Homegrown Tales

Homegrown Tales

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Homegrown Tales
Homegrown Tales
Boring as it may be, light bulb inventory can save homeowners time and money

Boring as it may be, light bulb inventory can save homeowners time and money

5 tips to make sure your lighting is safe, clean, corrosion-free and lasts a long time

Shamontiel L. Vaughn's avatar
Shamontiel L. Vaughn
Jun 06, 2025
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Homegrown Tales
Homegrown Tales
Boring as it may be, light bulb inventory can save homeowners time and money
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Photo credit: ChatGPT Photo Generator

When I saw the email, I thought it was a joke. Clear out of nowhere, my neighbor emailed me two sentences: “I’ve got bulbs. They’re free.”

For a brief minute, I wondered if “bulbs” was a new slang term for “marijuana.” But that wouldn’t work. Marijuana is made of seeds and clones. And I stopped smoking weed in college.

He sent me another email saying, “They’re in the basement.”

Now I’m curious. I must see why I’m being notified about “bulbs” that I never asked for — and hadn’t talked to this man at all for a couple of weeks.


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I grab my dog to go for a walk, and I poke my head into the laundry room to see a huge bag full of actual light bulbs. As curious as this email was, I could feel my mouth turning up into a smile. I was ecstatic to see this variety of light bulbs that would save me a trip to the nearest hardware store.


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These are those moments that I know I’m a real “grown-up.” I hadn’t been this “grown-up” happy since the time I found out I wouldn’t have to replace a toilet that had inexplicable scratches on the inside. (Mineral buildup from hard water and abrasive cleaning tools, such as steel wool and hard-bristle brushes, can do this.) Someone online suggested Bar Keepers Friend to me, and all of those porcelain scratches disappeared as soon as I used it. Mind blown!


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As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a percentage from purchases with my referral links. I know some consumers are choosing to boycott Amazon for its DEI removal. However, after thinking about this thoroughly, I choose to continue promoting intriguing products from small businesses, women-owned businesses and (specifically) Black-owned businesses who still feature their items on Amazon. All five of my Substack publications now include a MINIMUM of one product sold by a Black-owned business. (I have visited the seller’s official site, not just the Amazon Black-owned logo, to verify this.) If you still choose to boycott, I 100% respect that decision.
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My reaction to the bulbs went from confusion to glee. Why? Because when I first bought my condo unit, I had no idea that just about every light in this crazy place had a different bulb. All three ceiling fans had different bulbs. The lights underneath my cabinets had another kind of bulb. The kitchen ceiling light had different light bulbs — on top of tricky switches that could turn the light off on one side and stop the other side from turning on too.

While I was unpacking that first week, I had to take light inventory — and find the three-way bulbs for the lamps I brought along because my prior condo rental had no lights at all installed in the living room. I’d grown so used to not having ceiling lights or a ceiling fan that this was taking me back to the days of my eight-year apartment rental (before Satan moved in with a treadmill.) But when I bought my current home, I could totally understand the frustration of this Reddit user who asked, “How the f**k do people keep track of lightbulbs they need?”


ADVERTISEMENT ~ Amazon

As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a percentage for every purchase with my referral link.
HISTAR Rechargeable Light Bulbs for Sconce and Lamp, E26 Battery Operated Light Bulb with Remote, RGB, Timer, Dimmable, 3 Color Temperature, 2Pack, 2500mAh

Been there. Dealt with that. I have five suggestions — outside of having neighbors who (for some inexplicable reason) have hundreds of brand new bulbs to give away.

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