'Tis the Season for Regifting

I've never really thought of myself as a person whocares about material things, but after years of marriageand raising three children, I had accumulated more than I needed. I made the kids take what was theirs as theyleft home and began building their own nests, but therewas still too much. I started to think about what mykids would do with all of it when I'm dead and gone, and decided most of it would probably be dumped orsold in a garage sale. I decided maybe I should startgetting rid of it before they did!

About that time I discovered a wonderful little book,"How to Simplify Your Life," by Elaine St.James. I asked for the book as a Christmas gift, and it has been well worth what my daughter spent on it (I believe it wasonly about $10 at the time). I've read it on many different occasions. It's great for just flipping through and readingwhatever catches your interest that day.

One of my favorite sections in the book is about getting rid of things you no longer need. She suggests setting up a closet orat least a shelf for those items. I'm not talking about worn out junk, but items which are in good shape that may be a treasure to someone else! She calls them "mathoms." My grandson callsthe process of giving away your stuff, "regifting." It worksfor me, no matter what you call it. For instance, I had a beautiful bottle that my daughter had filled with oil and flowers at one time. It was dark pink with a wide square base that became more slendertoward the top. Years later, the color in the flowers had all run into the oil and it looked like a bottle of sludge! I popped the cork, dumped the stuff out of the inside, and put the bottle in the dishwasher. The next day a friend came over and saw it sitting on my counter. "Oh, what a beautiful bottle," she said. "Like it? It's yours!" I said. I handed it to her before she had the chance to say no. She was thrilled to latch on to it because she said her mother collected pink glassware. Who would have ever known! My castaway was passed on to her before it ever made it to my regifting shelf. She immediately gave it to her mother, who was just thrilled to add it to her collection. Nice thing is, that once it's out of my house, I don't care how many times it is regifted.

Here's how you can get started. Go through your house lookingcarefully at everything. As you pick up each item, ask yourself if you really need it. In my case, I ask if it serves a purpose. If it doesn't, throw it in a box and haul it off to your new shelf. Mine is in an upstairs linen closet that isseldom used. When I need a quick gift for someone,I browse the shelf and find something that's appropriate for that person. A few years ago I bought one of those stand-up wall units that holds about eighteen 8x10" photos. As I went through the house looking for photos, I ended up with eighteen empty picture frames. They are just perfect for regifting, especially if I fill it with a photo I've taken of that friend, or of the two of us. I can write my sentiments on the back, wrap it in a nice box or bag, and have a very personal gift that will always remind her of our friendship.

Your items may include candles that make you sneeze because you'reallergic to lavender; empty jars that can be filled with candy or potpourri; a perfume atomizer that was never used because your allergies prohibit you from wearing perfume; that ring holder that is meant to keep by your sink for someone who takes their rings off when they wash their hands (I don't!), or books that you just never really wanted to read.

Now, when the spirit moves me to clean out drawers andclosets, I'm on the search for things to replenish myregifting shelf. Recently I've added a bread knifeI bought at a trade show because the salesman made me think I couldn't live without it, and a box of baking tubes. Once I gotthe tubes home, I decided they would be way too much trouble to clean if I actually used them, so they stayed in the box. They didn't pass the practical test, but maybe someone who entertains will think it's worth the effort to have heart-shaped bread!

With the holidays coming up, this is a great time to startmaking the rounds and setting up your own regifting center.Doesn't it seem crazy to go buy gifts when you haveresources right there in your own home? It's never agood idea to increase your credit card balance forgift giving, but this year when we have need to be concernedabout the economy, it is the perfect time to cut back andbe more sensible. If you exchange gifts with a group offriends, suggest a white elephant gift, where everyoneis regifting!

My very dearest friends and I have made an agreement not tobuy each other gifts anymore. We realize that ourfriendship is more valuable than anything we could purchase,so we make the time to have a special birthday lunch orChristmas brunch to catch up on our lives. Years from now wewon't remember what someone bought us, but we will remember thekindness they showed to us. Ralph Waldo Emerson had it rightwhen he penned, "The greatest gift is a portion of thyself."