Don't save it all...but a few things help

A Frugal Friday on thriftiness...or better yet, "How thrifty should I be?" My Grandmother who I miss dearly always had a rubber band around her wrist and a tissue in her sleeve. She saved everything from bread tabs and twist ties to each and every dry heel of bread to put in the paperbag under the cupboard for her delicious stuffing at Thanksgiving. She was a waste not want not kind of lady. But how much is too much? I try so hard to be reasonable about the things I save. Yes, you could use that rubber band again but do you really need 11,675 of them? Yes, that re-sealable bag has a lot of life left in it but if you can't cram it in the drawer is it really worth finding them a new home just to store more? And the big one...Yes, you could probably use that on a scrapbook page some day but really...are you actually going to do it? The answer to all three of these questions {no matter what} is a resounding NO! Let's expand on the last one with a few frugal tips I use myself. I keep one medium sized bin of "ephemra" and if it gets too full, well, I just have to prioritize. I also started looking at my stash with an opened eye wondering what I could re-purpose or start to make on my own. You know Mod Podge? It's watered down white glue. {Thanks Sasha!} There was a time when I asked myself if I really needed to keep spending the money on my yearly membership at my local scrapbook store. I wasn't shopping there all that much anymore {trying to use my stash!} and it was $28. That's a haircut. So I was seriously considering letting it expire when a friend showed up on my doorstep with an armload of cardboard. If you think the two are not related, you apparently aren't a scrapbooker. One of my fave embellishments is chipboard. It comes in all shapes and sizes, colours and finishes and will cost you a pretty penny. And a HUGE dent was made in my budget purchasing said chipboard. Oh how I love it so. But if you want to go the frugal route, you can start saving the cardboard you come across in your daily life like cereal boxes, the packages enlarged photos come in, calendars {thanks Barb!} and the like. With a little imagination, some paint, ink and glossy accents and a $28 yearly membership at Just Scrap It I turn all that scrap cardboard into anything my heart desires. They have a very large selection of diecuts there and let me tell ya if they don't have it, you don't need it. I think over the last few years there has only been once that they didn't have the shape I was looking for. That's worth the price of admission right there! So skip all the over priced pieces of chipboard. Scout around, you just might have some sitting in your recycling bin waiting to be transformed!