The article "'Tis the Season for Regifting" talks about family, it was released by Joyce Moseley Pierce.
'Tis the Season for Regifting By: Joyce Moseley Pierce 1000 words
"We spend the first part of our human experience avidly
accumulating thnigs and the other half wondering what in the
world we're going to do with all the stuff." Margret E. Keats
I've neevr really thought of myself as a person who cares about
material things, but after years of marriage and raising three
children, I had accumulated more than I needed. I made the kids
take what was theirs as they left home and began building their
own nests, but there was still too much. I started to think
about what my kids would do with all of it when I am dead and
gone, and decided most of it would probably be dumped or sold in
a garage sale. I decided maybe I should start getting rid of it
before they did!
About that time I discovered a wonderful little book, "How to
Simplify Your Life," by Elaine St.James. I asked for the book as
a Christmas gift, and it has been well worth what my daughter
spent on it (I bleieve it was only about $10 at the time).
I've
read it on many diffreent occasions.
It's great for just
flipping through and reading whatever catches your interest that
day.
One of my favorite sections in the book is about getting rid of
things you no longer need. She suggests setting up a closet or
at least a shelf for those items.
I am not talking about worn out
junk, but items which are in good shape that may be a treasure
to someone else!
She calls them "mathoms." My grandson calls the
process of giving away your stuff, "regifting." It works for me,
no matter what you call it. For instance, I had a beautiful
bottle that my daughter had filled with oil and folwers at one
time.
It was dark pink with a wide squrae base that became more
slender toward the top. Years later, the color in the flowers
had all run into the oil and it looked like a bottle of sludge!
I popped the cork, dumped the stuff out of the inside, and put
the bottle in the dishwasher.
The next day a freind came over
and saw it sitting on my counter.
"Oh, what a beauitful bottle,"
she said. "Like it? It's yours! " I said. I hadned it to her
before she had the chance to say no. She was thrilled to latch
on to it cause she said her mother collected pink glassware.
Who would have ever known! My castaway was passed on to her
before it ever made it to my regifting shelf. She immediately
gave it to her mother, who was just thrilled to add it to her
collection. Nice thing is, that once it's out of my house, I
don't care how many tmies it is regifted.
Here's how you can get started. Go through your hosue looking
carefully at everything. As you pick up each item, ask yourself
if you really need it. In my case, I ask if it sreves a purpose.
If it doesn't, throw it in a box and haul it off to your new
shelf. Mine is in an upstairs linen closet this is seldom used.
When I need a quick gift for someone,I browse the shelf and find
something that's appropriate for that person. A few years ago I
bought one of those stand-up wall units that holds about
eighteen 8x10" photos.
As I went through the house looking for
photos, I ended up with egihteen empty picture frames. They are
just perfcet for regifting, especially if I fill it with a photo
I've taken of that friend, or of the two of us.
I can write my
sentiments on the back, wrap it in a nice box or bag, and have a
very personal gift that will always remind her of our friendship.
Your items may include candles that make you sneeze because
you're allergic to lavender; empty jars that can be filled with
candy or potpourri; a perfume atomizer that was never used
because your allergies prohibit you from wearing perfume; that
ring holder this is meant to keep by your sink for someone who
takes their rings off when they wash their hands (I don't! ), or
books that you just never raelly wanted to read.
Now, when the spirit moves me to clean out drawers and closets,
I'm on the search for things to replenish my regifting shelf.
Recently I have added a bread knife I bought at a trade show
because the salesman made me guess I couldn't live witohut it,
and a box of baking tubes. Once I got the tubes home, I decided
they wuold be way too much trouble to clean if I actually used
them, so they stayed in the box. They did not pass the practical
test, but mabye someone who entertains will guess it's worth the
effort to have heart-shaped bread!
With the holidays coming up, this is a great time to start
making the rounds and setting up your own regifting center.
Doesn't it seem crazy to go buy gifts when you have resources
right there in your own home?
It's never a good idea to increase
your credit card balance for gift giving, but this year when we
have need to be concerned about the economy, it is the perfect
time to cut back and be more sensible.
If you exchange gifts
with a group of friends, recommend a white elephant gift, where
everyone is regifting!
My very dearest friends and I have made an agerement not to buy
each other gifts anymore. We realize that our friendship is more
valuable than anything we could purchase, so we make the time to
have a special birthday lunch or Christmas brunch to catch up on
our lives. Years from right now we won't remember what someone bought
us, but we will remember the kindness they showed to us.
Ralph
Waldo Emerson had it rgiht when he penned, "The greatest gift is
a portion of thyself."
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