Declutter Surprises

I have found over the many years of decluttering, just to get cluttered again, that you find things you brought that you never really needed and never used. This means several things; one, I spent money I didn't need to; two; I spent money I didn't need to; and three, I spent money I didn't need to! UGH! Luckily though if the item is something I bought recently and I can find the receipt then I can return it and get my money back. I like the sound of that!

So I had several items that I had bought over the past few months; clothes, baseball bats/gloves, camera that sucked, more clothes, fans, and a straightening iron to name a few. I spent yesterday dragging Vincent with me to the various stores (Academy, Marshall's, The Avenue, Lane Bryant & Walmart) to return everything. I feel like I am leaving someone out but no matter. When all was said and I done I had thankfully recovered a little over $500. $500!!! That is insane. I don't think people realize in general how much money they spend on crap; especially hoarders like myself. As I am typing this I am looking aruond the living room to see what other riches I might find. So many things I see that I ask myself "Self, why did you buy that? Did you really need it?" The scary part is I tend to answer myself these days, "No Self, you didn't."

Vincent, my darling teenage son, is so good at keeping me on my toes about money though. And not just about stuff for me but for him as well. I'll ask him if he needs any new clothes or something for school and I will get the "I don't need it so it's ok." or the "You don't need to be spending your money on that." He is an odd teenager to say the least. His birthday is coming up and he has been really into this Christian rock band called Skillet. I rather enjoy them myself. So I found out they are coming to Tulsa in October and I was going to buy tickets. He didn't want me to spend the money! He was a total buzzkill. I am glad there is at least one level headed person in this family. :)

On the declutter side, I did get all of the clothes in the living room picked up and hung up and you can now see the couch. We gathered another two bags of Vincent's clothes and cleaned up his space so one space down and another to tackle today. I have to finish going through my cothes and bagging those up. That is my goal today and also to clean the floor in my room so you can actually see it. It is a mess! Ok, off to go declutter...wish me luck and talk to you all soon.

Chelle,
aka The Clutter Queen