Wednesday, December 30, 2009

New enjoyments of old things


Many times I ponder about the amount of money I spend – the unnecessary items I tend to purchase, knowing that I don’t need them. Why do so many of us have the urge to drop money down on items that don’t enhance our lives or move us to some inner peace? After clearing away the Christmas ornaments, trees and lights and many other things too numerous to mention, I attempted to clean out an old wooden two door cupboard I purchased over thirty years ago. The piece was used in an old farm house in southern Tennessee and you can see several holes in the corners where mice made their entry to the cupboard – to sleep for the night or to wait out the wintry weather suddenly hurled onto them. I use the hole, worn with years of struggles perhaps, to run a lamp cord through and now I have a cozy and warm light on one of the shelves that houses many collections. One side holds about seventy five candles – many fragrances I have purchased and never had the occasion to light the candle and it sits idle, waiting for its turn to come out in the open spaces of my home, to be enjoyed by those who enter inside. There was a time when small votives were the “in thing” to purchase and I must have around fifty or more of these, in various shapes, sizes and fragrances. These too, are stored neatly in a pile, just waiting to be used. No sane person should have this many of any single item, but I have this bad habit of purchasing things in a quantity of more than one, because I just know I will need more than one. Who doesn’t? Last night while rearranging candles and votives and holders for each – I realized that I need to stop and really look at what I am doing. I don’t do resolutions very well, so I won’t resolve anything, but I promised myself and God to absolutely not purchase anything that has to be lit with a match or lighter until ALL, I mean ALL of these items I looked at last night have been used – totally UP. This I will do – I have to do this – it’s my way of staying in control of my purchases – my contribution to not be labeled a hoarder – frivolous spending of this nature, has got to stop and 2009 will be my year to do so. I shall be happy to report any inappropriate behavior that does not support my goal and objective to stick to this phase of purchasing. Who knows how much money I will have saved within a year? I look forward to being reminded of my commitment each time I look at the cupboard and especially the cute Believe greeting that meets me when I gaze at the shelf. I look forward to burning more candles in 2010; not to just burn them, but to give the items a chance to be enjoyed in my home.

7 comments:

  1. Amen! I have made a goal to only purchase a new candle when I have totally used two up. It is working and I love having more space!

    ReplyDelete
  2. When I grouped all of my candles together earlier this year I made a vow to not buy anymore until I had burned all/most of what I had on hand...so far it's working pretty good with me buying a few tarts here/there.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well, I use all my candles constantly, I must admit. I do have plenty on hand, but I probably go through dozens a month. We live by candleight at night...I light at least a dozen candles every evening.

    Now, I don't mean I go through dozens of huge jar candles a month; I have gotten away from Yankee candles, and prefer Votivo, Pacifica, and Bond No. 9, which are smaller.

    But I do go through TONS of tealights and ivory pillars and tapers. I don't feel bad about my candle stash, because David loves them, too. Let me know if you have a yard sale!! :o) Santa brought me mostly various candle holders, at my request, as candles remain a huge passion of mine!

    HOWEVER....over the last several years, I have had to make myself stop buying all sorts of things!

    No more dishes, glasses, tabletop stuff in general, and no more Christmas or Fall decor unless it completely stops me in my tracks, and even then, I have to wait a day, and see if it stays on my mind.

    For the most part, I tend to just wait til the after-Christmas sales, which makes me feel a bit better, and I cut back on that this year, ...though I still spent more than I meant to.

    David and I have both decided that 2010 will be the year we do just as you are doing in general.....enjoy what we have, USE what we have, and quit buying so much STUFF.

    PS I love your cupboard!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh, and perfume.

    MUST. STOP. BUYING. PERFUME.

    Ladies, help keep me honest, here.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks Tammy for your comments. I love the cupboard so much. It's my favorite antique piece - purchased in Knoxville, TN for $65 - it has long one piece boards on three shelves and the clasp that locks the doors are copper and the neat thing about the piece are the square nails - you gotta love this piece. Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Gosh, what an awesome deal you got!! I bet it's even more gorgeous in person!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Bettie, I really liked reading this. I did the same thing last year and did not buy a single candle and used what I had. I still have a plethora untouched. What makes this really neat is that when candles are received as a gift (as with my sister Laurie this year at Christmas) it makes it a real treat!

    ***Love,loved,loved reading this!

    ReplyDelete