Shopping my closet

As I've mentioned before, I used to be an avid collector of handbags. During one of my latest decluttering marathons, I got rid of a number of specimens that just did not fit my needs any more, and I'm happy to report that not a single one of them has been missed. The drawer in my handbag storage chest that used to hold them now contains winter hats and scarves,which have ceased to clutter my entrance area.
Still, there were a few specimens left which saw relatively little use, but were too good to toss.
One of them is a sturdy leather shoulder bag which I had originally intended to hold my netbook, but it turned out that the opening was just a tad too tight to comfortably put it in or remove it. Thus, said bag went into hibernation in my closet.
Last week, I decided to take the plunge and acquire a tablet computer. I had actually vacillated between a tablet and an ebook reader for quite a while, since I had discovered that Amazon has reading apps for tablets, too. As I am not exactly a teenager any more, the size of the letters in what I read has become increasingly important, so, any device with too small a screen would be out of the question because of eyestrain. Then again, the netbook, while rather sturdy, weighs in at more than four pounds if I take along the cables for loading it, too, which meant that I would need to use a backpack to carry it or have my back hurt from carrying it on one side.
What kept me from exchanging it for a tablet was the prohibitively high prices those things usually are sold for.
Enter my friendly phone provider and an inductory offer on a tablet with cell phone connection that meant that I could swap my existing contract for one at the same monthly cost but with higher speed and receive a tablet for half what a 3G-capable Kindle would have cost me. So, my tech equipment got a new addition. I was, of course, lucky in that my old contract was running out right now, so I could go for that offer without penalties to pay. It really pays to keep the expiration dates for a contract in mind sometimes.
The new tablet, of course, needs something I can carry it in, which also must protect the screen from damages. After seeing the prices they demand for made-for-this-tablet sleeves, and seeing that they are mostly too soft to really protect the screen from damage by accidental pressure, I decided to go shop my closet instead. An old netbook sleeve was soon found, but the neoprene was only good against scratches, not for screen protection. What item could I use for that? It had to be flat, stiff and about the size of the tablet. What I settled on for the time being is the backside of an old picture frame. I put the tablet into the sleeve and then into a bag with the screen side facing the particle board piece. Thus, it's safe from damage. This works only with a bag that is small enough so the whole thing cannot slide around and stays together.
And that meant the reactivation of the aforementioned shoulder bag. While it was too small for the netbbok, it fits the tablet as if it were made for it.
I might upgrade the whole thing to a proper case someday, but for now I have what I need to carry that tablet without spending a dime on it, everything coming from my closet.
Including the shoulder bag.
There used to be a time when I would have gone out to buy a new bag for a new gizmo. I'm glad I don't need to do that any more.
Shopping my closet is something that did, at first, not come naturally. But with more experiences like this, it keeps getting easier.


Julia