‘excessories’

I have been cleaning, purging my household of ‘excessories‘; those items without a purpose that seem to build up around the place. They arrive in the arms of well meaning friends and kids who’s parents have told them to get rid of their junk. It would seem that junk carries an energy necessary to its survival. Some people unconsciously feel this energy and have a hard time letting go. As an alternative to chucking it out, they try to find a new home for it. This is an admirable thing to do considering how full our landfills are becoming, but my question is “where did the junk come from in the first place?” I think this is a complicated question with more than one answer.

While in the Anchorage, Alaska airport last summer, my daughter and I spent a lot of time watching planes land and take off from the cargo runways. We were shocked at the number of cargo planes from China. They stop at Anchorage to refuel before continuing on to their destinations. I was puzzled at first until I made a connection between all the labels on my items at home, “Made in China”. It is rare now to find items that are not made in China . It’s all about marketing. Lower production cost, lower retail cost. The lower price is so enticing that many times I have bought an item on impulse because the price was so good. I am working on breaking that habit, separating ‘needs’ from ‘wants’, after all, how much ’stuff’ do I really need?