Excess Baggage

I know I have a habit of collecting things, or buying things and then forgetting about them, but this scares me. Click the link below to see it for yourself.

One House full of junk

A serious case of looking down at people who ae worse.

I hope she gets some help and clears those things out. Isnt there a rule or something about all that being a fire hazzard.

This month in Reader's Digest, there was an article about a person who hoarded stuff also. She got help (taxpayer's money - couple of thousand dollars) from a professional to clear her house out. And after a few weeks, it was back again to the same place.

The problem is that when you go out to the market or whatever, there are so many things on sale, or on the internet, where somethings are seriously 95% off or more, you feel like you just HAVE to get that.

It is a blessing now to think that i like expensive things ( *wink* ), otherwise, no, I dont even want to think about it.

Last week only, I posted a thread about stuff from before marriage and after marriage and then stuff back home once you move out to another country. I have (had) my things in my room back at my parents place, but each time i go visit, some of it is missing, so I make up for it, by putting in another box or suitcase or bag filled with newer versions of leftover goods.
At my in-laws too, lots of stuff... but never of this magnitude, alhamdolillah.

I admit, I collect bags, and I have to go clean them up from behind the door :P and put them nicely all laid out flat in a big bag. And wrapping papers, new, used, unique, I have them all. When I was a kid, I collected stickers, and would ask my parents to bring me stickers from their trips abroad. I havent used them, and got them here recently... and started adding to it again.
I also collected stationary, but most of it is gone now, as if anyone needed a pen or pencil or eraser, they'd take away mine w/o my knowledge, and I dont like collecting the used stuff (for erasers atleast)... a big collection of pens and mechanical pencils (occassionally I throw out a couple which have dried out) and scissors... but then again, I need those for my craft. And I collect beads, and then forget about them, and if i remember, then i use them on my cards.

So, I have also stopped collecting chocolate foil wrappers... i stopped eating Quality Street because someone told me that something in that is not Halal. Now I have to find that out again... I have stopped collecting hair bands and clips and all, as I dont use them anymore, I have a permanent bun anyways, and pins and clips kept falling out anyhow.

Lets see, I do collect my kids' clothes, that I think will get re-used, some do, some dont... like recently I opened up a stash of my son's things after my daughter was born and I used only like 5% of those things and 50% was given away, and 50% kept back (like for when there is another boy in the family?) now I have tons of my daughter's stuff and she is under a year! Last time I was packing her stuff, my sister-in-law commented, she has more clothes/shoes than me!

Clothes and shoes [:)], a recent pledge to make the 5-yr or older scarce... a good thing, my mom used the good ones recently (you know the wedding wear - expensive things, you hardly wear them a couple of times and then store them, as they are too expensive to give away) for a girl's shaadi after getting them new accessories and all. That was what motivated me to get some of my old ones out and put them to good use.

At a taleem some years ago, a lady mentioned that we will be asked about all Allah's naimat on us, like about everything we havent used in the last 40 days... I have a lot to be answerable for!!!! Excess baggage, indeed.

And, if you give someone something to wear, like a shoe or clothes, you will be rewarded for it, till they use it to the point of only a thread remaining of it.

Something to think about, ja?