Part of preparing for the reality of being out of debt has been going through everything I have and getting rid of what I don’t need or want. I should say that I’ll take just about any opportunity to do this. I love getting rid of things. I always have at least one bag in my trunk full of stuff to take to the Goodwill. I’m not just a person who likes to be organized; I actually love the act of organizing things. What I’m saying is that this has been fun for me. But, it’s also been educational.
It’s been a weird year, because I’ve continued to regularly go through my things and pull out stuff to give away, but unlike all the years before, I haven’t been replacing these items with new things. So, by now there are a bunch of empty hangers in my closet. What’s more surprising to me is that there aren’t more empty hangers. And shelves and drawers. A year of purchasing almost nothing new and yet I still have so much stuff.
On my early lists of stuff I would buy once I was out of debt, I had a bunch of expensive makeup listed. After spending a couple days going through my current makeup collection, I’ve realized that’s the last thing I need or want. I made some deep cuts and yet I still have more than I can even find room for. And way, way more than I ever use. Why a person who rarely wears anything but brown eyeshadow has a rainbow of shades is beyond me or anyone reasonable. It would appear that my credit card is far more whimsical than I am.
I won’t even talk about the nail polish except to admit that I have 18 shades of green and green isn’t even a favorite color of mine. Okay, so this one will be harder. I do love nail polish, but I have rules in place, the first of which is no more green nail polish!
Obviously, I have a thing for pretty colors and I can be a bit of a collector if I let myself. So, I won’t let myself.
This whole process took me from, “Well, maybe I’ll just pick up a few things I’ve wanted for a while” to “No, no, no more makeup. You have it all already and you really don’t wear most of it.” The bottom line is that this just is not the way I want to spend my money and the bright lights of Ulta lead me to making bad decisions. Best to just avoid as much as I can. I mean, if I’ve done it for more than a year, then I think I’ll be okay.
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A lot of my debt came from makeup too, mostly from Sephora!
I’ve learned that a brand name means nothing. I’ve always wanted Dior eye shadows but I’ve learned that ELF (eyeslipsface) and even Wet N’ Wild have eye shadows that perform much better for a much lower price!
I haven’t shopped that much this year either (mostly because most of my credit cards are frozen, I froze them in January) and I too still have a bunch of stuff to get rid of! It’s crazy!
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