use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without

I was scrolling through the latest posts on Apartment Therapy, which I usually do a few times a day to see what the haps is, and came across this great article/essay on fighting the feeling of should when it comes to acquiring stuff.

This is something that I struggle with on a daily basis and deciphering between need vs want is something that I need to remind myself of more often. There were so many great comments on this topic and one thing really stuck with me and I want to make it my new mantra...

"use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without"

Our American way of life and especially within the fashion business I am in which relies on newness and the updating of trends, puts this added pressure on you to want more then you need or should have. Like many of the comments to this article, I agree that there is way to much stuff in our homes and in the world and we are rapidly running out of room. 

I will be at the forefront of this within the next 2 weeks as we move back to our house and go through the 2 different "storage" spaces in our garage and basement that are full top to bottom of stuff we had but didn't need in the year we would be gone. A huge purge is in my future and I am very excited to let a good bulk of it go. Will let you know how I end up.

Maybe if I focus on the big things in my life, my kids, husband, friends and family then the little things won't seem so important and I can curtail the desire to acquire them. maybe...