shopaholic!

Yesterday I was feeling a little drowsy and lazy late in the afternoon and I turned on the TV (not my usual style.) I stumbled upon "Clean House: Messiest Home in America" (and, we can assume, messiest in the world.) These shocking homes are very educational. They scare the living daylights out of me (at one point I cried,) and can be a lesson to us all in becoming acutely aware of how much we own and how much time we spend consuming.

We might not wish to be considered thrifty, but let's at least be choosy (click for an older post on this.)

Shop from the heart:

~There is so much out there- if you don't loooooove it, on to the next!

~Any doubt in your mind? Pass!

~Make fast decisions, if it takes you 10 minutes to decide then you don't want it.

~Or walk away, if it isn't there tomorrow it just wasn't meant to be.

~Don't bring/listen to friends input, what do they know?

~Buy fewer more expensive/quality items rather than volumes of crap.

Anytime you buy something to bring into your home you must already have a place for it. As soon as you get home take off the tags and put it in that place. Everything a purpose, everything in its place.

~Never buy anything with the slightest possibility that you might return it!!!!!

That is just bad form.

Unconventional closet tip:

Keep crazy costume-y stuff, but get rid of the ragged or mundane.

Contrary to popular belief, I find from personal experience that the 'event' 'it' might be 'perfect' for is certain to come along. You don't want to be stuck looking for roller-skates and a poodle skirt the night before the fifties hop, instead have both on hand in your costume room/closet/drawer. It's not the pink cowboy hat you need to get rid of, it's the mountain of camp t-shirts you're keeping for 'sentimental' reasons that has got to go.

Also, buy crazy cool dresses/items even if you don't need them at the time but are pretty sure something will come up. Build an arsenal: have your army ready before war is declared. This may sound a little "hoarder-y" but a hoarder buys all the catsuits the day of halloween out of panic because he/she doesn't have the perfect leotard found over the summer already stashed away. Just like an extreme dieter ends up bingeing.