Buy Nothing
When I returned home from Costa Rica, I was more determined than ever to get rid of the clutter in my house. We have much more than we need. I was enlightening to see how happy the people there were with so much less. At the very least, I was determined not to buy anything additional.
Our town has a “Buy Nothing” Facebook page. I was planning to put a bunch of objects on that page in order to get it out of our house. Part of my reluctance to get rid of things is my fear that it will end up in a landfill. There are things that are still usable, and I am certain that someone would like to have them.
Unfortunately, we have not been around to list any of our objects on the page. However, that has not stopped us from acquiring even more! Since I returned home, we have somehow taken possession of three antique sleds and a cabinet.
The largest of the sleds is too damaged to be repaired, but it looks really good leaning up against the house in the garden bed. Douglas is planning to refinish the other two.
I plan to put the cabinet in the kitchen where this little cabinet currently resides. The little cabinet will go into the bathroom. That has been the plan since I bought the smaller one on Craigslist. I knew that it was smaller than I wanted, but I figured that it would do in the meantime. Normally, I do not like to buy place holders, but I had a place for it to go once I found something better.
So, now I need to make sure that I get rid of a lot of things before bringing anything into our house. I am taking this very seriously. Please, help me!
Happy Homemaking!
I am a teacher, traveler, artist, writer, homemaker and a whole lot more. In January 2009, I bought the Cape of Dreams. It was the second house that I had ever owned, but it was the first that I bought by myself. I now live in the house with my husband Douglas, our dog Kahlua, and Crème de Menthe, the cat. Because, what life is complete without a little Kahlua and Cream? I love arts and crafts of all kinds, and I refinish furniture as well. We are slowly redoing our entire house. You can read about my projects on my blog www.CapeofDreams.com
I’d be of no help whatsoever, as we are constantly acquiring and we never get rid of anything. This HAS to stop … we need therapy!
Those sleds are sweet! I thought I spied a sled leaning against your house in your house tour post. I think Douglas should leave them alone if you’re not actually going to use them. The patina is better. Hang them on the wall of your shed? Or house?
I found my people with this blog! Even Jo found out that we are not very good at advising to get rid of anything. I swear I can do better, though.
As for the sleds, I am not sure what Douglas has planned for them. He wants to use them, but I am not confident that he will ever fix them. We’ll see. I will let you know if anything happens.
We, too, have 3 vintage sleds which we refurbished here: https://charlieandjo.wordpress.com/2012/11/26/3-sleds/ and used here:https://charlieandjo.wordpress.com/2014/12/08/the-old-sleds/. I’m sure Douglas will do a great job. As for getting rid of things, I’m with D’Arcy, I’m not good at it. Jo @ Let’s Face the Music
Why must parting with our things be so difficult?!
I am sentimental about my family’s stuff. My parent’s generation are almost all gone now, so these things are my touchstones. Eric is much the same way … double the problem! Then, we collect some really cool things, and who wants to get rid of cool things? We have cool things that we don’t even have room to display! 🙂 It’s the JUNK we need to pitch.
Family stuff is the hardest to part with. In fact, the only time I give something up that came from my ancestors is if I can give it to another family member. Our problem is that we have an attachment to random things that we have collected over the years and don’t really need.
I am sort of the opposite… I’m an anti-packrat by nature. Hubby is much more of a packrat! Throughout the year I initiate the movement of unused items to the basement, and then once a year I clean out the basement and put half the “junk” on the curb out front [things are gone within the hour! we live on a busy street] and donate the other half to goodwill. It’s not really “junk”, it’s just stuff we dont need or have replaced, but still very usable to others. Once in a while I’ll sell something on Craigslist if we can get a couple hundred for it. Otherwise it’s not worth the effort and I’d rather give it away.
I go through phases, and my personality conflicts. Part of me is very orderly and tidy by nature and the other half wants to keep everything I have ever owned. Now that I am with Douglas, it has been harder because he is a total pack rat!