On the topic of "Stuff"
Like most people, I collect things... lots of things. And I fall victim to the situation that George Carlin lampooned. When I get too much stuff, I get a bigger place. My wife and I have just moved and in making the move, we discovered how much unnecessary junk we have. Tons of it.
And most of which we no longer needed or wanted... and probably never really needed in the first place.
A lot off the stuff we buy somehow seems like a good idea at the time. Then we get it home and voila, it goes on a shelf, in the original box, and remains there unused until we decide to give it away or sell it, in it's original box in pristine condition. The sad thing is that most of us do this over and over again and never seem to learn that if we don't need it, don't buy it. And if there is no room for it, don't just try to squeeze one more thing in. Bite the bullet, and don't buy it nor bring it home.
My wife, Marilyn and I decided that we are going to kick the habit of being consumers who fly on autopilot, when it comes to acquiring things. We looked for a local chapter of Mad Collectors Anonymous. We figured if there was such a thing as Weight Watchers, there had to be an equivalent for "stuff" addicts like us. Would you believe, as hard as we looked, we couldn't find one.
So it looks as if we are going to have to do this thing cold turkey. Do you have any idea how painful it is not to keep some of the things I have had for a very long time? It hurts. But it gets easier, after awhile. Our new credo: If there is no room for what is in the boxes or in our 10 x 10 storeroom [which we have not even had a chance to go through yet!], it goes. Donate it, give it away. Sell it. Or trash it. We are becoming almost ruthless now.
Who would have thought we could do it? People are saying, "Who are these people and what have they done to our good friends?." So we are becoming reformed collectiholics, and we can proudly say that we have been almost junk free for two weeks, three days, twenty-one hours and six minutes.
So keep us in your prayers. We have been told that once one becomes a collectiholic, one is always a collectiholic and that it is a particularly American addiction. The pushers [advertisers, dept stores, television ads..... [silent scream]] are everywhere, tempting us and trying to get us to buy some new stuff and have a relapse. The stats are pretty high for falling off the wagon. As I said, keep us in your prayers and we will try to keep the faith.
And most of which we no longer needed or wanted... and probably never really needed in the first place.
A lot off the stuff we buy somehow seems like a good idea at the time. Then we get it home and voila, it goes on a shelf, in the original box, and remains there unused until we decide to give it away or sell it, in it's original box in pristine condition. The sad thing is that most of us do this over and over again and never seem to learn that if we don't need it, don't buy it. And if there is no room for it, don't just try to squeeze one more thing in. Bite the bullet, and don't buy it nor bring it home.
My wife, Marilyn and I decided that we are going to kick the habit of being consumers who fly on autopilot, when it comes to acquiring things. We looked for a local chapter of Mad Collectors Anonymous. We figured if there was such a thing as Weight Watchers, there had to be an equivalent for "stuff" addicts like us. Would you believe, as hard as we looked, we couldn't find one.
So it looks as if we are going to have to do this thing cold turkey. Do you have any idea how painful it is not to keep some of the things I have had for a very long time? It hurts. But it gets easier, after awhile. Our new credo: If there is no room for what is in the boxes or in our 10 x 10 storeroom [which we have not even had a chance to go through yet!], it goes. Donate it, give it away. Sell it. Or trash it. We are becoming almost ruthless now.
Who would have thought we could do it? People are saying, "Who are these people and what have they done to our good friends?." So we are becoming reformed collectiholics, and we can proudly say that we have been almost junk free for two weeks, three days, twenty-one hours and six minutes.
So keep us in your prayers. We have been told that once one becomes a collectiholic, one is always a collectiholic and that it is a particularly American addiction. The pushers [advertisers, dept stores, television ads..... [silent scream]] are everywhere, tempting us and trying to get us to buy some new stuff and have a relapse. The stats are pretty high for falling off the wagon. As I said, keep us in your prayers and we will try to keep the faith.
posted by hfireman | 2:44 PM
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