Necessity...

is the mother of invention- Plato

I was reading a blog the other day, written by a women who just won a $500 gift certificate to JCPenny (I secretly love that place). She was complaining that the prize would be wasted on her because each of her home furnishings were so carefully selected and items not meeting her high standards were never permitted into her home.

Really???

My home does not have strict standards, does yours? I could easily put $500 to work from JcPennys, Walmart, the Deseret Industries, or even the side of the road. My home furnishings have generally been selected out of necessity - a garage sale item here and a hammy-down there. OK- I have splurged on a couple of things but I have never had the luxury of editing out items that weren't my style. In fact, out of necessity, I don't have a style. Some call it eclectic. But given the choice, I am not sure what I would end up with.

In a perfect world we would all love to purchase new furniture, linens, dishes and accessories and move them into our new homes upon arrival. But I think for most of us - it takes a long time to put a house together and to find a comfortable balance between where it is and where we would like it to be.

I think that this is a good thing. I change my mind a lot and my style is always evolving. So is my son's ability to damage things. I get overwhelmed when the options are endless and sometimes a sale or clearance item will force me to make a decision. I look at the very expensive furniture from the 80s that my mother can't give away today and it makes me want to be very cautious. Sometimes you don't want something to last forever.