Are You A Saver? A Lesson in Self-Care

 

The beautiful, albeit favorite, never-used handbag that I don’t want to get scuffed. I’m saving it. The luxurious cashmere gloves my son gave me for Christmas. I’m saving them. The aged bottle of balsamic vinegar from Modena. I guess I’m allowing it to continue aging? I’m saving it.

I am a saver. And I save my favorite things and have a tendency to not use them...because I'm saving them, of course. If you asked me what I am saving them for, I don't know that I could give you a reason, or a good reason anyway. I always start off the new year with goals of cleaning out my closet and pulling out all the items I am saving.

I'm slow this year, and as we’ve crossed over into February already, perhaps my goal is crossing over into "Spring Cleaning." The universe is sending subtle hints my way. The internet is filled with Marie Kondo testimonials and blog posts about organizing and clearing-the-clutter. Or maybe this is just what everyone thinks about this time of year? In any event, the below links are great reflections on and suggestions about, not just cleaning out, but also, using the items that you are saving.

Gillian Dunn's TedTalk: Change Your Closet, Change Your Life

Do any of you have melting candles in your closet? 

 

 

An embarrassing picture of my messy closet. There must be a melted candle in there somewhere. I'm sure of it. 

 

 

This article from Heather Clawson of Habitually Chic truly does inspire and gives me great incentive to clean out my closet. 

Closet Clean Out Inspiration 

Preston Davis of Keep It Chic offers another reason why we should use our things, especially if we love them, "I’m a saver, and the downside of saving things is that by the time I pull them out, I don’t always love them as much as when I first bought them—they no longer feel fresh." I never really thought the fact that the items "no longer feel fresh," but she's spot on.  

In Wear Now, Wear Often she suggests that “the things we love the most should be worn most often.”

Preston wrote another article about Resolution: Restraint in which she reflects on buying the same item in multiple colors.

In the words of Gillian Dunn in her Ted Talk, "It’s a mindset shift of viewing yourself as enough to have and use your things. It’s also a reminder that you’re in control of your life. So why not make it one that counts.” She’s right. It truly is an act of self-care to use the things you love.

So the lesson in today’s post is to not only use the things you buy or receive but more importantly, feel worthy of using them.

Several years back my husband gave me a wonderful bottle of champagne. Of course, we've been saving it. How regrettable it would be should something happen to either one of us, and to not have shared the experience and creating a memory of enjoying that champagne together?