Cleaning out the storage shed...an eye opening adventure.

Over the course of our no spend challenge there have been lots of things I have wanted to buy. However I lost interest in most of the items when I realized I would have to spend time trying to find them used. I obviously didn't want them bad enough to do the leg work...however just a few months ago I would have willingly bought them new without blinking an eye.

A few days ago I was looking for something in our storage shed and was just overwhelmed by the amount of stuff that was in there. It bothered me so bad I went back several hours later and ripped everything out of the shed, organized what I wanted to keep, and threw away a ton of stuff. While I was in there rooting around I found several things that I had forgotten I even owned.

One of those things was a grocery cart cover for infants. For the last few weeks I have been noticing people use these covers in our grocery store and been thinking to myself that I needed to get one for when little bit was old enough to sit up. Since I am positive that I got Strep from a grocery cart a few weeks ago (it was the only time I left the house in a week and I was the first one in the house to get sick) I didn't want little bit touching the cart at all. It wasn't a big enough deal for me to start looking for used cart covers though since she is only 3mths old, we have a while. However when I was out cleaning out our shed I found the practically brand new cart cover that I bought when my son was a baby. I just kind of stood there staring at it in shock. How could I forget that I had this? I know I paid a lot more than the $20 that amazon has it listed for, now that I remember buying it I think it was more like $30 when I bought it. Wanna know something else? My credit card was still in the zippered pouch. Now that card was canceled a long time ago so there were no worries there but it did shake me up. The point of this challenge was to no longer take God's blessings for granted, to be better stewards of what we are given, and to be a better role model for our kids. It was just kind of a slap in the face and an eye opening moment for me. I took such poor care of the resources the Lord had given me that not only do I forget half of what I own but I can't even be bothered to notice when a credit card is missing!

It didn't stop there though. Oh no. There was more. I also found this skiphop pronto changing station out there. I had no memory of buying this at all and have never used it once. I hate dragging my diaper bag around all the time when all I need is a few diapers and wipes so this would have come in handy months ago. When I found it out in the storage shed I had no idea what it was till I opened it. I don't even remember when I bought it. I think it was probably before the twins were born (3yrs ago) but I can't be sure. I spent $30 plus shipping on an item then never used it once. The hits just keep coming!

The best one yet? I found a watering can I didn't know I owned. Now how in the world do I forget that I owned a watering can? I have been watering my plants with cups of water for years! Once I saw it I remembered buying it years ago......

I am just at a loss for words. Seems this challenge was very much needed. We (okay I) have been terrible stewards of what we have been given! We have been so wasteful we can't even remember half the things we own. Most of those have never been used more than once or  twice (if at all!). You know what makes me really ill? I still have to go through the attic! I know there are tons of boxes up there with stuff that I was not ready to deal with when we moved into this house back in 2011. I had unpacking to deal with and 5 small children to care for. So those boxes of random stuff got sent to the attic to make room in our living areas. I am sure going through those boxes is going to be an interesting adventure to say the least.