Day 29 of 365 - Wish Lists
Here we are in November, at the beginning of the marketing rollout for the upcoming holiday season. I hear that some people do their holiday shopping year round, or, that others at least start in September to avoid a hectic pace later on. Neither of those has really been my practice, but I admire both approaches for being that organized and aware of what to get for gifts.
I have a wish list on Amazon. It mostly contains names of books I've come across that I think I'd like to own. It also contains suggestions I've received from family members. I actually like to get suggestions or wish lists from them to guide me in my gifting. I'd much rather buy someone something I know they want and will use.
For myself at this phase of my life, other than books or music CDs, for the most part I prefer to receive perishable items like gourmet dark chocolate, cheeses, specialty decaf teas, natural soaps scented with essential oils and the like. I really don't need a lot and usually purchase other things that come up on an as needed basis through the year, sometimes used and sometimes new.
You have probably heard that expression about spending the first half of your life accumulating things and the second half of your life trying to get rid of them. There is a lot of truth in that, for me anyway.
The year I turned 50, which also coincided with the time I left my professional career, meaning I had much more time on my hands, was when I began the big household purge. Of course, I had done it to some extent each time we were selling a house, which we did five times. But this time, I was going through boxes of toys and household items stored in the basement, and getting them ready to give away or to sell in yard sales. That certainly occupied my time, and, a lot of things just ended up being donated to Goodwill in the end.
Despite my efforts to stay on top of the accumulation, it was still astonishing just how much there was to sort and deal with when we decided to sell our last house seven years ago to prepare for moving to an apartment. By that time, I was no longer interested in having yard sales or selling items on Kijiji. Pretty much all unwanted items were donated if they were in decent condition, or disposed of.
Initially surprising to me, we brought way too many things to our apartment and I have been slowly uncluttering our closets and storage space here ever since.
This week I read an astonishing article about Canada being only second to the U.S. in accumulation of waste, most of it junk that cannot be recycled or broken down. This was very disheartening. Our consumer driven society is destroying our environment, and we can't seem to stop doing it.
I enjoy the holiday seasons as much as the next person. I like the decorating, the twinkly lights, the foods, scents, and treat flavors of the occasions, the giving of gifts. But, having read that article, my wish is to be more mindful in my seasonal activities this year. After all, it's for the benefit of our own health and the future generations to stop polluting this planet we call home.
I have a wish list on Amazon. It mostly contains names of books I've come across that I think I'd like to own. It also contains suggestions I've received from family members. I actually like to get suggestions or wish lists from them to guide me in my gifting. I'd much rather buy someone something I know they want and will use.
For myself at this phase of my life, other than books or music CDs, for the most part I prefer to receive perishable items like gourmet dark chocolate, cheeses, specialty decaf teas, natural soaps scented with essential oils and the like. I really don't need a lot and usually purchase other things that come up on an as needed basis through the year, sometimes used and sometimes new.
You have probably heard that expression about spending the first half of your life accumulating things and the second half of your life trying to get rid of them. There is a lot of truth in that, for me anyway.
The year I turned 50, which also coincided with the time I left my professional career, meaning I had much more time on my hands, was when I began the big household purge. Of course, I had done it to some extent each time we were selling a house, which we did five times. But this time, I was going through boxes of toys and household items stored in the basement, and getting them ready to give away or to sell in yard sales. That certainly occupied my time, and, a lot of things just ended up being donated to Goodwill in the end.
Despite my efforts to stay on top of the accumulation, it was still astonishing just how much there was to sort and deal with when we decided to sell our last house seven years ago to prepare for moving to an apartment. By that time, I was no longer interested in having yard sales or selling items on Kijiji. Pretty much all unwanted items were donated if they were in decent condition, or disposed of.
Initially surprising to me, we brought way too many things to our apartment and I have been slowly uncluttering our closets and storage space here ever since.
This week I read an astonishing article about Canada being only second to the U.S. in accumulation of waste, most of it junk that cannot be recycled or broken down. This was very disheartening. Our consumer driven society is destroying our environment, and we can't seem to stop doing it.
I enjoy the holiday seasons as much as the next person. I like the decorating, the twinkly lights, the foods, scents, and treat flavors of the occasions, the giving of gifts. But, having read that article, my wish is to be more mindful in my seasonal activities this year. After all, it's for the benefit of our own health and the future generations to stop polluting this planet we call home.
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