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01
Jun, 2011
Out With The Old And In With More Stuff
Aubrey’s 4th birthday is this week and her big party is next weekend. As she gets bigger, so does all her stuff. Bigger shoes and clothes, bigger toys and more stuff too. I HATE clutter and I’m not a fan of stuff. You will never see me on an episode of Hoarders unless it’s me raiding the hoarder houses and selling all their crap on eBay.
In honor of Aubrey’s birthday, I’m cleaning house and getting rid of as much old stuff as possible to make room for the new. I’m selling tap and ballet shoes, DVDs, some phones, a shredder, a printer, clothes, ink cartridges, shot glasses and more. It’s my virtual garage sale. Woohoo!
I also just took three bags of crap and an old office chair to the Goodwill donation center. What do you do with your STUFF? Do you hold on to things or are you a thrower/seller, like me? If you keep things, what compels you? One last question: Anyone want to buy this wallet?
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Tags: Amazon • Amy Anderson • Craigslist • Ebay • garage sale • hoarders • hoarding • stuff
03
Apr, 2010
Moving Stuff & Other Stuff
It is finished!!! And this is NOT an Easter reference. I’m talking about an annual (dreaded) tradition of packing up all my earthly belongings and moving them to a different part of the city. This time, let’s hope I get to stay in one place for longer than a year. MUCH longer. I’ve had it! Read on…
Man oh man oh man do I NEVER want to move again. I have moved almost every year (or more) since college and I’ve had it! There were only a couple years in there, since 1994, that I stayed in one place for over a year. Every year, I have more stuff too because my career gets a little busier and now I have a kid. Kids require stuff.
Yesterday, I was reminiscing with my friend about the old days when life was simpler. She remembered the time she and one other person unpacked all her belongings in her new, one bedroom apartment in 90 minutes. I was recalling when everything I owned fit into a Ford Festiva. Yes, I was only 17, but there is so much freedom in not having things.
I’ve never really been a “stuff” person and if it were just me, I’d be pretty happy in a studio or small one bedroom. Internet connection, somewhere to cook and bake a little, my own bathroom and a small bed are all it takes for me to feel content. I don’t collect anything, I’m not a clothes or shoe hound, I don’t even like to keep books when I’m done reading them. I LOVE getting rid of stuff and the older I get, the harder a task this has become. Motherhood has certainly taken a toll on my simple living and I yearn for the day when my living room isn’t a parking garage for various plastic toys, a midget sized kitchenette and a play tent (aka as “The Circus”).
I know I should just relax and enjoy having a circus in my living room, because it won’t last long. The toddler years really are magical and I’m loving the humor and communication between my almost three year old and me, but I just can’t stand the stuff.
I’ve always known I didn’t want any more kids, so every few months or so, I purge my daughter’s closet and room of things she’s outgrown, both physically and intellectually. I have a few friends who have younger girls so it has always been easy to hand them down. I feel great making more space and it feels nice to be able to share with good friends too.
But back to simplicity. Is it possible to live simply when you have a young child? I haven’t indulged my child beyond reason. She doesn’t have a ton of toys and is not obsessed with her belongings. In fact, she is just starting to understand that we can buy the things we see at the store. I’ve always told her that things on the shelves were just for looking at and she never questioned it. SUCKER!
But now that she’s figuring out how retail works, will she go nuts not having “things”? Will the peer pressure be harder on her once she starts school? Am I setting up my daughter to be the subject on a future episode of Hoarders? I doubt it. But if she does end up on that show, I hope I at least get a consultant credit.
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Tags: Amy Anderson • hoarding • moving • simple living
