Living Out the Rest of Your Life, Part 2

Sometimes you just know that changes need to be made. This is the second part of current ideas floating through my head about the future. The more I write, the more I think I need to write.

We are we going to live in the future? This includes the idea of location and setting. Like many Americans we have issues and conflicts with the banking/mortgage institutions. Where we are now may not be where we will be in the future. That may be out of our control, but what can we do about the things we can control? Paring down our needs and wants coupled with a consolidation of what we decide to keep. What do we really need to live in a reasonable fashion? At this time I'm thinking of the clothes I wear and the tools I use most of all.

I wear ties almost everyday to school. Over time I have been given ties, bought ties, dug ties out of weird places. The collection allows me to wear a new tie almost every day of the year. I don't need these ties, but as one of the very few people at work to wear a tie, i.e. I'm a dinosaur, I find it a hard habit to change. And some of the ties have a great sentimental connection. I wish I could sew as the latest idea for these ties is to make them into a comforter. I could remember the sentiment and keep warm in the process.

I have a dress code to follow at work. Most occupations do, but school dress codes don't usually mean sturdy clothes unless you are a shop teacher. One change I'm making is choosing to buy pants that are sturdy enough to be good work pants after the glow of being dressy wears off. Carhartt and Dickie nice pants that fit this task, and fit my body. Filson Tin Pants are my ultimate choice, but a bit too expensive at this time. The thought is to purchase sturdy pants, basic shirts and to stop wearing ties, with the plan to have a collection of long wearing clothing that can be used in a variety of situations.

The tools we use are currently stored in reused kitchen cabinets mostly. I like the frugalness of this plan, but it needs some tweaking. The plan is to build wheeled platforms similar to piano dollies that the cabinets will sit on. The cabinets can be moved to fit different shops, rooms or storage situations. They also then will be organized to have similar tools stored together for easier use.