Watch this video first:
http://www.qideas.org/video/the-endless-cycle-of-want.aspx
As I post my 200th post, and having survived Thanksgiving and even one store at midnight last night (for shoes, no less), I'm thinking thoughts that I think a lot...
What is enough?
See, I can seem a bit like a hoarder. Mostly because America is a bit of a hoarder. We all seem to need to hoard everything and have a lot, and the biggest, and the best... and I try to do my best to not be like that. I really do. I don't often buy the newest or best thing; I go for the time tested, rugged, it-will-last-another-hundred-years-and-I-found-it-at-a-yard-sale kind of purchases. I dream of someday having a new car, but even then I don't think I really want a brand new car. I'm fine with the 2002 Honda Civic I bought a few months ago when my 2000 Alero decided it was done. I get great gas mileage, have no loan, and it's a car that I should be able to get a good 100k more miles out of if I so choose. I live in a house that is a good size, and it is available for purchase if I want it for a VERY good deal - which is why I'm constantly considering it. It is a house that I could probably stand to live in for up to marriage and maybe two kids depending on how close in age they are. It's 1100 sq feet are a bit excessive when I'm home alone, but it's nice when I've got another (or two) full-sized adults staying here.
And when I moved, I was looking into night stands and shelves and all of these things, and I kept telling myself, "Don't buy things with more storage space, because then you'll just have to fill it up!!!" And the last thing I need in my life is more STUFF. I've already got enough stuff. And yet I fall too easily into buying more stuff. Last night, I went out and bought three new pairs of shoes. Granted, one was to replace a pair that is currently falling apart badly, and another to replace a pair that I had to throw away the other day, so I've really only netted one pair of shoes, but I didn't really need all three. Maybe two of them I needed, but I got three. I had my old phone for 2.5 years before I bought my new one, and then I bought the "newest and best"... knowing fully well that I'm going to keep this one for two and half years and not upgrade as soon as the next one comes out...
But I look in my closet - and my new closet is at least twice the size as my old one (one of my dressers is IN my closer), and I keep buying stuff to put in it. I have to keep buying hangars. SO MANY CLOTHES! To the point that it feels like there is too much choice at the beginning of the day. It's not that I have nothing to wear, but it's that there's so much to choose from.
And then we look at my kitchen, and here's where I really struggle. Clothes I can almost justify, because my size varies so much from day to day depending on medicine, or food, or... well... all women know it fluctuates... but food. Let's talk about food.
Why do we have so many cupboards in our kitchens? And why do I think it's necessary to have my cupboards full? There was a while where I felt like I was doing something wrong because my fridge was basically empty ALL. THE. TIME. All the other fridges I look into are stuffed to the brim with no room for anything else. No. Not me. At any given time I have two to three shelves empty. And I've learned that that's a good thing.
But back to the cupboards...
I've got so much stuff in my cupboards. Spices. Okay, hoarde those to an extent because a bottle of an awesome spice can last a long time and is versatile, but why do I feel like I always have to have boxed mixes of *something* in my cupboard? Why do I feel like I always have to have macaroni? Why must there always be soup? WHY IS THERE SO MUCH STUFF?!?!?!??!?!?! I've learned a lot for me about why I have to have my two shelves plus a lazy susan (and my freezer) full - I'm always scared that at some point I won't have enough money and so I should have extra food so I can eat anyway. This is the same way I feel about my house. I will make sure I have rent money before I do anything else. As long as I have a roof, I'm good. Second comes food... So, I make sure I've got enough.
But really, this is a lot of excess. Why? What is the purpose of this? Why do we buy bulk at Sam's? I've got a card for a free membership to Sam's and I can't figure out why I would go over there and get it. I mean, I guess the prices are good, but do I really need all that food? and to buy it all in bulk? Really? I think I've got plenty and I'm really good at finding awesome deals. Plus, the gas to get all the way to the store kind of negates it.
I don't need to be creating more shelves to put more stuff on to collect more dust.
I need to use what I have.
My worst hoarding product, and here I'm being completely honest: BOOKS.
I love books.
I will probably own a library at some point in my life.
So I hoard these more than I hoard anything else.
So, I'm thinking right now, that my new year's resolution coming up (and really beginning as soon as school is out and I have some time to sit and do it), is cleaning out my life again and having less excess. Because the problem is that some of the stuff I have is completely useless. It's NEVER used, so why do I keep it? I have aspirations of some day using these things, and with only a few exceptions, this is never going to happen... so why not get rid of it? Why not start going through this?
So, my goal for BEFORE the first of the year is to go through and get rid of things that don't need to be here and figure out what I am *actually* lacking - which is only one thing that I can think of right now, and it's something I've just been too lazy to get done right. But it's time for the excess to go. I just keep getting more!!!
Even if my shoes are cute, it's time.
Even if I might really want mac&cheese tomorrow, it's time.
Even if miiiiiiiiiiiight use that doo-dad-thing over there, it's time.
It's much to simple to fall into the lull of excesss, and it's not a lull that I want to be in.
Time to be simple....
"Tis a gift to be simple, tis a gift to be free..."
http://www.qideas.org/video/the-endless-cycle-of-want.aspx
As I post my 200th post, and having survived Thanksgiving and even one store at midnight last night (for shoes, no less), I'm thinking thoughts that I think a lot...
What is enough?
See, I can seem a bit like a hoarder. Mostly because America is a bit of a hoarder. We all seem to need to hoard everything and have a lot, and the biggest, and the best... and I try to do my best to not be like that. I really do. I don't often buy the newest or best thing; I go for the time tested, rugged, it-will-last-another-hundred-years-and-I-found-it-at-a-yard-sale kind of purchases. I dream of someday having a new car, but even then I don't think I really want a brand new car. I'm fine with the 2002 Honda Civic I bought a few months ago when my 2000 Alero decided it was done. I get great gas mileage, have no loan, and it's a car that I should be able to get a good 100k more miles out of if I so choose. I live in a house that is a good size, and it is available for purchase if I want it for a VERY good deal - which is why I'm constantly considering it. It is a house that I could probably stand to live in for up to marriage and maybe two kids depending on how close in age they are. It's 1100 sq feet are a bit excessive when I'm home alone, but it's nice when I've got another (or two) full-sized adults staying here.
And when I moved, I was looking into night stands and shelves and all of these things, and I kept telling myself, "Don't buy things with more storage space, because then you'll just have to fill it up!!!" And the last thing I need in my life is more STUFF. I've already got enough stuff. And yet I fall too easily into buying more stuff. Last night, I went out and bought three new pairs of shoes. Granted, one was to replace a pair that is currently falling apart badly, and another to replace a pair that I had to throw away the other day, so I've really only netted one pair of shoes, but I didn't really need all three. Maybe two of them I needed, but I got three. I had my old phone for 2.5 years before I bought my new one, and then I bought the "newest and best"... knowing fully well that I'm going to keep this one for two and half years and not upgrade as soon as the next one comes out...
But I look in my closet - and my new closet is at least twice the size as my old one (one of my dressers is IN my closer), and I keep buying stuff to put in it. I have to keep buying hangars. SO MANY CLOTHES! To the point that it feels like there is too much choice at the beginning of the day. It's not that I have nothing to wear, but it's that there's so much to choose from.
And then we look at my kitchen, and here's where I really struggle. Clothes I can almost justify, because my size varies so much from day to day depending on medicine, or food, or... well... all women know it fluctuates... but food. Let's talk about food.
Why do we have so many cupboards in our kitchens? And why do I think it's necessary to have my cupboards full? There was a while where I felt like I was doing something wrong because my fridge was basically empty ALL. THE. TIME. All the other fridges I look into are stuffed to the brim with no room for anything else. No. Not me. At any given time I have two to three shelves empty. And I've learned that that's a good thing.
But back to the cupboards...
I've got so much stuff in my cupboards. Spices. Okay, hoarde those to an extent because a bottle of an awesome spice can last a long time and is versatile, but why do I feel like I always have to have boxed mixes of *something* in my cupboard? Why do I feel like I always have to have macaroni? Why must there always be soup? WHY IS THERE SO MUCH STUFF?!?!?!??!?!?! I've learned a lot for me about why I have to have my two shelves plus a lazy susan (and my freezer) full - I'm always scared that at some point I won't have enough money and so I should have extra food so I can eat anyway. This is the same way I feel about my house. I will make sure I have rent money before I do anything else. As long as I have a roof, I'm good. Second comes food... So, I make sure I've got enough.
But really, this is a lot of excess. Why? What is the purpose of this? Why do we buy bulk at Sam's? I've got a card for a free membership to Sam's and I can't figure out why I would go over there and get it. I mean, I guess the prices are good, but do I really need all that food? and to buy it all in bulk? Really? I think I've got plenty and I'm really good at finding awesome deals. Plus, the gas to get all the way to the store kind of negates it.
I don't need to be creating more shelves to put more stuff on to collect more dust.
I need to use what I have.
My worst hoarding product, and here I'm being completely honest: BOOKS.
I love books.
I will probably own a library at some point in my life.
So I hoard these more than I hoard anything else.
So, I'm thinking right now, that my new year's resolution coming up (and really beginning as soon as school is out and I have some time to sit and do it), is cleaning out my life again and having less excess. Because the problem is that some of the stuff I have is completely useless. It's NEVER used, so why do I keep it? I have aspirations of some day using these things, and with only a few exceptions, this is never going to happen... so why not get rid of it? Why not start going through this?
So, my goal for BEFORE the first of the year is to go through and get rid of things that don't need to be here and figure out what I am *actually* lacking - which is only one thing that I can think of right now, and it's something I've just been too lazy to get done right. But it's time for the excess to go. I just keep getting more!!!
Even if my shoes are cute, it's time.
Even if I might really want mac&cheese tomorrow, it's time.
Even if miiiiiiiiiiiight use that doo-dad-thing over there, it's time.
It's much to simple to fall into the lull of excesss, and it's not a lull that I want to be in.
Time to be simple....
"Tis a gift to be simple, tis a gift to be free..."
