With the economy as it is, I've read newspaper article after article talking about how people are getting back to "basics" - doing their own sewing, repairing their old garments instead of throwing them away, renewed interest in gardening and similar basic projects.

I have a project that I'm working on, and invite each of you to participate with me ---- clean out our closets!  I want to tell you I've "found" more clothes and shoes than I ever thought I had!  And just like the articles are talking about --- many of these "older" styles need just a little bit of fixing and refurbishing and I'm already wearing a bunch of "new" clothes!

It is much less expensive to refurbish an older garment than to buy something new - especially if the older ones were good quality and in colors that I like.  In addition, even though I have gained and lost a lot of weight over the years, I've been very surprised at how many of the clothes I'd pushed to the back of the closet fit great now, and some with small pieces of alteration.

For those of you who have sewing machines, you might want to do a little talking to your friends, neighbors and relatives along this same line, and let them know you'd be willing to help them with the clothing alterations, and the alteration fee would be soooooo much less than buying a whole new wardrobe.  The "Profitable Clothing Alteration Business" manual could help you figure out exactly how much to charge folks, and give you some additional ideas to pass around to those also needing to clean out their closets and get the garments refurbished!

Now I'm just trying to figure out why I haven't done this months ago --- perhaps a year or so ago!  Oh, well, I'm now on my way to saving a ton of dollars just by cleaning out my closets!!!