Need v. Want

i'll not be able to give a well considered reply for a couple days, prolly. i've been sick & can't think.

"Indeed, if a poor man will spend a year in prison for stealing out of hunger,
how high would the gallows need to be to hang the rich man?"
~The Patrician in 'Snuff' by Terry Pratchett

I've already started buying less--a lot less, and now I'm planning a big garage sale to get rid of all the stuff I've been keeping "just in case."

Less clutter makes me a calmer person, and I'm finding that my attachments to things are weaker than my need for simplicity.

I have "The Encyclopedia of Country Living," but haven't pulled it off the shelf in a long time.  Thanks for the reminder to revisit it.  

Great first post!  I look forward to reading many more from you.

I had a hard time finding you a picture so I just put up Maslow's chart.  Hope that is OK.

We never buy new cars, furniture and most of the time I buy our clothing at our second hand stores.  

I have longed for a junk free home so I keep a box in every room and when I am in that room and see something that i no longer need I put it in the box.  The box gives me time to change my mind yet it is also a reminder of the stuff I have collected that just sits around gathering dust.

I commit to one garage sale a year and mark stuff so cheap that I usually sell most of it.

When I buy a new (used) article of clothing I do not allow myself to put it on the shelf without taking one thing down and putting it in the box. This stops the process of more and more stuff.

I find myself almost entirely uninterested in consumer goods.  I'm not really sure why that is, but I have no interest in ipods or cell-phones or blackberries or any of the other electronic devices that some people fetishize.

We sold our car a few years ago and I find myself entirely uninterested in getting another one.

I am a bad consumer.

{Shame on me.}

I live frugally, in that I don't spend lots of money on clothes, but I do like to get afew things on occasion to wear for special occasions.  I have two bicycles, one 27-speed touring bike for long distance rides out in the country during the good weather, on weekend, and a mountain bike for biking to errands and appointments, etc., around town in good weather.  I don't have a yacht, and I'm not interested in living in a huge mcmansion out in the suburbs or the boonies.  Right now, since my mountain bike is 13 years old and has good mileage, and is too heavy to lift onto my polecat house rack, I'm looking into a lighter mountain bike, made of aluminum, which is in the same price range as my present mountain bike, and considerably lighter, since it's made of aluminum, as opposed to steel.  My touring bike's made of lighter chromoly steel, which is necessary for sturdiness, with a touring bike, due to a thinner frame.  What I plan to do, is to trade my old mountain bike in and let the money go towards the new bike.  

I feel that a cell phone is beneficial for emergencies, or if I'm going to be late, due to delays in public transportation or excessive traffic congestion.  I also think that it's good to have it in case of a breakdown or any other kind of emergency.  When I'm on the road for long distance trips, it's good to have a cellphone, too.

As for a television, I've got a reasonable one, which is a high definition one, with cable.  I like to have decent TV viewing, even though I don't watch TV much.  It's good for something.

I do buy tools for my work, as needed, as well as materials, although I haven't bought sterling silver for sometime, since the price per ounce has gone up so much.  Once every year or so, I take a whole bunch of scrap silver that I've collected overtime to a pawn shop downtown and sell it for some cash.  I've managed, on several times, to get about $1300.00 worth of it.

Having a hybrid car helps a great deal.  I've saved a good bit on gas, since I only need to gas up once or twice a month, depending on how much driving I do, and I get good mileage when I drive long distances also.  

As for having a pet, especially given the loss of my funny pal, McGee, it's especially painful for me to be without one.  I know in my heart that I want to get another bird, but I'll have to wait.  I think I want to start fresh.  I cannot and will not accept the horrific choice of obtaining a pet that I really don't want, or settling for nothing.  That would be too painful for me emotionally, and, I sort of feel it in the pit of my stomach, as well, sometimes.  There are many people, both on and offline, who'd like me to suck it up and accept it, but, I know, that, since my system's very finely tuned, that I can't.  If people think me a spoiled brat, so be it.

As for furniture and clothes, bikes, cars and other second-hand stuff, I'm not anxious to take chances, because one never knows what they're getting into.  One poster even suggested that I get a rescued bird.  I am adamantly against that, because one never knows what they're getting, and I'm not willing to take unnecessary risks just to be well, pennywise and pound foolish, as the saying goes.  There are limits, imho.  I'm not interested in any fancy furniture, but I want furniture that's decent and reasonably attractive-looking.  Because of the real possibility of bedbugs, I'm not willing to risk second hand furniture.  

All of the above not withstanding, however, every so often, if I  find that I no longer want or need something or other, I'll either donate it to the American Friends Service Committee, dispose of it,  or donate it to the Good Will Memorial place down the street.

On the other hand, when my old computer started to burn out, I got a newer computer after a long, thought-out discussion, and it paid off.  What I do is, if I want something new that's big or important, I make sure that I get what I want, because it's an investment.

A home, a car, a TV, bicycles, tools and material for my silversmithing work, and a pet are all investments, as well as new appliances, so I make sure that I'm getting the right things, even if it means digging a bit deeper into my pocketbook, at times. A computer, too, is an investment, so I make sure that I'm also getting the right one for me.

A good friend mentioned that someone she knows has a 2-year-old parrot that needs a new home, but I told her that I wasn't interested in buying it for the following reasons:

A)  I'd rather buy a very young parrot (at least 3-5 months old), so I can train him/her adequately.  

B)  Since neither of us know why the parrot's present owner is looking to get rid of it, and what I'd getting into if I bought it, as I've mentioned before, in another post, that is a chance that I'm not willing or able to take.

C).  If it's the kind of parrot that I turn out not to want, that would not be acceptable, either.  

All of the above having been said, if I sound like a spoiled brat, so be it.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

We've never been the type of family that buys designer clothes or trendy tennis shoes or what not, but for several years I was used to buying lots of books, puzzles, and snack foods.  Those little things that add up fast.

Our circumstances have changed over the last few years so I've been trying to go to my old ways.  I don't carry any cash, so if I see a two buck item I want, I won't buy it because I won't charge anything that only costs $2.00.  I pay off my charge card every month so I don't have any interest charges so if I don't have the money in the bank for something I don't buy it unless its an emergency situation.

We hardly ever buy clothes.  Mainly just for xmas or birthday gifts for each other.  And we keep our clothes for years.  I bet the sweatshirt I have on right now is at least 10 years old, probably 15.

I do put off buying things, waiting to see if something goes on sale that I need.  

The want I can't seem to control is books.  I keep trying to not buy as many and I don't buy them right away anymore but they are still my downfall.

My computer mouse has not been functioning correctly for about 3 months.  It double clicks when it isn't supposed to which means it opens and shuts things with one click.  It jumps around when I click on things, like if I go to change the color on an email, the mouse cursor moves to the spot in the email wherever the drop down menu slot I clicked is, sometimes erasing words I've typed in the process, and it goes through pages, or programs to click on things underneath.  I tried cleaning it and that helped a very tiny bit for a week or so, but I've kept going.  Now today the scroll funtion isn't working.  I've been putting off buying a new one, but I think this one might have about had its day.

A true story about a young man who rejected all the trappings of society to live with only what he needed in the wild.  It is very well done and thought provoking on this subject.