Taking Inventory of the Things You Don’t Really Need

While trying to fall asleep one night, I was looking around my bedroom and started thinking about how many things I have in my bedroom that I don’t really need. Then I started thinking about other rooms of the house and before I knew it I had a mental list many pages long.

Going through that exercise helped me realize two things:

1.) I have bought many things over the years that I really didn’t need. Going through and really thinking about everything, I see things that were purchased that I thought I needed, but really didn’t. With just doing this exercise mentally, I can only imagine how many more pages would be added when I actually look around every room and physically check every nook and cranny.

2.) I have the makings for a pretty good garage sale. I don’t like having a garage sale unless I have quite a few items to sell. After taking the mental inventory, I realize that I have more I can sell than I thought I did. So, my project for this summer is to have a garage sale and all proceeds will go directly towards debt. What I will do is go room to room just like I did with my mental inventory and have a large box ready to throw everything in.

I’m glad I did this. It gave me a lot to think about the next time I want to buy something. I’ll also hopefully have some more money to put towards debt after having a good-sized garage sale :)

Posted by Tricia on May 14, 2006 at 12:16 PM in Life Experiences, Saving Money, Spending Money | 5 Comments »
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  1. Anonymous responded:
    Posted: May 14th, 2006 at 6:56 pm

    Interesting the juxtaposition of this post — about buying things that weren’t necessary and planning to sell them — and the one just before, about how to buy clearance items. Conflicted?

  2. Tricia responded:
    Posted: May 14th, 2006 at 8:27 pm

    At the end of the clearance post, there is a warning about only buying things you really need. That is definitely a problem with my shopping in the past – I was blinded by the great deal. That’s how I ended up with things I didn’t need.

    The garage sale is a way to redeem myself, yet I know that I will lose money in the end because I paid more for things at the time of purchase.

    I am finding that the more I look deeper into my previous habits, I am finding ways to improve myself and in turn improve my family’s financial situation. I enjoy when others leave comments that make me think even more about everything.

    Thanks for stopping by and commenting :)

  3. Mandy responded:
    Posted: May 15th, 2006 at 11:36 pm

    Having just moved 2 weeks ago, I definitely know that I have been guilty of buying things I haven’t needed. Shoes, clothes, magazines, books, things etc.

    I’ve made a deal that for this month, I will not buy any clothes or magazines or books at all. I am spending money on things for the new place such as pots and stuff, but nothing completely unnecessary such as clothes etc.

    So far, half way through and going strong :)

  4. Tricia responded:
    Posted: May 16th, 2006 at 7:05 am

    Mandy – that’s great to hear things are going so well for you! I see from your blog that you mention that you don’t really have room for all the things that you have bought. That’s definitely a problem that I have – especially with clothes. I have so many articles of clothing that I don’t use and it’s a shame.

    Thanks for stopping by and the best to you with your “Operation Stop Buying Crap” :)

  5. Blogging Away Debt » Blog Archive » Darn Garage Sales!! responded:
    Posted: July 20th, 2006 at 7:26 pm

    [...] I love garage sales and I love getting deals. But after starting this blog, and taking inventory of the things I don’t need, I realized I have gotten some great deals throughout the years – but most of it is stuff I didn’t really need. Things like picture frames, decorations, clothes that I don’t wear, etc. [...]

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