A New View

It is looking at life from a whole new perspective. Creative frugality is a never-ending treasure hunt, a challenge to one's imagination and a wonderful sense of freedom from having to earn a lot of money.

One aspect of creative frugality is in seeing things in a different light. In other words, using your imagination to see beyond the traditional uses for things. Some examples of this are listed below.

• A neighbor of ours saw old gutters as planters along a fence.
  
  
• Another neighbor saw an oil drum cut in half lengthwise as a barbecue pit.
  
  
• I saw a quohog (clam) shell that we had found at the beach as a soap dish in the bathroom.
  
  
• After being stymied for a few years, I finally saw an old, wooden, index-card file cabinet (missing two drawers) as a container for potatoes and onions. I set it upright on its back so that the openings were facing up and painted a farm scene on its side.
  
  
• My mother-in-law with her artistic eye saw a slice of watermelon when she looked at a wooden bowl that I had brought home from a yard sale. So I painted the outside green, the edge white and the inside red with black seeds.
  
  
• I saw a terra cotta wine holder as a vase for silk flowers.
  
  
• I saw an old drawer hung on the wall and used as a display case.
  
  
• I saw a wooden trivet as a display for miniatures.
  
  
• I saw an old, discarded, wooden box as a miniature room waiting to be painted and used to display doll house furniture.
  
  
• Some clever person saw old windows as frames for mirrors or pictures.
  
  
• Another clever person saw a printer's tray as a display case.
  
  
• I saw in a magazine a decorative tin used as a utensil holder in the kitchen.
  
  
• I have used wooden napkin holders as note pad holders , drilling a hole for a pencil. I have also used a wooden note pad holder as a napkin holder.
  
  
• I saw an old wooden shoe shine box as a storage place for audio cassette tapes.
  
  
• Many people see doors as perfect desk tops when placed on two small file cabinets.
  
  
• My mom saw a wooden cranberry scoop as a magazine rack.
  
  
• A friend of mine saw an old, fragile, wooden highchair as a plant stand.
  
  

Betsy Sullivan is a CPA and writes a bimonthly newsletter called "Balancing Act" that helps people save money and simplify their lives. For a sample issue, simply send $1.00 plus a S.A.S.E. to Balancing Act, P.O. Box 309, Ghent, NY 12075-0309 or visit her webpage at mrsbunny.com. To subscribe for a year, send $6.00 along with your name and address.

Do you have a time or money saving idea that wasn't included in this article? Please send it to tips @stretcher.com. We get the best ideas from our readers!

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