Karmic thrifting?

For the last few days I've had a friend and her menagerie of pets (four) living with me in my apartment. It was an interesting exercise in seeing how living with someone (and maybe a few someone) could be if people had to move in with me. It wasn't always easy, but I think I learned a few things about what I need to survive with more people than just me and my sweetie around.

Since she was moving across the country, she brough over some things that just wound up staying here, rather than moving with her. Some of it is useful to me - I'll be keeping a water jug, a shopping basket for the back of my bike, and a few other bits and pieces. Other stuff will be on it's way out, especially the cleaners that made their way over here, since I don't use chemical cleaners. Still other things will probably be on their way to Goodwill, since I just don't have room for it all.

So, in an effort to tidy up a bit, this morning I wandered over to the Goodwill so I could drop off some of the left-behind stuff. I managed to find some more dishes for mom's Christmas present. But, even better, I found two things that have been on my list for awhile now.

It's no substitute for a good grain mill, but I got a small manual grinder. It grinds very (very!) coarsly, but I'm going to experiment with it and see what it can do. I also got a small washboard. It was decorated to be hung on a wall, but I stripped off the flowers, will wash it up and maybe wax it, since it will be in water. And, I now have myself a very low energy way of doing the laundry. Someday I'd like a larger one, but for a whole $2.29, this is a good start, I think.

I like to think that, after doing a somewhat big favour for a friend, the thrift gods smiled down on me. These were two of the things that I really wanted to add to my Peak Oil preparations, and I really appreciate having them.