No, not the food kind! I'm talking about the ridiculous cycle of buying stuff and then having too much stuff, then turning around and getting rid of all the stuff you spent good money on because you no longer have room for the stuff!
I am in the process of doing a big purge of "stuff" from the house, probably inspired by the thought that if Jeff gets a job out of state, we would actually have to MOVE all our crap and how embarrassing would it be for someone (i.e. movers) to see all the crap we really have?
Now, some of this is my fault, clearly. I'm the one purchasing these things for the most part. But when a kid says they need more deodorant, who am I to question it? Hence the 16 (yes, 16!) containers of deodorant I found while cleaning out the bathroom. Do the math. We have four kids, two of whom don't even wear deodorant on a regular basis yet. This is just one good example of disgusting consumption.
Today I found a game, two puzzles, a Bionicles toy, and a portable checkers game that had never been used and/or opened. All of these were gifts for various occasions, not purchased by us, but still! What is the point of having unopened things hanging around? If you haven't used it in a year, you're probably never going to. I try to make some of these things "new" again by offering them up in a different setting. For example, I have a whole box of "entertainment" for the camper. When one is held captive in a pop-up for several days, one's choices can be limited. Which makes the "new/old" stuff all that more appealing.
But there's something to be said for just getting rid of stuff too. I had grand thoughts of perhaps putting this crap on Craig's List and making a little cash. I've done that before, but then you really need a spot in your garage that is a sort of "store" in which to keep your Craig's List inventory. And that just gets annoying. Let's review - move your crap to another location (garage), post an ad for it that expires in seven days, keep reposting in hopes that it will sell and in the end, sell said item for $5 (if you're lucky). Is it worth the hassle? Sure, if it's a big ticket item (I once sold 8 year old bunk beds that I paid $300 for for $200 on Craig's List), but otherwise the peace of mind you get from less clutter and the tax write off from donating is worth more than making a little cash from discarded Barbies. When I'm on a Craig's List kick, I've made some pretty decent money for things I would have otherwise tossed. But right now I'm in a "clearinghouse" mode and just want it all gone!
I tossed Barbies, Polly Pockets and stuffed animals with glee! I no longer feel attached to these things. Sure, I'm sentimental at heart and have saved a great deal of the kids' old clothes and toys for "someday". But I'm getting better at collecting memories instead. Stuff is just that - stuff. And it can really drag you down.
In the meantime, I told the kids we're on a spending freeze. We need to use up the stuff we already have before we buy new stuff. Which means, in the deodorant department, I shouldn't have to buy them any for, oh, say, two years?
5 comments:
3 years ago I "purged" my office and found mouse droppings inside a layer of fabric that I hadn't moved/opened/refolded since moving to Idaho 10 years prior. It probably came from the previous residence since it was dried up and kind of dusty looking. Needless to say, I now purge every year. I start with my own stuff (which is the hardest, in my opinion) then move on down the line ending with David (who still owns stuff he received for his 16th birthday) Last year I threw away and/or gave away 8 black garbage bags of stuff and Maddy gave all her toys (except the treasured plastic dinosaurs) to the neighbor kids. We also gave away 6 basketballs and gave 5 pairs of various sized baseball pants to Little League. You are right - its disgusting how much stuff accumulates!
Love, M2
P.S. Hayden has 7 small deodorants and 5 large in his room! :-)
It must be in the blood to purge right now. I've gone through both kids rooms and am currently working on my bedroom (it is the collection location of all the stuff with no home). I've taken stuff to Goodwill three times this year already and thrown at least two garbage bags of junk from each of the kids rooms. I did save Chase's train table and trains, they are in Chuck's rec room (our detached garage if you remember being at my house) and some of the Little People toys. I have too much money invested in them to give them away and so I figured I'd save them for grandkids someday (NOT SOON I hope).
This hit home for me. I am a purging QUEEN. I do it a few times a year and now I have a problem... we moved here with 4 suitcases packed full and have accumulated way too much stuff in just a year. BUT, there are no second-hand store, no charity places, and only ONE church we can donate things to. I desperately miss Goodwill and St. Vinny's for this reason. Also ne neighbor kids to give the baby toys to. So now when we do decide to move home I have to decide what I can sacrifice and leave here, and what is really worth shipping back to America.... I envy all your giving glory!
After moving nearly 40 times in our married lives, we really don't have much "stuff" left! What we do have, I started sorting and putting things into four storage bins..one for each of our kids! I mailed some to each of them, then found out that Monica wanted nothing to do with anymore of my crap, even though I had kept it for 'HER' all these years! So, after her message to me to "don't send me any more junk" I have put most of everything we have that I think they don't want into the dumpster!! I still have some to mail to Marcia and Doug and maybe a couple more things to send to Mary-Leah, but Monica gets no more!! ahha Sorry. But my storage bins are getting less and less! Our next move, if one is in the future, will not include as much crap as we have now! So if anyone wants some odd things, just let me know...LOLOL Dianne/Mom
Ok so I have been going through and purging stuff also. Mainly kids stuff..We had a scene it game from 2 Christmas's ago that has never been opened. Crazy, but here's my big one..SO I cleaned out the pantry and, now I knew we had a lot of cereal, but we had 24 boxes of cereal..I was like OMG!!!!! LIke I said I knew we had a lot, but that much. How ridiculous!! Out of those 8 were unopened. They must have been on sale!! haha 16 were opened, and 5 of those only had enough left for a baby size bowl!! We even had duplicates opened..I told the kids I am not buying any cereal till they are all gone and I mean it!!!
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