Minimum at the Maxx

As I've mentioned in earlier posts, I have been repeating the following mantra as part of my efforts to use or lose the stuff crowding my life: "I have everything I need. I have everything I need." One way I can justify "losing" so much stuff--some of which, to be honest, will not be going to a good home, though I am trying to recycle and donate whenever appropriate or feasible--is by committing to STOP buying and acquiring more stuff.

To date, these efforts have been successful. I have not visited Target in 2009. I have been to CVS two times, but only to purchase necessary items like toothpaste and prescription eye drops for my son.

Earlier this week, I did have to visit two stores to make returns. On my way there, I reminded myself that "I have everything I need." At the first store, I was returning a sweater that did not fit. The sweater was a gift and so I received store credit. I am proud to report that I left the store with a sweater that did fit and NOTHING ELSE. However, in the spirit of this blog, I will be taking a pass through my clothes tomorrow with an eye toward "losing" a few sweaters/tops to make room for this one.

The second return was at TJ Maxx: a hastily chosen pair of shoes I thought I might need to wear to a holiday party. The sad news is that I was unaware of the 30-day return policy at the Maxx and thus received store credit instead of a credit to my Visa. TJ Maxx is the mothership for crap-magnet-but-recovering-stuff-a-holics like me so I knew I was on dangerous ground. I also knew that if I were to save my store credit for when I needed to buy a gift or something specific at TJ Maxx, it was fifty-fifty that I would have "lost" it in the meantime, and not purposefully. So, I did buy some stuff and feel the need to confess it: a plastic cover for my ipod, a fine strainer, a pair of black workout pants, and a Vera Bradley accordion file in the Java Blue pattern. The ipod cover was something I needed; the strainer something I have been seeking for rinsing small grains like couscous and rice that slip through the pasta strainer; the file folder is just "stuff" but I hope to make good on my good intention to sort the greeting cards I own already or can craft myself in some sort of file so that I can use them instead of running to Hallmark or CVS for cards; and the workout pants are LONG (very hard to come by) and have been worn twice already. Rationalizations aside, I am disappointed in myself for bringing more stuff into my house. However, I do want some props for not spending a dime at TJ Maxx and, in fact, walking out of the store with three cents of store credit left, not to brag. I will be looking to lose some seldom worn workout pants tomorrow when I take a crack at my closet.

"Lose It!"
* various rusty, broken, or underused items in my kitchen utensil drawer -- for example, some "steak" knives from my hubby's college apartment that can barely slice through bologna (not that I buy bologna), two ripped rubber spatulas, and 7 pair of disposable Chinese food delivery chopsticks (I can't use them and am typically too hungry to bother trying and really Bub should not get a hold of them).

"Use It!"
* two items from the deep freeze--ground turkey and corn from giant Costco bag--that were blended with some other pantry staples for an improvisational, but quite tasty turkey/corn/taco/chili soup


And, finally, my hubby receives a gold star for his "losing" today. He sorted through a closet and then lost two boxes of college files and books, business school cases, and job search materials. There's more losing on tap for tomorrow, so please stay tuned.