Philadelphia libraries close. I just finished reading the book Free which I borrowed from the library. Borrowing the book seemed free to me, but it is paid for by taxes, corporate donations,fines, fees[if you borrow a DVD, it's $2], and the fact that the library serves as a book recycling center- give them your old books, and they will sell them to others for prices from 25 cents to maybe a dollar.

The library returns a lot of value to the community- people can access the internet, do research for school or pleasure, children can gain reading skills through storytime and the fact they can have as many books as they can carry for 3 weeks, and there are also small business talks given as well, and tax help for the elderly.

Another way to get more for your money in your crafting business is to find materials in creative ways. Jewelers can cut up old necklaces and earrings for supplies, fabric artists can find new life in old clothes, and there's inspiration everywhere you look!

Use freecycle or etsyrecycle to find things that people don't use or want for free. Once I got a giant box of ribbon from etsy recycle for just the cost of shipping!

Another way to trim your business is by selling off excess supplies. Old beads, fabric, and more can bring in some extra cash for your business. Many of us crafters have tons of items for projects that never came to fruition. You thought you'd take up knitting, but after your pair of socks ended up being more like a ball of knots, your nice yarn is laying in a box somewhere, those beads that looked really nice in the shop don't fit into your designs and so they lay there. Get out there and take some photos.

Also, by destashing you can get a smaller unit price. If you buy some items in bulk, you get a lower price per item, but what are you going to do with all of them? Destash.

Times are hard. You don't want to close down your shop, but you need tips to batten down the hatches. One of my tips is to use up your stash. Many of us crafters have tons of beads, fabric, glues, and more that we haven't used. Before buying more, let's be creative with what we have.

Here is a valuable green tip for the holidays! Collect all the bags you've been given gifts in for the whole year, and reuse them as holiday gift bags for this year! Why clog the landfills with bags when you can reuse the same bags for years? I think my mother collects the bags at the end of holiday gift giving to go into the container for next year, BTW.