I referred to my house as Land of Plenty in a recent post - everywhere I look there is stuff stuff and more stuff. We use maybe 20% of the stuff 80% of the time - is that right? I've heard that somewhere.
My children have their favorites - one is a reader and has a ton of books waiting to be read, one loves dolls and has her favorites, the sons - one loves trains, another blocks, etc. You get the picture ... I am going to go through every closet, nook and cranny and bin in the basement in 2008.
Every child will get a memory bin (a big one, big enough to hold schoolwork, Christening cards, etc.) and it will be big enough to grow into. I am saving the obvious heirloom items (christening gowns and Communion dresses). Because I plan on having more children, I am going to limit one bin per size and sex to baby clothes. As far as the maternity clothes go, I'll be going through it as well and some of the old stuff (like ten years old) is going going gone. Lets face it, I usually where DH's shirts and legging in those last few months. My non-pregnancy clothes are going to be scrutinized to the same degree.
Old VHS tapes, gone. The plastic toys from China which are of marginal quality, gone. Odd serving pieces in the cabinets, gone. Chipped Correll dishes, gone (on the underside, nothing to make us sick). Bad tupperware, gone. Things people have forgotten here - returned.
I've already found several collectible quality items in the basement which i am going to part with via e-bay. And three Sam's Club gifts which weren't given and can go back for $40+ dollars cash.
What does all this have to do with financials? Think of all the money that i've wasted (done a lot analyzing of that).
I went to Aldi's today and spent $100. That is about normal to feed my large family. What is unordinary about it is I am going to try two weeks without grocery shopping - ration the amount of milk and get creative about dinners (like scrambled eggs and bacon and waffles and such at least one night a week), etc.
Just some observations ...
More Observation about the Home of Mom-Sense
January 6th, 2008 at 09:29 pm
January 6th, 2008 at 10:15 pm 1199657700
I've been going thru the closets and basement for ebay items also!
January 6th, 2008 at 10:56 pm 1199660168
January 6th, 2008 at 11:15 pm 1199661312
Yes, here too. I am keeping a list of things we need, things we want, etc. I have declared it a NO SPEND month so we'll just have to do without. I am thinking about seriously going through everything (clothes, cook books, etc) and purging. We freecycle here as well and got some nice Halloween costumes, etc. I think I mentioned my bad luck with clothes from the resale, i don't try things on and while its all great quality, the items aren't exactly right for me and my frame. Good luck getting what you need!
January 6th, 2008 at 11:21 pm 1199661679