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| Snow has arrived in Ontario – although not quite to this extent yet! |
This time of year, especially given the frigid temperatures we have been having lately, many of us are taking stock of our wardrobes. We are putting away our lightweight clothing and exchanging those items for warm and wooly sweaters and heavy coats.
Every time the seasons change and I have to accomplish this task, I notice how many of the clothes in my closet are seldom worn. I can also see that there are only a few favourite items that are worn to death. In addition, I am a little overwhelmed with the sheer volume of things I have accumulated.
After a recent move, one of many recent moves, I am growing less and less enamoured with stockpiling things. I have also started to question the wisdom of holding onto things “just in case” they suddenly became wanted, needed or useful. Usually when I do need something I know I possess, I cannot find it, so I have to go out and buy it again anyhow.
I think I am done with buying any more stuff – especially clothing! I periodically have donated piles of clothing and accessories, but somehow things start to accumulate again and I end up with more than ever. I am determined that this will no longer be the case. I want to lighten my load and feel more free and in control of my life. Having too many things is definitely an obstacle to living a simple life.
Cheap, trendy, disposable clothing just doesn’t seem worthwhile when you consider the cost to human lives overseas. Shopping “vintage” is better in that respect, but can also lead to too purchasing too many things to house and look after, despite the attraction of reusing and recycling.
Perhaps we should take a long, hard look at what we have and decide what we will really wear on a regular basis. Pareto’s Principle comes into play, in that we wear only 20% of what we have 80% of the time and 80% of what we own is only used about 20% of the time. Maybe we ought to take a page from the French and purchase fewer items of higher quality that we will enjoy wearing all the time.
Finally, if we stay out of stores, we won’t be tempted to buy things. Shopping can be a distraction and form of entertainment that wastes our time and resources and leads to accumulation of way too much unnecessary stuff.
I just discovered a blog called No-Buy-November – sounds like a good idea to me!