Getting rid of more.....

[clear water]

a year of no buying is a great idea! My husband and I are moving south and downsizing in two years. So I have that time to find a home for all the stuff we don't need. Other like minded familes are joining me in a garage sale. We'll probably donate the money we recieve to a good cause. We haven't moved in sixteen years, not a good thing in the clutter department. I'm encouraging my adult children to buy less, telling them how little of the stuff I have now that I really need or want. What a waste

[redfox]

Rob, we're aggressively paying off CC debt - and are doing a damn fine job, I must say. I decided that I needed to stop my addictive shopping. The Goodwill is on my way home from work, and I stopped there at least 3x a week. I was spending probably $100 a month there. That is a LOT of stuff. I loved to go there. Thus far, I am on my own, with an incredibly supportive and happy husband. He does not spend $$!

Now, I've furnished our 3 bedroom home with lots of gorgeous curtains, pillow, blankets, dishes, tables, lamps, and so on, from GW. Great stuff too - silk curtains, vintage Bauer & Fiestaware, antique oak tables, etc. But enough is freaking enough. It had been my detox from work place, where I relaxed. My corner bar, and it seriously became an addiction. Like any addiction that is to something not necessary for life (I'm a compulsive overeater too, but one cannot abstain totally from food), I went cold turkey. From all shopping.

I am also decluttering, and in the process, I'm thoroughly enjoying all the things I am keeping. On New Year's eve, I took 6 boxes of vintage dishes I no longer wanted to a weekend party with friends, and they all divided it up. It was so much fun! As I decide to keep something, I use it. Find a new place for it, polish or iron it, and appreciate it, my good taste, my discerning eye, and my incredible GW karma.

I still have probably 500 pieces of vintage dishware in the house - a 50's Franciscan set (Trio), a 70's Metlox set (Wild Poppy), and an enormous amount of Fiesta, vintage & modern, as well as Bauer and Russell Wright pieces. They are gorgeous, and we use them. Some day, they will all be sold or given away.

I have a rep in my tribe of friends as being the GW Queen. All of them are missing my forays, as I also shop for others - frequently calling a friend saying " I'm at the GW, and I found ___ for you". I know the tastes, sizes, preferences and house colors of most of my friends. If I could make $$ being a personal thrift store shopper, I'd kill. Oh well. I had to do this, to break the cycle of compulsive buying, to stop the clutter, and to direct that $$ into debt reduction. I don't use credit cards any more, but $100 a month is serious cash.

So that's the tale. It's my personal commitment to our fiscal health AND clutter reduction. It's only been hard once so far. I'll keep all y'all posted!

[lhamo]

redfox,

I feel a little like I'm inviting somebody out for a drink after an AA meeting, but I just have to ask -- have you ever considered setting up an Ebay shop to resell all your finds? You clearly have a strong knowledge of what is desirable in a lot of different areas, and maybe it would be a fun way to make a bit of cash on the side to throw toward your debts and/or retirement savings.

OK, more sensible people can hit me over the head now....

lhamo

[19Sandy]

Some things don't change!