Do we really need all the things we have, do we really use them all? Could we have made better use of the money spent on X if we had taken the time to really think about the purchase.
I definitely agree with you.
As we are in our 60s and making some real plans for retirement (not for several years yet, God willing)–we are looking at all our “junk” in the basement–stuff that at one time, we apparently thought we needed. Now it’s just taking up a lot of space in the basement, and we are trying to figure out whether we should just get rid of it or start using it.
Getting rid of “junk” is not necessarily easy–the thrift shops are full of the same kind of junk–knick knacks, holiday decorations, household decor, videos (VHS!), furniture, tools (lots of tools!), kitchen utensils, various kitchen machines that were supposed to revolutionize the way we cooked,toys, picture frames and other household “art” decor, books, clothing, business supplies and machines, more tools, organizational aids—ai yi yi!
Our basement probably has enough junk to fully fill another house!
I love watching HGTV (at work–we don’t have cable TV at home), but I cringe when the various stars describe a house as “outdated and in need of modernizing”. In ten years, the modern rehab that they do on the houses (costing tens of thousands of dollars) will be outdated and in need of modernizing!
When my husband and I were first married, we were lucky that a movement called “Simple Lifestyle” was sweeping the globe, and authors like Doris Jantzen Longacre (R.I.P.) were publishing books describing how to live more simply, and Christian leaders like Billy Graham were taking the “simplicity” pledges.
In one of her books, Ms. Longacre expressed her dislike of the phrase “decorating a home.” She suggested that a home shouldn’t be filled with the latest furniture and artwork trends, draperies, wall treatments and colors, etc., but instead, should be filled with colors, artwork, furniture, etc. that is MEANINGFUL to those who live there.
We have followed her advice all these years. At this moment, I am sitting at a desk that i bought at a second hand shop in my hometown (it’s painted bright green), and I’m looking at a painting (definitely amateur) of the Blessed Mother that my husband and I bought at a church rummage sale several years ago, and at a collage that my son-in-law and daughter made that lists our “House Rules”–e.g., “Potato chips make a fine breakfast, and chips and dip are a perfectly acceptable dinner!” I also have collection of beautiful green vaseline glass on a shelf next to me that cheers me up, and a Boston fern that my brother gave me (he’s rough and tough, but he loves flowers and plants!).
It would horrify the HGTV celebs–but I love it! And it was all very, very cheap!
