Well, we've moved a ton of stuff. You may have seen this picture on facebook...
Last night, Aj and I borrowed a truck and together moved 3 loads of our junk to the new place. Doing this has helped us get rid of a ton of stuff, but also realize we should get rid of more but are too attached to things. We are not pack rats. maybe a little, but not too bad. We just like our things. Which I've come to justify to myself over time.
When I got home from Peru, I felt so guilty for all my 'things,' and threw a lot of stuff away. Like garbage bags full of all of my clothes, and bits and bobs. I was left with like a few pairs of pants, some shirts, and my bed. When I moved here, I started collecting things from people who were getting rid of stuff, and from thrift stores to furnish my home. Aj and I could never do a pre-furnished place- we're too picky. If you ever catch me buying something from Ikea or Walmart, you have permission to shoot me on the spot. Not that those places are bad (or maybe they are...) just not us. Both of us have always been into 'antiques' (used shtuff...), or retro (old stuff... ), or vintage, or whatever you want to call it. And for a good reason- those things have lasted long enough for us to inherit them, so they'll probably last a good amount of time longer, & they're just quaint! Whereas everything I did buy from Walmart has broken already. We bought spatulas from walmart, and they fell apart. But the spatula Aj's dad bequeathed onto us has lasted us, and Aj's dad before us, and wherever he got it from too.
So. Anywho back to my thing about things. When I got here, I calculated how much money we spent on furniture, and appliances. Which was easy because, EVERYTHING was gifted or thrifted.
Furniture cost us nothing. The only thing we did buy were some clean sheets (which I don't buy from the thrift store....), and a bunch of kitchen things from the thrift store. Our entire set of dishes cost $3.
When things don't cost me money, I don't feel guilty for owning them. It could be argued that other people need my things more than I do. And maybe that's true. I still tend to fill a garbage bag up once and a while and cart it to the Salvation Army or whatever. But I just cannot feel guilty for being so blessed by friends and family who have supported us and made our lives possible. When we left we had three sets of dishes to choose from- a mish-mash set from my parents, another offer from a friend, and the set we bought (and kept). We have had countless offers from people up in Alliston to help us out, asking if we need anything or what they can do. So if we have too much stuff, I don't feel guilty for it- it's a blessing.
All of my blankets came from either my grandma, or great grandmother. Some of which were hand made in the 80s. All brought here from England. Some of my dishes are my great grandmother's as well. I have a blue tea set which I kept of hers, and her wardrobe made of ration crates from WWII.
Perhaps I'm writing this defensively, if so- sorry! But we get it a lot- you guys have a ton of stuff! Just get rid of it. And I don't know why, but we ended up together, and we're both sentimental people who like our things. So stop telling us to get rid of stuff, we do it when we need to. The times we're stumbling around in this tiny apartment and kicking ourselves in the butt for owning so much, are outweighed by the amount of times we can say stuff we have comes in handy around here. (like that iron, as soon as I got rid of it, I needed it). Maybe just cause we're at art school and we're always needing obscure utensils, or materials. But either way, moving all that stuff just the two of us maybe proved how much I want to keep the 'stuff' I have.
Oh. And let me remind you- my stuff is important to me. But not so important that I would die if I lost it in a fire (unless I was in the fire too...), or that I wouldn't give it up if I had to. But at this point I don't. Call me materialistic. I don't care. I like my stuff, and it all serves a purpose in my life, and I am SO thankful.
And, you probably gave it to me.
This is us- being tired and thankful for all of that stuff we moved.
See you later.
H
Last night, Aj and I borrowed a truck and together moved 3 loads of our junk to the new place. Doing this has helped us get rid of a ton of stuff, but also realize we should get rid of more but are too attached to things. We are not pack rats. maybe a little, but not too bad. We just like our things. Which I've come to justify to myself over time.
When I got home from Peru, I felt so guilty for all my 'things,' and threw a lot of stuff away. Like garbage bags full of all of my clothes, and bits and bobs. I was left with like a few pairs of pants, some shirts, and my bed. When I moved here, I started collecting things from people who were getting rid of stuff, and from thrift stores to furnish my home. Aj and I could never do a pre-furnished place- we're too picky. If you ever catch me buying something from Ikea or Walmart, you have permission to shoot me on the spot. Not that those places are bad (or maybe they are...) just not us. Both of us have always been into 'antiques' (used shtuff...), or retro (old stuff... ), or vintage, or whatever you want to call it. And for a good reason- those things have lasted long enough for us to inherit them, so they'll probably last a good amount of time longer, & they're just quaint! Whereas everything I did buy from Walmart has broken already. We bought spatulas from walmart, and they fell apart. But the spatula Aj's dad bequeathed onto us has lasted us, and Aj's dad before us, and wherever he got it from too.
So. Anywho back to my thing about things. When I got here, I calculated how much money we spent on furniture, and appliances. Which was easy because, EVERYTHING was gifted or thrifted.
Furniture cost us nothing. The only thing we did buy were some clean sheets (which I don't buy from the thrift store....), and a bunch of kitchen things from the thrift store. Our entire set of dishes cost $3.
When things don't cost me money, I don't feel guilty for owning them. It could be argued that other people need my things more than I do. And maybe that's true. I still tend to fill a garbage bag up once and a while and cart it to the Salvation Army or whatever. But I just cannot feel guilty for being so blessed by friends and family who have supported us and made our lives possible. When we left we had three sets of dishes to choose from- a mish-mash set from my parents, another offer from a friend, and the set we bought (and kept). We have had countless offers from people up in Alliston to help us out, asking if we need anything or what they can do. So if we have too much stuff, I don't feel guilty for it- it's a blessing.
All of my blankets came from either my grandma, or great grandmother. Some of which were hand made in the 80s. All brought here from England. Some of my dishes are my great grandmother's as well. I have a blue tea set which I kept of hers, and her wardrobe made of ration crates from WWII.
Perhaps I'm writing this defensively, if so- sorry! But we get it a lot- you guys have a ton of stuff! Just get rid of it. And I don't know why, but we ended up together, and we're both sentimental people who like our things. So stop telling us to get rid of stuff, we do it when we need to. The times we're stumbling around in this tiny apartment and kicking ourselves in the butt for owning so much, are outweighed by the amount of times we can say stuff we have comes in handy around here. (like that iron, as soon as I got rid of it, I needed it). Maybe just cause we're at art school and we're always needing obscure utensils, or materials. But either way, moving all that stuff just the two of us maybe proved how much I want to keep the 'stuff' I have.
Oh. And let me remind you- my stuff is important to me. But not so important that I would die if I lost it in a fire (unless I was in the fire too...), or that I wouldn't give it up if I had to. But at this point I don't. Call me materialistic. I don't care. I like my stuff, and it all serves a purpose in my life, and I am SO thankful.
And, you probably gave it to me.
This is us- being tired and thankful for all of that stuff we moved.
See you later.
H
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