Monday, June 8, 2009

The Esthetics of Frugality

So, we are trying hard to be frugal because we believe it is the right way to live. We are intentionally seeking to consume less, and lead a simpler life. Sometimes this looks nice, and sometimes it does not. Our kitchen shows an example of each case. This sad looking pile of parts was recently a very nice looking faucet. When a youngster in the family attempted to use it as gymnastics equipment, it's useful life was ended. Fortunately, an old salvaged from who knows where faucet was waiting in the garage. Because I am brave and committed to consuming less, I did not complain excessively as the replacement was installed. As it turns out, this new to us fixture is so much easier to use that I have come to like it quite well.
The other example that I would mention here is our new old stove. We have had success heating our house with wood for a number of winters, and have been on the lookout for a cook stove. This coal / wood cook stove turned up at the right price. To me it is just beautiful.
The best part is that this lovely stove will replace a clothes dryer that has not worked for two years. When the dryer stopped working, I already knew that I could get our clothing dry without electricity for most of the year. We debated about tossing the machine right away. Mr. Moss said that if I chose not to fix the machine, a new one would not be an option in the future. What I learned is that if we have a wood stove going in the winter, I can easily dry all our clothing all year long. If we have two stoves working, I see no reason to keep the dryer. See, there is a connection here! In this case, the stove is much nicer to look at. -Polly

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