Putting Away Winter Clothes

This past weekend I put away my winter clothes and took out my summer things. As I was diligently working, I made sure to toss out things that I no longer like, are stained or that I just haven’t worn for a year. I got quite a good sized bag to give to Goodwill.

As I loaded the summer things into my drawers I noticed that I didn’t have too many short sleeved shirts. Right now we are trying to move into a new house and we are saving money for the move. All expenses have been reduced to a minimum to accomplish our savings goal. I thought about going out and buying more shirts. But then, because of the impending move, I changed my mind. I could make-do with what I have until later in the summer.

Then I decided to count how many shirts I had just to see how many I actually owned. I counted them and found 22 shirts. In my closet were hanging 14 short sleeved and sleeveless blouses. That is a total of 36 tops! Upon reflection, I don’t know how it seemed that I had so few tops when I put things away. Counting them put it into perspective.

This illustrates the difference between want and need. I do not need any more tops. I did want more before I did the count. After counting, I was able to stop and think about whether it was a want or a need. Common sense, and thrift, prevailed! Next time you think you need something, think hard about whether it is a want and not a need.