Things I Must Stop Buying/Bringing Home

Chad has been watching the television show Hoarders lately. Like a hypochondriac with a medical handbook, I've decided that maybe I'm an extremely well organized, highly functional, hoarder. Well, okay, maybe not a hoarder exactly, but I have hoarder potential for sure! Especially in regards to the following items:

Scented Candles - I love scented candles. I have eleventy-hundred scented candles of all shapes, sizes and, uh, scents in a cabinet in the dining room. I keep buying them. People keep giving them to me. I can't burn them fast enough. Stop the (lovely-scented) madness!

Board Games - After our Xbox 360 and video games were stolen during the infamous house robbery of October 2009, we chose not to replace them. I bought several new board games to fill the void. I have not hosted a game night since.

Books - I have approximately thirty books in my possession right now that I have not read yet. In a good week I'll read two books. However, some weeks I am memorizing scripts, and can't read for pleasure. Other weeks, I simply don't have the attention span to look at a magazine, much less read a book. I must stop buying books from amazon.com, Target, HEB, Book People, Half-Price Books, etc... Books seem to be everywhere! I have great ambition when it comes to reading, but must acknowledge my limitations.

Clothes - After losing weight, I had to more-or-less replace my wardrobe. Done. I have lots of clothes for just about any occasion. In fact, friends need to start inviting me out more so I will actually have a reason to dress in something other than gym clothes or my jeans & t-shirt uniform.

Fashion Accessories - During the infamous house robbery of October 2009, I lost some of my favorite cheap jewelry. I wonder how the robbers felt when the pawn shop informed them that they didn't have any jewelry worth pawning? I love me some cheap, cute jewelry! Also, as an actress, I need costume jewelry for the dinner theater shows -- the gaudier, the better. Done. Got plenty of jewelry (none worth pawning). Restocked what was stolen and then some. Not to mention that I have many thoughtfully curated pairs of shoes and many bags, purses, clutches & totes.

Pets - Currently we have a pet hiring-freeze at the 1952 House with three cats and one forty-nine-pound dog. I love, love, love cats and dogs. I must respect the delicate balance of four pets and two people sharing the limited space here. Even if I would love to adopt all of the pitiful babies at the shelter...

Perhaps I should limit all near-future purchases/acquisitions to grocery items. I don't want anyone to find me buried under a small mountain of clutter in this house, or feeling that they need to stage an intervention, or submitting me to Clean House - though I do love that television show.