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De-Cluttering and Re-Cluttering

May 18th, 2013 at 06:25 pm

**BM wanted a fad toy that all the kids have at school. We said, "Sure whatever, if you want to pay for it." I don't think my kids have had very many of these lessons - they don't seem to have much of a sheep mentality. I don't know how much of that is nature versus nurture. I think a little bit of both. For example, I think by nature my spouse is a stubborn contrarian. For me, it feels very learned. I didn't have a fraction of the kids' self confidence at the tender age of 8 or 9.

Of course, LM is totally bored and uninterested in this fad, so only the elder child has caved.

**The county animal shelter takes shoes for recycling. Awesome!! It's just that it is WAY out of the way. I even tossed some shoes past weekend because lord knows when I'd be out that way again.

Well... BM has a birthday party in that area tomorrow. We will take all the remaining broken/outgrown shoes that we have. I just noticed a couple of pairs in the garage that could probably go. For the long run it will just be one more thing to remember, but we can keep a shoe stash and make the run once in a blue moon. & maybe we could find something closer to home, but I have certainly looked before.

**Just got a postcard re: charity pickup on Memorial Day. Woohoo!! I don't care who it is - they win all our crap. In addition, they were advertising for e-waste. This will save dh a trip to Best Buy. (Best Buy only takes 3 items at once?? So this might save us a few trips).

**I finally pulled the trigger on an elliptical purchase. Conferring with dh maybe saved me some hassle.

I have of course kept my eye on the used market and yadda yadda. I have been shopping for well over a year.

I think what has swayed me is the Money Mustache. I LOVE the gym membership but it's inefficient. I don't remember the last time I went - it SUCKS every January through March, at the least (all those New Years resolutions). I love the gym the rest of the year - get it all to myself. Big Grin

Anyway, two problems with the at-home elliptical:

1 - At $15/month gym membership (& I am pretty sure they will offer me a lower deal when I try to quit) it's hard to breakeven on an equipment purchase.

2 - The size and weight and monstrosity of a good piece of equipment. I really don't want to deal with it. Extra so since I am storing my parents' treadmill at the moment. I'd maybe rather have a good elliptical, but the point of the treadmill is that it is high-end and totally free. {We have plenty of room, but just thinking more long-term. The long-term downsize plan}. & seriously, some of these ellipticals are 300 pounds!! We just don't have the muscle to deal with that - even just to get it moved in.

So... I finally bit the bullet on a new unit. It's in the $300 range, but was on sale. If it's not a total piece of crap it will get good use.

I was leaning towards Amazon just because their customer service is so good. Target had same unit at same price - not entirely sure why I discounted it. So, I ran it past dh before pulling the trigger (he is out of town) and he asked what about a local store, for easier returns. I remembered I had seen it at Target.

The thing about Amazon is if I call and complain and can't ship it back I know they will refund the money. So I think was mostly why I was leaning towards Amazon. But with our Red Card it was 5% off (cheaper) and free shipping at Target. So decided dh was probably wise. Target has always has great customer service for our needs. A good second choice. I maybe saved $15 going with Target instead.

Will see... I figure worst case we return it and it's back to the drawing board. I won't quit gym until I am happy with alternatives.

Why do I like the gym so much? Safer (not going to be outside in the dark), climate controlled in winter and summer, etc. & I am no fan of running - way too hard on the body. Power walking is okay but I much prefer the elliptical.

Our gym is only 4 miles away and had the awesome benefit of childcare, so was also a big plus when the kids were younger (doesn't really mean much any more). In the meantime, I feel like they have added no less than 5 unecessary lights on the main road, and it can often take 15 minutes to drive there. It's just gotten so inefficient over the years. So why I mention the Money Mustache influence.

Anyway, maybe this will hold me over until we get a closer discount gym - one I can walk or bike to. It will probably happen eventually.

How am I paying for this? 5% of my tax season overtime will cover it. Big Grin I am not opposed to splurging. I just like to divorce the spending decisions from the income, if that makes any sense. Of course expense decisions have to be based on income and resources. BUT, I guess my point is we really avoid automatically spending windfalls. It's a-okay to just save 100% for a later time, for when a need or want arises. I think this makes for better spending decisions.

3 Responses to “De-Cluttering and Re-Cluttering ”

  1. rob62521 Says:
    1368921259

    I had to chuckle over your title...we often find ourselves in the same boat...we get rid of stuff only to find new stuff.

  2. scfr Says:
    1368922196

    I too loved the title of the post ... very apropos!

  3. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1368930742

    Agreed - great title. Smile
    I have an Ironman elliptical. I *think* I bought it from Amazon. It's a good machine, although I don't use it all that much.

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