WE'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE....

I've spent the weekend inside, in the air-conditioning, cleaning, sorting, rearranging and throwing away. How is that possible? Didn't I just call for a "Special Trash Pick-up" and throw everything that I possible could OUT? (or drive it to Goodwill?)
And yet here I am, doing it again.
I've been reading different "Minimalist blogs" and I find that minimalism and frugality is NOT the same thing.

At least not as far as I AM concerned.
When I've tried to be frugal and it's resulted in me HANGING ON to STUFF just in case I need it later.
It would be a WASTE of money if I threw it out and then needed it later...right?!?!
Also, in my attempt to save money, I would do the estate sale, Goodwill, Restore thing and drag home MORE stuff. It doesn't help being the CREATIVE type. I pick up stuff and SEE in my mind what it could be. Problem is, I never seem to have the time to CREATE what I've envisioned. I'm too busy cleaning or moving my STUFF around.
OK, that's not all I do. I work in the GARDEN and I care for my pets and I spend an incredible amount of time on the computer............
ANYWAY....I won't be doing FRUGAL FRIDAYS anymore.

I kinda dropped the ball on that one anyway.
(Maybe a Minimalist Monday? LOL!....maybe not.)
Besides being REALLY frugal isn't buying the cheapest or the best buy. It's about not buying it at all.
This will be hard.
I've spent so many years of being addicted to stuff.
But I know that I am not alone. I remember that when I drive by all those storage unit garages.
I recently bought some containers for some of my things but that's just "containing" it. It's still taking up space, it's just hidden inside plastic.
So, I am going through my home, trying to keep in mind the "Keep only what you believe is Beautiful or Necessary" rule.
Last week I was surfing around on Craigslist and checking out Goodwill for an another dresser. I always put away all my clothes but I seem to have 1 or 2 laundry basketful's setting in the laundry room waiting to be put away... but my drawers are full. Then I got to thinking, I pretty much wear the same things over and over again. Sure, I have some items that I wear only occasionally. A few nice things for going out to dinner or some celebration. A few black things for something serious. But I have a lot of gardening, painting shirts and that type of thing. Clothes that I hope to never be caught dead in, ya know...the stuff the women on "Cops" are wearing while standing outside screaming as the cops drive away with their baby-daddies.

So today I'm trying everything on. I'm turning the full length mirror around from the wall and seeing how everything fits. And tossing what needs to be tossed.
I did a clothing-purge a couple of years ago. I donated all my nice work dresses and "interview" clothing and "some day I'll be that size again" clothing. I mean really, If I was that size again I'd want to wear something that didn't have shoulder-pads in it.

Many years ago I worked at a high-end department store and sold clothing. My friends had a great chuckle over that. They know that I'm really a t-shirt/jeans/flip flops girl. So it was kinda bizarre. I was amazed at the amount of clothes that people bought and I think I got a little bit sucked into the trend.
I read somewhere that in France the women will spend a HUGE amount on maybe 5 perfectly tailored outfits and wear them forever. 

The article said that American women preferred to have quantity over quality....

I think it all depends on your lifestyle. If you have a career, a life where you must be dressed impeccably. OK, I totally get that. If you have a job scooping up dog poop and spend your free time gardening and painting, you probably want something that comes in a plastic 3pk bag.

So....that's what I'm doing, once again.
I scheduled the pick-up and other people must be doing the same because I had to wait 2 1/2 weeks.
I had already dragged Blue's loveseat down the steps from my bedroom and pulled into the backyard before making the call. It's been sitting there, getting rained on and no doubt someone has probably lifted their leg on it by now.
Thank God it's behind the privacy fence!

And here I had the gall to talk about my neighbors! If someone were to peer over the fence, I would die of shame.

apartmenttherapy.com

(who is that man in my yard and I can't believe he brought his dog!)

Then there's my kitchen. I'm not quite ready to take the doors off the cabinets and have open shelving, but I'm thinking about it.

I definitely can't do it with the upper shelf because I have a zillion little plastic containers strategically jammed in there, which all tumble out when I open the door.

 I have tons of mis-matched glassware and odds-n-ends array of coffee mugs....and I live alone.

How many do I need?!

I need to donate my collections and just save what I use and/or love. (yes Denise, I LOVE those mugs! and the black stripe glasses are perfect in my kitchen) but the "don't need" additional stuff has got to go!

Wish me luck!

I only have 2 days left until my special pick-up!