It is as if now that I've made the decision to avoid the temptations and obvious marketing ploys at Wally World I'm finding that I keep getting the message reaffirmed. I saw a daytime talk show this week with an expert organizer who said that American families are drowning in their own stuff...that we have so much of it we are overwhelmed by it, and that it affects our lives, our relationships, and our ability to be creative and think clearly. There are times more often than I can count where I cannot find a single surface in our house that doesn't have stuff piled on it. The fact of the matter is that everywhere you go, you get stuff. If you go to school, you come home with papers....homework, artwork, notes from teachers, etc. If there is a holiday mixed in, it is UNBELIEVABLE how much "crap" my kids come home with...like candy and cheap plastic toys that some poor kids who don't go to school in some hellish part of the world are making for OUR kids. If you go to church you bring home papers, more coloring pages and requests for donations, etc. If you go grocery shopping, you almost always come home with more things than you intended.
In what is supposed to be a paperless age--thanks to computers--I can't get over just how much mail we get every day, and just how much paperwork I am expected to keep and do something with. Even if you sign up for electronic billing you still get other information or sales pitches from the companies you are dealing with via snail mail. I am still getting requests for donations from charities my father gave money to 10 years ago, who have somehow tracked down his "address" as mine, but haven't managed to figure out that he has been deceased for five years. I have one full-size filing cabinet full of paperwork, both for our family, and for my parents (both deceased now) that I've been keeping, and need to keep for at least a few more years.
I'll probably rant about the "stuff" crisis more in future postings. But the point of this particular evening's post is that I'm inspired...I'm purging our house of as much unnecessary stuff as possible. It will be difficult with children who freak out if even a single Happy Meal toy is discarded...it all has to be done when they are at school, or otherwise occupied.
I'm not entirely sure why I'm making this the "theme" of my blog. I truly do have funnier and more interesting things to talk about. I guess it is my current obsession.
In other news...my daughter gave me a handcrafted Valentine the other night. She drew a picture of me holding hands with her, and her brother holding hands with her daddy. There were hearts all around. She folded it up, and wrapped it in discarded foil, along with a bead necklace she had made for me. The foil packet was put into a plastic grocery bag, that she had drawn hearts on with a marker. She is teaching me to recycle in a completely innocent and childlike way.
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5 comments:
I'm still getting mail for your parents on Grand Street.
and your brother.
There are 800 numbers on nearly every donation request and catalog you get in the mail. I have called each one, and our mailbox actually looks nearly bare most days now. When they call us on the phone, we request they remove us from their call list--no matter WHO it is (because we have them on our annual yearly giving list, or because we don't want to give to them). The silence has been golden.
I found that if the kids get to choose a sack full of toys to give to a needy child or organization that collects for Christmas gifts they are more than willing to do so. In fact, sometimes too willing!
I'll give it a try....when we moved five years ago we tried to do some calls like that, but had almost no success with them.
I probably get a full small trash bag a week of unsolicited mail for Mom and Dad still.
about stuff:
i have recently found the advantages of going to thrift stores for various household needs and for donating unwanted needs. it's a great recycling needs place! but really, when was the last time you bought a coffee grinder for 2 bucks? the point is, there is a lot of crap out there, and a lot of that crap is perfectly useful and doesn't need to be replaced by newer crap.
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