cleaning and decluttering and donated a car load of treasures to GoodWill and when the weather is nice, I put free things on the street, as do our neighbors. I go from room to room and clean deeply, rearrange things, and purging. The house is feeling open and lovely these days.

We are working with a small budget right now, however, I can still pay bills easily. I just have to be very careful. When I had a YouTube channel there was a cushion and extra for stuff and groceries. Groceries are necessary, but stuff usually can wait. I don’t buy stuff anymore. Not even my used cookbooks that I’m crazy about. But then I have the library and I can find anything there and enjoy it for a time. Most things we want we can find free or find an alternative. Switching out wants from say, I want to buy more nerf guns to I want to ride my bike in the forest. I say riding a bike in the forest is better on many levels. Let’s forget about shopping and go have experiences.

I’m waiting on our tax returns. We get a very nice amount back because years ago I sold my mothers property at a loss and each year I recieve a small allotment from the collateral loss amount. This is a gift every year. We were going to use it to pay off a chunk of the mortgage, but I decided to live a little with the kids. They are now at the perfect age to travel and it’s time for them to see what’s out there.

When I was about their age, my mother took me to Europe for two months. We were always poor but she felt it was important and scrapped enough money together to take us. We did it the cheapest way possible; riding in cargo with the back packers on ships, sleeping above donkey stables in Greece, and doing second class on planes and trains. It was a great experience.

I decided that the mortgage will always be here waiting, but the kids will not. They will be off and running soon enough. I want this time with them and when I look back I won’t say, “I’m so glad I got that mortgage paid off.” No, I would have huge regrets that I didn’t travel with my kids. I decided to take the tax returns and do a little packaged trip to Europe or we can take a family friendly cruise to the Carribean. I’ve already done the research, called a travel agent, and watched lots of videos. We are thrilled and cruising is one of the cheapest ways to travel. I’ve done cruises in the past when I was single and I was hooked. I love them. It’s like floating in a fancy all inclusive city and then docking at the most charming villages.

We found our dream ship: The Icon of The Sea. It is the Royal Carribean. It is a fantastical village filled with color and fun activities. They even have a garden with trees on one level! Any ship that has trees and a water park is the ship for us. If we go off season it’s cheaper with all sorts of deals.

I would pay for the whole trip with the tax money and use the rest to fill our coffers; pantry, toiletries, cleaning supplies. Maybe pay a few utilities a few months ahead. I was planning away.

Then I saw an add on Craigslist, “come raid my bunker.” So, I did. And did this man have a bunker of food. He simply said he had a problem and was in recovery. I’m thinking he is a recovering prepper. I commend him on this and sharing his pantry. We filled the truck bed and back seat. It took me two days to sort through cans and mylar bags, I set up a little grocery store in my bedroom. I had empty shelves in half the closet and empty shelves on the wall in a nook. I kept the vegetarian, the rice, beans, oats, and Progresso soups for the kids. I filled ten or more bags to the top with the rest of the canned foods and goods and shared them with the food bank.

One man’s prepping gone wild and his recovery has fed a family of four and a whole community.

We now have enough to provide meals for months and that has taken care of our grocery bill. I’ve already started planting our vegetable garden over the last couple months. Soon as the weather warms up I’ll be putting in starts. With our pantry full and a garden that grows well now, after years of amending the soil, we are now more than provided for. In organizing my laundry room and cupboards in the bathroom, I see we have plenty of laundry soap, vinegar, baking soda, bath soaps, and toothpaste, I’ll need very little to fill in. Always stocking up when I have the funds and there are deals keeps us ahead for the times when we don’t have extra money and not a deal in sight.

The other day I drove past piles of free things on the street the and stopped to rumage. I found some nice clothes my size and my eldest size, a few nice bowls, decorations, and a pizza cutter. I was thrilled. My pizza cutter had fallen apart and we go through bowls and cups. I’ve been rebuilding my wardrobe and I want a nice one for the cruise. I found a few nice pieces in the pile. I only take what we need. I’ve purged and decluttered so much over the years, I want my home to stay uncrowded. It’s very bohemian right now and I’ve just painted four rooms gorgious colors so I have a look to preserve.

I love nothing more than finding freebies. I have decorated my whole house with free and garage sale items. I have filled our pantry and wardrobe with free, thrifted and garage sale stuff. It has saved us a fortune and it is the only way we can live on such a small income.

When we do have money flow in, we take time to think about where to use it, where it will serve us best. When we had the stimulous checks we bought fruit and nut trees and a bigger Berkey water filter, this saves us money in the future in huge ways and provides food into the future.

Our tax returns are usually used to pay off little bills and get ahead. However, right now we are ahead, thanks to the Universe providing so well. This time I’m using funds to have experiences and live a little. When we are always working, saving, scrimping, being frugal, we become exhausted by it. There is a time to live well. Even that can be done frugally.