Has everyone heard of the Re-Store? It's a warehouse that supports Habitat for Humanity. Habitat for Humanity builds homes for those unable to afford a home. The new homeowner has to make 500 hours of sweat equity to build their home. Otherwise the build is done mostly by volunteers. This store has new and used household fixtures including kitchen cabinets, light fixtures, doors, windows etc.

Today I struck gold. We are gutting our bathroom. I bought a Moen shower set for $58. Retail is $280. The faucet set was $130 and retailed for $387. Light fixture was $29, retailed for $99. Saved myself $330. And all for a great cause!

Check it out for a good cause and a good deal.

When I submit my comments they don't show up. Are you guys spurning me? LOL. Anyone know how I contact the administrator of the site to get this fixed?

Well, I hosted the Christmas re-gifting party yesterday. It was great! We had a small group diverse group. Because of the small numbers I didn't charge anyone the $5 hosting fee. Many more people wanted to join us but had previous engagements. I think I will host another one because it was so well received.

So, details... everyone came dressed with festive socks, jewellry, and of course I wore my antler headband. The fire place was lit and Christmas music was playing. I had a few decorations out. Mulled cider scented the event and it was very good.

We had at least 50 gifts. A neighbour who couldn't make it dropped off several items as well. Here are just a few of the items we had: a new bike helmet, lots of candles and lanterns and wall sconces, art, ice wine, kids books and games, jewellry, kitchen items, Christmas decor, and cookbooks. Everyone was thrilled with their new gifts. All the left overs will go to charity or to the next event. I picked 5 pairs of socks from the Museum of Modern art, two books, a children's art set, a piece of jewellry, and a candle.

I highly recommend hosting one of these regifting parties. It was fun, inexpensive, quick (only 2 hours), and it made me clean my house.

If you have any suggestions or questions feel free to ask.

And now I'm way ahead on my Christmas shopping!

I recently read a blog about Australia's freecycle week in November. I've decided to take it a bit farther and host a re-gifting party. You bring items valued at $10+ and for each item you receive a token. For every token you can pick someone elses item. If two people are interested in one item both names are put in a hat and there is a draw for it. Any left overs can be taken home or donated to charity. I have also set up a bin for stocking stuffers that you can donate to and take regardless of what you bring. We'll have Christmas music and mulled wine. I sent out an email to a batch of people and had an immediate response. Everyone loved it! I may have to host two of these parties because the people who can't attend due to conflicts really want me to host another one. Give it a try in your community. I'll let you know how it goes.

Just an fyi. The amounts will vary each month because we use the LOC to cover business expenses when we are late submitting expense reports for travel. However, we are off to a great start.

September balance: $32,506.75
October payment: $2,506.75
Interest (estimated): $103.00
NEW BALANCE: $30,103.00

We did much better than I had anticipated. The thought of getting the balance under $30K is THRILLING! Stay tuned.