A cluttered society...
I remember when the first $2 shop opened in Hamilton. We walked in oohing and aahing over all the cheap stuff. I filled my basket with a whole lot of 'stuff' that I didn't really need and walked out $50 poorer!
From there I seemed to be on a downward spiral. I can't begin to tell you the amount of 'cheap stuff' that has passed through my home without ever being used. Everything from sunglasses to plastic containers to craft materials - they seem like a good idea at the time but really it's just clutter I don't need.
Think back to your childhood. How many toys did you have and how many do you actually remember playing with? What was your favourite activity? Was it an outdoor or indoor activity? I know as kids we had wood offcuts that we used to make whole cities out of and we spent alot of time outdoors. I remember having Barbies but really nothing else stands out in my mind.
In the last six months I have managed to slash Elijah's toys in half without him really noticing anything missing. We have it down to a few quality toys - two types of Lego (Duplo & regular), four Thomas the Tank sets, four Little People sets, a tonne of Hot Wheels cars and a track to go with them, a few Little Tikes toys and a few other things. I expect most of these to last at least a couple of years.
I now try to avoid $2 type shops - I always feel like I can't walk out empty handed especially when you have two pairs of eyes following you around the shop!
Another money drainer would have to be fruit bars and biscuits - basically any type of junk/convenience food. I bought a pocorn maker last year and I love it! Of course I like caramel corn but Elijah has his plain. This way costs about a tenth of what it costs for a bag of microwave popcorn. I very rarely buy biscuits now (as I've probably mentioned in another post) but I find it easy to bake once a week and once its gone thats it - we wait until the following week to make some more. And fruit bars - well they are just fancy biscuits cut into strips and wrapped in plastic - convenient yes, good for you, probably not!
Freebies & Giveaways - there is probably a reason they are being given away! Alot of the freebies I have received over the years have gone straight in the bin - so why did I order it??? Because it was 'free'. Now I see it as just another form of clutter. And its not just the tangible freebies either - think of all the newsletters etc you've signed up for via email. Do we really want to read 20-30 newsletters every time we check our email? I dare you to go now and unsubscribe to at least one newsletter that usually arrives in your email that you would usually just delete.
Wow thats enough waffling for today! Mmmm speaking of waffles, I do have a waffle maker - I wonder if I can make up a batch and freeze them? I guess google will be able to tell me the answer to that.
If you've managed to read through this, a big thank you. If you're feeling in a bit of a rut, I hope you will join me in reclaiming yourself :)
From there I seemed to be on a downward spiral. I can't begin to tell you the amount of 'cheap stuff' that has passed through my home without ever being used. Everything from sunglasses to plastic containers to craft materials - they seem like a good idea at the time but really it's just clutter I don't need.
Think back to your childhood. How many toys did you have and how many do you actually remember playing with? What was your favourite activity? Was it an outdoor or indoor activity? I know as kids we had wood offcuts that we used to make whole cities out of and we spent alot of time outdoors. I remember having Barbies but really nothing else stands out in my mind.
In the last six months I have managed to slash Elijah's toys in half without him really noticing anything missing. We have it down to a few quality toys - two types of Lego (Duplo & regular), four Thomas the Tank sets, four Little People sets, a tonne of Hot Wheels cars and a track to go with them, a few Little Tikes toys and a few other things. I expect most of these to last at least a couple of years.
I now try to avoid $2 type shops - I always feel like I can't walk out empty handed especially when you have two pairs of eyes following you around the shop!
Another money drainer would have to be fruit bars and biscuits - basically any type of junk/convenience food. I bought a pocorn maker last year and I love it! Of course I like caramel corn but Elijah has his plain. This way costs about a tenth of what it costs for a bag of microwave popcorn. I very rarely buy biscuits now (as I've probably mentioned in another post) but I find it easy to bake once a week and once its gone thats it - we wait until the following week to make some more. And fruit bars - well they are just fancy biscuits cut into strips and wrapped in plastic - convenient yes, good for you, probably not!
Freebies & Giveaways - there is probably a reason they are being given away! Alot of the freebies I have received over the years have gone straight in the bin - so why did I order it??? Because it was 'free'. Now I see it as just another form of clutter. And its not just the tangible freebies either - think of all the newsletters etc you've signed up for via email. Do we really want to read 20-30 newsletters every time we check our email? I dare you to go now and unsubscribe to at least one newsletter that usually arrives in your email that you would usually just delete.
Wow thats enough waffling for today! Mmmm speaking of waffles, I do have a waffle maker - I wonder if I can make up a batch and freeze them? I guess google will be able to tell me the answer to that.
If you've managed to read through this, a big thank you. If you're feeling in a bit of a rut, I hope you will join me in reclaiming yourself :)
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Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another. Napoleon Hill