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Home > What is the matter with me? Oh, almost so weak ...

What is the matter with me? Oh, almost so weak ...

October 18th, 2013 at 04:29 pm


Monday yielded some big outcomes as far as the being bit by the declutter bug. Shelves got moved, furniture rearranged, lots of old toys boxed up to go to St. Vincent De Paul on Sunday, boxes and plastic to be recycled, etc. Tackling odd drawers and closets and feeling generally lighter and more satisfied with an organized life. And I should add that I purged some Christmas decorations (knick-knacks that represented nothing sentimental other than I wanted them, and purchased them at the resale store). Those went with my mom who has a soft spot for cast off Christmas decorations (even though their third generation now).

Until yesterday, when I went to Hobby Lobby for a simple craft for son's birthday party tonight. And I walked through the Christmas decoration aisle after aisle, wanting to buy more. The cute little gingerbread themed decorations, stuffed and otherwise, and elves and birds and trees and lights and wreaths and ... I didn't buy anything, but the fact that I wanted to and almost tried to justify a purchase made me annoyed with myself.

From this exercise I took away:

1) Don't slip back to bad patterns, where six years from now I'll be purging potential items thinking "Now why exactly did I buy this?"

2) I think I'll stick to buying one inexpensive ornament per child to put in their stocking - my children do love to reminisce about their ornaments when we decorate the tree, so it may be a meaningful purchase in future years.

Back to more cleaning because there's going to be a party here tonight and major soccer tournament this weekend with at least six games and potentially ten if the teams perform well.

5 Responses to “What is the matter with me? Oh, almost so weak ...”

  1. creditcardfree Says:
    1382110463

    Great job! You post reminds me that I bought my girls each an ornament for the tree after Christmas on sale (Target I think). I will put them in this years stocking. Last years ornament will be the highlight when decorating. I hope to make this a habit to buy on clearance the year before. It saves a little AND keeps the tradition going. Stay strong and stay out of the Christmas aisles!!! Smile

  2. MonkeyMama Says:
    1382111785

    I think in general that a lot in life is overly attributed to willpower. Just to say, I think that a more useful strategy is just to stay away from looking in the first place. In my case, it's not as much willpower as that I don't have any reason to step foot in *any* store 99% of the time. & I know that is not normal or average - it is thanks to my spouse who does most errands and shopping. But just to say I notice a lot of "will power" gets attributed to me, which is just silly. If I worked in a retail store, I'd be in trouble! Big Grin All this to say that there is just great power in avoidance. It may be easier to work on the willpower not to look in the Christmas aisle in the first place (then to resist once you get into that aisle). Does that make sense?

  3. momcents Says:
    1382112754


    I think I need a new mantra "only what I need, only what I need".

    I think I will be surprised that I really don't need much. And I'm even considering a simpler Christmas Season: one large tree in the living room with all the sentimental ornaments. The living room usually has the fancy tree with the glass ornaments; purpose of it? I'm not sure. I've whittled the Christmas card list down to 15 (bad, I know, but these are really the only people we care to keep in touch with who are out of state) and I'm paying $14.95 for one box of card designed by my third grader.

    OK, enough ramble Smile

  4. scottish girl Says:
    1382114031

    I like the idea of buying a Christmas ornament for the kids every year. I've got one for SG that I'm hoping to get her hand print on - if it's big enough, I've not opened the box yet. I got it for free from my catalogue by using my rewards.

    As someone who works in retail, it is so tempting to buy stuff, especially for Christmas. I find a desire to get home from work keeps me from browsing... most of the time.

  5. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1382198322

    Good for you resisting the temptation! Decorative items aren't really a temptation for me, because really, who would I be decorating the house for? Smile Other things are much more of a temptation ... and the only way to avoid them is to avoid the store (namely ... bookstore ...)

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