Monday, January 7, 2013

New Year's Resolution: 2013

Charlotte, the fabulously fake tree
It all started on December 26th.  Youngest Daughter came by the house and asked me, "So how was your Boxing Day, Mother?" 

Now, although Wikipedia describes Boxing Day as a shopping day, in our house we have always treated it as a day to box up unneeded items for giving away to charity.  Which is not what I had done on December 26th, but it was what I resolved to do starting the very next day.

So, as I  put away my Christmas gifts, I looked for items to box up.  It seemed only natural to part with items in the same general category as the new gifts: new pajamas and gloves = box up old pajamas and excess gloves (how many pairs does one need, anyway?)  Cute new earrings = what old earrings do I never really wear?

In this manner I managed to find at least one item to give away for every new thing I received.  And thus was born my New Year's Resolution for 2013: for every new item that comes into my life, one old item needs to move out.

 I tried to keep up with this mindset during the final week of 2012, but ran  into difficulty when I went to fabric clearance sales at two local quilt shops.  Bought about 8 yards of fabric--mostly to start a t-shirt quilt for Youngest Daughter.  Sweetie reasoned, "since the fabric is to be used to make a quilt that you are giving away as a gift, you shouldn't have to offset it coming into the house."  Yesss, but... what if it takes me 3 years to make this quilt?  What if I start using this mindset to justify acquiring lots of stuff fabric?  (I know me: the year I took The Compact to buy nothing new, I had to restrict myself from Goodwill shopping, as I veered away from the intent of the pledge into massive used buying.)

Well, the question of the fabric purchases remains unresolved.  Technically, the purchase was in 2012, but I really feel like this Resolution started on Boxing Day.  So I'll be looking for something to part with, to at least assuage my fabric-hoarding shopping guilt.

Here's to a 2013 that continues the 2012 journey: have less stuff!

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