Stephanie Wrote:
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> lol, great post. I so totally agree. I have
> never been much of one for fashion although I tend
> to have alot of clothes (my mother is a
> shopaholic). I tend to purchase items that will
> last for a long time and in classic styles that
> aren't going to be out of fashion in 3 months. For
> my children, forget it though...I'd much rather
> have enough clothes for them to not run out than
> to do exactly as you said, run half-loads of
> laundry just because there's nothing clean to
> wear. If anything does need to go, it's either
> yard sale or give it away in a yard sale. There
> are so many needy families out here that recycling
> outgrown clothes is very easy.

My grandmother *WAS* the local goodwill!

She acted as an informal clearning house for half the hand-me-downs in the county, and people would drop off anything they'd outgrown or had picked up on the cheap somewhere. Then when anybody needed stuff (especially re school starting, or winter coming on, etc) they'd stop by & go through the piles for what they wanted. This system prevented any stigma from being associated with the process.... there was no "charity", just folks sharing with each other. (Pick up stuff one month, drop stuff off the next).

She also turned out blankets by the bushel, and gave them away (handful of baby blankets to a couple with a new child, especially warm ones for families with poor insulation, long ones for those tall skinny country boys going off to college or the service... whose legs stuck out past the army beds...., and so on and so on). Sometimes she'd trade them, for extra fabric to supplement what people donated, or for stuff other people made.

Heh, folk would keep an eye out for bargains (Walmart employees would use their store discount to mark down discounted items even more, yard sales or out of business sales would be hit for fabric or clothes), and drop off what they'd gotten.

But then, this is a region where people with gardens go round visiting the neighbors with sacks, dropping off bags of produce here & there. If those folk don't like or get too much of something, it gets passed on to the next people in the chain. What goes around, comes around.

She had a special design for the blankets, one side was smooth material (upholstery fabric was best, for it's long wear, or maybe a durable tight cotton weave) while the other side was all fuzzy (one of those 1/2" pile fabrics that feels like a cat's tummy, or an especially soft brushed flannel). The edges were covered with a folded over strip of cloth edging, so they'd never wear (she always made rounded corners, to speed up the sewing... I STILL occasionally find one of her blankets in yard sales when I go back there). These blankets were extremely durable, and dual purpose.... the fuzzy side kept you unbelievably warm, the smooth side actually kept you cool on hot nights!

Sigh.... both my kids were born early & underwieght. Their Granny Re blankets kept them warm & safe, even in that dammed cold hospital! These (larger version, that is) are STILL their favorite blankets.

> They are finally
> building a goodwill out here so soon I'll be able
> to donate my "outgrown" (darn that thing called
> having babies, I'll never be size 6 again!!)
> clothes as well. That's been our one problem.
> Aparently, NOBODY wears size 6 clothes out here.
> lol

I'm not sure I even know anybody (misc Kids aside) wearing a size 6.... hmmm, my grandma was 6' & in her prime could life a grown man. My wife is 5'10" & has shoulders as broad as mine (I'm 6', and NOT skinny or petite built, btw). Wonder if I dare ask her what size she wears.....

> I refuse to buy clothes without pockets on the
> basis that I despise purses.

Good for you!

> Everybody assumed
> that I need a purse and a real "woman's" wallet
> because I'm never toting one. My first Christmas
> out here, I received two purses and a large
> wallet...lol both have remained relatively
> untouched. Heavy purses and the like simply cause
> more wear than necessary on shoulders.
>
> Heels are horrible for a woman's feet. They
> weaken the ankles as well contorting the toes into
> an unnatural shape eventually. I started wearing
> pointy toed heels when I was 16 years old. By the
> time I was 26, due to accelerated arthritis, my
> feet were contorted and my ankles so weak that at
> times, I have to brace them. Women think that
> their feet look pretty in such shoes but, from my
> own experience, just how pretty are their feet
> (what counts) going to look in 20-30 years of
> wearing such things.
>
> Stephanie

Foot fetishists, BLEH! (And then they look down on the olden times Chinese for foot binding....)

> P.S. I'm an organic gardener, too. Won't use even
> herbicides for weed control. Round-up is the
> devil!!!

Eh, once in a wgreat hile I've used acid (muriatic or nitric) for weed control (but that just IMPROVES my soil ph), normally I handpick, hoe, or burn.

Kenuchelover.