Things We Don't Need Now That The Kids Are Grown!

4/15/2015

Jeff and I, like most of our friends our age, are empty-nesters.  The kids having lived under our roof for have flown the coop.  So what now?  Good question.

Here's what I do know: with few exceptions we eat on paper plates now.  Why?  Because we can.  We also eat watching television.  Why?  Because we can.

I've given away my china and silverware, because I haven't used them in over 20+ years, and it's not likely that I'm going to start giving extravagant parties anytime soon.

I've gone through my cupboards and have cleared out all the "advertising" coffee mugs that have cluttered up space for far too long.  Not to fret - I did keep one or two in the back of a cupboard, just in case every other coffee cup in the house gets broken, all at the same time!  Jeff uses his large In-N-Out mug every day, with no exceptions.  For me, I like clear coffee cups, but unlike Jeff, I have several of them I've used throughout the day.  Each morning, I wander through the house, picking up my mugs and getting them to the kitchen.  And, if it's a good day, I might even throw them in the dishwasher, but maybe not.

We still shop at Costco and WalMart almost every week.  In reality, if we couldn't get out of our house for a week - we wouldn't starve. Far from it.  My pantry is full and not well organized.  I pile packages of cookies on top of cans of soup.  Yes, I know that sounds messy, but since I'm the person who is generally looking for food in the pantry, I make no excuses.

I learned a long time ago, that sometimes when you need something specific, like say Neutrogena soap, you can't always find it in the store.  The solution to that is simple: I order a supply from Amazon and I never run out.  Amazon is a virtual goldmine of treasures.  They now offer a pantry box, where anything that fits in the box will ship for I believe $5.99.  I used the pantry box recently and actually had trouble filling the box!

I own bath towels, washrags and bedding used only for guests.  Since the only guest that comes to stay is Benjamin, my "good" things are likely to never wear out!  I no longer hold onto shelves of towels that will never be used, because Jeff and I use the super big towels for ourselves.  I do still have all the beach towels which I hang onto optimistically in case we ever return to the beach.  Who knows, it could happen.

Now that I'm retired, I have given away most of my old work clothes.  I kept one or two things just in case we go out to dinner with someone.  Otherwise, I have boxes in the bottom of my closet: (a) short sleeve tops; (b) long pants; and (c) capris.  I obviously trade out item "a" to long sleeves in the winter.  I find that since I'm home most of the time, I tend to wear some of the same clothes each week.  

Of course, I could put cleaning out the pantry on my list, but I find that if you have a lot of time on your hands, you can always put off a chore until another day!

P