I like to really take my time before committing to a resolution for the new year. Around February I decided on one after mulling over my choice of areas I think I could use improvement in. One day mid toy clean up I realized (again) we just have too much stuff. If look around my house the things that qualify as useful and needed are far outnumber by things of the I bought this on clearance at Target and have never used it variety of stuff. You know, those things that were such a bargain that you threw them in the cart and now they are here in your house, spilling out of the kids room and tripping you on the way down the hall. Every mom knows what I mean. I could (and have) fill a garbage bag with the stuff and no one would notice it was gone. In a family of our size the budget is tight. So I looks around and ask myself why am I buying this crap $1.99 at a time. When you add these "bargains" up you get an awful lot of money AND this mess in my house is making me miserable. So why am I making myself miserable $1.99 at a time? I do not know. I suppose it just sneaks up on me.
This is where my grandiose resolution come into play. I will see how long i can go without buying anything new that is non essential. To make it do-able I will give myself a few exceptions.
Gifts: I have five kids and I love giving them presents. I will aim for non big box and things that they will get some mileage out of in this area. So far I have bought some handmade stuff off of Etsy and a few needed shirt for my honey who wears then until they are falling apart at the seams.
Business purchases: I run a small website devoted to cloth diapers and other fun natural parenting stuff. Things I love and believe in. This stuff does not count. I should try to break my habit of keeping one of all the cute boy stuff for my own boy. Adorable cloth diapers are a huge weakness for me. Since our baby is most likely our last baby I will be passing these along to someone when done. I know it is a great rationalization.
Something to wear this summer: There is a all school reunion/100 year celebration in our little, tiny town this summer. I give myself permission to buy something cute to wear. I will buy secondhand if possible. I love thrift store and garage sale. Most of my favorite items have come to me through these routes anyway.
So far so good. The only snag I ran into was my eldest daughter having a semi-formal dance. This resulted in my buying her a new dress and shoes. I suppose I could call that a gift. She looked really pretty, it meant the world to her and we managed to keep the entire price under $50.00. Beside with three more girls chances are that dress it going to be reused and reused.
Wish us luck!
