Tidy Tuesday - Input vs Output

One of my daughters is in the process of moving out of her apartment and into a new home as she prepares to get married next month.  Yes, another one!  :)  She and I were talking yesterday about how quickly things accumulate and yet, how hard it is to get rid of things.  Think about the first apartment or house you lived in as an adult.  No matter how small, it was your own space!  You could do with it as you please.  You could decorate it as you please.  The possibilities were endless, even if the money was tight.  You had so much room!  Fast forward to the time you had to move out of that first home.  Where did all the stuff come from?!  It didn't take long, did it?

Those are eye opener times and you vow not to let that happen again and yet, it does.  That's why it's so important to regularly and systematically go through your belongings and decide what you no longer need or use.  If we never brought things home (think garage sales, impulse items, things on sale too good to pass up) we wouldn't have to go through this exercise very often but very few of us have that kind of willpower.  If input exceeds output, there's going to be problems down the road.

Last month, I decided I had enough books and wasn't going to buy any for the rest of the year.  I carefully pulled out books that I knew I wouldn't use again and donated them.  I was so proud of the space I cleared up on the bookshelves.  And then it happened...my husband wanted to stop by Half Price Books last week and I followed him in.  Bad me!  So many books were calling to me and their price was so good that I soon had an armful of new and exciting books.  Did I need them?  No.  Was I looking for those particular books?  No.  Would I have even cared about them if I hadn't seem them?  No.  I felt so guilty after I brought them home that I couldn't even enjoy them.  The lesson here?  Don't put yourself in a position where you are going to have a hard time resisting temptation.  That probably applies to things other than books and possessions, but hey, it works!