Bargain Galore

I load my arms with some of the best goodies on offer, head to the self service machine, swipe my card, bag up my items and leave smiling. I get that same "entertainment feeling" that shopping gives without the guilt and gloom as my bargain was FREE. I shopped at the public library and the card was the good old fashioned library card.

Friendly Children's Area - Where Kids Can Play and Read.

People need to use their libraries more. The more people use them the more books will be on offer and the less risk of libraries closing down due to the lack of use. This particular library I frequented today has a eclectic group of patrons. It's Sunday afternoon, there is nothing to do and it's balmy hot. The library offers a friendly, airconditioned facility, furnished with chairs, desks, computers and lounges. And best of all it's full of reading material for all types of people and tastes.

As I've mentioned before I love the fact that I can take a whole pile of books and movies home and return them when I'm done. A great solution to my hoarding behaviour. And because it's FREE, I take a risk in my book choices knowing if I don't like my pick it's not a problem as I can swap it for a better choice.

I use 3 libraries and they come under the 1 city council body. This means I just need one card and I can return my books to any of them at any time through a outdoor slot. I love the ease. Our local libraries have also recently added the offer of WIFI. Today I saw a blue collar worker sitting back chatting to a mate through Skype. And I thought how wonderful the facilities on offer are. They really do allow for people to come together under one roof without the need to spend $$$.

Here's my very interesting loot today. I've already dipped into The Spend Less Handbook. Gittinomics looks super interesting, click here to read a few pages. Daddy's Little Earner is one of those sad life stories of abused children. Soap making still on my mind...

All Non Fiction and 3 DVDs

Here's Dolly's pile to expand her imagination and reading knowledge. How lucky we are to have access to books and to know how to read.

Charlie & Lola, Unicorns, Santa's Birthday, Fairies and Talking Animals

The Rambling Expat still has 8 popular and recent French books to get through that I purchased earlier this year for 50 cents each at the op shop!!! Top score, as I must admit the library can be lacking on recent books in French. But look at this great community announcement on the noticeboard.

FREE Japanese Cultural Day and Activities.

Have you been frequenting your library in search of those eco frugal living books such as money, crafting, cooking and the likes? What's been a great eco frugal inspiring book you've read lately? Mine has been Radical Homemaker. LOVED IT!!! Ask your library for it as you might enjoy it too. By the way, I'm a Feminist and do not view this book as move away from Feminism. I see the world issues of global warming needing new leaders, new ways of doing things and that also means new waves and theories of feminism. So what book has inspired or interested you lately?

Family Crashing in Our Bedroom

My cousin, her daughter and friend came to our side of the world from France. To keep costs down they stayed with my mum in her tiny 1 bedroom apartment and (only) one night at our slightly bigger home due to me having to go to work most days. We freshly washed the sheets and had them drying in the sunshine all day so that they could sleep in sunshine smelling sheets; a treat they don't get in Paris.

I tried to have my messy cluttered home cleaned up before they came for the sleepover - I forced myself the tidy up 30 minutes a night for about a week - but I'm a little piggy and have a bad bad habit of dropping stuff at the nearest point instead of where it belongs. So I tidied and dropped, tidied and dropped. Our home also has very limited storage space for our STUFF. (I've been watching The Block to get DIY renovation ideas.) So it looked better but was still not clutter free.

The Parisian girls slept in our beds, in our room while the 3 of us squatted the office/clutter room and squeezed in on a smallish mattress. Dolly even fell out of bed in our home camping trip - luckily it was a thin mattress on the ground.

We Happily Gave Up Our Beds

And We Slept Amongst Our Clutter

Cousin Love Makes it, Worth It.

Our neighbour Mr T lent us the mattress that we slept on, that way we didn't have to sleep on the ground. I was going to go out and purchase one as I will need a new mattress for a long term guest in the near future. However purchasing in a limited time frame and under pressure usually means a fantastic deal is passed by for an expensive choice. So I was happy to borrow and will search around for a new mattress/bed calmly in the few weeks.

Do you have guests come and stay? Where do you put them?

Do You Use Your Library To Save & Learn

As a family we went to the library last weekend and will head there again today. When I get so caught up in life and become over busy I forget how great the public library is.

Libraries save money and prevent cluttering of more purchased books when you're a book lover like me. They are also ecological as the books purchased by the library are for many people to read instead of just one. Now that must be saving millions of trees worldwide!

Because I have a book addiction and hoard them, I would like to stop buying them on a regular basis. Even though they are inexpensive quality second hand books which cost between 50 cents to $3, they clutter up my home and are unnecessary purchases. Therefor to cut back on the book buying means getting my family to the library on a regular basis, and that makes me very happy indeed.

Our libraries also have games, puzzles and a few toys to play onsite. Dolly loves all of these and thrives on the interaction with other children. It's a nice calming place for her to play in and relaxing for us.

These are the great books I got out last weekend: (A lot I know... but I couldn't resist). The ones in Purple are being returned today as they are finished.

Me:

My Books - Dolly crafting on the side.

1. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.
2. Green is Good, Smart Ways to Live Well and Help the Planet by Rebecca Blackburn.
3. The Idiots Guide to Making Natural Soaps by Sally Trew and Zonella Gould (too hard at this stage of my life).
4. The $21 challenge by Fiona Lippey and Jackie Gower from Simply Savings.
5. Pumped 101 Ways to Beat Petrol Prices by Roz Hopkins.
6. 1001 Easy Ways for Earth-Wise Living by Readers Digest.
7. DVD - Hidden (French film)
8. DVD - Come in Spinner (Australian series)

Dolly:

Dolly's lot - including the book she wrote last year.

1. Sophies Misfortunes by Countess de Segur (A French classic translated into English)
2. Living Sustainably - Smart Shopping by Andrew Einspruch.
3. There Once Was a Puffin by Florence Page Jaques and Shari Halpern.
4. The Sea Princess by Katie Chase.
5. Numbers, written by my own Dolly in 2010 when she was 3 and in the library for all to borrow :-)
6. DVD: Rupert and the mystery Isle.

The Rambling Expat:
Didn't borrow anything but he read magazines and newspapers whilst there.

Not all countries are fortunate to have public libraries for all to use. I realise I am fortunate to live in an area that offers such a service. Do you have access and use library services?