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Today I woke up thinking I would spend the day catching up
on a crocheting project I had been working on. I got
sidetracked into going into the garage to go through my
son's Fall clothing. As I was going through the piles of
clothing, something got a hold of me and I just could not
stop cleaning. "The Fall Cleaning Bug" had bit me.
I first went to see what clothes they were able to wear.
Having done that I went through my own clothing that was
the challenge because although it is very easy for me to get
rid of other peoples stuff, it is like pulling teeth trying
to get rid of my own belongingsHowever, I did it with no
war wounds in site.
I then proceeded to wash the stored clothing (about 5 loads
full) and went into the boy's rooms to decide what summer
clothing needed to be tossed. Having done that I thought
Wow! that was great, I accomplished something today now is a
time for a break. Little did I know, but my husband was
watching me and guess what? Yup! The bug had bitten him too.
Now we both were bitten and he dragged me back into the
garage to "look" through our belongings to see what else we
could get rid of. (2 roll away beds, a rocking chair, lots
and lots of plastic kiddy toys, shoes, more clothing, and
the list went on) Having spent the greater part of the day
rummaging through our stuff, our house now looked like a
tornado hit it!
We gathered the "giveaway" piles and placed them into
garbage sacks. At the end of the day we had 15 garbage sacks
full of stuff. Stuff that we had gathered over the last 1 or
2 years. Stuff we thought we needed at the time but found
out later they were just dust catchers. Stuff that robbed us
of our time and energy. Stuff we thought we could not live
without.
We had planned of having a garage sale but by the end of the
day we were beat. We didn't want to waste our valuable time
and energy into an event that will probably only gain us a
couple hundred dollars. (I think high don't I) So, we loaded
up the cars and headed out to the local thrift store. We
unloaded the cars, one by one, the belongings of our lives.
Trash to us now but treasure for those soon to be customers.
On the ride home my husband said to me, exhausted from all
that occurred today, "Honey, that goes to show you that, YOU
do not own your stuff but YOUR stuff owns you!" Did those
words just come out of my husband's mouth? Was he trying to
tell me something?
You see, my husband is a minimalist meaning he tries to
get by with the least amount of everythingfood, clothing,
car, etc
I on the other hand am a pack ratA pack rat who
LOVES to SHOP! Although I learned a few things from my wise
husband, I am still far worse at accumulating things than he
is. Throughout our years together he has gotten us in the
habit of regularly going through our belongings and weeding
them out. This was rough on me at first because I carried a
lot of emotional baggage to my stuff. But, over the years it
has gotten better.
Lately though, I have been developing the habit of going to
thrift shops and picking up "this deal" and "that deal" and
the "oh I can't pass that one up deal". This led to our 15
garbage bags of Stuff. Who knew that someone could actually
be addicted to thrift shop "shopping"? How much money had I
wasted over the years "saving us money"? What was I teaching
my children?
Something had to be done -- I was out of control. I made a
game plan. I would make a list of questions before I went
out shopping. Did I need this? What constitutes my needing
this object? Will I use it? How will I use it? For how long
will I use it? If I purchase said object will I be willing
to also give it up? This as well as making a budget of
spending money for myself that did not interfere with my
family's budget was the game plan I thought was going to
solve my problem. I set aside a small amount of money to
spend with as I choose. This is all the money I am able to
use for these purchases and I must bring my list of
questions with me before I make any purchases.
My husband has so graciously offered his assistance in this
matter. He said he would just tell me "no" if he thinks we
don't need it. I on the other hand was not satisfied with
that game plan because if left to my husband, we wouldn't
purchase anything. I am not at that point yet. I still have
the "shopping" bug which can be dangerous I know, but I
think with my game plan I can curb it, and maybe learn to
live with it in peace, without it causing too much damage.
Life is worth so much more than our belongings. Time goes by
so fast. Why waste it cleaning, mending, and repairing
useless "stuff" when you could be using this once in a life
time opportunity making memories with your children,
husband, friends, and family. My husband was right, "stuff
owns you" if you let it. I know this Gal will think more
deeply and clearly before making another "good deal" in the
future.
Hope you have a fantastic Clean and Clutter Free Fall
Season!
Sara Duggan
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