When we were first married, almost everything we had was given to us or purchased second hand (or third, or fourth, etc). We had a floor model tv (belonged to MIL) and put up an antenna for reception. I applied for a SEARS credit card and purchased a new gas cooking stove because the old electric one in the used trailer we lived in had all the coating eaten off the wires by mice and would shock you if you touched any part of the metal while you were using it! The oven didn't work, so I had a little toaster oven we'd gotten an at estate sale (same place we got most of our stuff). We could bake 1/2 pizza at at time, or was it 1/4? LOL! I baked my DH a chocolate birthday cake in it one time, one cake at a time, in small, round pans. It took over 2 hours to bake one cake in it. It was 2 or 3 layers because the pans were small.
Remember those bag cell phones, with the external antenna? My husband had one of those when I met him. He worked, still lived at home, and could afford it. When we got married, he still was under contract with that, so we had to keep it, but we couldn't afford a land line AND the cell phone. We bought a converter to plug the car adapter into, and that box plugged into electric. We put the antenna on the roof and used that as our house phone! We had to watch our minutes pretty closely. Back then, you really didn't get many minutes.
My MIL is one of those types that saves everything, or so it seems. So, she had many, many boxes of dishes and everything else to give us.
Hubby worked full-time at a pallet mill, and I worked full-time as a medical billing specialist, so we had food. I eventually quit my job because the business was located in a home...and what went on with the family, went on in the business. The owners went through a divorce, and I never wanna go through another divorce. :roll: Hubby got a different job, also, and things kept getting better.
My best friend had a Bridal Shower for me, and we really got a lot of nice things. We still use a lot of those things! Some of the towels are even still around.
I didn't have a washer and dryer for a long time...I took the laundry to my Mom and Dad's and did it after work, but she usually had it ready. Sweet. ;) SOmeone finally gave us an old dryer they didn't want anymore, and it worked pretty good. I'd wash clothes at Mom's or MIL's and bring them home and dry them.
I grew up on clothes from Thrift stores, yard sales, and hand me downs. I still wear them. Hey, why not? My kids wear a lot of thrift store, yard sale, and hand-me-downs, too. I won't buy a shirt for the kids at GoodWill for $2.50 or $3.00 when I can get them a brand new at Wal-Mart or the dollar store for $3-$4.
It is so ...I can't think of a word... wonderful, I guess (in a sad sense) to look around me and think of the things that have been replaced over the years....to remember those things that used to be here, not really "here", as we don't live in our little trailer these days. Sunday made us 4 years in our new home.
When we get something new that will replace something, we try to give it to someone else that can really use it. I know I sure appreciated it when we got things like that when we really needed them.