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Friday, January 18, 2013

Using what I have

[caption id="attachment_4275" align="alignleft" width="224"] I have over 50 varieties of tea stashed in here. It's getting harder and harder to find a place for all of my teas.[/caption]

One of my priorities lately has been to do a better job of using what I have instead of buying new. We have so much stuff! So I'm starting to take inventory of what I have and seeing how I can use it up, making room for new, or, having a fresh place for everything to go.

Tea is one of my biggest weaknesses- and biggest delights. It's also the go-to gift idea when someone who knows me wants to buy me something. Unfortunately, it also means that I have way too much tea! And I realized that I don't drink most of it! I have my few daily standbys and only rarely do I drink something else. One of my favorite teas is Ginger Peach by Republic of Tea. I drink it almost every day. When I ran out about a week ago, I thought, "oh no, I have to go buy more." Which is funny because I have about a million varieties of tea in my house.

Instead, I made a pledge to myself. No more new tea until I drink what I already have. The only exception to this is my bedtime teas, and that's because there are few nighttime teas that don't have chamomile, which I am allergic to. I've only found two teas that really work for me at night, so when I'm out of them, I can buy more. Everything else- NO NEW TEA!

I've dug into boxes of tea people sent me as gifts. Some were amazing! A few were duds. I rediscovered new favorites, and mourned when I drank the last cup. I've found a few teas that I wanted to save because they were so good, I didn't want to say goodbye. Now, they are stale, and I wish I had drank it when it was fresh. Slowly, I am working through my tea collection, drinking it up.

[caption id="attachment_4274" align="alignright" width="300"]Tea Station My Tea station, where I keep my hot water boiler, teas I drink most often, sweeteners, and hot drinks for the kids.[/caption]

The only thing I don't know what to do about is the teas I don't like. I realized that I have a number of varieties sitting in my cupboard that I purchased, had a few cups, and really don't care for. Do I give them to friends, hoping they like them better? Do I throw them away? To me, that seems like a waste, because I've spent a lot of money on these teas. What would you do?


I'm finding a lot of joy in enjoying the teas that I have, saving money by not buying more tea, and feeling a sense of freedom as I clean out my cupboards.

Maybe you don't have a vast collection of tea. But is there something in your house, in your life, that you could be using up instead of hoarding?

I hope you'll consider using it up and enjoying it. Savor your tea (or whatever it is) before it gets stale.

 

4 comments:

camytang said...

If the tea you don't want is already stale, just throw it away. If it's still good, still throw it away unless you know for certain one of your friends is going to enjoy it.

DanicaFavorite said...

Okay...now I know how people on Hoarders feel. It's SO hard throwing away perfectly good tea!

camytang said...

True ... but if no one is going to enjoy it, then it's only really just dried bush leaves.

Cam Lester said...

Hello mate great blogg