I have waaaaaay too much!

I saw message on freecycle, asking for toiletries for a women's shelter. I emailed the poster, and said i had a few things I could spare.

So I grabbed the soaps that we don't use - DH and I both prefer to use liquid soap, and with sensitive skin, we're picky about what we use. So why do I have 10-15 bars of soap in the hall closet? What soap emergency am I expecting?

I then saw the stash of shampoo and conditioner - brands we no longer use, for the same soap emergency, I guess.

While I'm at it, I changed to mineral cosmetics, and have a whole drawer full of barely-used (and some brand new) makeup. And why do I have 6 boxes of hot oil? I don't USE hot oil. and bubblebath? Wow - this stuff has been moving from house to house with me for 10 or more years, for the "what if". I don't have a large enough tub for bubblebaths, and MiniMe and LittleBit both have eczema - they can only use very gentle soaps, too.

Hey, is that a multi-pack of deodorant? In the brand Dh is allergic to?

How on EARTH did my closet become a repository of products from my past? I like the smell of something, and buy a ton of it, so I don't run out. Then, before I get through my stash, I have a reaction, or Dh one of the kids has one. So I switch to the next thing, and repeat the process.

Granted, the shampoos are a brand I've used for years. Then I discovered that is why my hair looks like straw, and recently found a product that has fixed my hair. So why did I still have a closet full of stuff?

SO I thought I'd give her a few items, and it turns out the giant shipping carton a recent gift was shipped in (the gift was 1/6 the size of the shipping carton), is overflowing, and took two of us to carry.

But my closet is a little cleaner (needed to do that before we move next summer, anyway!), and my burdens a lot lighter.

I have been so very blessed. I have a wonderful husband, beautiful, amazing children, a roof over my head, car to drive, food in my cupboards, clothes in my closet. It really reminded me not to take any of that for granted.

My kids have no idea what "poor" feels like. We are poor, but they don't know it. We have been living on student loans (and a couple credit cards) to get dh through grad school, and in some ways, it's been tough. But overall, we have had sufficient for our needs. And then some. We have supportive extended family and friends, and best of all? We have each other.

My kids have never been HUNGRY. I have, I know what having no money really feels like. I know what it's like to have a bag of beans, and have to make them last a week. But even then, I still had a roof over my head. Granted, it was a room for rent in a basement, in a house where I was not allowed to turn the heat above 50 degrees, or light a fire in the fireplace. But for $150, it kept me off the streets. And that in itself was a HUGE blessing.

I heard on the news this morning, that over 100 homeless people died in Denver last year - or maybe it was all of Colorado. Either way, that is STAGGERING.

A little soap hardly scratches the surface.

So many homeless, so many CLOSE to homelessness. And no matter how tight things have been, we have always had the light at the end of the tunnel. Always had some place to stay, if we could no longer afford to stay in our little rental house. And we've just been BLESSED. Always, and in ALL WAYS.