Friday I wandered the aisles of the Salvation Army Store downtown. An upside of the downturn: they've inherited decent store fixtures, so everything is fairly neat and orderly. Too many clothes to go through, which is fine. A bit of disincentive is a good thing. They had lots of games , toys, shoes, etc. which was impressive for a Friday. (They generally have the new stuff out on Mondays and Tuesdays (you didn't hear it from me.) I picked up a couple of pairs of kids mittens, but didn't find anything else that met the new standards of need vs. want. And I had little or no cash with me, and they have a minimum for credit card sales, so I left with nothing. Nada. It wasn't as elating as I'd thought; for some reason it made me a little depressed looking at all the stuff, the assorted detritus of imagined needs and insatiable wants. Apparently it was enough to make me wax poetic. Sorry 'bout that.
Much of my weekend was spent mercilessly culling possessions - and it felt good. I rearranged the kids' room. I got rid of over half of my clothes, 4 crates of books, and assorted junk. The kids clothing will go to a swap my church is having on March 1st. Some books were donated, others will enter the stream of borrow/lend at our local coffee shop. I keep hoping that with less stuff to keep organized, day to day life will be a little easier. It's rather gratifying.
Today X and I did a few errands, then went to a neighborhood playdate. For some reason he wasn't into it, and we didn't last long. We swung by the Social Security office but the line was too long. I just need a replacement card, not to wait for an hour with a squirmy preschooler in a crowded office. Since we were downtown anyways... And since L has a birthday this week... And X wanted to help pick out a birthday present...
Insert your favorite justification here:
So back to the Salvation Army, although were supposed to stay upstairs in the secondhand store part. (Downstairs has more samples and closeouts, so aren't exactly used, and it feels like a cop-out.) For $3, a nice dart board. A couple of movies, a buck each. For $2 a playground for Littlest Pet Shop creatures. And a frame for $2, so I can start displaying some of that amazing kid art, rather than letting it accumulate in piles that get unintentionally ruined/recycled. But I draw the line at used stuffed toys, and we were in search of puppies although we'd rather have a real one...
Two cuddly dogs, $2 each. Two mini car sets, $2 each. A fully poseable horseback riding doll for a friend's stable, $3. A magnetic toy set for the preschool, $5. You should sense a theme... Such a bargain! I like to buy for others. But mostly I just like to buy. Admitting it is half the battle; I guess the rest of it is simply blogworthy.
I'm waiting for the guilt to kick in.
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If it was not for you, our stable would be horse and riderless! Let go of the guilt. It's for the kids! By the way if you find anymore horses on your jaunts to SA please pick them up and add them to my tab. I suppose this is the equivalent of being your pusher.....
ReplyDeleteAnd now that I know you are a compulsive shopper...what can I say. One way I use to stop spending is to frequent terribly high-end shops and galleries that have prices that blow me away.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of cuddly dogs did you see who won Westminster???