I think handmade household items are going to make a comeback, and that’s good. Making things not only saves money, but in most cases you can make something of higher quality than what you’d find in the store.
Case in point: we have a very sturdy round braided rug made for us in the early 1980s by my grandmother. It’s still in great shape. Gram used to go to thrift stores and buy wool or polyester coats, pants and skirts that she could cut up into strips. Then she’d braid the strips and sew them in a circle. Most of the household items we bought in the 1980s have long since fallen apart, but not Gram’s rug.
Here’s an interesting article that explains how to make braided rugs. This would be a great creative project for older kids and teens, or for adults who’d rather not buy a Chinese-made rug that’s going to come apart in a few years.
I’ve been fascinated by the housing bubble for several years now. As a result, I’ve read many articles about people who used their home equity lines as credit cards, bought all sorts of goodies, trips, cruises, etc. and are now faced with foreclosure because their home values plummeted and they owe way more than their homes are worth. Reading all that stuff can make you feel pretty jaded.
And then I read this foreclosure story. A couple was making lots of money and had all the goodies. But their marriage was falling apart. Then she had a cancer scare and surgery. He had a heart attack. As a result, they burned through their savings. When the economy went south, they lost their house.
Where do you think they are now? You’ll have to read the story to find out. God’s hand is all over it. I’m pleasantly surprised that a secular newspaper published this story the way it’s written, because God gets credit for once. A good reminder that, in the midst of all this economic turmoil, He’s still in charge.
I receive so many email forwards. Some aren’t worth forwarding, so I delete them. But this one makes a good point:
One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.
On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?”
“It was great, Dad.”
“Did you see how poor people live?” the father asked.
“Oh yeah,” said the son.
“So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?” asked the father.
The son answered:
“I saw that we have one dog and they had four.
We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.
We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.
Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.
We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.
We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.
We buy our food, but they grow theirs.
We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.”
The boy’s father was speechless.
Then his son added, “Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are.”
Isn’t perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don’t have.
The past few decades have seen many people caught up in things, new things, like new cars, new big fancy homes, new designer clothes….why use what you have when you can get new everything? Fueled mostly by borrowed money (borrowed against the house or put on credit cards), new things have been easier to come by and people have gone for them in a big way.
But times are changing. The economy’s in bad shape. House values are dropping and home equity lines of credit (HELOC) are being frozen as a result. Many people have maxed out their credit cards. They’re running out of ways to buy things.
And that’s not all bad. When people are forced to give up their obsession with things, they’ll be able to pay more attention to what’s really important in life: other people, experiences, and especially God. I’ve always liked this saying:
The best things in life aren’t things.
