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replying to the original topic ....
I have found that when I have no places to put things.... but try to crowd lots of stuff into my home .... it ends up costing me money.
Because ... if I buy extra stuff, and it doesn't "fit" in my home, then stuff gets piled up everywhere, or shoved into closets, or in corners.
And then, when I finally NEED one of the items, I can't get to it, and waste a lot of time looking. And then everything gets strewn about -- while I tear the place apart looking for what I need. And then something gets lost or broken in the process.
And then I end up having to go buy more of what I need because I don't have any more time left to deal with the chaos.
So, I end up wasting both time and money.
I have found that I do better with just buying one or two of an item, and only if I will USE that item in the near future.
Even if it costs more-per-item, I will buy one jar of strawberry jam. I will buy the small size, as I live alone.
Yes, it would be cheaper-by-the-ounce or cheaper-by-the-gram [if you count the price per unit of weight] if I bought 10 large-sized jars of strawberry jam.
But I don't have room in my cabinets for 10 large jars of strawberry jam. Or even if one is in the refrigerator, I don't have room to store the other nine large jars.
When I try to store 9 large jars of strawberry jam in my cabinet, along with 27 cans of tomato paste, and 15 cans of green beans, and ..... etc., etc. etc ....
... it all becomes so chaotic in my cabinets that I end up having to store excess on my kitchen counters, or even on my couch. And the glass jars of strawberry jam become more likely to fall down and break, and create a huge mess.
Note: I once had 27 cans of tomato paste and 15 cans of green beans stored on my couch. A can of sweet pototoes. Cans of some types of foods I didn't even like. Couldn't bear to get rid of them because it would be wasteful. Couldn't use my couch. Had no place to store them. They were there for years. Finally discovered that I had kept them so long, that they had all eventually become "past date", and had to throw them all out.
[Yes, even canned goods go out of date. I will write more about that in another thread later.]
Relating to the word "poverty" in the thread topic: Many of the foods that I received in cans, were from the local food bank. I kept them because I had no money. Even if they were foods that I hated, or were allergic to. Food I was NEVER going to use. I did use of lots of donated food and was grateful for it, but much of it was never used.
Clarification: I would receive a bag of 20 things from the food bank. I would use 18 of them, but not the extra 2 things. I would save the extra 2 things (even if they were items I could not eat). Several weeks or months later, this would repeat. And again and again ... over a period of 10 years. Each time, I would use the 18 things, but not the 2 things I didn't need. Eventually, those "two things" added up ... over a period of many years -- until I had DOZENS and dozens of food items I could not eat.
The food bank handed out large bags that were each full of certain items. EVENTUALLY .... I learned to sort through the pre-packed donation bags at the exit corridor from the food bank. I took home only that which I would actually use, and left the rest behind for someone who would actually use it.
Back to the strawberry jam: As I live alone, even ONE large-sized jar is too much. Even kept in the refrigerator, the contents of a LARGE jar starts growing mold before I finish it. So I have to throw it away before I finish it. So I do better with a small jar.
I am sure that all of us have had a similar experience when we have brought home too many fruits and vegetables, and they all rot in our refrigerators. How does that save money?
Buying one small jar of strawberry jam works for me. Or maybe two small jars, keeping one in the refrigerator for current usage, and one in the cabinet as a back-up.
I use what I need and I have a little extra. There is room for what I need -- and I can find what I need. So everything gets used, everything gets found when needed, and nothing is wasted.Buying any MORE than that is WASTEFUL, for me.
Even taking in any more FREE donated food than what I would actually soon use ... that is wasteful not only for me.... but sad for others who might have used it, but didn't get it, because I took too much.
Ramatama's comment from the first post in this thread:
"instead of chucking perfectly good stuff away, there must be a way to share it among those who cannot afford it... "
Yes, I agree, but, for me it's better not to bring the extra stuff into the house at all. Because I will never get around to donating extra stuff to someone else, because I can't find it, and by the time I find it, it's ruined anyhow.
If I never bring extra stuff into my house.... that extra stuff is out there in the world ... for those who might actually need it. They are more likely to find needed clothes at the thrift store, than in my closet. They are more likely to find needed food at the food bank, than on my couch.
Lioness
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