Getting rid of stuff seems to come in spurts. At least for me. I'm not sure about K. I will get all gung ho about getting rid of things I don't need in my life, simply becuase I haven't seen these items or used them in a year or more, but then I reach a point where this feeling washes over me and I wonder "why am I getting rid of this?".
Of course I know why I'm getting rid of it, but there is this hang up in my head that stops me. I paid good money for the (insert commercial item here) or that was a gift from (insert favourite relative or friend with benefit) or I might need the item in question becuase it may have information vital to a conversation in the future or the key to winning a radio contest.
I'm more recently experiancing this feeling with my wardrobe. I have been out and about this year buying clothing that is still fun and relaxing and more age appropriate.
HOLY SHIT!!! I can't believe I just used the "age appropriate" vernaculim here!!! I was going to be be young forever. *sighs*
Most of my clothing is ok. I have a lot of board shorts. I love my shorts and I wear them even in the winter. My legs don't get cold, even in snow so I don't worry about it. I only really have pants becuase they require I wear pants to work. Something about a dress code.
Back on track, I have various t-shirts that are fine for a late 20 somethings or even a 30 something. I'm about to leave that age bracket (against my will mind you) and have been thinking that I really need to get rid of them. There's a sudden urgency on this and I don't know where it's coming from.
I have a few futbol jerseys that I can't bear to part with. Especially my Liverpool jersey. That will stay. I have concert tees that I actually don't wear that will be mounted in shadow boxes on my "entertainment" wall. They are excempt as well. The rest of the tees need a re-evaluation though. I just don't want to be "that guy".
Lately I've been buying a lot of vintage bowler style shirts. I like them. They are neutral and don't really go out of style. If Charlie Harper can do it then so can I.
I think jeans with a dress shirt is still young-ish and appropriate. It works for Hank Moody and I do have the Porsche to fit into that look with Hank. Well almost.
Back on topic. What is the attachment to these tees? Why can't I just stick them in a bag and say "they go to Goodwill" and be done?
The best that I can come up with is that there is some kind of emotional attachment to these items. How do we get past these emotional attachments? I can't answer that one. I do know that I have had a very different look on consumer products. I actually have found myself buying less. When I do buy something I try to find a quality used item as opposed to new. Some things you should by new, like computer/electronics (for the warranty) and socks and underwear. The later for obvious reasons.
For instance, I finally have a car that I have always wanted. I bought used. Very used. I did have to put a lot of money into getting it into reliable condition, but the upside is that hopefully this car will last me 100k miles or more. It's a quality car and it's my "precious".
Our flat panel and our laptop: new. We shopped around and purchased these items in the models that fit our immediate needs and left a little room for expansion.
Of course we will milk as much life out of these items as possible and when we reach the next point in our journey to minimalism. Hopefully the more we work together now to get rid of the little things about our home and on site storage, the closer we will be in reaching that mentality of "it's just a thing and we don't need it to enrichen our lives" and be able to just give away whatever said item(s) is.
We'll see how that turns out as I give away several things this week that hold meaning to me.
Wish me luck.
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