Did you ever watch that show “Hoarders”? Not sure if it’s on anymore, but I confess that the few times I saw it, it made me more than a little uncomfortable. I could see myself going down that slippery slope to hoarding without too much trouble (with stuff that I love, that is — not trash, broken items, etc.).
I tend to hang onto way too many items: clothes that I loved that don’t (and probably never will) fit, old jewelry that I just can’t give up, and especially items such as gift wrap bows, tissue paper, bubble wrap (you can’t have too much of that, can you?). But, after a certain amount, it makes my poor DH absolutely nuts. Also padded envelopes and mailing boxes, especially the smallish ones that are just right for sending perfume samples. And let’s not even talk about the samples themselves.
I’m trying to be better as I’m getting older, as I’m finding my life to be much easier without a lot of junk cluttering it up. It’s funny, somehow, isn’t it? We spend more than the first half of our lives acquiring things, through college and / or jobs, relationships and families, and then the later years trying to simplify and get rid of a lot of it. I have to admit there are some days when I really wish I’d been born a minimalist.
Anyhow, as this relates to our perfumed world: Are you, or have you ever been, guilty of hoarding your fragrance or body products? I’ve done a bit of that myself, ostensibly saving them for “something special.” And then the special occasions come and go and I either forget about the items or can’t find them in the mad rush to get ready for said occasion. Until, ultimately, they up and go bad, and then it’s too late …
I’m ashamed to tell you guys this, and it makes me want to cry a little, but years ago I had to pitch close to half-full containers of various original Chanel Coco body products because they’d gotten pushed back, out of sight and forgotten about for way too long. Another casualty from back then: A jar of Issey Miyake body cream, although some might say that’s not quite such a big loss, but I did enjoy it at the time. And there are probably several other things that I can’t recall now — or have blocked from my memory.
We’ve all heard stories about someone’s aunt or grandmother who passed away, and relatives cleaning out her house find a drawer (or maybe more) full of unopened boxes of vintage Shalimar or some other scent that she was hoarding away. I really don’t want that to be me.
Of course, it’s understandable to stock up on your “precious,” especially if it’s a hard-to-find vintage, or (shudder) has been discontinued. It’s one thing to actually wear it often, or do you hang onto it just to have it? I’ve done that a bit with some of my vintage Cartiers, and I need to make myself use them before it’s too late.
Any experiences, stories or tips to share? If you have those tendencies, how do you curb them?
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My mom is a low level hoarder (mostly paper items and sentimental stuff - she had a dad who gave away some very special family items, so think she just went in the other direction) and I am trying not to get that way. I also hold on to sentimental stuff (high school notes! yes, I've got them!), clothes that will almost definitely never fit again (but think I will probably finally getting rid of those soon - I'm pregnant, so the chances of ever fitting in to them again is really going down!) and toiletries (mostly hair stuff). I know I'll be forced to get rid of a lot os stuff soon as we live in a tiny house and with twins on the way, we'll need all the space we can get. We used to live in a house with an open closet with built-in shelves in the bathroom and all my friends used to give me such a hard time about how much crap I had and called me the "toiletry queen." I do tend to buy lots and lots of backup hair stuff since I have very particular hair and just about every product I've ever used has been discontinued. I don't feel too bad about my perfume collection as it isn't too huge, but it is still way more than I will ever use. I am an undersprayer by nature, and also my husband gets migraines and scent is often a trigger. So I generally just wear perfume to work. Which is fine, but I'll probably never get to use up all those samples I have - who wants to test something before going to work if it might suck! Oh well.
First off, congratulations!! So very happy for you! When are you due? With two on the way, that's a pretty good motivation to pare down. I had a similar experience as your mom with my mother a long time ago and sometimes I think that does color how I view "things," plus being raised by grandparents who lived through the Great Depression. BTW, I can agree 100 percent with you on the hair thing -- when you've found something that works for you, you never want to be without it. And it's so frustrating when they discontinue it and you have to start looking all over again. Grrrr ...
Thanks Ann! I'm due in August, so still lots of time to get things organized.