Change Jar = Slop Bucket

We have snow now. We had snow about a week ago too, it all melted when warmer than usual temperatures brought rain instead of more snow for a couple days, but yesterday brought 1-2 inches. I love snow. I love the way everything turns clean when it snows. Things become indistinct hills and mounds, plants gets frosted, and I love being the first one to get out and leave my footprints behind. This has nothing to do with what I was planning on writing today, only that I had to drive to town this morning and with the fresh snow it all looks so peaceful and it was when I was driving that this blog post came into my head. I always wonder why my Creative Genius doesn't speak up when I can stop what I'm doing and immediately write or create. Doesn't seem very smart for a "genius," does it?

My change from today, small amount as I only had one place to go.

Anyway I started thinking about how when I go shopping, I tend to use cash. It's easier for me to be aware of how much money I'm spending if I can see it going away rather than creating a balance on my credit card or depleting my checking account. Having used cash today I was left with a small handful of coins, the money that was returned to me as my change and a nickle and a penny I found while shopping. Random nickle sitting on a shelf among the product and someone missed the penny in the coin return on the self checkout I used. Sweet! I get excited whenever I find lost change. I always pick it up and add it to my change jar because a penny saved is a penny earned kind of thing. I figure a penny found is a penny earned.

My old change jar.

People are aware of what a change jar is right? You go shopping, end up with a pocketful or purse full of coins and it's heavy, and noisy, and it isn't very often that you pay with coins. So what do you do with it? Well, I empty out my purse after almost every shopping trip to keep my purse lighter and I put the coins in a change jar, except my "jar" is actually a vase. I used to use a jar, a very nice jar, but I ran out of space and needed something bigger. I don't take my jar to the bank and cash it in, if I cash it in, I will spend it, and that jar has been gaining change for several years now. It's like a savings account that only gains interest when you add to it. So I add to it often. I know that this money is the result of me actually spending money, but it feels like I am saving because I won't spend it as long as it stays a 10 pound container of bulky change.

My new change vase that I've been adding to for several years.

And then I realized I do something very similar in my pottery studio. And I'm sure many potters will relate to this. You throw a pot, some clay ends up in your splash pan, some in your throwing water. Then you trim the pot, again clay ends up in your splash pan. This "leftover" clay, the trimmings and slop are like the coins. You keep adding it to a bucket, or container and eventually you have enough to recycle the clay. Which is like cashing in your change jar. It becomes "free" clay that you can use again to make something. You used some (bills) and had leftovers (coins) and it builds up. I use this clay much more often than I use my coins, but imagine if I threw out my trimmings. I've heard of potters doing this too because they can't see the value in saving the scraps and using time and energy to reclaim the clay. I bought my clay, I already have money in it, so to me it is just like throwing out the coins at the end of a shopping trip. It may only be pennies each time you toss a handful in the trash, but after a couple handfuls you have a couple dollars, or if it is clay, enough to make a nice mug. And I won't throw out money or potential pots, which as a professional potter, equals income.

My slop bucket, which becomes "free" clay when I reclaim it.

Eventually I'll cash in my change and use that money for an adventure, or to buy necessities, or whatever it is that I need at that time. But until then I will continue to add my coins and maybe I'll have a nice surprise when I do finally cash it in. And I'll keep looking for the lost coins wherever I go.