Well… Let’s try again. I understand yesterday’s post didn’t work worth a hoot. I’m blaming the glitch on Squarespace, but maybe it was me. Anyway, here’s a second try.
This is not a piece about corona-induced shortages of an everyday item. It’s about a situation that pre-dates Covid by decades. It’s been around so long that in richer parts of the world, it’s endemic. It’s here and it’s probably here to stay. We’ve learned to live with It and businesses say, “Thank you very much.”
It is clutter. Why are we hellbent on accumulating a bunch of questionable baggage? There are lots of reasons. Ingrained habits, money in search of a distraction, crafty marketing, slaking of emotions, keeping up appearances, panic buying…
And what can be done about It? Ask yourself a few questions before you indulge your impulse to buy. Is It a want or a need? Do I have room for It? What if I waited?
Clutter is messy, it’s embarrassing, it’s expensive, it’s bad for your health. If the impulse-quelling questions don’t work, consider this jewel from a recent NYTimes column on clutter. When the columnist asked a neighbor where she kept her extra paper towels, without skipping a beat, the neighbor replied, “In the store.”
I’ll not soon forget this line. It’s a good companion to another winner from A Bunch of Pretty Things I Did Not Buy. “They may be fair trade, organic leg warmers, but if your legs aren’t cold, it’s still a frivolous purchase.”
Inoculate yourself against clutter. Remember It is “In the store.”