Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Simple Steps In Frugality and Green Living #3 ~ Learning to wait

Simple Steps In Frugality and Green Living #3 ~ Learning to wait

I have found that one of the great "evils" against frugality and green living is impatience, instant gratification and an unwillingness to bide the time. In the past I have been very impatient when I want something - a new machine, an outfit, a dinner....but over the last few years I have learnt to bide my time.

Whether it is waiting for bread to rise....

Waiting for sprouts to sprout....

Waiting for keffir to culture....

Waiting for icecream to freeze....

Or just waiting for the Calendulas to grow and dry so that I can make soap - I have learnt to wait.

I can wait on bigger things too...I wait and watch as the strawberries ripen, the salads grow, the marrows elongate...I can wait.

I am learning to wait for even bigger things, like a new kitchen...we just keep fixing the cupboard doors when they break or repair the stove door when it leaks, disinfecting the crack in the sink top...

We are all waiting for a time (and the money) to build a room in the roof so that we can move the music equipment (and littlest one's Lego) out of the dinning room...

Waiting, I think takes time to learn, but it makes one reuse what is not quite broken. It saves money because there is no buying on credit....waiting instead of rushing out and purchasing makes you rethink what you have, repurpose something you find, or simply helps you to slow down a little and decide if you truly need it now.

5 comments:

Lois Evensen said...

So very true. It is amazing how much richer life is when you wait to get what you want after you have saved the money to get it. By then you have also had the time to rethink whether you really "want" it.

Tanya Murray said...

A very important lesson and one I find very hard to teach to my children.

Linnie said...

Oh, I love this posting! Growing in patiently waiting - thank you for the beautiful reminder.
Having a vegetable garden definitely adds to develop this virtue!
Lots of love, my Friend!

Isolet Jansen said...

What a beautiful and incredibly true post! Slow living that is an important part of the path to happiness.

Flepandco said...

Wise words. Waiting is certainly a virtue that needs more cultivating in our immediate gratification culture. It's so true that often if you wait long enough, you realize that 1. you never really 'needed' that thing in the first place 2. you've learnt to make do with what you already have available.