Tis the season of plenty...

We are a country drowning in commercialism. Everywhere you turn someone vies to get into your pockets and liberate you from your cash. Buy, buy, buy...more, more, more...bigger, bigger, bigger...

The holidays are here and you're about to receive more stuff than you will ever need, want or desire. Sheets that you will tuck away and find a year later only to realize you never used them. Clothing that isn't your style, the wrong color, the wrong fit - etc. Do you really need one more sweater? One more pair of shoes? One more jacket? More bath towels?

I know I don't.

This past year I've been redoing my bedroom and today I walked in there to realize I had as much if not more stuff in that room than when I started. Over the year I've purchased more bits and pieces - clothing, shoes, linens etc - and somehow all of it ended up in the one empty room in the house. The same room where I labored to paint the walls and celiling - the same room I need to somehow squeeze my queen sized bed into. At this point there is no way I can move back into my freshly painted room - I have no space!

Whats up with that?

It's time to seriously downsize. I've been in give-away mode most of the year. I've donated about 30 garbage bags of clothing, linens, curtains, sheets etc and I easily have that much more to give. I have 7 sets of sheets and I only use three of them so why am I keeping them?

So today I began seriously downsizing. My rules are:
-haven't worn it in the last six months - it goes
-don't like it - it goes
-have ten of them - at least 1/2 goes
-no more room - it goes

There are millions of people out of work and struggling to keep a roof over their heads. Millions who go hungry...who are homeless...who can't get a job because they don't have clean clothing...

You get the picture.

This year, why don't you give something you don't use to someone who who will? So, go look in your closet - what are you going to donate to charity today?