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Post by grungygeorgie on Jun 19, 2009 19:45:32 GMT -5
I have been in such a purge mode,I have been giving lots of good,
collectible stuff to local thrift shops & rummage sales.I know it is for
a goodcause,but could use the $ myself.I feel like I am throwing $
out,because I paid $ for the stuff I am giving away.I just want it out,
not piled in boxes to e-bay or take to flea market,where you have to
deal w/pain in the neck people,heat/rain,unpack,set up,break down.
I feel guilty,but I feel good to get rid of all this stuff bogging me down!
Keeponly the best of the best and if you love it,honor it.That is my
new mantra.
A friend came over this week and helped me clean out my linen
closet.She helped me purge many things I couldn't decide on.
If I hemmed & hawed,she would say,JUST GET RID OF IT!
I must of culled 20 towels,I will take to animal shelter.
Just some thoughts on my desqualoring process,gg
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Post by catcat on Jun 19, 2009 20:14:25 GMT -5
Good for you. You may already know about our amnesty rule, where we give ourselves permission to toss things out without donating, recycling, etc. This is most useful when we have a lot lot lot to purge, b/c it really works, not to have to stop & think where this should go, etc. You can always do it the other way later when you have much less to discard. It is sometimes hard to get past that guilty feeling, but it may well help you to purge faster.
Giving the towels to an animal shelter, however, was ideal---they really need them. I can almost hear your linen closet closet breathing.---Blessings, catcat
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Post by wind on Jun 19, 2009 21:43:27 GMT -5
Yeah, I felt the same way about not selling a bunch of stuff. But I look at it like this: Not only was it to a good cause, but the "quality of life" factor that comes with not having too much stuff must be worth over $1,000. Maybe far more. And realistically, I wouldn't have gotten around to selling stuff myself in a timely manner, so I would have been stuck. You can also think of it in terms of gaining "new (to you)" square footage in your home. And increasing the "value" and usability of the items which are not purged.  |
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Post by Meme on Jun 19, 2009 22:18:55 GMT -5
feel blessed that you are able to give to someone else to enjoy. It is money gone no matter if it stays or goes. You cannot go back to the time before you bought it- it is a done deal so take your blessing.
sent with a blessing hug- from Meme who has made some bad choices also but I am blessed to know that I can bless others by my foolishness.
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Post by yellowhouse on Jun 20, 2009 12:56:59 GMT -5
I understand the guilt. I've given tons of stuff to Goodwill since I started on my mission to shovel out my house. I cringe whenever I think about how much money I spent on things I am now just giving away for free.
But I do like that it has changed how I think about money..and buying stuff in general. Every time I have the urge to buy something on impulse I remember the boxes and boxes of stuff I have given away and I almost always put the item back.
yellowhouse
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Post by grungygeorgie on Jun 20, 2009 13:05:59 GMT -5
Thanks everyone,wow,I feel sooo much better!I figure "share the love"!There is a life lesson in all of this about stuff/spending/trying to fill the hole in my heart (it doesn't!Only fills my house!).Read-
ing your replies has helped release the guilt and w/ that release clutter and eventually release
me!Clutter free hugs to all!gg
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Post by CourageouslyLion SeeksSerenity on Jun 20, 2009 13:56:55 GMT -5
- Another thing to consider is the concept of "Sunk Costs", and the related concept of the "Sunk Costs Fallacy". It's a principle in Economics that when you've purchased something, you've already sunk money into it, and there isn't much money you can get back. So, you can use the item or not. Either way, the costs are already sunk. If the item is no longer useful to you, you might as well let it go. It is a fallacy to think that a needless item must be kept -- just because you've sunk costs into it. An example on wikipedia told about the case of a movie ticket, as follows: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_costsIn economics and business decision-making, sunk costs are costs that cannot be recovered once they have been incurred. Economists argue that sunk costs should not be taken into account when making rational decisions. What if you bought a movie ticket at the movie theater (or paid to rent a movie), and began watching the movie, and the movie was HORRIBLE ? Would you walk out of the movie theater (or stop watching the rented movie)? Or would you think "I paid all this money to watch this movie, so therefore I must sit here and endure the entire bad movie." Quote from wikipedia: Which would you do? - The irrational choice that many people would make:
The Sunk Costs FALLACY -
The idea that you MUST keep a useless item or watch ALL of a terrible movie, just because you'd paid for it. - The rational choice:
(also known as The Bygones Principle. The Bygones Principle stresses not looking backwards when making decisions and stresses the importance of ignoring past costs in future decision-making.)
- Remove the useless item from your home, and thus free up space in your home.
- Walk out of the movie theater (or turn off the rented movie) and waste no more time on that bad movie, and thus free up time in your day.
- Either way, the costs are already sunk.
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Post by Chris on Jun 20, 2009 15:34:55 GMT -5
I love the information about sunk costs -- that is a cool way of looking at it!
I used to have the same type guilt/regrets that Georgie is talking about. It gets better -- I am at a better place now with the donating and throwing out that I am still doing. I feel often that I am blessed because of donating -- like it comes back to me in unexpected ways. I am always glad when I find a cost/time effective way to donate but I don't hold it against myself if I need to just THROW OUT stuff. I have donated to the veterans (they pick up at the door) and to the Salvation Army, Women's Shelter etc.
And like YellowHouse said - it has made me think too about acquiring more stuff -- I really hesitate now -- remembering bags and bags and bags of clothing, linens etc. that I donated to make space in my home.
I think our comfort level with having LESS stuff and more SPACE and quality/loved things increases and becomes easier over time. I've been working on clutter and squalor for at least 9 years now and it is much much easier than it was in the beginning!!!!
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Post by grungygeorgie on Jun 20, 2009 20:37:38 GMT -5
Oh Courageous Lion,you have blown my mind!Thanks for the
sunken cost theory,really makes you look at things differently,very
helpful.
I have spent sometime down in basement getting next donation box
ready.I think I am ready to go of my 2nd blender,that I have been
holding onto for at least8 years in case my first blender blows,I
never even use 1st blender.Also wrapping paper,cakeplate and
oodles more!
I am on a roll,and I don't mean the kind you butter!Hugs,gg
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Post by Arid on Jun 21, 2009 14:35:46 GMT -5
Forgive me, Lioness, but I just have to tell this little story!
Many, many moons ago (probably about 25 years, by now!), I went to visit my friend who lives in the midwest. It was the middle of summer, and her house was not air-conditioned at that time. The temperature + humidity gave a heat index somewhere in the neighborhood of 105 degrees!
So-o-o . . . we looked in the newpaper, and we found a matinee that was playing at a cinema very near her home.
Well, it turned out that the movie was TERRIBLE!!!! As in, really, REALLY terrible!!!
Neither one of us moved a single muscle to leave. We didn't so much as glance at one another. We just leaned our heads back to take little catnaps while the movie was playing. We stayed through ALL the credits; we were the LAST people to leave, in fact.
To this day, we laugh about sitting through that TERRIBLE movie, but we both agree that, in our case, it was some of the BEST money we ever spent! We had TWO whole hours inside an air-conditioned building on a dangerously hot day!!
Arid
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Post by sunshineshouse on Jun 22, 2009 12:09:42 GMT -5
Congratulations on your clearing things out! How much better for you to be doing things that you like with your free time, rather than listing things for a few bucks on ebay or sitting in the rain at the flea market. I'm glad you are feeling better about it |
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Post by tinasabrina on Jun 22, 2009 15:03:14 GMT -5
Whatever you do, PLEASE don't feel guilty! Yes, you paid $$ for these items but do you have any idea how happy people are to get much-needed items at charitable thrift stores? It's a wonderful feeling. I have shopped many a thrift store due to low funds and have always felt grateful to whomever the anonymous person was who donated the stuff so I could acquire it cheaply. And definitely don't feel guilty about donating something to the animal shelter. God's sweet little creatures need and deserve all the help they can get. You should feel really proud.  |
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Post by cluttergirl101 on Oct 22, 2014 14:52:46 GMT -5
I know this is an older post, but I'm brand new to this group. This is one of my B-I-G issues. "But I paid x amount for that". It really doesn't matter when it causes you stress out the Yazoo!!!!!
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Post by larataylor on Oct 22, 2014 15:54:10 GMT -5
This is a tough issue when you really, really need money and you feel like you're throwing/giving it away. When I was facing up to two houses packed with clutter, and desperately poor to boot, I thought if I could get a dollar for every thing I got rid of, I could probably pay off a mortgage.
But … it's just so time-consuming to try to get money for things, even things that are worth lots more than a dollar each. So I have tried to focus on what I could do with the space in my house and with my own time and energy once I get all this stuff out. That doesn't get me money right now, but I think clearing out quickly is a more economical use of time and energy.
I've been contributing lots and lots to my favorite thrift shop, to the local metal scrappers, to people on Craigslist, to the veterans' charity, and to recycling. And when this is done, my own economic potential will be considerably increased.
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Post by NewLifeToday on Apr 6, 2021 15:04:00 GMT -5
feel blessed that you are able to give to someone else to enjoy. It is money gone no matter if it stays or goes. You cannot go back to the time before you bought it- it is a done deal so take your blessing. sent with a blessing hug- from Meme who has made some bad choices also but I am blessed to know that I can bless others by my foolishness. "It is money gone whether it stays or goes...."
I have enough for now, and I can brighten someone else's day. I can throw out something, or clean something. I can send blessing thoughts to others. I can care for myself in more healthful ways. None of that requires buying things or accepting gifts which require space or maintenance.
Thank you, dear Meme. Sending you love. Thank you for blessing us always.
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