Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Stuff

We all say we hate 'stuff' and want to de-clutter our lives. Why then do WalMart & Target have such huge businesses? C'mon... we all know we come out with purchases not on our shopping lists. Yesterday, I saw a family that bought nothing - zip, nada, zero, big goose egg - during the month of February. They watered down their milk (gasp - as if that isn't what 2% and skim are anyway), ate what they had, and walked everywhere so as not to buy gas. One of their daughters' sneakers came apart; she duck taped it and started a new trend at school.

Tomorrow, a moving truck arrives here with what we put into storage when we relocated from Oregon to Virginia. Most of you didn't even know us then, but we were told to pack only what we needed for the next 4 months. We were on temporary status through Jan. '08, or so we thought. When we moved to Canada in April '11, all that 'stuff' was still in storage... Although we picked through some of it, we actually added more when we left VA! I blame that on our small rental in Canada, but now I like "small". So... what comes tomorrow may well be A) a complete surprise to me, B) a little bit like Christmas, or, most likely, C) a lesson in frugality. I vote 'C' - your thoughts?

Why is it that we learn too late that we need very little in this life? My friend, Kathy, made this choice long ago when she wanted to free up money to pack Operation Christmas Child boxes. I've sort of grown into this attitude. I don't want more 'stuff'. I don't even like to shop anymore, unless it's for OCC boxes. I bought 14 stuffed animals and 12 bags of Smarties yesterday, and I'm already excited about building shoebox gifts around them.

When the truck drops off all these things we haven't seen, or apparently needed, I plan to have the Salvation Army ready to come pick-up donations. (Did I mention yesterday that they came on time and as promised? Speaking of integrity...)

I can't wait to have less 'stuff'. I'm thinking the boys are ready to give up all those Legos, and Michael & I don't need a thing beyond what we have. I'm liking this feeling...


1 comment:

  1. Good for you, Pam--living a free and simpler lifestyle. You can spend no money and still not live simply if you tend to hang on to too much stuff--even free stuff. I'm trying to learn right along with you and you are inspiring me.

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