Holy cow! The year is half over! It's hard to believe that we've changed so much in 6 months (and overwhelming that there's still so much I can do). The changes are getting more difficult to make. There are a couple big ones that are looming in the background. I'm holding out because of the fall-out from my family. Hubby and the kids are pretty easy going about most of the changes I make/have made, but there are a few things that I think will make them flip (no refined sugar specifically). Before I do that, I need to have several recipes at my disposal that use natural sweeteners so they can still get a "fix."
Anyway, a change still needs to be made for this week. Over the weekend, I was doing the budget for July and was trying to come up with money for school clothes for the girls. They attend a parochial school and uniforms are required. It just so happens that the last week of school this past year, someone left a neon green crayon in their pants pocket and now all of the school pants/shorts have green streaks all over them. New pants are definitely in order, as I'm sure that green stripes do not adhere to the dress code. Since this is the month that we have to pay for at least half of the school fees, coming up with extra money is difficult. I worked $100 for clothes into the budget (at the expense of dishwasher and computer replacement $) and still wondered how I was going to be able to get 4-5 pair of pants for each of the girls to start school in. And don't forget supplies, which even with sales, run about $30 each.
God provides. Sometimes I forget. :) I just read the reminder in the church bulletin for the uniform exchange sale that will coincide with school registration. It hit me... Why do the girls need NEW clothes? They don't. They need nice clothes, without stains or holes. That doesn't mean new from the store. So, I will be going through the big tote of school clothes this week and sorting out what doesn't fit (for my contribution to the sale) and making a list of what the girls need for next year-quantity and sizes. I will be heading to the uniform sale hoping to get most of what we need. If I don't find everything on my list, I'll call up some of my friends from other parishes to see if they have a sale that I could attend.
Buying used clothes in good condition will help me stretch that $100 I have budgeted. Maybe I will have enough left over to buy a few school supplies as well.
I hope to budget another $50-$100 for clothing in August as well. With that, I hope to hit up enough fall garage sales to pick up all of the winter clothing and outerwear the kids will need. Little man is in serious need of snowpants and boots. Both girls need a couple pair of jeans that fit and maybe a nice outfit for Christmas. Even Mama could use a few new tops and maybe a winter outfit for church.
I think it's funny how I've changed over the years. Once upon a time, I was the person who would say, "GARAGE SALE!!! Gross! I don't want someone else's junk." Now, not so much. I would rather go to a garage sale first to see if I could find what I need so I'm not purchasing new goods that use valuable resources to make, transport and sell them. If the garage sale route doesn't work, I will call friends of mine that are the same size to see if they have anything that they want to sell or maybe swap for items that I have. There's also ebay, freecycle or criagslist to check out. Really, with all of the options for quality used items, there's very few reasons to buy anything new. Well, maybe Christmas presents for my nephews... but I will pick those up on clearance! LOL
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