It was five in the afternoon. I had an 8:30 flight the next morning to attend a funeral. I started to pack and suddenly made the corporate decision that I had nothing to wear. Interesting, since I have four overflowing closets and a bedroom that’s been transformed into, you got it, a closet with over 24 feet of hanging space.
I pushed back each hanger looking at the item on it and finding it either too warn, to flashy for a funeral, too short, too long or too tight. Anything that actually fit me had a stain on it. I headed to the mall to buy an outfit to take with me on my trip.
In my hurry to get something and get back home to pack, I ran smack into a curb going a bit too fast and tore a hole in my tire the size of Texas. It deflated in seconds along with my desire to shop. Now I had an hour and twenty minutes to sit in my car and wait for AAA to come to my rescue. Back home, I entered the closet in the hopes something would magically appear. It did. I found a lovely outfit perfect for a funeral. A black jersey tank, black pants and a black jacket all with the tags still on. I topped it off with a neckless and bracelet duo that, quite honestly, I can’t remember ever seeing before. I tried it all on to make sure it fit. What a great outfit. Why haven’t I ever worn this before? And what in the world did I head out to the mall for in the first place when I had perfectly good clothes hanging in the closet? I think it’s a need vs. want problem I’ve got. I didn’t need new clothes, I just wanted them. I recently bought a lovely blue skirt and when I went to hang it in my closet I noticed I had the same exact skirt already hanging there. I wondered how many other things I’ve purchased ‘just because’.
I picked up a purse I’d recently purchased. It was over priced but oh la la I loved it. I went back in the store three times and just carried it around before I finally bought it. Mind you I have purses on display in the closet I haven’t used in years. I had to buy an four foot hanging jewelry box to accommodate all my jewelry. And don’t even get me started on the shoes! The thing is; I wear the same clothes and the same shoes and the same jewelry over and over and the rest of this stuff just sits there.
It’s not just clothing that I waste my money on. I buy books. Hundreds of books. And I just can’t seem to ever let them go. I love to read. I normally have three or four books that I am in the middle of reading at all time. Now you and I both know there is this place called the library where they let you take books home and read them for free. But see, you have to return them and that is where I have difficulty. Why do I hoard books?
And then there are the kitchen gadgets. I’ve got one that will squeeze every bit of juice from a lemon or orange in seconds, another that will liquify a clove of garlic, still another that can fool a radish into thinking she’s a flower. I counted 67 different kitchen gadgets in one drawer. I don’t need any of them. I just want them. I have four complete sets of dishes plus a set of 110 glass dishes packed away in the cellar. I use them for my garden parties in the summer. I wanted 110 of my friends to all have matching glass dishes. They are packed next to 110 white linen napkins and 14 white linen tablecloths. ….haven’t had a garden party in about three years.
I noticed this morning that I have 17 different brands of partially used shampoo. The list goes on. I’m going to work on figuring out why I buy so much stuff. I’m also going to try to use up what I have in every area of the house. I hope I change my ways, but if not, my daughter is going to have one heck of a garage sale when I die. I’m only sad I won’t be here for it, because I’m sure I’d find something great to buy!
