simply stopping shopping

Blue & white ginger jar recently found in basement

Lilac branches from the garden

Last weekend we cleaned out our small basement. I was mortified by the amount of stuff we had. It seems that if I have a place to put things - I will. You know my house is small. I have only one closet. I have a couple of shelves in the laundry room for towels and necessities. So my basement is where things wind up. But where did all this stuff come from and why have I kept it? I guess I like to shop more than I like to admit. Recently after a spring cleaning day I drove to PB and picked up a couple of pillow covers for the living room. Not a big deal really, but after cleaning out the basement I found at least 2 dozen pillow covers AND fabric to make at least a dozen more. I found dozens of vases, knickknacks and the like comfortably sitting in Rubbermaid tubs. I guess I couldn't let these things go when we moved here because they either had sentiment attached to them or they cost too much. There was also a big container that had clothes and shoes in it that I had forgotten about. So after a deep purge to charity the only things remaining in the basement are ski clothes, sporting equipment, family photo albums and garden tools. I kept one container with fabric for future projects and a few pillow covers that I know I will use again. So this brings me to the question, "when is enough, enough?" I know in my head I already have enough and truly do not want any more stuff around me. I will continue to take the 100 items challenge (removing 100 items a month from your home) and as of today I will be embarking on a "simply stopping shopping" experience. The rules for this experience are as follows:

1. No shopping for non-essentials for one year

2. No new clothes, handbags, shoes, jewelery

3. Nothing new for the house (knickknacks, kitchen tools, accessories, etc.)

4. No new beauty items (I have a ton of unused product b/c I work for Aveda)

5. Purchasing gifts for others will be allowed

What I hope to gain from this experience is a new appreciation for all I have, and a way to stop looking outside myself for happiness. I know this is not a new experiment. Lots of other people have done this and written about it. I don't consider myself a minimalist. And I'm not trying to get my belongings down to only a few so that I am free to travel whenever, wherever. I just want to see what it would be like to use what I have and see how creative I can get when I do feel that I need something. So wish me luck and maybe even join me!