windinthemaples

I think this is the key. It's fine to want and get things that are useful to us, make us really happy, are meaningful in some way. But I also buy things and then never use them. Sometimes this is because "it's too nice" and I reserve it for "when we have company," only I forget to ever use it. Some of it is that it doesn't matter how cheap or on sale the cute dress/shirt/skirt/pants is--if it isn't "me" I won't use it, and therefore it's wasted. Also, like you, but maybe not as extreme as in your case, I'm dealing with limited space--so beautiful stuff might not be displayed. I have to pick and choose and display the things that are most special to me, so I need to learn that if something is cool, but it doesn't really grab me by the soul (or something like that) it's likely not going to be displayed front and center. I also grew up with far too much of a shortage mentality, and Sean had/has that even worse than I do. So sadly we waste food because we're both terrified of bare cupboards... When seriously, we're not kids who are stuck without transportation or help, if we run out of food mid-week we can make an inconvenient but totally possible late-night trip to the store. So I think there's healthy wanting and "getting" and then there's stuff that's about fear and compulsion and like I said above, trying to fill other holes in life up with stuff... and that's not healthy. But it's really hard to tell the difference.