30 Days Favorites: Filling A Shopping Bag
As I read through 30 Days to a Simpler Life
When I read this chapter, I thought “I’ve already done this”. But I went one a hunt anyway. Through the kitchen, two shopping bags. Through the office, three shopping bags. Through my craft room, another two. I kept at this for a week, and I had a trunk-full by the time I was done.
My criteria were simple: if I haven’t used it in the past year, out it went.
This was particularly true in the office. I have a tendency to buy office supplies when I’m feeling down. I had a box full of journals of which half went. The paper stash had paper from my wedding…almost 8 years ago. I had dozens of pens on my desk which I would never use because of one thing or another (I’m left-handed and very picky about my writing tools). I was amazed at how much stuff I found to give away in what I thought was an already cleared space.
The kitchen and dining room were difficult. My mother likes to give me dishes that she finds here and there that somewhat go with my formal set, as well as gadgets “I can’t live without”. There is a lot of guilt attached to these items if I let them go, because they were gifts and because they were given to me by the woman who taught me my way around the kitchen. But at the same time, do I need three egg separators? Why keep a special slicing-dicing machine when I prefer to use my knives and an old-fashioned slicer?
I learned a few things about myself during this time. Firstly, trips to the office supply store cannot be made without a list and a friend. Secondly, I still have a lot of the “I’ll use it someday” mentality inherited from my mother. I need to work on letting things go to people who can use them. Thirdly, I stockpile craft projects, and I need to only buy yarn for a specific project, and only when I have nothing else in the queue.
It was an interesting experiment. I believe I will continue doing this monthly. I encourage you all to go grab a shopping bag and fill it with stuff today!
Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader or email.
![[Valid RSS]](/images/valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed")
Comments
No comments yet.
Comment Policy:
Comments on this blog are moderated. Rude comments will be deleted.
Leave a comment