Simplifying things....

Since the loss of my work at home job & taking on a very low paying part-time position I have had to make drastic changes in EVERYTHING here at home.  Nothing has gone untouched by my job loss.  I am learning that we can definitely live without a lot of things & that we can get by on a lot less than we were.  As a result of all these drastic changes, I have been doing everything I can to simplify things here.   My cleaning, meals, you name it.  I haven't worked outside the home in 5 years.  Going back to working, even part-time, outside the home has been a big adjustment.  It's giving me time to make changes & adjustments necessary for when I do get another full-time position outside the home.  Making changes where I could see problems arising during the part-time transition....a prime example is the coffee table in my living room.  It's very large, glass & wood.  It needs constant dusting & cleaning.  So...I purchased a $20 slipcover from Overstock.com for our old ottoman that was in the basement & brought that upstairs & put a cute white tray that I found at Target for $4.24 on it to hold things & moved the cumbersome coffee table to the den in the basement.  I love that coffee table but I don't have the time or energy to deal with it as much as it needs to be dealt with.  Now the living room looks bigger & I have one less thing to clean every couple of days.