Some of my friends think my house is always clean, but it's not. It's tidy. Like most housewives, I struggle to stay on a cleaning schedule. But I pick up and put away daily, no problem.
Is it an OCD thing for me or was I just trained right? Everything has a home and put it back in it's place...was the rule at my parents house. But they didn't have nearly the number of items in their home in the 70s and 80s as we do in the 00s.
I try not to over-buy. I love the days I drop off a garbage bag full of unwanted items at Goodwill, but then I head to Target to get more! We live in an over-advertised, "must have it" society. And we rationalize buying more than we need because our friends do it. And those of us with a child or children are even worse at making sure our kids have what their friends have, plug-in or wear.
So how do we break the "cycle of acquisition," so we CAN keep our homes tidy?
Dave Ramsey, Suze Ormon, and my husband, Greg, suggest we don't spend it if we don't have it. But then the ad comes on for the newest time saver product. Or something we've been admiring goes on sale. It gets in our head and it's only a matter of time before we rationalize buying it and head to the store.
It becomes one more new item that needs a home in our home. And if it never find a proper place to be, it will float around the house and land in open spaces where it becomes clutter.
We know what it means to "Go Green," but may I suggest we also "Don't Go Get." How about we learn to be content with less. Go on a "materialism" diet.
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