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Sunday November 27, 2005

The fire is gone

After lunch today my mom and I decided to do a little Christmas shopping. We hit Crate & Barrel because there were always so many shiny and colorful things in there that caughth my attention. It's like a little fantasy land, full of all the stuff I planned to buy when I won the Mega Millions Lottery.

As usual, I saw lots of shiny and colorful (and expensive) things. But every time an item lured me closer, I found myself thinking about how that very same object would probably be sitting on a shelf collecting dust a year from now. It would do little else but take up space and drain my pocket book.

New things don't excite me like they used to. I can see past the novelty now, and it makes it hard for me to enjoy shopping.

I don't know if that's a good thing or not... I mean, on the one hand, it may be that I'm becoming less materialistic. If that's the case, then kudos to me. Americans tend to live for the accumulation of junk, and it's such a waste. I don't want to be like that.

On the other hand, I don't get to enjoy receiving gifts like I used to, because I'm always worried that I'm accumulating too much stuff. Even giving gifts frustrates me, because I don't want to add to the junk culture. If I buy gifts for people, it's not enough for me that they like it. They have to love and need it and use it like they can't be without it. That's a lot of pressure. This is why I've resigned myself to buying gift cards and chocolate.

I wish I knew where my warped relationship with "stuff" came from.

Comments

if i won the mega millions lottery, i would buy the entire crate and barrel store! but i'm like you. i hate having things just for the sake of having them. if i can't use it for something, i want to get rid of it. can't. stand. clutter.

geeky on November 28, 2005 09:20 AM

Drina-diva, my biggest clutter problem is mail. I get far more charitable solicitations than I can reasonably answer, but I feel guilty if I just throw them away, so they pile up until I simply have to throw a bunch out. I would know that people were being taken care of whether or not I could help.

Another big clutter problem for me is magazines, comic books in particular. I still love them.
Also, books, hardcover and paperback. As a result, my apartment usually looks like a tornado hit it--and then returned to be sure it did the job RIGHT!