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Blog: How Much Is Enough?
 The Dreaded Target Run
Last spring I invited my friend Catie to lunch. Not an actual lunch, but one of our typical ways to spend an hour together. "Want to go to Target?" She declined because it was a tight month and she knew if she went, she would buy something she didn't need. I tried to bolster her resistance muscles: "C'mon now! Who's in charge – you or Target?" "Ah…" she replied, "When you put it that way….Target."
I'd heard this before. Friends and clients express that they just can't go into a store like this without buying something they don't really need. Before becoming a professional organizer I was involved in a near love affair with Target. "They have EVERYTHING!" I'd proclaim. Sadly we broke up early this year…for the same reason.
After working with so many clients who own so many things they do not need, my feelings began to change. Now when I walk past the seasonal displays, instead of excitement, I'm filled with a little bit of a sense of dread. In early spring for example, they fill rows and rows with fun colored plasticky things meant for beaches and backyards and everyone starts dreaming of all the fun times ahead and loads up the cart. I walk by and see so many summer items that would be just so adorable for a backyard barbeque. The problem is...more often than not, that BBQ only happens once. (Because PS....by next year there will be something even more adorable to buy.) Now when looking at these displays I just see storage units of future clients full of unused gear that will be covered in cobwebs. I tell friends and clients alike: Resist!! You don't need a citronella candle shaped like a butterfly.
So why do we buy into these displays? One reason might be that we love having new things in our lives. Many of us don't always have a ready answer to the question: "What's new?" A butterfly shaped candle can feel fun and exciting during a routine drenched week where we are driving the same car we've had for 6 years and living in the same house we've lived in for 10. But there are many ways to have things feel fresh and new without the excess baggage. Take a look at your week. How many new things did you do this week? How did they feel to you? If you have a yearly calendar, look back to January or February and pick an average week. Try to remember each day that week and notice what really stands out to you.
When you do the same things day in, and day out, the days can all begin to blend together right? Now think about if you'd made special or unusual plans with someone you care about. Would that stand out to you? What if you'd driven a completely different route to work one day and stopped at a little coffee shop that wasn't a Starbucks. Likely both would be more memorable than the day you'd bought a butterfly shaped candle. Over the next week try to fit in something – an activity, not a purchase! – that is totally new. I think you'll see that it can bring you that same exciting sense of having something new. Even better, it won't have to be stored in a plastic bin in the basement over the winter.
posted on: 11/11/2007 8:00:00 AM by Elisabeth Shake
category: Clutter
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How Much Is Enough?
by Elisabeth Shake
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About Elisabeth:
Elisabeth Shake is the owner of Yourganized, a professional organizing firm based in Chicago, IL.
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www.OnlineOrganizing.com is a service mark of Bradford, LLC.
