Sometimes, it's the little things that make a difference

Although the days are slowly getting longer, it's still so dark when I get up in the morning and then again in the evening.

The remote-controlled battery candles that were part of our spring front porch makeover have added a bit of light to my dark mornings and nights. I brought them into the house for winter, which I think is probably a good idea anyway -- keeping them out of the elements and all.

But it's more than just the additional light in the house. The flicker (although fake) of the candles adds old-time-y ambience. I have one candle in one of the lanterns (from the porch) in the family room and the other candle on a candle stand (from a free pile 2 or 3 years ago) in the living room. They serve as night lights during the hours when the living and family rooms aren't fully lit, when we're scattered each in our personal spaces at both the beginning and ending of each day.

I find it very comforting to pass the living or family room and see the flicker of light. And that extra little bit of light means we are not bumping around in the dark as we move between bedrooms and kitchen.

Bringing in the candles from the porch is just a little thing, but it added so much atmosphere to our home during these short days of winter.

Hand-Me-Ups

A week ago, my daughter-in-law stopped by on her way to donate some clothing to a local thrift store. She had one item in particular that made her think of me, this Columbia Sportswear fleece jacket. I've seen her wear it a couple of times. However, she said she never felt that it fit her very well.

In late December, I thought I really should have asked for a new fleece jacket for Christmas, as my current one is quite worn. It was truly serendipitous that my daughter-in-law offered me this very thing I needed and about which I had been thinking.    

A lot of my husband's and my successful financial management and the quality of our day to day life is due to our openness in accepting other people's cast-offs, be it clothing, furniture, food, and even a car. If someone has offered us something that they no longer wanted or needed, we accepted and found a way to use the item or pass it on to someone else.

About 75% of our furniture came from other family members. The car we recently sold to a salvage company was my late in-law's former car. You may remember the trays of food that we were often given following volunteer work at our church's fund-raising luncheons. I've happily accepted hand-me-down clothing from my sister, my sister-in-law, my mother-in-law, my grandmother, and my stepmom. Accepting other folks' no-longer-wanteds has meant that we could live a higher quality of life on a smaller income.

This time, the needed clothing item came from the generation beneath me, my lovely daughter-in-law. It's a hand-me-up. It's the very thing I needed right now. Despite expressing my gratitude at the time, I'm not sure my daughter-in-law understands how much I appreciate this.

There's a bonus to cheerfully accepting other's cast-offs. These family members think of you first when giving something away the next time. And you never know what great stuff they'll be wanting to unload in the future.

How do you feel about offers of hand-me-downs or hand-me-ups as an adult? Do you feel obligated to accept or keep items long-term? Have you ever regretted accepting or turning down a hand-me-down offer?