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Blog: Clutter-Free Forever
 Buying Too Much
Buying Too Much As the economists argue over whether or not we are in a recession, we all know we need to cut back. My car gas bill has doubled forcing me to look to other places to cut funds. Instead of complaining I look at this time as one where I may be able to review my spending habits. I look in my closet and see about 20 pairs of shoes that I seldom wear. Since it is springtime, I'm pulling out my sandals and beige and white shoes. I realize that I don't often wear high heals any more but look at four pairs of them. I try them on and decide to keep one and put the others in a bag for Good Will. Then I look at my winter shoes and do some sorting. I keep three comfortable pairs: black, brown and navy blue, the others go into the Good Will bag. I decide to keep three pairs of sandals since all of them are comfortable. Then my walking shoes come into view. My favorite pair look a little tattered and I realize that the cushioning has dissolved so I put that pair in the trash and see that I have two brand new ones that I bought at different times on sale. I decide to put one away and wear the other. What I'm realizing is that I don't need any new shoes for spring or summer. In the past I would have just bought a new pair of shoes for the season. With this budget success, I look at my slacks and realize I wear three pairs all the time and the others just hang in the closet taking up space. No need for new ones here and a few can go to Good Will. I do the same for dresses and permit myself to think about purchasing one new one as a few need replacing. Now for the pantry, I count about 10 cans of solid white tuna, five boxes of pasta, three boxes of cereal etc. So I decide to go grocery shopping with a list of what I need not what is on sale. I plan my menu using the ingredients I have at home and adding fresh vegetables and fruits. I ask myself why I overstock? My thoughtful answer is that is the way my Mom shopped. She always bought one to use and one for the pantry so we'd never run out of anything. I also recall that she shopped once a week and that the store was quite a distance. I live in Charlotte where I can walk to the nearest store, so I really don't need a spare in my pantry. I also know that sales are repeated so often on the same items that I need not worry about paying full price if I have one or two on my shelves. There doesn't seem to be much need for 10 cans of tuna. So now that I brought my needs to the fore I realize I can brake old habits and have more space in my pantry. Over buying may be the American way, but for me I'm going to move to a more conservative way of purchasing. I think they call it on time purchasing in industry. What about you? Ccfld4/11/08
posted on: 4/16/2008 8:00:00 AM by Frances D'Amato
category: Clutter
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Clutter-Free Forever
by Frances D'Amato
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About Frances:
Frances L. D'Amato, M.A. M.Ed. is an Organizational Psychologist as well as a working artist. She founded the Tree Group in 1981 and has been helping Organizations reduce clutter and streamline systems for more efficient management. About ten years ago she expanded her focus to include individuals who work at home and then individuals who need help decluttering their homes. Frances works with the individual to discover the meaning of clutter and develops a process to allow people to let go and live in a more clutter and stress free environment.
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