Don't Buy Stuff

I've come to the conclusion that being frugal has more to do with what you don't buy than what you do buy. Don't get me wrong, I'll be the first to tell you how much something costs if I get a great deal on something (And I often do!) Recently on Lightening's Blog she said that she realized that when she "saved money" on something while shopping, she really didn't save anything. All she had really done was gotten more STUFF for the same amount of money. I thought that was a really great way to look at it. Saving money implies that you still have the money!

There are a lot of things that I don't (or rarely buy) that I used to.
-Books
-Movies
-A lot of toys for my daughter-Her favorite thing this summer was the free sand table she got from Deanna.
-A lot of clothes for my daughter. We have been the wonderful recipients of so many beautiful name brand clothes from friends that we usually have to just fill in with shoes, pjs and socks. (and of course then there's 2 grandmas who provide beautiful clothes.)
-Packing supplies for my eBay business-Michael readily supplies me with foam wrap from his cabinetry business. (used, which is a great way to recycle this stuff)
-A lot of paper products-We have a ton of dishtowels that I wash regularly, thus avoiding too many paper towels. Sometimes we use cloth napkins, I really have to get back to this again because we have been bad about that this summer. I hardly ever have tin foil or plastic wrap in the house, mostly it's just leftover if I need it for a recipe or a craft
-Meals out-We hardly ever eat out.
There are a bunch of other things that I could list but that would get boring, you get the point.

I've looked around lately and realized I don't need anything (well except maybe some new sneakers) but other than clothes, which wear out over time, I could live quite well with everything I already own for some time, years probably. (Of course, I need to remember that the next time I stumble into a really great garage sale!)