Andrew Schroeder

Materialism.
My materialism.
My materialism out of control

This has been my life over the summer. I buy things that I believe I am enamored with (and for all intensive purposes, I am) and then watch as they collect dust in my house. While my newly purchased items lose their luster, I find myself asking “where exactly did my money go?

So, I am going to put some serious effort into getting rid of stuff.

First task: get rid of books I haven’t read for a year. Lucky for me, the library at my place of work is run by a groovy librarian who has offered to take a huge part of my collection. On Monday morning, I am going to cart approximately 1/3 of the 400 books I own to the school library for safe keeping and circulation.

Second task: simplify the wardrobe. If there is one thing I love it is impulse clothing purchases. Numerous times before I have tried to standardize my wardrobe into a few basic items. This time I am actually going to make it stick. I only need: 7 collared shirts, 4-5 sweaters, 5 pairs of black or gray pants, 1 suit gray charcoal suit, 4 pairs of shoes, and a goodish amount of socks, underwear, and what not.

The big purchase I am trying to figure out… where can I pick up a really well made, nicely fitting, dark charcoal gray winter coat? I have a budget of only about $300, and I want this to be something that is going to last for at least 2 years. At least.

Third task: purge my junk closet and have an artist garage sale. The one major trouble area in my home is the closet off of my living room. When I moved in, I just dumped all the things I wasn’t using into that closet and threw away the key. Well, 6 months later – those things are still there… festering. I want to get rid of all that suff…

If you have need for:  a white drafting table, woodcut tools, various art and framing supplies, mahogany chairs, and other goodies… you know where to find them.

Well… that is my lament for this sweet Friday. I hope everyone out there is preparing for a relaxing, joyful weekend…