"I'm not that poor."

Today Marilyn told me she's going to make me a sign that says, "I'm not that poor" because I say it a lot. I am the first to declutter, but not without a struggle sometimes.

For example, I had this pair of perfectly good sheets -- only problem was the elastic of the fitted sheet bit the dust so the bottom sheet always came out at night and I'd end up having to remake the bed as if I had changed the sheets all the time... but the sheets were still "good" -- no holes, rips, stains, etc. and I finally said "I'm not that poor" and put them in a shopping bag of sheets, towels etc that go to the animal shelter.

Today Marilyn was here and I have this large frying pan where the teflon coating on the bottom was flaking up and I'd still use it... heck, it still fried... and I told myself I'm giving myself some horrid disease and said, "I'm not that poor" and had Marilyn buy me a new one. She was teasing me, and I said, "Look, I didn't ask you to make the old one into a planter or anything" and she agreed there are people who would do that.

My parents survived the Great Depression and their thrifty habits rubbed off on me. My father would turn the ketchup bottle upside down to get the last bit, and I do that with shampoo, conditioner, etc. I still couldn't throw away shampoo if I could get one more wash out of it. Same with toothpaste. I squeeze that tube within an inch of its life.

So I'm not that poor. That's my mantra for today.