We live in a very wealthy nation. VERY wealthy. Even the poor here are better off than most of the people living in this world. Technically I'd say Husband and I fit into the "at or below poverty level" range...which I think is ridiculous considering we own our own home, we have 2 decent vehicles, we've never had trouble putting food on our table or clothing our children. But since we have 6 people living off one income (that is fairly low compared to the national average), we're considered poor. Sure we have to watch what we spend, but who doesn't?
Today I began my summer purge. Every now & then (normally at the beginning of summer and near Christmas) I get in a "throw it all away" mood. Today the object of my obsession was magazines. After tossing out at least 2 years of Family Circles, I vow to avoid magazine subscriptions from here on out.
But you want to know a secret? I feel horribly guilty throwing out magazines. Busha gave me 15 + year old copies of Reminisce Magazine. I read them, but couldn't bear to part with them. I had 14 year old copies of Taste of Home that I haven't touched since shortly after they came in the mail (except to pack them up & move them from one house to the next). I had back issues of Family Fun from when B.B. was tiny. Then there's the years & years of Family Circle I've been hoarding. And I couldn't bring myself to toss any of them.
Today I began my summer purge. Every now & then (normally at the beginning of summer and near Christmas) I get in a "throw it all away" mood. Today the object of my obsession was magazines. After tossing out at least 2 years of Family Circles, I vow to avoid magazine subscriptions from here on out.
But you want to know a secret? I feel horribly guilty throwing out magazines. Busha gave me 15 + year old copies of Reminisce Magazine. I read them, but couldn't bear to part with them. I had 14 year old copies of Taste of Home that I haven't touched since shortly after they came in the mail (except to pack them up & move them from one house to the next). I had back issues of Family Fun from when B.B. was tiny. Then there's the years & years of Family Circle I've been hoarding. And I couldn't bring myself to toss any of them.
I think I feel guilty throwing out anything still useful because there are so may people out there who would love to have what I'm considering garbage. I could go through each issue and tear out the recipes I want. I could organize a binder full of craft ideas for later. I could save what I think is useful, but honestly, if I haven't done it by now, I'm not going to do it at all.
So today, it all went out. I think I heard my kitchen cabinet sigh with relief as I unloaded close to 40 pounds of old magazines. I'd like to brag that I now have cabinet space sitting empty, but the truth of the matter is, it was pretty well filled up instantly by odd items living on my counter tops.
Maybe this will make me think twice before dragging more magazines home....but the pictures are so pretty. * Sigh *
And don't even get me started on the stack of trashy romance novels I tossed out today (nope, I hadn't even read them....they were hand-me-downs). Regardless of the fact that I detest them, they were books- the printed word- nearly sacred....all except for the griding and moaning and total lack of plots.
If you like the above book cover, you simply must check these out.
1 comment:
Good job you! I, too, have copious stacks and boxes and rubbermaid tubs of books, magazines, and the like...and you know what?
I'm calling our school district offices to find out if they can use any of the magazines for resources, and am taking the books to our hospital and library as a donation.
I've decided that our major summer purge is going to be toys for the kids...when my kids can't find an item that is the size of a loaf of bread and neon orange in their playroom, they have too much...
I'm with you...we have so many blessings and to be considered poor in this country with as much as we have is INSANE!
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