I was travelling on a train last week when two middle aged men boarded and sat down quite near to me. They began chatting to each other in a familiar way and as the conversation progressed one man asked the other about the status of his fishing boat. In reply the other man said that his boat had barely been used since his children had come along. Its lack of use and position in his front yard had caused it to be the target of break-and-enter more than once and was being ravaged by the elements of sun and weather. For all these reasons he had come to a sensible decision and sold the boat before it became worthless to anyone. He continued on with the conversation by telling his acquaintance that whenever he felt the urge to go fishing he simply hired a boat. He followed on with the fact that hiring a boat cost about $80 for a few hours but in the long run that made much more economical sense than owning one of his own.
I very much wanted to lean over and tell the man that I thought he was very sensible, however my daughter, who was sitting between myself and this logical chap, would have ben mortified had I done so. I decided instead to share his story with you.
Do you own anything that you would be better off hiring or borrowing occasionally rather than owning one yourself? Particularly big expensive items that cost money to run, maintain and even register to use.
Today’s Mini Mission
Round up and declutter shoes ~ Do you have shoes in the car, shoes in your bedroom, shoes at both the front and back doors? Why not find a simple solution to keep the bulk of them in one area.
Eco Tip for the Day
If you use a dozen eggs in a week, $2 is about the difference between…
For a full list of my eco tips so far click here
It matters not how fast I go, I hurry faster when I’m slow
Colleen, this is another good post. I so agree with this. That is why I plan to get rid of my one remaining suitcase after a little trip this summer. I cannot see a reason to keep something we have used only once in the almost 5 years we have lived here in Arizona. I can always borrow one when I need it from friends. I will let them store them. Grin.
Was getting a light bulb out of the closet when my eyes suddenly saw a golf umbrella I got at a convention 13 years ago and have only tried once. It’s going bye bye.
Hi Deb, thank you, this post was a simple one with a distinct message. I have to say I enjoyed listening to the conversation between those two men. It is very refreshing and I must say I don’t recall ever witnessing anything like it before. Ownership is such a big thing to a lot of people and they never seem to do the math on what makes more economical sense.
Fancy you finding that umbrella, got to wonder how that you had escaped your notice so far. As for suitcases, about the only time ours come in handy is at posting time because we need to take enough stuff with us to carry on at our destination. Steve uses one occasionally for work trips also. We have narrowed it down to the two smallest ones though.
Deb J.–
You might really consider giving your suitcase (or any larger bags, for that matter) to Children’s Services, unless you want to make money on it and sell it. I know that unfortuneatly a lot of kids in the foster care system, or ones that are pulled out of their home b/c of abuse or neglect, have all of their stuff put in a garbage bag to move. I think it sends an awful symbolic message to the kids that they are just “garbage”, too, since gargbage bags are what is used to move the only possessions they have in the world. I know that ‘a person is not his/her stuff’, but everyone should be treated as valuable, and I think one way of showing that is through giving bags/suitcases to foster kids.
What a great idea, Rebecca B A R. I will do that.
Great idea! I actually have some suitcases I could donate to such a cause. Wonder if they could use backpacks, too – my husband is in high tech and routinely comes home with at least two from every trade show.
I heard this from friends who foster children. When I emailed Children’s Services to offer my luggage to them I was assured that all their children have proper luggage for moving. It seemed to me that they were more interested in covering their butts than looking after kids. I gave the suitcases to the friend with foster kids to pass on as she saw fit. Women’s shelters will often take luggage for their clients. They’d probably welcome backpacks as well.
I agree with you that this man seems very sensible. I can’t think of any example like this in my own life that is for a large item, but I do have a small scale example. I have never bought myself an electric carving knife. It is something that would only be used once a year (at Thanksgiving) so every year my husband’s parents are kind enough to bring along theirs so that we may use it to carve the turkey. We could use a regular knife I suppose, but my husband’s dad is the one doing the carving and he feels more comfortable with an electric one. Currently my husband and I feel we need two automobiles but after we move next year we will re-examine this. The hope is to be able to be able to use public transit much of the time and eliminate the need for a second car. It’s not really an option at this point because the nearest bus stop to our current home is 6 miles away and the closest grocery store is 5 miles away. I can’t imagine having a boat to take care of! Keeping up with two cars is bad enough! 🙂
Melissa, I like your thinking about the electric knife. We have one and it has been used maybe twice in the time we have been here but Mom still wants to hang onto it. We will give it some time and maybe I can convince her we don’t need it.
A friend of mine’s father just passed away. She and her brother are now having to get rid of his two vehicles, a camper, and a boat. Add to that all of his household goods, the house, and a big workshop packed with tools. I feel so sorry for them. It’s a huge undertaking. I’m so glad we are decluttering now so that won’t happen to whoever takes care of our stuff. I wish we could get rid of our car. We are putting out a lot of money for something we only use a couple times a week. But Mom hates to “beg a ride” and getting on public transportation isn’t easy. Even the 1/2 mile walk to catch the bus is too much for us and neither of us can climb on either. I think I am going to look into trying to get everything we have to do put on one day a week. With only that and church on Sunday maybe we can chuck the car and afford to just get a taxi when we need to.
Hi Deb. I’ve witnessed the burden of too much stuff that is left to children when their parents suddenly pass away. Especially when that stuff is completely unorganized. In addition to grieving and making final arrangements, there is a huge scramble to try to deal with all of those possessions left behind. I agree that it is good to prepare your own home for the unexpected. Lately I have been thinking about how easy (or difficult) it would be for someone to step in and run my household for me if something unexpected were to happen and I were in the hospital for several weeks (or something else unexpected along those lines). It’s a thought that’s been motivating me to work on labeling my binders of important papers (and it’s given me motivation to put them in the proper place as they come in!) I like to think that whoever had to step in would do okay (though they’d probably think I have way too much kitchen junk…and currently they’d be right! lol. I’m working on it though!!!)
I can understand public transit not being a viable option for everyone, particularly in weather that is disagreeable. I don’t really see my husband and I getting rid of having a car entirely, but I think once we move into the city we could probably part with one. Our plan is to park one of the cars and pretend it isn’t there for a few months. We’ll see how we do without it. If it turns out okay, then we’ll work on getting rid of one of them. If it doesn’t turn out okay, then it was just an experiment and no harm done. Maybe you could try the same thing? Maybe you could pretend your car isn’t there and see how it goes without it before you take the plunge and get rid of it?
I like your experiment idea with not using the car. I also sympathise with people having to deal with passed loved ones belongings. I can see that happening to me in the not too distant future and it is a scary thought.
Me too.
My parents owned a farm and all the buildings, equipment, tools, etc. that went with it. My father died two years ago, and my mother is now considering moving, but it’s going to be a HUGE undertaking for us to try to sell off equipment and stuff, then sort through her house (my parents, children of the Depression, tended to save every little thing that might have a use), and try to help her pack to move.
It’s hard for her to get on with her own life due to the amount of clutter and belongings that were collected over fifty-plus years of marriage, family, and farming.
I am SO not looking forward to this project.
Hi Becky, I can understand your trepidation, unfortunately the task is unavoidable though. All I can advice is to utilise all the friends and family near to where your mother lives not only for physical help but also advice on the best way to go about the task. Know where to access potential buyers/recipients for the kind of stuff you are offloading is key to getting them off your hands quickly and efficiently.
Good luck and stay focused on how much better your mum’s life will be without all the stuff to worry about.
Melissa, I really like your idea about putting the car aside for a short time and seeing how the taxi works out. I need to get my mother to agree to it too. Ha! That will be the battle.
Deb, is there a Handi-van system in Phoenix? You’ve mentioned needing a scooter and your mother not being able to board a bus. I would think you’d qualify for the service if it is available.
Wendy B, I will have to check into this. I need to start doing some more research to see what exactly is available out there. Thanks for the suggestion.
I like the taxi idea Deb J. You should do the math on what would be cheaper. With that thought in mind I might start a spreadsheet once Bridget has left just to find out what it actually cost to run the car v how much we actually need it.
Hi Deb J! I’ll put my two cents for what is worth in the car conversation. If you only go out twice a week and it is not too far, a taxi would probably be way cheaper in the long run. I say that because, although we live in different countries, I am sure you have the following expenses owing a car: maintenance, car insurance, taxes on ownership of the car and, eventually paying for parking space. I know taxi rides are not cheap, but if you add the above expenses it might be better to use a taxi. Can you call a taxi to pick you up in your house? How much would you spend a week taking the taxi to places you need to go? In a nice weather would you be able to walk anywhere? Well, I hope my thoughts help.
Andreia, your list made me think of another item — car license fee each year. I think that if we were to do a little bit of planning we could get by with rides to church, a ride with a friend to the grocery, and only having to get a taxi for doctor appts. I’m really going to think this through more and see if I can convince Mom to try it for a month.
Deb J – I think you should do what Colleen is going to do and track the expenses for a period of time but also track the mileage along side. I have been thinking about this on and off since this morning, and was also wondering what alternative transport systems there are in your area – for example a friend of mine on behalf of his chruch drives a mini-van of elderly each Thursday, he follows a flight plan as it were of picking them up and dropping them at where they need to go along the way. The passengers have to contribute but the van and his time are covered by the church. Another service I saw recently is a special taxi service that has started in our area called “Driving Miss Daisy” and it only does the elderly or infirm and can either be just simply a taxi service or if further assistance is required, a support person to accompany them.
Locally the buses are free during the hours of 9-2.30 here to gold card holders 65+ age but outside of those times they will cost as they are the busy times but to be honest, I’m sure the elderly are happy to avoid rush hour and student transport.
The only concern to me would be if your mum became unwell or injured and needed the convenience of a car on tap around the clock? Adrian has elderly friends and they say that is the only reason they keep their car, rather than using the other options ie taxi, bus, as the husband’s health has become a bit fragile as he’s gotten older and he’s discovered (ironically) that there is a lot of going here, there and everywhere required when under the care of specialists (who tell him that he needs to rest more 🙂 ) off to get xrays, off to fill prescriptions, gets a phone call that another set of blood tests are required, off to the dietician, off to the hospital for some other procedure – he reckons it is a full time job being elderly! Also the bus stops aren’t always conveniently located and he doesn’t want a 2 hour trip across town, changing bus several times. When I ask him about his week I amazed how busy they are.
Moni, the one thing that is the question is the health thing. We have several services here though besides the taxi. They have a Dial-a-ride program where the bus runs a smaller scenic cruiser type bus to pick up people for appointments. This is much better than the regular bus. There are also handicapped vans but they are a bit more. We do have a couple of people at church who are available to take people to doctor appointments. So I think we can do this except Mom doesn’t like to depend on anyone. We will see.
Oops, looks like you’ve answered my question from above re the Handi-van. My mother didn’t like bumming rides to choir so she bought gift cards for a major gas station and gave them to her drivers on occasion. She felt it was more discreet than handing over cash but more useful than buying gifts. Your mother might feel comfortable with this idea when asking folks to drive you to church.
Wendy B, I think this is a great way of saying thanks and “paying” for the favour.
I also want to contribute another idea: maybe you can share your car with other (elderly) people at church or the neighbourhood. car-sharing became very popular here. and besides companies who offer that I know a couple of people who share cars with friends/neighbours/community members. certain rules of payment and insurance and time plans are required of course, but in the end, the car gets used and you still have the freedom to go whenever and whereever you want to.
Wendy B, yes we would definitely find a way to pay them and the gift card idea is a good idea.
Lena, I had thought of the car sharing idea but when checking around so far have found no one who is interested as they like the independence of getting the taxi or the dial-a-ride. They mostly just don’t want to be connected to a car and all that entails.
Hi Deb J – I would just add a note of caution – while you are considering all the costs involved in running a car just remember that if you were to get rid of your car and then found that it really was very inconvenient to be without it the cost of buying another one would be very high – its always more expensive to replace the one you have, whether new or second hand . Personally I would hate to lose the independance that a car gives – so I would urge you to think carefully -and to consider health issues for you and your mother .As we get older they usually dont decrease in significance .All the best with whatever you decide!
Jez, I plan to really give this a lot of thought before we do it. What I would like to do is convince my mom to try it for a few months. Then if we like it we can sell the car.
Good advice Jez, this is not a decision to dive into quickly.
In Australia there is an insurance company that you can nominate how much you use your car and pay a smaller premium for your policy accordingly. I dare say the catch to this is if you have an accident that is your fault and you have exceeded your driving estimate the company could refuse to honour the policy. It would be nice if car licensing fees also applied this way. Pay so much and then get a rebate according to the lesser miles you have driven. Owning a car that isn’t driven so much would be a much more economically viable option this way.
Hi Melissa. Ah, the odl electric carving knife, I had one of those. It was decluttered very early in my decluttering mission. It only got use once a year like you said so I figured it was just wasting space once the ham ran out at Christmas.
The second car was one of the things I was thinking of when I wrote this post. We don’t have a second car but we do have a car and a motorbike. The bike saves us a lot of running cost because my husband takes it to work everyday so it is certainly worth having. I would like to be able to live without two lots of insurance and on road fees and maintenance but in the end it may not actually be more economical due the the fuel savings. I sometimes think I would prefer to get rid of the car, until it rains that is. We’ll see.
I am working on this one, on a very, very small scale. Does borrowing a book from a friend instead of buying it count? Now, I know some of you are thinking,”why not take it out from the library”? But I find that I can’t always get a book read in the time they give you. Yes, I know I can renew it up to two times (equaling 6 weeks). No, I am not a slow reader but I am a crafter that doesn’t always put reading ahead of her crafting. The time gets away from me and I have always found buying a book (second hand, when I can) to be the way to go….until now. That’s why I asked if she had the book I wanted and I caught her just before she took it to the used bookstore! Yay!
Hi Kim. Absolutely borrowing books rather than buying them counts. That one would have to be the most easily adapted and logical examples of borrowing rather than buying that there is. I am like you, I have lots of things going on so reading is only an occasional occurrence although I usually have a book I am trying to get through. I can borrow for up to two months. If I haven’t finished it by then it is usually because I am not finding it very interesting or helpful (I most read non-fiction) so I gladly part with it. I can renew online as well so it takes no effort.
This reminds me of a quote that came up here at 365 a month or so ago, which made it to my post-it-note-pinboard-of-fame: Better to need something one day of the year & not have it, as to have something 364 days and not need it.
Alas, we’re not in a situation where hiring is a better option, yet. I’m sure it will come though.
Our local camping store has started hiring out tents and camping gear which wasn’t an option when we bought our tent years ago, though to be honest because we got it when the kids were young we’ve had our moneys worth out of it, but I recently recommended first time campers hire rather than buy as I had my doubts that they would be repeat campers. The husband did complain initially that for the cost of hiring gear (tent, camp beds, fold up tables and camping pantry etc) they could have made a dent in buying a tent BUT she hated the camping experience and they won’t be camping again.
Another situation is hiring vases. When I did my parents 40th Wedding Anniversary a couple of years ago (pre-decluttering) I was recommended by a friend to hire vases and candle holders rather than buy. I was a bit dubious as the hire cost seemed close to buying from The Warehouse. In the end I hired the centre piece vases but bought a couple of tall vases, bought the tea light holders, a set of martini glasses for a display and Adrian made lovely name-place card holders. Well, at the end of the function all the hire stuff went back and I haven’t thought about it again until now but I still have one of the tall vases which narrowly escaped decluttering this year by becoming an umbrella stand (but umbrellas leaned in a corner at the front door would have been equally fine), the martini glasses got freecycled out recently and I still have a box of tea light holders and name card holders. They have been borrowed out once but basically they are packed away until someone in the family has a big event. Looking back I should have just hired those too.
Hi Moni, I like the idea of camping stores hiring out tents. It is a great way to try before you buy or hire if you only camp occasionally. When we went to live in America and started to go skiing and snowboarding I was surprised that there was nowhere to hire ski clothes. There was always equipment hire but not pants and jackets. I have only been skiing in Australia once, many years ago, and at that time you can go skiing for a day and hire everything. As it was we bought some stuff new and some secondhand.
Yes Colleen I agree with you that ownership of something that doesn’t get much use and/or would cost less if hired doesn’t seem a sensible option – and this applies to everything from power tools to boats and holiday homes.
We have seen many friends purchase boats and holiday homes only to see them used occasionally and eventually sold. Of course many people have these and enjoy using them often but we are not talking about them 🙂
A lovely older couple further down our street had a caravan that sat in their front yard for many years and was only used twice a year. This caravan was put up for sale (to great rejoicing by their neighbours who regarded it as an eyesore) but was replaced by a boat that is also only used a couple of times a year.
I know that some people need “ownership” of things but practically speaking on a “cost per use” basis it just doesn’t make sense to me 🙂
Hi Megan S, you have given some good examples there of pointless ownership. It may be convenient to have something there whenever needed or desired but what a waste of money that often is. Although I am sure the the joy of a status symbol is enough for some people to think these things worth having.
Just about any tool of just occassional use makes sense to rent (concrete mixer, lawn aerator, tile cutter, hedge trimmer, jackhammer, post hole digger, and stuff like that I have rented in the past) The deposit is huge on these things, but if you bring it back on time the hourly rate is reasonable.
(Looking at those chicken pictures made me very sad, but also proud to have my own happy, fluffy hens scratching in my backyard)
Hi creative me, all those tools you mentioned makes me think that you have many and varied pastimes. 😉 I also have used all of these implements, mostly in my younger days. The chances of my needing one now are slim and like you I would hire or borrow one.
Sorry about upsetting you with the chicken photos. Sometimes shock tactics work better than words.
A year ago I decided to give up my car. I only used it to run other people around and once every other month to visit my youngest son and his family (200 mile round trip). With my physical situation I could drive, but needed assistance once I arrived at a destination. So I gifted my eldest son the car with the condition that I could use it when I needed to go out of town. He now uses it in the nicer weather to save on gas (his winter vehicle gets much less mpg) and with his children getting older his wife now has a car available if an emergency comes up. I now rely on public transportation if I need to go into the city for something. Best decision I ever made.
Lois, this is what the problem is for Mother and me. Physically it is getting harder and harder for us to get around. We can get around okay in our house but other than that we can’t walk a lot or even stand a lot. So we only take the car when we absolutely have to. Doctor’s appointments, grocery shopping and church are the only times we go out for the most part.
Hi Lois, I sympathise with your mobility issues but it sounds like you are very good at adapting. What is it they say, necessity is the mother of invention. I would love to be able to do without a car but that isn’t possible right now. We certainly manage to do without one when we travel. But even then, some places are better for public transport than others.
Hi Colleen! I have a question to put to you all: I have a wheelbarrow who has seen a lot of better days. It is old, completely ugly and it has a hole in it. I have two bad knees and a back problem and I can’t be using that thing anyway. However, my husband once in a never while (every 2/3 years) decides to do something and uses the thing. Should I keep it? Should I declutter it? What are your thoughts about it?
Thanks everyone.
Andreia – if you don’t mind me chiming in……when was the last time your husband used it? ie if it was a year ago, it would be safe to assume that it will be another 1-2 years before it is possibly going to be used again……follow my drift?
Yes Moni! Follow your drift, declutter it and it will take him at least 2 years to notice… 😀
I would prefer a good trolley to a wheelbarrow any day. Like the delivery trolleys that couriers use. Wheelbarrows are for dirt , so unless your hubby is big on digging dirt, like mine is, then get rid of it!!!
I am not likely to have this problem with my hubby as I am sure he has no desire to have need of wheelbarrow. I am sure, if we had one, he would want me to declutter it so he never had to use it. 😉
In your case that wheelbarrow sounds like it is passed it. However you know how I am about decluttering without cooperation of all owners involved. Let him know your reasons for wanting to let it go and give him some solutions for when he requires one in the future if you let it go.
This is an interesting post Colleen, one that pushes the question of ownership to individual needs. I consider it madness to purchase a caravan for $50,000 plus, for two weeks vacation in an overcrowded, equally expensive caravan park. But some people relish the idea. The same goes for home ownership. Why saddle yourself with a huge debt and ongoing expenses just to say its yours?
I recently experienced not having a car of my own, and utilizing taxis and buses to get around each day. I have since purchased a second hand Toyota Echo, a small car which is cheap to register, insure and uses about $55 fuel for 560 klms. Would I get rid of it and go back to buses and taxis? No. It suits me fine. Cheers
Hi Wendy F, touché my friend touché. Are you in cahoots with my husband or something. I am on the fence with homeownership as you know. No decisions there yet. however Bridget’s date has been moved forward to Tuesday in a different house.
You can get rid of your car Colleen, I will drive you(crazy:))…..
Already there mate, already there. 😉
Hi Colleen!
I fell in love with last week’s mini missions, so I decided to stick with them. There are many more shelves in the kitchen, the bookcase and the cupboards to clean.
Decluttering has slowed down here, but the shift of mindset shows all the time. I find lots of opportunities these days to use my stuff and find new uses for it.
As far as borrowing etc is concerned, I try to share my possesions freely with friends and also ask for certain items if I need them for a single occassion.
Another aspect of that boat story is certainly “passing it on as long as it’s still in good condition”.
Just a few days ago, I had to rebuy something I decluttered some time back: Makeup for face-painting. An event has come up where a friend and I will paint children’s faces. I had a large set some time back but didn’t use it any more, so I sold it to someone who actually had an upcoming event and a use for the makeup. Seeing that more than two years have passed since I sold it, I figure I couldn’t have been sure that that makeup was still in good condition if I had kept it.
This time round we just bought a smallish palette that will likely be used-up (at least almost) after that event.
About the only thing that I wished that I could get rid of is the car. If I lived in the city within walking, bicycle riding, or public transport to everything I needed, I would do it. However, I live in the countryside, so I am not close to anything like that. Anymore, especially since I have started decluttering, I would say that I use most everything that I own, but my husband does have a few things that I have asked about on occasion. I will have to keep working on those :), because I think there are a few things that are not used enough to justify the space they take up.
We have and need 2 cars. We aslo have 3 childern, a teen and 2 young adults, that live with us and will continue to live with us for a long time. They all have Down syndrome. I have a car that seats 5 and gets great gas mileage. My husband had a van that needed $2,000 of repairs and got horrible gas mileage. He decided to buy a smaller car with great mpg that again will only seat 5. When we travel a great distance we will rent a van. We will do this twice a year tops. Why maintain a more expensive van that we only need several times a year?
Hi Susan, that sounds like a very sensible choice to me. I wish I had used this sort of logic in the past but better late than never to get sensible.
Thank you for this wonderful story.
A great example for us is that we have cut back from two cars to one. We very rarely need two, and if there are times where we both need one, first we will try public transport (which we have done once in the past few months) or hire a car (which we haven’t had to do yet).
Hi Mark, well done managing with one car. That is so much easier to do living in a big city. However it could be even better in Sydney if the state government found some money to spend on public transport. There’s a budget I wouldn’t like to be trying to balance.
At least where I have lived in the past, I have had a good run with public transport. I have had time without a car or motorbike, and used just public transport. I used actually work as an entertainer, using only public transport to get around.
I agree there could be improvements, and I would suggest the reason is that it is a very long term project, but as they are only in for a few years, it is not worth their while to do so.
We have a neighbor who has two fishing boats that have not been moved from their spots in his backyard since he moved into the house behind ours. That was…13 years ago? The local squirrels love them.
In the living room, there is a vaulted ceiling. Hanging from the ceiling is an ugly (really really ugly and broken) ceiling fan/light fixture. We have a new fixture but not a ladder tall enough to reach the vault of the ceiling. Turns out one of the local hardware stores rents ladders tall enough for a minimal fee. So my dad will be renting one so he can change the fixture and not have to worry about storing or taking care of a ladder. 😀
Hi Rachel W, two great examples here, one of what should not be done and one on what should. It is amazing the services that are out there if we just bother to investigate.
There is a use for an electric carving knife that is handy–it cuts through foam rubber, etc. very fast and very easily. I have used one to reshape pillows, etc. So it can be used to repurpose things.
I knew this Nana because we used to use one for just that purpose when I worked in a craft shop. I don’t often find myself needing to cut foam though so mine has long since been decluttered.
I am late to this conversation, but as a former (and future) chicken owner I will never choose to buy eggs that aren’t from healthy chickens that are truly free range. Chickens are so much fun and have really clear personalities of their own as well as being a provider of eggs and ridder of bugs. They are the only productive pets we’ve ever had and I hate to think of how badly most chickens suffer just to provide people with cheap eggs.
Yes COLLEEN I have a laser cutter, the problem is all of the people that own such a high tech pieces of industrial equipment use it and don’t have the time to run ‘side’ jobs. There are many times in which I want to hire out the job to manufacture Armis board game player pieces but can’t find anyone to do the job, so it continues to make the in-house. if you know of anyone that has the capacity to do laser cutting at reasonable rates just send us a note. Thanks
Hi Marvin, I only wish I had a lazer cutter. I have plenty of spare time up my sleeve to play with something like that. Oh the things I could do with that. The closest thing I have to a laser cutter is a craft robo but there are so many more things you can cut with laser. I need some circles cut from some mat board right now but can’t come at paying $60 for the job. Can’t help you with your problem though, but I am envious.