Saturday, April 01, 2006

Issues?

Time for a reflective break from the purge session of my binge and purge ritual.

Every day all my life I binge on collections that I redeem from thrift shops and garage sales whenever I have the chance to hunt them down- a lustre ware plate, an old linen baby romper, an old book or two, some patchwork pillows, a game or colouring book for the day care kids, a book about drawing, some interesting old garments that I just know would look fabulous in a quilt or pillow top, some old silverware, or a well travelled suitcase to store things in. Oh! and there's so many more useful and previously loved items out there that I just may discover on my weekly tours around the prairie towns.

I think of it as cheap entertainment, my hobby, and affordable interior decorating, all rolled up as one. I also like to think of how I single handedly keep the economy of the reduce/reuse/recycle industry viable. Those are the things I say to myself when my craving to feed my habit begs for justification. I like to think about bringing these discarded items out of their place of "unwanted-ness" and giving them a new life, wishing they could speak to me about their previous lives.

Then I get restless. My house is full of things and I feel a purge coming on. The 25 cent rubber boots that I found don't fit anyone in the family. The game was so not a hit. All the good pictures in the colouring book are now coloured. It's time to move all the furniture around, and roam around from room to room ruthlessly chucking things into garbage bags to bring back to the thrift shop. I usually don't shop and donate to the same place, its a weird ritualistic hang up that I have. So, some second hand shop owners probably think that I buy obsessively, while the owner in the next town may wonder how this one woman could be so very selfless and giving on such a regular basis. They don't know that it's all part of my complicated syndrome.

They say that the first step in seeking resolution for a problem is to admit that you have one. Maybe this week if I find a really neat old journal with some empty pages in it, I could start journalling about my bingeing and purging. Then maybe I'll decide whether or not I have a problem.

But right now, I've got some neat old stuff that I need to find places for.

5 comments:

Brian the Mennonite said...

I'm sure you found our conversation from 20 minutes ago to be quite amusing then...time to sort through all the boxes and rid ourselves of anything unneccesary. Sorry honey...it's for our own good.

Anonymous said...

I just keep collecting, and all I give away is the nice stuff - the rest gets thrown into the basement.

Anonymous said...

I moved into my new bedroom yesterday, looking forward to seeing the "old" one emptyish and ready for reinvention into some sort of wonderful space.

Reality: It's still pretty much full of junk and I wonder how on earth did a bed, dresser, and chest of drawers fit among all that stuff?!

Anonymous said...

Who the heck are these water drinking bloggers?

Anonymous said...

It's easy to chug down a litre or two while you're at the computer - just another part of your healthy lifestyle.

Now wouldn't you just like to know who we are????????