Keep calm and carry on....

ElmoR

Not sure how I got into this habit, but I buy two tea towels from a charity Christmas catalogue every year. They are over priced but you know it's a good cause. Still have some my Mum gave me decades ago. They can be rejuvenated with a few days soaking in a bucket of oxyclean type stuff.

ElmoRx

kaycastle

I fall behind on your diary so fast!
Yeh I cam never believe the price of things either. I land up using everything until its falling apart. I've decided I'm going to visit repair cafes more when things are normal again as well. I wish I was better at sewing.  Every time I try I get very angry haha. 
I did some charity volunteering in a shop the other year and it was very therapeutic for a bit but also I landed up developing anxiety from all the sheer volume of stuff. I couldnt believe how much stuff was received, a lot with labels still on. At least 20 sacks a day and this was a small shop. I used to come home in the afternoon and tidy the house until teatime.

South_coast

I can imagine I might be the same actually, my mind boggles at the amount of stuff people seem to buy and hoard. On the one hand it's good that they're then donating it to charity, but think of the money they wasted buying it in the first place 😮! I had thought lockdown might have cured us of shopping for the sake of it (I am in no rush to get back to shops - if there was something I really needed while the shops were closed, I could have bought it online?), but images of people queuing to get into Primark on the news seemed to show otherwise....🙄 Oh well, I suppose they'll be doing more to boost the economy than I will sat at home not spending any money!

themadvix

I would definitely have the anxiety issues from dealing with all that stuff kaycastle - that must have been really stressful. What is it that makes you angry when sewing? (Curious because it can make me feel like that but I’m getting better!)

SC, it might be good for the economy but it’s horrendous for the planet. I truly believe that if everyone only consumed what they *needed* (and bought good quality stuff that lasted) we’d be a long way to solving the climate crisis. But how you get this through to people, when it’s also clearly in their financial interest but that doesn’t interest them, I don’t know! 

South_coast

Very true Vix, but I don't know either 😐!

kaycastle

Hehe I get angry with sewing as I truly am terrible at it and land up pricking my finger many times and not getting very far. I try super hard but make a lot of mistakes. I need an in person teacher I think. Yeh the mountains of stuff was crazy and felt neverending. I mean one lady dropped off over 30 pairs of Jeans once and I just couldnt understand. I wouldn't have any room for that amount of clothing. It is good people give to charity but the shops never get through most of it. And most of it lands up binned. It was such an eye opener. I've never been a big  spender but it really made me think twice before buying anything. 

I agree, I've found the primark rush shocking. I thought people might have changed their priorities during this. But I think I'm a bit of an idealist sometimes.

South_coast

I think I forget that not everyone reads things like MSE and Becoming Minimalist, so people still accumulating stuff for pleasure really surprises me these days!

BF has ordered some trainers today, as he says his were only good for the garden now (he has SO many pairs!)
Me: "Are you going to get rid of one pair in exchange for the new pair?"
BF: "Nah, they're alright for scruffing around in the garden"
Me: "Well what if you pick out the worst pair and use those all the time and completely wear them out, then choose the next-worst pair and do the same thing, instead of wearing them all a bit and never getting rid of any?"
BF: "Stop stressing about it, no wonder you can't sleep at night"
Me: 🙁

Think I be fighting a losing battle with this one.... I've suggested a '"one in, one out" policy with stuff before and he just looks at me like I'm insane! Instead, when his house was full he moved to a bigger house, and when his drawers get full he buys more drawers 😥!

themadvix

SC, I love the fact that you forget this when it's right on your doorstep!   I feel your frustration though! Not sure what you can do but hope that he comes to the realisation one day... maybe leave copies of Marie Kondo lying around at his? Or suggest a life on the road in a camper van! Can he see the money tied up in the items, or is that a wasted battle too? (I suspect it might be). My Dad is not dissimilar (not shoes, but will buy DVDs when I think there's just so much out there on Netflix etc, which he has, that he doesn't need to clutter his house with physical stuff) and I've given up, but appreciate that's a different relationship!

Kaycastle - I think the only thing to do about pricking your fingers is to persevere and with practice it'll get better. I love my sewing machine though, and have found a couple of things with it recently that have really helped - realising I can stitch backwards to secure the ends, so I don't have to tie everything off - I get stressed fiddling with the threads and it makes me grind my teeth, which is why I find/found it stressful! I've also found lots of good videos on Youtube for teaching simple repairs, which has helped too.

South_coast

I think my prolonged absence from the inside of the house had given me rose-tinted specs Vix 🙁! I did manage to get him to part with some DVD's a few years ago (like your Dad, he has Netflix - and also Sky Movies - so I don't think he needs to keep any), he thinned them out by about half but there were loads of duplicates in what he cleared out - some with both copies still in the cellophane 😮😥 The money angle won't work with him as he's really well-paid so never really considers the cost of anything or having to cut back on one thing so he can do another; and the environmental angle won't work either (still trying to convince him that recycling is a "thing", although I have made good progress with this as he didn't do it at all when we first met - I do still regularly pick stuff out of the bathroom bin though 🙁). Just need to find my "in" to make his lightbulb ping!

South_coast

In other news, I am seriously lacking in motivation today 😐 Did get a little bit of fresh air just now though, as my neighbour brought round a parcel he'd had delivered to him as he realised he wasn't called Charlotte (spoiler alert: neither am I 😂!) and assumed it was meant to be for me. He then realised it had his house number on instead of mine anyway 🙄! It was actually for someone in a block of flats down the road, so I had a wander down with it as he is shielding. Apparently my tea towels are arriving today, so that may be the day's greatest excitement!