Why bother?

look at this. 

this is what one of my oven trays looked like this morning.

I admit I looked at it with actual contempt and decided to quickly go online shopping for a new tray.

Than i remembered just yesterday i took my car to the shop for its checkup and besides the checkup itself which cost me 200$, i was told to S.O.S go get new front tires, and i did , because you know safety above all- and there went another 400$.

Now I did expect the checkup cost-after all I did make the appointment at the car shop and as much as they like me- they do tend to charge me for the checkups -so I included the cost in my monthly planned expenses  (and btw in my yearly expected expense report as well) .

But the tire changing is a totally different story.

My car is almost 3 years old, and to be honest, in the past decade, every time the 3-year guarantee expired, I was at the dealer’s buying a new car.

looking back I can’t say I’m very proud of myself, but instead of looking back in anger- I am looking forward in anticipation to see how things will look.

So you understand that 1. I had to change the tires, and 2. I wasn’t expecting that.

Now you may wonder what the big deal is, well I am working really hard on my savings rate, and attempting to reach 75% savings rate per month.

This is definitely not an easy task to accomplish, but next month some 500$ a month i have been putting into a savings account will finally cease to come off my monthly expenses and I hope I will be close to reaching my destination.

the goal is to be able to retire early next year, as I have understood that spending most of my waking hours sitting under neon lights is not beneficial for my skin.

Now let’s get back to the oven tray.

I ended up not even checking how much it will cost to buy a new one, instead of checking if baking soda and some dish soap with hot water will do the job without having to sacrifice my nails.

So I poured a generous amount of baking soda and added a few cups of boiling hot water and some dish soap to the tray- and let it sit for a few hours. then I put on my cleaning gloves and started scrubbing with a scouring pad.

Can’t say it was easy, it took time, and the result is not perfect- but as Bon Jovi said- “we’re halfway there” (just love that song -livin’ on a prayer).

on Sunday my monthly online groceries arrive, including my synthetic vinegar- and this time I will try soaking the tray with baking soda and vinegar, and maybe the rest of the dirt will come off.

I must say I’m proud of myself for not giving up and not opting for the quick and easy solution -just buying a new tray.

the experience taught me a little about saving, a little about respecting the stuff I have already at my house, gave me a little arm exercise, and a chance to enjoy the green cleaning method as well.

I could have easily excused myself by saying “I work all week, no way I’m spending my free day cleaning this thing instead of spending just a few $. my free time is worth more than that”.

This is absolutely true- free time is much more important than money, but I actually saw this as a challenge , and ended up enjoying it- wondering if I could beat the scum and rescue the poor tray- and as you can see I won round 1 and everyone is waiting to see what will happen in round 2. ( maybe “everyone” is a bit of an exaggeration ).

cheers- the cooliflower.

I am not a medical/health/emotional/financial /nutrition or any other kind of expert as far as it concerns the contents of this blog,  therefore anything written on the blog is not to be taken as any kind of advice, and should you choose to rely on anything  I write on this blog- you are doing it at your own risk and at your own responsibility.