Pretty much everyday of my life I come across items in my house that I never use, have no idea why I own them, or why I have so much of these items. Actually--the majority of these large quantities of unused items are not mine to begin with. They're either my son's, my dad's or left over crap from when the rest of my family abruptly left without warning and forgot to take their belongings. That being said, I have too much of everything in my house! As a Virgo, this drives me insane and bothers me on a daily basis (yes, this seems extreme to those of you who aren't neat freaks or Virgo's). I'm a minimalist, I don't need much when it comes to material items, and I like simple clean spaces. My parents and siblings did not help when it comes to my Virgo needs, but who can blame them? We can't all be Virgo's ;)
My parents over-buy constantly!!! Food, appliances, clothes, you name it they over-buy it (my mom's favorite item to over-buy: socks). Their bad over-buying habits didn't rub off on me though. They've been divorced going on 5 years now but the reminents of their poor buying habits still remain in this house! For example, my Dad has purchased a total of 6 coffee pots (2 of which are the exact same model) within the last 6 months. He just bought the 6th one 3 days ago--days after a family friend gave us ANOTHER coffee pot! He finds this funny. I find it a mess of unnecessary crap. We don't even make coffee! I donated one to GoodWill today because that's all he would let me take from his weird ass coffee pot collection. I see this trend of over-buying in many households and it scares me as a Virgo. Why do you need so much stuff? Are you preparing for a nuclear war? Do you actually believe deep down inside you'll use these items? I'll never understand.
I've been collecting all these unused items in one room for years now, just letting it all pile up, and since Christmas is right around the corner, it dawned on me last week that I should just use all this stuff as gifts for friends and family. I love to give, and clean, so this idea kills two birds with one stone...everything that I'm not giving as a gift has already gone to GoodWill. I've made 2 trips there within the last week and a half--and I'm still not done. I already have tons of stuff to give to my other young-parent's-with-kids-friends because my son goes through toys and clothes like my dad goes through coffee pots. Re-gifting gently used items from your house, and even food you've never eaten or opened (yes I'm re-gifting food!), is obviously eco-friendly, and also allows you to re-evaluate your own house. what you really need vs. what you'll never use. Every year I get gifts that I can't stand/are totally not my style. How do I know I'm not giving someone else that same burden when I buy them a gift? This year, when I give you something, fortunately for me it won't be a waste of my money, and hopefully for you, you'll actually like it. If not, bring it to your local GoodWill or Salvation Army!
Find your nearest GoodWill center: http://www.goodwillny.org/
Find your nearest Salvation Army: https://secure20.salvationarmy.org/donation.jsp
ReHash your clothes! (aka trade your clothes with others all over the world) Check out my ReHash items: http://rehashclothes.com/DeGa22
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