Work With What You've Got...

Work with what you've got.

I'm trying to adopt this mindset during the new year.  My goal for the next year or year and a half is to save some money to buy a house.  Not impossible, but also not the easiest thing for a single teacher.  In the meantime, I'm also attempting to pay extra on some bills and not spend a lot of extra money.  Have I also mentioned that I'd like to go on a few trips to see friends?  Yeah...  

I think all of the blogs I've added to my Google Reader, plus Pinterest, plus Polyvore have been both good and bad for this.  I'm trying to be more creative with my wardrobe and how I wear my clothes.  I've come to the conclusion that my wardrobe is plenty big enough and that I have plenty to work with already.  But, at the same time, I also see plenty of new things that I want.  That's a big reason why I made my wish list for the new year.  It's my attempt to cut back on unnecessary purchases and focus on the things I really want.

I'm also trying to take on this attitude with school stuff.  As a teacher it can be really hard to do and have all of the things I want for my classroom, especially when most of it is coming out of my own pocket.  Even making your own stuff can get pricey, so I'm working on setting priorities and working with what I already have.  In preparing for my first year of teaching I was working on a very small budget and I somehow made it through.  After five years of teaching I've managed to accumulate a lot of stuff.  Sure there are plenty of things I'd like to have for my students, but at the same time I have a lot around that gets forgotten.

My point is, sometimes we need to get a little bit creative with what's already around.  Whether it be in our wardrobe, our home, or our classroom many of us can get by just fine with the things we have around.

Think creatively.  Think out of the box.  Work with what you've got.