Living in Los Angeles sometimes sabotages that intent--I pay nearly $2K a month for an apartment so small, I also rent a storage unit for where some of my furniture lives--but basically I live by my granmother's philosophy, which was "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without."
I admit I'll spree-spend on things my grandmother would have considered needless luxuries, but when money is tight, I do what I have to do.
That's a lot easier to do when you work at home. You don't have dry-cleaning bills or commuting costs. You don't have to deal with business lunches or office birthday celebrations. (My sister nearly went broke one year buying birthday presents for colleagues she didn't even like because the corporate culture at her job STRONGLY encouraged people to participate in community events like birthday parties and Christmas gift exchanges.
I abhor waste of any kind and living in an apartment building, I see a lot of waste. Whenever anyone moves out, pieces of perfectly good furniture suddenly appear on the easement between the building and the street. Most of the time, this furniture is snapped up by the urban gleaners who cruise the neighborhood, but if it stays otu there too long (more than a day or two), someone always comes along to wreck it. And what once might have been a perfectly serviceable side table is suddenly just a few pieces of splintered wood; and what used to be a nearly brand-new mattress is suddenly soaked in dog piss.
That makes me crazy.
It doesn't take that long to call and arrange a pick-up from Goodwill or Out of the Closet or some other charitable organization. And while a lot of places don't take mattresses for sanitary reasons, This Green Life offers some suggestions on how you can donate and recycle them.
