1-18-11 6:58 pm Clothes!

Talk about resource accumulation! A friend and co-worker gave me a very large bag of clothes yesterday. Today I sorted through it and am four or five outfits richer for it. Thank you L!

And we have soups. Three: Pea, Georgia Peanut, and our stand-by, Lentil Barley Stew.

These acquisitions lower the cost of living for us significantly, regardless of their humbleness. Second-hand clothes. They bring to mind items one dons before painting a room, or changing the oil. Certainly that possibility exists. Some pre-owned clothes perform a wider spectrum of services.

All the clothes from today's find, for instance, easily classify as professional attire thanks to the good taste of their original purchaser. The thought of incorporating second-hand clothes into professional attire might resemble using recycled paper for memos. I mean the back sides, or erased areas of paper. Reused is maybe a better word. My perspective is one of augmentation. These new additions to my wardrobe maybe in themselves would be wanting, but when combined with other nice things, they make lovely outfits.

Pre-owned clothes lose monetary value like used cars. They cost at least ten times less, and usually have many many more miles on them. And they're vetted. Used clothes readily reveal how they'll wash. They're more than pre-shrunk, they're pre-everything'd. They're even pre-chosen. Ever been to a store, looked at something on the rack admiringly, and then wondered: Really? Could I be falling prey to some designer's off-day? Clothes in their second career once gleamed in a giddy purchaser's eyes. When I wear second-hand clothes, I know I'm at least the second person to have chosen this item of attire to wear. That comforts me.

Soup. A humble meal from time immemorial. And rich with flavor. Soups are one of my favorite forms in which to consume victuals. They're nutritious, delicious, and usually fairly light in the labor department. Their low price adds appeal, for me.

A steak dinner, replete with potatoes, gravy, a salad, the wine, and chocolate cake for dessert, easily runs over $5.00 a plate, even for homemade and especially when you purchase a good cut of meat. Soup-dinners have lower expectations: Bread, maybe a little wine, maybe a light dessert. Keeping the cost down for soup meals comes easily. Anne sometimes makes an Irish Soda bread for us, keeping the cost even lower, and enriches her dining experience.

Today I did more than save money. My family appreciated a humble, delicious and nutritious meal. I accepted the generosity of a friend, and expanded my wardrobe. During this, what some are calling the Great Recession, when we could easily feel we're bleeding financial resources, it's refreshing to count my gains.