declutter-ring

okay, i lucked out yesterday at a garage sale.
EVERYTHING was $1!
That's right, ONE DOLLAR!
Everything was in excellent condition, too.
I got:

several sets of Legos: $1 each
several pairs of Nike and addidas sports pants i have been wanting: $1 each
several beautiful blouses and various tops
several new DVDs: a buck each
ONE suit that fits Bill perfectly: Can you believe it? One dollar
18 recorders and several books to teach you how to play the recorder (do I have to tell you?)
I got several other things for the kitchen and other various items.

I was so happy to have found so many useful items. And once the guy saw that I was willing to take a whole bunch of stuff off his hands, he told me he would give all of it to me for twenty dollars.

WHAT A DEAL!

Then, I overheard him talking to another customer, who was bewildered by the cheapness of all these goods, as was I. The man's response floored me. My heart sunk when I heard him explain that his wife had died a month prior in a drowning accident. And now he had to move. I immediately thought of the devastation this must be to he and his three children. I thought of the fragility and brevity of life. I thought also of the things I was buying. The good deals no longer seemed extraordinary and took on a new significance to me. I saw them for what they were: things that would be used by our family for a time and then passed on. Then I thought about the cost to the man selling them. He clearly paid top dollar for the things he was selling, many of which seemed virtually unused. And to what end? To be sold for a fraction of their retail value to opportunistic, good deal vultures like myself? What if his family had lived slightly more frugally? Would they be able to weather this unexpected turn in life's road a little more comfortably? Would they have been able to stay in their home?

Now, don't get me wrong. I appreciated the fact that I had chanced upon this man's sale after taking a route I don't normally take to the school. I appreciated the opportunity to reflect upon the purpose of life. I appreciated the fact that I had been raised to be thrifty and not turn my nose up at second hand wares. But mostly, I thought of the wonderful counsel we have been given over the course of many years, to live within our means. I am also very grateful for a husband that is also thrifty and refuses to spend money that we don't have at our immediate disposal. The last thing that was impressed upon me was the reality that material things are for making our lives more comfortable and convenient, but there is NOTHING that we purchase that will help us get through the pearly gates. (except for really good books i.e. SCRIPTURES!!!) The most precious things are those that cannot be purchased.

Okay, I am sure you're really wondering what any of this has to do with my post title! I'm gettin' to it!

Such a simple thing, but I think I was about 7 or 8 when it really sunk in that we couldn't take any of our earthly treasures with us. At the time, it made me sad because I had some things that I truly valued. (dolls, dresses, doll house...you know! really important stuff!) It made me really sad that I wouldn't be able to keep these things FOREVER! After I got over the disappointment that all we could take with us was our families and whatever was in our brains, I attempted to always fill my mind with useful information. I honestly remember thinking I should learn all the hymns so I would be able to sing them after I die. I definitely think learning this principle early in life helped me be more frugal and not so caught up in worldly pursuits!

BUT don't let this lead you to believe I am a minimalist! I definitely think we have too much! My problems in this area are:

1~I have a hard time turning down anything free
2~I have trouble walking past a good deal
3~I have a hard time getting rid of stuff.

(It is most likely a genetic thing...thanks DAD!)

So, finally getting to the point...DRUM ROLL...I have come up with a little reminder ring that I call my "Declutter-ring". I wear it when I go shopping at one of my favorite thrift stores, helping me to not buy things I don't need. It helps me when I am cleaning to help me discern which things are being used, and which things are just cluttering our home. It comes in handy when I find freebies on the roadside, helping me leave most treasures in their place. It has helped me so much in the last month, I think I am going to eventually overcome my addiction to stuff! (yeah right! That is a long shot!)

But I do feel like my declutter-ring has helped me be more aware of what things are useful and enhance my life, and which things are frivolous and unnecesary! Because I truly feel that too much STUFF keeps me from being happy. How do I figure that? The more stuff you have, the less space you have to store it, the more the kids get it out and don't know how to put it away, because there isn't a set place for it, so the bigger piles of useless stuff clogging your entryway, hallways and rooms, the less room to walk, the more you trip and fall and nearly break your neck, the more you yell (lots more yelling), the higher your blood pressure, the bigger the head-ache, until you have it up to HERE, and realize something has to give...that is when you give it all away, and keep only that which is useful. Okay, I do keep some things because of sentiment:)



Some great quotes I really like...

“Let parents bequeath to their children not riches, but the spirit of reverence.”
~Plato

“Grant that I may become beautiful in my soul within, and that all my external possessions may be in harmony with my inner self. May I consider the wise to be rich, and may I have such riches as only a person of self-restraint can bear or endure.” ~Plato

“A little House well fill'd, a little Field well till'd, and a little Wife well will'd, are great Riches” ~Benjamin Franklin

“I have not observed men's honesty to increase with their riches.”
~Thomas Jefferson

Seeking for Happiness
by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Seeking for happiness we must go slowly;
The road leads not down avenues of haste;
But often gently winds through by ways lowly,
Whose hidden pleasures are serene and chaste
Seeking for happiness we must take heed
Of simple joys that are not found in speed.

Eager for noon-time’s large effulgent splendour,
Too oft we miss the beauty of the dawn,
Which tiptoes by us, evanescent, tender,
Its pure delights unrecognised till gone.
Seeking for happiness we needs must care
For all the little things that make life fair.

Dreaming of future pleasures and achievements
We must not let to-day starve at our door;
Nor wait till after losses and bereavements
Before we count the riches in our store.
Seeking for happiness we must prize this -
Not what will be, or was, but that which is.

In simple pathways hand in hand with duty
(With faith and love, too, ever at her side),
May happiness be met in all her beauty
The while we search for her both far and wide.
Seeking for happiness we find the way
Doing the things we ought to do each day.

I remember...

I remember being 7 years old.
I remember we lived in a huge old house in Low Moor, VA.
I remember all three of my brothers and what they looked like and how they acted.
I remember wanting a little sister very desperately.
I remember praying for a sister.
I remember begging my parents for her.
I remember how excited I was when my dream came true.
I remember my eighth birthday (sort of).
I remember my baptism being postponed because my mom was about to deliver my sister.
I remember right before my sister was born my brother Jay and I were in a school play.
I remember my grandparents coming to stay with us when my mom went to the hospital.
I remember this day 27 years ago.
I remember how anxious I was to meet her after her birth.
I remember how nervous I was when it came time to go see her at the hospital.
I remember I wore my favorite outfit (matching peach floral shirt and skirt).
I remember all my plans to play with my new sister and teach her.
I remember my parents telling me it would be a while before she could do those things.
I remember being disappointed that I would have to wait to have her interact with me. (but I was still very happy to have her)
I remember when she began to walk.
I remember how good she was at talking.
I remember how well she could memorize poems and scriptures.
I remember her curly hair.
I remember how she would put her little hand over her heart every time she saw the flag.
I remember playing dolls with her.
I remember fighting with her (how immature to fight with someone so much younger than me!)
I remember when she was baptized.
I remember how she would write little notes with hearts and say she loved me.
I remember sharing a room with her.
I remember how silly we were sometimes and how we would laugh for no reason. (miss this!)
I remember not seeing her much through high school.
I remember her coming to help us move and taking care of our kids when I was put in ICU and Bill was defending his thesis in 2003.
I remember her moving to CA with us briefly.
I remember she potty trained my oldest daughter at 13 mos.(I thought she was crazy, but it worked)
I remember when she fell in love and got married.
I remember when she had each of her children.
I remember being so proud of her each time.
I DON'T remember a day that I haven't thought about her.
I DON'T remember the last time I told her how much she means to me.
I DON'T remember the last time she and I got to do something just the two of us.
(Cary, one day when one of us gets rich, you and i are going somewhere really fun all by ourselves!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARY-COO-COO
LOVE LORI-LOO-LOO

LAMRON

Maybe you already knew this about me, but I love a good bargain.
I look for bargains all the time and don't buy anything unless it is a certifiably good deal.

That is just a part of who i am.

For some reason, I can remember most of my really good deals...like my Crate and Barrel dining room table $$ = free from the roadside (needed a minor repair to the extension tracks but had all the leaves), my favorite simmons couch bed $$=25 at an estate sale (i didn't mind that it was old and needed to be recovered, i found some old drapes at good will for $7 to cover it with), matching white-washed book case and entertainment thingy $$=75 from a thrift store in WI.

Well, you get the picture.

Bottom line, I am constantly looking for a good deal.
Lucky supermarket has their General Mills cereals on sale right now for $1.49/box. Since that is all my family will eat in the morning, I stocked up. I bought $89 worth of cereal for a savings of $280. Boy does it feel good to save that kind of dough!

While I was shopping today for the mammoth load of cereal, I got some strange looks and funny comments like: "Do you run a daycare?" "What are you going to do with all of that??" "You must REALLY like cereal!" Even the cashier was a little put out at scanning all those boxes. Maybe all the people I encountered had never seen someone buy so much cereal all at once. Maybe they just can't imagine what it is like to feed a family of seven. Maybe they think I was being greedy taking such advantage of a good deal. To me it was perfectly normal! And like I say, maybe i am a little backwards for some things, but I am LAMRON (that is Normal spelled backwards)!

managing

i am barely managing my household right now...Mir and I are SICK with some nasty strain of flu. i don't want to dwell on that, but we have been ill since Saturday.
i hate the flu and how it ties you down.
i hate being restricted.
i like to be free to do
what i want,
when i want,
how i want.
to shop, play at the park, go to the library, etc. being THIS sick, really slows me down. and it is times like this that i truly appreciate the freedoms we are blessed with in our country.

it made me lol today when i thought about what was triggering my gratitude. 1: feeling helplessly tethered to my home right now, 2: the fact that we have more than one throne.

i would not do well in a society that dictates how i spend my time, energy and money. i am so grateful ours is still a free nation! there are things that bug me about the current trend in politics. things that make me panic at times. i watch glenn beck at night. most nights it puts me to sleep. when i am able to stay awake, i am very encouraged to know that glenn is educating all that will listen about the foundational values our country was built upon. also from watching glenn, it has become a goal of mine to teach the kids about the constitution and the history of our country. a friend of mine introduced me to this excellent website. my kids love it and it has been a great way for all of us to become better acquainted with the principles on which our nation was founded, and how our country is supposed to function.

other things i am grateful for:

+having great memories of when my brother and his family visited from utah last week
+having a wonderful visit with my parents
+having the best birthday ever (thanks again mom and dad!
+getting sick sat after taking my parents to the airport (there is no time to feel sad about them leaving when you are hugging the throne)
+having my husband take care of the kids while i slept all day sat (unfortunately, he forgot he had been assigned to give a talk on missionary work at a mission farewell sun. luckily, he remembered an hour before church and was able to pull it off)
+having kids that will do their homework, practice piano, fix dinner, and entertain themselves when i am out of commission.
+having friends call to check on me

i feel so very blessed...despite barely managing and feeling crummy.