Stop! Don't Go to the Mall

It's the day after Christmas. Everything is on clearance! You may find yourself heading out to a department store or mall to see what thrills and deals you can score. My advice, especially, if you are overwhelmed by the clutter and stuff in your home is to stop. Don't go to the mall or discount store. There is nothing you need there. You have all that you need! Now, sure you may want some of that stuff, but you don't need it.

If I were get anything at the store today it would be wrapping paper. The good kind!! I used up the last of four rolls of wrapping paper this year. I purchased one after I ran out, and it turned out not to be good. Too flimsy, and the roll is really, really long. It doesn't fit in my container for wrapping paper! That is all that I would need and it isn't a need today. I happen to have company at my house today, so the run to find all the deals is not on my list.

I have found that making an effort to keep more stuff from coming in to our home makes just as much of a difference on clutter and the ability to be organized as it does just to declutter. As people start their January purging, you might be asked if you want any of their things. I would suggest our first thought should be no. I like to take a quick moment to then think, about whether I was planning to buy that item or if it is something I would really use. If those are both true, I will accept the item. If the answer to those questions is no, I keep my answer as no.

The clearance sales can be so tempting, just like the free items our friends and family try to pawn off on us. I have have been enticed more than once to buy something because the discount was too good to pass up. I later find the item in my home and realize it wasn't really all that great, even for the few dollars I paid. And now it is clutter in my home! I really, really try to ask myself whether I was planning to buy the item before I found it on clearance. And do I know if I would use it or where to keep it? And it doesn't hurt to ask, do I already have enough of this item?

Let's make a pact for today and even the next week. Avoid the mall, and discount stores in the pursuit of more stuff, even if it is on clearance! We have enough and we are strong enough to keep more things from coming into our home.

Did you plan to shop clearance sales today? Did I stop you from going? Do you stop to consider how much stuff you buy and are bringing in just the way you should consider items before they leave your home? Are you up for joining the pact this week?