Book Review: "Mother, Can You NOT?"

(I received a free book from bloggingforbooks.com, but my opinions are my own.)  

Recently I received "Mother, Can you NOT?" by Kate Siegel for review.  I had not heard of this author's popular twitter, @crazyjewishmom, before this book.  Siegel writes of growing up with a meddling but loving mother.  Her mother only wanted what was best (or at least what she thought was best) for her daughter, but the lengths she went to make those things happen were extraordinary, and not necessarily in a good way.  

The love that the family members have for each other, including Siegel's father, is obvious throughout the book, and while you feel that Siegel is sometimes put out by her mother's over the top actions, she appreciates the love and concern behind them.  

Enough with the knickknacks and glassware

I Last weekend our local humane society held a yard sale.  We asked the community for donations, and had specifics that we did not take such as electronics, mattresses, and clothing, or anything that wasn't in great shape.  We received some very nice items in excellent shape, and only a small amount of junk that had to be tossed.  It is all very much appreciated, I assure you.  We were able to raise over $500 to help with our little country humane society's costs.  

So just to be clear, this is NOT a rant because of what people gave us.  They were very generous and it is much appreciated.  However....

People of the United States, not a single one of us needs to buy another new knickknack or piece of decorative glassware.  EVER.  The top picture below is a panoramic, and it's not easy to see details.  But so much of what we had was knickknacks and glassware.  Some of it was older pieces that flea market booth operators donated to us.  But the majority is CCFC (Cheap Crap from China, as I like to call it.)  

This is just one of the many tables we had full of glassware.  I worked every single transaction, and I can tell you that 99% of these items went into boxes for Goodwill.  My sister bought the George Foreman Grill and someone bought the set of glass bowls stacked up, but I don't see anything else that sold.  At the end of the day, I had my husband's truck bed and cab full, my mother's Murano full, and my sister's small car full of leftovers.  Sure, there were some purses, toys, and holiday decorations left over, but most was glassware and knickknacks.  We drove in convoy over to the Goodwill donation site.  Hopefully some of this will be bought but I suspect most of it will end up either at the "pay per weight" salvage Goodwill store, or more likely, in the trash.  

Believe me, I am not immune.  Like most people, I used to collect.  I used to collect snow globes.  I have let most of them go, with the exception of a collection of Disney globes my mom gave me.  I used to collect snowmen, those Harlequin masks, Mitford items (from the book series by Jan Karon), Santas.  My mother-in-law helped break me of this habit.  She would find something that I liked (Anne Geddes items, for example) and buy tons of the items.  Then she would stash them away for future Christmases and birthdays.  She was well-meaning, and it was all in love.  But I stopped collecting things years ago and I'm still receiving things from her (a snowman pin, for example, this past Christmas) because she wanted to add to my collection.  It was overwhelming, and so I stopped collecting some of those items because I didn't want her to buy me anymore.  Haha  Also, I became more of a person who is ready to get rid of things, not collect.  I don't want to leave my nephew with a house full of snow globes that he is going to throw into the trash or agonize over because his "Ahna loved these items so much" when in truth I don't.  

This yard sale made me stop and think even more when it comes to my own home.  I have a continuous box or bag where I add items I finally realize I can live without.  My husband is slowly coming around as well.  He is tired of clutter and is understanding it's a lot easier to clean with less things in the house.  

And now?  I'm off to go get rid of a few more things.  I'll report back later!