Saturday, April 24, 2010

The Blind Leading The Blind

As a homeowner one has to come to terms with worrying about such things one never thought one would worry about. I tend to be a worrier by nature - I blame my mom - and, really how many women have you met that aren't worriers? Instead of worrying about what I might wear on that date (what date?) or wondering about such things as that grey hair peeking through on the top of my head and when my next hair appointment is; I worry about blinds. Yes, blinds. Not hunting blinds. Window blinds. Boring. Ass. Window. Blinds.

It's cool. Really. I have come to terms with this type of worry a long time ago. It's actually somewhat comforting to be worried about something so innocuous. There are certainly worse things I could spend time pondering.

So, the blinds. I've needed blinds on my downstairs windows for four years - since I moved into this house. Downstairs is where I keep my 'living room.' I sit down there every morning, put my makeup on in front of the TV and then get dressed. In front of windows without blinds. I have curtains up but no blinds. And every morning for the past four years I think to myself, 'seriously, you need to get some blinds up before Mr. Peeper figures out you're getting dressed down here every morning.'

Therein lies the dilemma. Once I got serious about getting these blinds I was well into my not- buying-anything-new year. Finding used blinds has been a real test of my patience. Many times I almost got into the car and drove to Target to lay down my money on new blinds. I think I visited at least 10 used stores - nothing! Just so you know, most places, I come to find out, will not take donations of used blinds. I finally ended up finding perfect blinds at a Habitat store. When I went to pay for them ($10!) the clerk told me they don't normally carry blinds. Once again, my lucky day! Now, that grey hair...


Saturday, April 10, 2010

It Might Not Be New But It Still Costs Something

I find myself at the thrift stores quite a bit lately. It used to be a 'special' trip to head out on a Saturday for a day of thrift shopping. Now, it's quickly becoming a 3-4 times a week thing. What this says to me is that I still have a jones for shopping. And this is disappointing.

My last boyfriend told me numerous times that I was a high-mass consumer and I've been trying to buck this label for years. I think it's where this not-buying-anything-new thing was borne. Really, how many shirts does one woman need? How many pairs of shoes or silly trinkets for the house? I've run out of hangers for the mass amounts of clothes and floor space for the shoes (and I have a large, walk-in closet!) and my house is starting to look like an old woman's who also has a lot of cats.

So, while I haven't been buying anything new, I have been purchasing a ton of shit. Shit I don't need. I am, from today forward, not only not going to buy nothing new, I'm not going to buy crap I don't need.

Take that ex-boyfriend!