Some of my family is on the same page as this with holiday giving. Some of the other parts of my family are starting to get there. I did not want to stress over gift buying this year, so I opted out on pretty much all fronts. I'm contributing to my favorite cat rescue organization and that's about it. I will enjoy spending time with the people I care about.
I love a lot of older novels and I always notice the weight stuff has in people's lives...because there is so little of it. Like the hand me down serving platter that is a huge deal (because the main character broke it or whatever, haha). I can imagine when Christmas gifts first started to become popular, the tradition really did feel special, because it was the early rise of the middle class or even the working class being able to have small luxuries in many countries and it was probably easy to guess that everyone would love a new pair of warm gloves or a beautiful bowl, etc, because every possession was still precious...
Man, Lydia. You hit the nail on the head again. Two things: 1. I was, until a couple months ago, the guy with 500+ books in his tiny Brooklyn apartment. As I started to minimalize, one day I made a spreadsheet of all of them. Took a couple hours, just listing them all, marking them read or unread. The moment they were done, I was like "Oh shit. I can now sell over half of these, immediately." And I did. And I've moved to e-reading too, and now I'm buying only the books I would like to have basically as physical artifacts. 2. I'm in the D&D/TTRPG space, and it's a common trope that there's a huge swathe of the community that thinks of themselves as players, but instead of finding and playing games, scratches that itch by just buying up games, backcing kickstarters, putting together shelves and shelves of them. It's tragic, and has ill effects on our hobby.
I can't do e-reading, my brain doesn't seem to work that way, but I still love libraries and frankly, I usually read my library books because they have a time limit and never get to the ones on the shelf. So just ditching my "owned" books, except for the ones I am truly likely to reread, and just spending even more time at libraries sounds pretty great. I definitely know a few people that apply to your no. 2 point, In different areas of nerd-dom. Once I started thinking about all the wasted resources for all the unused shelves of collections, and how my book is also probably sitting unread on many people's shelves and KIndles, it lost considerable appeal.
It’s no wonder you are a successful writer because it is evident here that you are considerably more self-aware than the average person. That’s a necessary foundation for being successfully expansive in your creative efforts.
my personal relationship with "stuff" kinda began to shift recently. i grew up without a lot of means, so luxury is pretty foreign to me, but in that way it was really a forbidden fruit that i had freedom to chase when i got a job and adult privileges. but i saw some video of a guy talking about why he's collecting physical media, and he explained it as something along the lines of... "the things i own should reflect me, and i want my favorite media to be there to represent me in my absence, in the hope to feel more understood without having to explain myself." and that really clicked because there are so many things i have that don't exactly bring me much, don't reflect me as much as was probably worth the price and space. and so my attitude towards material things have this new "is this speaking FOR my soul on behalf of it?" aspect to it. It's been better reflected in my books so far, as I havent amassed many yet, but my hopes for the books I own is to only own the ones that transformed me after reading. classics from my childhood, things that sparked new joys in my adult life, etc. i've also become a bit happier that i'm not being given gifts from family lately, because it's so rare that they give me anything that resonates with me; they don't know me very well and it's been a relief to not fake glee and then stress about someone noticing i don't use their gift 😂😂
That does sound like a good way of considering what to keep! I do really LOVE physical media. My brain just works better with a physical book, in particular. But there are a lot on my shelf that I've just never read and plenty I probably won't love, I just grabbed them because everyone was talking about them and I was curious to be part of the conversation, but then i don't even have time to read them before the conversation has passed, so maybe time to abandon that plan! The ones I'm keeping are the ones I dearly love or am super excited to read. It's taking time to purge, though. Lots of decisions. I'm banned from the library until I pare it down!
I'm an illustrator and being anti consumerist and frugal is a big way I manage being able to live my dream. They just go hand in hand. I don't feel the need to consume because I am creative.
I'm sure it's the furthest thing from your mind right now, but I would love a series of you talking about your childhood, unschooling, rural Florida upbringing, your experiences in your early 20's going for your aspirations. It's fascinating hearing you talk about this stuff and they're my favorite videos on your channel. Who knows? Maybe one day I'll read it in a a memoir.
There was a "Collectors" Girl Scout Badge. I earned it! But also not having things as a kid made me invent and make things. If I didn’t have it I would make it - usually it didn’t turn out to be “it” but it was fun and it was a new thing - that’s a good muscle to build in a kid imo. But as an adult there's that “You might need this at some point.” :) :) - or even - "What can I make with this?".
That's also very true. When I couldn't afford Final Fantasy II I made a board game version for myself. When my friend got a beautiful doll house with electric lights inside i coveted it sooo badly and had to make myself a dollhouse out of cardboard boxes. It felt so half-assed but those are actually good skills to build.
Such a great video! Thank you for talking about overconsumerism, frugal living, and your childhood. A lot of your experiences sounded really familiar (hand-me-downs, not having all the latest "cool" items, having lots of collections, reevaluating the line between collecting and hoarding, paring down items and being more mindful about what to buy, etc.). Wishing you and your family a very merry Christmas and all good things for 2025!
I grew up in the "house-poor" early 80s in Canada, where we had a nice house... and nothing in it, and all of our clothes were hand-me-downs or from donation bins, and we couldn't afford the GOOD bologna, only the bulk bologna. Christmases and birthdays were stressful, and kinda the only time of the year we "got" things. In 1986, my parents renegotiated the mortgage and suddenly we had furniture and more than two channels and name-brand bologna! :D Some things you never quite grow out of, though. I've been unhoused and I've been middle class, and I dressed the same and ate the same both times. I feel this strange guilt buying anything frivolous. We've moved ten times in twenty years, and I've whittled "my stuff" down to three big boxes, and two of them are books.
Oh I won't! The personal videos actually do well usually, I am mainly just trying to avoid "off topic virality" in 2025. What I learned in 2024 is that going viral on topic is great. Going viral with a video that is only tangentially related to your channel kinda sucks and it's better to have slow and steady quality growth than a bunch of people join for frugal tips or anticonsumerist stuff and never watch your other videos. I plan to do at least one "day/week/month in the life of a writer" type vlog and I'll probably stick some of the more casual ramblings in those. I'll also keep doing videos like this if the topic is within the channel's focus.
You “ramble” in such a coherent and meaningful way - I enjoyed this video very much. I, too, transformed my relationship with stuff. One of my sister’s even described my xmas decorating as “minimalist but cozy”! Less stuff has reduced the burden of caring for everything.
That's kind of how I would like my house to be! I hate HATE greige and white minimalist houses. I like some cozy stuff. But I also want it to feel...easy to dust. For the most part I am pretty happy with my decor except that there is too much clutter floating around it. (also LOL about the apostrophe...we'll banish it from our collective memory)
I love your ramblings, and I relate to this. Every 5-7 years or so, my reflection on stuff gets re-evaluated. I have collected enough things to finally feel like my space is a representation of my life. So now my latest “chapter” in life will be all about enjoying my cozy space with as much gratitude as I can. Thanks for sharing and I hope you have a wonderful 2025!
This was a refreshing video to watch as I scramble to make baked goods for family! We also decided to go "no gifts" a couple of years ago and do more of a cookie exchange. I do really enjoy these types of videos, especially from you. Your openness and "normal" (lol, whatever that is) approach is so, so appreciated. Happy Christmas to you!
I SO understand struggling with ‘stuff’. I lived in a 35 sq foot van over the summer, after getting rid of almost everything I own. I’m now in a ‘big’ 250 sq foot apartment and I’m constantly tempted to buy stuff. Living in tiny spaces has really opened my eyes to what I need versus what I want. Like you said, each item I buy is carefully chosen and it’s precious to me. 👍
It is amazing to think a little over a hundred years ago, there were many kids that would have been happy to have a pair of shoes in good repair. A few generations ago there were records and books, a generation ago there were 8 tracks, my generation had seen media evolve greatly. We had VHS to DVD and CD and now digital formats (where ownership is murky). When I was young we used to lease the phone in our house. As I grew older there was the change from rotary phones and we saw newer phones with a switch between pulse and tone. As all of these technologies have evolved, many have found themselves either at least a few “relics”. It is interesting to see how many storage companies have popped up over the past 20 years. We have found that we have so much stuff that we also have an industry for where to put it. It can make someone think of the “Junk Lady” from Labyrinth.
I just rewatched Labyrinth! Man that scene did hit, in fact we were both talking about it like "see, even Labyrinth is telling us to ditch out stuff!" LOL I grew up reading Little House every year where they're SO excited to get like, one piece of candy and a penny and I think maybe an orange? Maybe we don't need to go quite THAT far... But cheap mass production, credit cards, and constant marketing have really created the perfect storm. Even the "material decade" of the 80s pales in comparison.
I really liked this one, and as always I identified with so much of what you said and your life in general. Im sorry I havent written you back. Im going to, I just have been kind of down lately. When i was in my early twenties I was super poor, and would treat myself to one Tenchi Muyo VHS tape from Suncoast Video, a month or two. It was so special. The memory and feeling of buying it, opening it to find the little collectors card inside. Then sitting down to learn more about these characters lives that I grew so close to is still so vivid.
Oh man, the Suncoast anime VHS tape. Those things sure weren't cheap either! I remember buying like, one tape of Utena and never being able to afford any more. Mostly we got fan subs online.
I realized this year that I just had too much stuff and have been working towards only keeping what I really love. I'm disabled and on a set income but I do consider myself lucky in a lot of ways, I have only a few big bills and can afford to buy a few books or art supplies without having to worry too much but I've been so much more mindful the past half a year or so on what really brings me joy and what's really important to me. This video is so important and I hope people will see this and really think about what makes them happy instead of just owning things. ❤
I identify so much with finding it very stressful to try to find these obligatory gifts for people-even if I'm close to them. "Gifting" is just a love language I don't understand. I'm also immediately apologetic when I gift something and feel like I always miss the mark. I relate so much to missing that feeling of true joy and appreciation that I had for receiving something or buying myself something that I truly wanted and maybe had to wait for or save for. I'm looking forward to a very frugal and mindful 2025. Love your videos as always!
Thank you for this video.. it's a breath of common sense amidst all the videos of hauls and gift guide nonsense. I confess, I love those videos, and as someone who aspires to make art, I hoard all sorts of papers, paint, pens, books.. and you know what? Little of it makes my art better. It's fun for the moment, but recently I've become overwhelmed with all the garbage I've been collecting and now dont know what to do with. I grew up in a country during a time when few art supplies and books were available. You never knew when you'd find the same object again, so I learned to hoard, I'm afraid. I'm also in the pen collecting comunity. The focus on acquiring more stuff, the gaudier and costlier the better, truly becomes sickening (and I'm not excluding my own collection!). Like you, I want to focus on simplicity and living a creative life. Your video serves as an affirmation that I'm on the right track. 2025 will be a year of slow-buy (because I'm being realistic) and divesting myself of things I don't need or enjoy. Happy year's end, and may the next be prosperous and full of love for you and your family.
I, for one, love watching your videos because you are such a relatable person! You are down to earth and non-judgmental. That counts for a lot :) I wish more people knew the frugal way. I just got a raise at work, and I'll be making more this year than I normally do. But I'm fighting to save 75% of my income after rent/bills. My weakness are books. I have this day room and I'd love to just fill the walls with shelves and books on books. I'm still probably gonna do it, but I know I must pace myself. & that'll be the fun, too. I hit my first 10k saved within the last 2 years after a lot of hard work. But I think I can do better. Also, I wanted to say - I think you should do one video per 2 weeks/3 wk/ month/ whatever off the script, and then whatever else. I have rly loved to see your channel grow, as I was back w/ you in the small 1k days. I fully believe you can reach whatever goals you aim to achieve & I'm here for it! Many blessings
If you're making more and still saving 75% of your income, you won't believe how much money you'll have in 5 years. I will still be doing casual videos like this! It's more about the topic really. I'm trying to hone in more on "living the creative life" because over the past year I've learned that if you go off your brand too much, fewer people watch and then RUclips's algorithm can get confused about who your audience is or just figure people are not as interested in you. And thanks for sticking around so long!
All of this is so relatable. I have too much crap and it does feel like a burden. I can't even properly care for the things I *do* have because I have too much. I can't find things because they are lost in the sea of things. Sometimes I want to just throw it all in a dumpster and be free of it. Lately I've been thinking about fast fashion. I'm not a fashionista, but I buy basic clothes and they fall apart immediately, it seems. Then I buy more. Over the summer, I wore the same tank top every day and had a rotation of a few pairs of shorts. (I had multiples of the same black tank top---I did not wear the same unwashed shirt everyday. 😅) I had a sort of uniform. Anyway, I loved it. Decision fatigue is real, and I was amazed at the relief I felt every morning at not having to make any clothing decisions. I'm no minimalist, but simplifying my life in that way felt so, so good. I've decided to create a "uniform" for each season. I want to buy higher quality clothes, but buy fewer pieces. Really simplify everything. I want to have pieces of clothing that I cherish because they're nice things. I want to derive pleasure from using the nice thing, rather than chasing the dopamine hit of buying another thing. Since I can't afford to replace my entire wardrobe at once, my plan is to buy one high quality piece each season. For winter, I bought a good wool coat. I want wool, linen, silk, and cotton. Not polyester! What you said about that feeling of opening that one cherished present on Christmas as a child really struck a chord. I remember that feeling of only wanting to play with that one amazing toy, or spend hours glued to that new book. I buy so many more things now, but I don't cherish any of them the way I loved that big, special toy I'd been dreaming of. I don't know if I can get that childhood feeling back, but I'd like to try!
Yes...I also don't know if it will ever be quite the same, since I still CAN get instant gratification and I also don't have as much free time. That sort of changes everything. But I can probably get closer. Having a nice quality wardrobe is so satisfying! I like my vintage dresses because they also feel like a uniform. Even though some of them have some flash, it's so much easier than trying to match tops and bottoms. I don't own that many pants or coats for winter because I don't want to make things too complicated...
I also like collecting books but recently I like looked at my shelf and I did not want to buy more shelves because both me AND my partner buy lots of books. My partner buys a ton of marvel and DC and I'm the manga collector, but they also have a sizeable manga collection. So earlier this year we went through our books and if I didn't absolutely love it I donated it to the library.And i felt so much better and now I have space on my shelf for new stuff. So I highly recommend doing that. I do like being surrounded by things it helps me personally with my creativity as I'm zoning out thinking about stories or creative ideas and my eyes land on my anime figures or art I've gotten from artists. But I also don't like buying something unless I'm sure i want to keep it forever. This year most of my gifts were bought from independent businesses and stuff I found at a craft fair. I asked one friend what they wanted and they just said to make them some cookies because they like my baking and I'm like, rly? that's it? But I'm good with that. Have a Merry Christmas and thanks for sharing I like just listening to your videos it is very comforting.
I'm with your friend! Food gifts are my favorite. They're almost certain to be enjoyed and even if you don't like/can't eat the particular food thing they're easy to share with friends. And I think there is so much love in food a friend made (though I'll never say no to fancy cheese and chocolates either!). I am generally leaning more toward owning fewer, more precious things...like you said, locally made or really well made items.
I always learn so much from you, no matter the subject! I really appreciate your candor & storytelling style also. My relationship with acquisition & collection of stuff has recently changed for the better, it's such a relief. I'm doing a low buy 2025 and am wrapping up a low buy 2024 too. I broke a lot of terrible habits this year, and hope to level up even more this next year. My ultimate goal is to create more and consume less (but more consciously). I have bags of stuff going to the local "free store" for the needy-they have very little overhead (the store is run and maintained by volunteers) and the folks shop it just like a regular store but everything is totally free. Thanks again and happy holidays!
I hope the “ramblings” continue next year! As someone born in Florida in ‘82 herself, they’re all so relatable. I’m originally from S. Florida so our family trip was to Disney (that’s as far as my mom wanted to travel lol) and I fondly remember the excitement of sitting next to my brother with the massive phone book listening in as he called every..single..hotel.. in Kissimmee to try and get the best deal 😂 wouldn’t give up those times for anything!
I love videos like this; just listening to you chat about your life. I hope they do well for you. Your childhood sounds nice. I can totally relate to having too much stuff and not wanting to throw things out.
i'll aways begin my comments by saying this word: Lovely! always lovely to see you upload. i hope that, alongside being able to pick your writer brain in the coming year with more "focused" videos, we still get lots of lydia as a person! i love hearing about your life growing up and how you became the woman we see on camera, as i relate to you so much and really crave the extra layer of authenticity that anecdotal story videos add onto your already comforting and casual tone!
Yes, "focused" definitely doesn't mean a lack of personal content! Some of the more personal videos have done quite well. I am just going to try mainly to stick to topics that fit "the creative life". This one is a little off of that, but there are plenty of chatty topics that are. The danger with a video like this is that if it DOES go viral you get a lot of like, phantom subscribers. My best performing video is my frugal tips video but a lot of the subscribers from it didn't stick around, and the channel kind of slumped for a while once it stopped going viral, so...I have to be careful about doing too much of that sort of thing.
Hello, Fairly recent viewer/subscriber here and mainly want to say your videos are refreshing and delightful to me. This really resonates in particular as recently I've been calling into question these very things, even also doing a somewhat similar video where I mused on what it would be like if my only possessions fit in a duffle bag. Being born in 1982 and growing up in the 70's really resonated too. 🙂Am a '75 kid here though growing up mostly in the 80's felt more like late 60's-mid 70's. Also turning 50 next year has me taking stock of all this..relating to this kind of materiality. I know that feeling when all I had was 4 cassettes, a boom box and two books...the feeling of savoring just those. Anyhow, thanks for sharing and wishing you the best in the new year with all of that. -Carm
Welcome to the channel! My partner was born in '73 so we talk about the 70s/80s a lot too. It was certainly easy to feel stuck in time, my grandparents and other relatives houses were all very 60s and 70s.
Thanks for sharing your journey with finances and stuff. I really appreciate your insight about this. We're close to the same age, and I resonated with a lot of what you said, especially your description of "stable poor" and how that influenced your feelings about acquisition. One thing I've noticed with my friends and neighbors since the hurricane - no one wants to exchange gifts this year. The storm and its aftermath seem to have affected our relationship to stuff. I know cleaning out my moldy basement made me want to pare down my possessions to the essentials (which in my case include a lot of books :) Anyway, hope you have a nice and relaxing Christmas.
Yeah, I didn't even mention the hurricane's affect on the psychology of stuff, but I saw my neighbor Lois's possessions and photos scattered all over town the morning after. She is an artist and had such a funky house on the river. And of course I know other people who lost everything as well. It just makes you think that it can be a psychological burden, something to lose.
Thank you for this video. I'm arriving to the same point in my life. The excitement of getting "stuff" after growing up with little now turned burdensome. After my mom passed away I had to go through all her things and I promised myself not to do that to my kids one day. 2025 as a year of going essential sounds fantastic ❤ Have a wonderful Christmas!
Yes...I tried to do a no/low-buy year this year and while I didn't really succeed, I did grow more and more discerning as the year went on. And I definitely bought less in general. I am currently lusting after the newer edition of Tolkien's letters, which I also want to do a video about, but since I don't have time to make the video or read the letters until I finish my L. M. Montgomery read, I am making myself wait until that's done (with the one exception of if B&N does that 50% hardcover sale on Boxing Day...). I am getting more and more excited to buy them. By the time I finally do get them it's going to feel like such a treat.
I was "living in a condemned house with no plumbing or HVAC in rural IL" poor, and it gave me a great appreciation for DIY everything. My first adult job was in 2001 making $5.25/hr at a grocery store, so circumstances did not improve for quite a while, lol.
@lidiyafoxgloveauthor The chain I worked for kept wages pretty low even for people who'd worked there for years. They had a monopoly on the area, so no incentive to raise wages. I stayed 13 years and made $10/hr as a manager by the time I left. I have a full-time remote job now.
Funny timing, as I literally just completed my annual splurge on Amazon: $2 kindle collections like the Marvel Essentials, getting the comics I loved as a kid - at about the same price, twenty cents or so per issue! Plus with better color, and I look at them on my 50-inch screen instead of a small piece of paper. The first year I did it, i spent almost $100, This year, only $20. I don't have but a handful of printed comics anymore - a decade back I gave thousands away, just to finally get 'em all out of my house. Nowadays I have less and less stuff overall. My house is almost empty. I like it that way. My sister is almost a hoarder of collectible antiques, ie junk, and it just feels oppressive to be in an overstuffed room.
I loved your video, because I could relate to what you were saying about your stuff and gift giving. My situation is not the typical one so there a lot I’m still trying to figure out what I want to hold on to vs what I’m realistically able to. I look forward to the future content!
Very relatable topic. I’ve really been wanting to focus on declutterring but it’s been hard to commit. Been expanding collections slowly at least 😂. Always had that collector mindset for sure. Gotta buckle down next year though. I have too many unread books and manga on my shelf (it’s been years 😅), unplayed video games and unopened jigsaw puzzles. Having a collection of things I truly love is the goal for sure 😊
Oh yes the jigsaw puzzles too...yes. I relate to all of that. I just got rid of a bunch of jigsaw puzzles that were thrifted anyway, like...I can always thrift more, but I probably didn't need twenty thrifted puzzles when I also have new puzzles I need to do...
This manages to explain my life very well, without having anything to do with it. My pain point is crafting supplies. I do use them, but I don't use them enough to justify this big of a collection. However, if I only have a few items, I never use them for fear that I'll ruin them and then have nothing. So I'm stuck.
On Dana K. White's podcast, she interviewed a hoarder expert and he said that the tipping point for collecting morphing into hoarding is trauma, or some emotional loss. A couple of her tips are to have a donatable Donate box. (Nothing pretty! Functional cardboard.) Keep one in the laundry room, so that you can put things directly into the box (or a bag) so that once you've put it in, you never have to think about it again. T'is the season to start decluttering! HAPPY 2025! 🙂
I pretty much always have had a "to the thrift store" box going...and I was actually superb at keeping everything I owned within the same space I had in my childhood bedroom...until I started making pretty good money AND I had bought this sprawling fixer upper Victorian house. "Full bookshelves are good insulation", I told myself, and so it began...
My love language is gift-giving, my childhood's favorite times was during Christmas. I'm 29 and I'm the only person in the family who puts anything under the Christmas tree. I also don't like clutter so I make sure to get my family that they need or will definitely use (as well as a surprise item). I am also a collector, I collect books, and I cannot live without them lol. I can get rid of anything but never my books :)
I was born in USSR. And everything sounds sooo familiar! We were not only poor, there was nothing in the stores as well😅 So glad to be away from that land. But after growing up constantly recycling, reusing, keeping jars, not asking for anything extra - all the consumerism culture seems wild to me. I can’t understand people who have piles of tshirts, cosmetics, etc. But I’ve seen some American RUclipsrs who show their decluttering process, and omg. I don’t think I had this amount of stuff throughout my life if I put together everything I ever owned😂 On the other hand, for a year I lived out of a tiny suitcase, and that was managable. I do miss some things I had and those are lost forever, but yeah, stuff is not neaded.
It is very wild! I feel embarrassed I ever participated in any small part of it, honestly. My grandma was a kid in Germany during the war so I think she has had much the same mindset you described. My grandparents never like to waste anything, worn clothes become cleaning rags, Ziploc bags get washed and reused, etc. But now we have so much stuff that even if you only shop at thrift stores and such you can end up with such an excess almost before you know it... Thank you for the perspective!
@@lidiyafoxgloveauthor oh please don’t feel embarassed! Life still is so different all over the world. And if people can afford to live comfortable life and have hobbies - I consider that a success of that particular society development (and not a privilege as some would say). And damn I am happy not to wash bags anymore😂
same with the experience of not owning much so what i had was/is so precious. we didn't really celebrate christmas or anything during the season. The closest was a couple of times where we'd pack up and take a week long road trip because gas was relatively cheap back then. But i'm kind of opposite where i don't like spending money, i just save it. The stupidly i loan it to family and they act baffled when i ask "when are you going to start paying that back?" Also 14k subs! Let's goooooooooooooo! Proud of you! 💟
We definitely got a lot of presents at Christmas because it was a big family and I was also the first grandchild on both sides. But a lot of my relatives didn't get the sort of kid I was (basically, I ONLY wanted books!) and I actively dreaded opening their gifts...my dad's mom was notoriously bad at even comprehending our age group and once got us board puzzles when we were age 10 and 8...and then after my January birthday came the 11 month dry spell! And thank you! 14k! My original stretch goal was 5k by the end of the year!
@@morleywritesbooks I knooow...it's gonna be so close but my views have dropped like a rock and I don't have another video until the 29th so I don't think I'll quite make it. Unless I broke up my year end video into two videos, whiiiich...hmm. Still might not get me there, but isn't a bad idea...
I've also been thinking about how I enjoyed my things more when I just had this one precious, coveted item. Nowadays, whatever I want, I can buy the item with one tap and after the initial dopamine hit subsides, I feel empty in my shopping (not that I shop a lot, but I've been conditioned to expect next day delivery etc...there's no magic anymore). Maybe it's the disappearance of the anticipation and the challenge of getting that one gift. I'm definitely aiming for a more intentional, no-buy year (in terms of clothes anyway).
It used to be more of an event to shop for the thing too. I remember how excited I was to go to Bookstop as a kid. Part of that is just being a kid, of course, but it was also the only way you could get anything or to some extent, even find out what existed! I'm not saying I want to go back to the days before internet shopping, but it is definitely less of a thrill.
I hope you don’t completely abandon videos like this; I always enjoy them so much!
Some of my family is on the same page as this with holiday giving. Some of the other parts of my family are starting to get there. I did not want to stress over gift buying this year, so I opted out on pretty much all fronts. I'm contributing to my favorite cat rescue organization and that's about it. I will enjoy spending time with the people I care about.
An ancestor of mine wrote of making his own snowshoes, because "people did not abound in wealth in those days" - really struck a chord with me❤
I love a lot of older novels and I always notice the weight stuff has in people's lives...because there is so little of it. Like the hand me down serving platter that is a huge deal (because the main character broke it or whatever, haha). I can imagine when Christmas gifts first started to become popular, the tradition really did feel special, because it was the early rise of the middle class or even the working class being able to have small luxuries in many countries and it was probably easy to guess that everyone would love a new pair of warm gloves or a beautiful bowl, etc, because every possession was still precious...
Man, Lydia. You hit the nail on the head again. Two things:
1. I was, until a couple months ago, the guy with 500+ books in his tiny Brooklyn apartment. As I started to minimalize, one day I made a spreadsheet of all of them. Took a couple hours, just listing them all, marking them read or unread. The moment they were done, I was like "Oh shit. I can now sell over half of these, immediately." And I did. And I've moved to e-reading too, and now I'm buying only the books I would like to have basically as physical artifacts.
2. I'm in the D&D/TTRPG space, and it's a common trope that there's a huge swathe of the community that thinks of themselves as players, but instead of finding and playing games, scratches that itch by just buying up games, backcing kickstarters, putting together shelves and shelves of them. It's tragic, and has ill effects on our hobby.
I can't do e-reading, my brain doesn't seem to work that way, but I still love libraries and frankly, I usually read my library books because they have a time limit and never get to the ones on the shelf. So just ditching my "owned" books, except for the ones I am truly likely to reread, and just spending even more time at libraries sounds pretty great.
I definitely know a few people that apply to your no. 2 point, In different areas of nerd-dom. Once I started thinking about all the wasted resources for all the unused shelves of collections, and how my book is also probably sitting unread on many people's shelves and KIndles, it lost considerable appeal.
It’s no wonder you are a successful writer because it is evident here that you are considerably more self-aware than the average person. That’s a necessary foundation for being successfully expansive in your creative efforts.
Blessing and a curse, ain't it
my personal relationship with "stuff" kinda began to shift recently. i grew up without a lot of means, so luxury is pretty foreign to me, but in that way it was really a forbidden fruit that i had freedom to chase when i got a job and adult privileges. but i saw some video of a guy talking about why he's collecting physical media, and he explained it as something along the lines of... "the things i own should reflect me, and i want my favorite media to be there to represent me in my absence, in the hope to feel more understood without having to explain myself."
and that really clicked because there are so many things i have that don't exactly bring me much, don't reflect me as much as was probably worth the price and space. and so my attitude towards material things have this new "is this speaking FOR my soul on behalf of it?" aspect to it. It's been better reflected in my books so far, as I havent amassed many yet, but my hopes for the books I own is to only own the ones that transformed me after reading. classics from my childhood, things that sparked new joys in my adult life, etc.
i've also become a bit happier that i'm not being given gifts from family lately, because it's so rare that they give me anything that resonates with me; they don't know me very well and it's been a relief to not fake glee and then stress about someone noticing i don't use their gift 😂😂
That does sound like a good way of considering what to keep! I do really LOVE physical media. My brain just works better with a physical book, in particular. But there are a lot on my shelf that I've just never read and plenty I probably won't love, I just grabbed them because everyone was talking about them and I was curious to be part of the conversation, but then i don't even have time to read them before the conversation has passed, so maybe time to abandon that plan! The ones I'm keeping are the ones I dearly love or am super excited to read. It's taking time to purge, though. Lots of decisions. I'm banned from the library until I pare it down!
I'm an illustrator and being anti consumerist and frugal is a big way I manage being able to live my dream. They just go hand in hand. I don't feel the need to consume because I am creative.
I'm sure it's the furthest thing from your mind right now, but I would love a series of you talking about your childhood, unschooling, rural Florida upbringing, your experiences in your early 20's going for your aspirations. It's fascinating hearing you talk about this stuff and they're my favorite videos on your channel. Who knows? Maybe one day I'll read it in a a memoir.
There was a "Collectors" Girl Scout Badge. I earned it! But also not having things as a kid made me invent and make things. If I didn’t have it I would make it - usually it didn’t turn out to be “it” but it was fun and it was a new thing - that’s a good muscle to build in a kid imo. But as an adult there's that “You might need this at some point.” :) :) - or even - "What can I make with this?".
That's also very true. When I couldn't afford Final Fantasy II I made a board game version for myself. When my friend got a beautiful doll house with electric lights inside i coveted it sooo badly and had to make myself a dollhouse out of cardboard boxes. It felt so half-assed but those are actually good skills to build.
Such a great video! Thank you for talking about overconsumerism, frugal living, and your childhood. A lot of your experiences sounded really familiar (hand-me-downs, not having all the latest "cool" items, having lots of collections, reevaluating the line between collecting and hoarding, paring down items and being more mindful about what to buy, etc.). Wishing you and your family a very merry Christmas and all good things for 2025!
I grew up in the "house-poor" early 80s in Canada, where we had a nice house... and nothing in it, and all of our clothes were hand-me-downs or from donation bins, and we couldn't afford the GOOD bologna, only the bulk bologna. Christmases and birthdays were stressful, and kinda the only time of the year we "got" things. In 1986, my parents renegotiated the mortgage and suddenly we had furniture and more than two channels and name-brand bologna! :D Some things you never quite grow out of, though. I've been unhoused and I've been middle class, and I dressed the same and ate the same both times. I feel this strange guilt buying anything frivolous. We've moved ten times in twenty years, and I've whittled "my stuff" down to three big boxes, and two of them are books.
Oh I won't! The personal videos actually do well usually, I am mainly just trying to avoid "off topic virality" in 2025. What I learned in 2024 is that going viral on topic is great. Going viral with a video that is only tangentially related to your channel kinda sucks and it's better to have slow and steady quality growth than a bunch of people join for frugal tips or anticonsumerist stuff and never watch your other videos.
I plan to do at least one "day/week/month in the life of a writer" type vlog and I'll probably stick some of the more casual ramblings in those. I'll also keep doing videos like this if the topic is within the channel's focus.
You “ramble” in such a coherent and meaningful way - I enjoyed this video very much. I, too, transformed my relationship with stuff. One of my sister’s even described my xmas decorating as “minimalist but cozy”! Less stuff has reduced the burden of caring for everything.
please ignore the unwanted apostrophe in sisters. ugh. It hurts.
That's kind of how I would like my house to be! I hate HATE greige and white minimalist houses. I like some cozy stuff. But I also want it to feel...easy to dust. For the most part I am pretty happy with my decor except that there is too much clutter floating around it. (also LOL about the apostrophe...we'll banish it from our collective memory)
I love your ramblings, and I relate to this. Every 5-7 years or so, my reflection on stuff gets re-evaluated. I have collected enough things to finally feel like my space is a representation of my life. So now my latest “chapter” in life will be all about enjoying my cozy space with as much gratitude as I can.
Thanks for sharing and I hope you have a wonderful 2025!
This was a refreshing video to watch as I scramble to make baked goods for family! We also decided to go "no gifts" a couple of years ago and do more of a cookie exchange. I do really enjoy these types of videos, especially from you. Your openness and "normal" (lol, whatever that is) approach is so, so appreciated. Happy Christmas to you!
I SO understand struggling with ‘stuff’. I lived in a 35 sq foot van over the summer, after getting rid of almost everything I own. I’m now in a ‘big’ 250 sq foot apartment and I’m constantly tempted to buy stuff. Living in tiny spaces has really opened my eyes to what I need versus what I want. Like you said, each item I buy is carefully chosen and it’s precious to me. 👍
It is amazing to think a little over a hundred years ago, there were many kids that would have been happy to have a pair of shoes in good repair. A few generations ago there were records and books, a generation ago there were 8 tracks, my generation had seen media evolve greatly. We had VHS to DVD and CD and now digital formats (where ownership is murky). When I was young we used to lease the phone in our house. As I grew older there was the change from rotary phones and we saw newer phones with a switch between pulse and tone. As all of these technologies have evolved, many have found themselves either at least a few “relics”. It is interesting to see how many storage companies have popped up over the past 20 years. We have found that we have so much stuff that we also have an industry for where to put it. It can make someone think of the “Junk Lady” from Labyrinth.
I just rewatched Labyrinth! Man that scene did hit, in fact we were both talking about it like "see, even Labyrinth is telling us to ditch out stuff!" LOL
I grew up reading Little House every year where they're SO excited to get like, one piece of candy and a penny and I think maybe an orange? Maybe we don't need to go quite THAT far... But cheap mass production, credit cards, and constant marketing have really created the perfect storm. Even the "material decade" of the 80s pales in comparison.
I really liked this one, and as always I identified with so much of what you said and your life in general. Im sorry I havent written you back. Im going to, I just have been kind of down lately.
When i was in my early twenties I was super poor, and would treat myself to one Tenchi Muyo VHS tape from Suncoast Video, a month or two. It was so special. The memory and feeling of buying it, opening it to find the little collectors card inside. Then sitting down to learn more about these characters lives that I grew so close to is still so vivid.
Oh man, the Suncoast anime VHS tape. Those things sure weren't cheap either! I remember buying like, one tape of Utena and never being able to afford any more. Mostly we got fan subs online.
I realized this year that I just had too much stuff and have been working towards only keeping what I really love. I'm disabled and on a set income but I do consider myself lucky in a lot of ways, I have only a few big bills and can afford to buy a few books or art supplies without having to worry too much but I've been so much more mindful the past half a year or so on what really brings me joy and what's really important to me. This video is so important and I hope people will see this and really think about what makes them happy instead of just owning things. ❤
I identify so much with finding it very stressful to try to find these obligatory gifts for people-even if I'm close to them. "Gifting" is just a love language I don't understand. I'm also immediately apologetic when I gift something and feel like I always miss the mark.
I relate so much to missing that feeling of true joy and appreciation that I had for receiving something or buying myself something that I truly wanted and maybe had to wait for or save for. I'm looking forward to a very frugal and mindful 2025. Love your videos as always!
Thank you for this video.. it's a breath of common sense amidst all the videos of hauls and gift guide nonsense. I confess, I love those videos, and as someone who aspires to make art, I hoard all sorts of papers, paint, pens, books.. and you know what? Little of it makes my art better. It's fun for the moment, but recently I've become overwhelmed with all the garbage I've been collecting and now dont know what to do with. I grew up in a country during a time when few art supplies and books were available. You never knew when you'd find the same object again, so I learned to hoard, I'm afraid.
I'm also in the pen collecting comunity. The focus on acquiring more stuff, the gaudier and costlier the better, truly becomes sickening (and I'm not excluding my own collection!). Like you, I want to focus on simplicity and living a creative life. Your video serves as an affirmation that I'm on the right track. 2025 will be a year of slow-buy (because I'm being realistic) and divesting myself of things I don't need or enjoy. Happy year's end, and may the next be prosperous and full of love for you and your family.
I, for one, love watching your videos because you are such a relatable person! You are down to earth and non-judgmental. That counts for a lot :) I wish more people knew the frugal way.
I just got a raise at work, and I'll be making more this year than I normally do. But I'm fighting to save 75% of my income after rent/bills. My weakness are books. I have this day room and I'd love to just fill the walls with shelves and books on books. I'm still probably gonna do it, but I know I must pace myself. & that'll be the fun, too.
I hit my first 10k saved within the last 2 years after a lot of hard work. But I think I can do better.
Also, I wanted to say - I think you should do one video per 2 weeks/3 wk/ month/ whatever off the script, and then whatever else. I have rly loved to see your channel grow, as I was back w/ you in the small 1k days. I fully believe you can reach whatever goals you aim to achieve & I'm here for it! Many blessings
If you're making more and still saving 75% of your income, you won't believe how much money you'll have in 5 years.
I will still be doing casual videos like this! It's more about the topic really. I'm trying to hone in more on "living the creative life" because over the past year I've learned that if you go off your brand too much, fewer people watch and then RUclips's algorithm can get confused about who your audience is or just figure people are not as interested in you. And thanks for sticking around so long!
All of this is so relatable. I have too much crap and it does feel like a burden. I can't even properly care for the things I *do* have because I have too much. I can't find things because they are lost in the sea of things. Sometimes I want to just throw it all in a dumpster and be free of it.
Lately I've been thinking about fast fashion. I'm not a fashionista, but I buy basic clothes and they fall apart immediately, it seems. Then I buy more.
Over the summer, I wore the same tank top every day and had a rotation of a few pairs of shorts. (I had multiples of the same black tank top---I did not wear the same unwashed shirt everyday. 😅) I had a sort of uniform. Anyway, I loved it. Decision fatigue is real, and I was amazed at the relief I felt every morning at not having to make any clothing decisions.
I'm no minimalist, but simplifying my life in that way felt so, so good.
I've decided to create a "uniform" for each season. I want to buy higher quality clothes, but buy fewer pieces. Really simplify everything. I want to have pieces of clothing that I cherish because they're nice things. I want to derive pleasure from using the nice thing, rather than chasing the dopamine hit of buying another thing.
Since I can't afford to replace my entire wardrobe at once, my plan is to buy one high quality piece each season. For winter, I bought a good wool coat. I want wool, linen, silk, and cotton. Not polyester!
What you said about that feeling of opening that one cherished present on Christmas as a child really struck a chord. I remember that feeling of only wanting to play with that one amazing toy, or spend hours glued to that new book. I buy so many more things now, but I don't cherish any of them the way I loved that big, special toy I'd been dreaming of. I don't know if I can get that childhood feeling back, but I'd like to try!
Yes...I also don't know if it will ever be quite the same, since I still CAN get instant gratification and I also don't have as much free time. That sort of changes everything. But I can probably get closer.
Having a nice quality wardrobe is so satisfying! I like my vintage dresses because they also feel like a uniform. Even though some of them have some flash, it's so much easier than trying to match tops and bottoms. I don't own that many pants or coats for winter because I don't want to make things too complicated...
@lidiyafoxgloveauthor Each of the vintage dresses is such a special thing with its own personality. Definitely cherish-worthy!
I also like collecting books but recently I like looked at my shelf and I did not want to buy more shelves because both me AND my partner buy lots of books. My partner buys a ton of marvel and DC and I'm the manga collector, but they also have a sizeable manga collection. So earlier this year we went through our books and if I didn't absolutely love it I donated it to the library.And i felt so much better and now I have space on my shelf for new stuff. So I highly recommend doing that. I do like being surrounded by things it helps me personally with my creativity as I'm zoning out thinking about stories or creative ideas and my eyes land on my anime figures or art I've gotten from artists. But I also don't like buying something unless I'm sure i want to keep it forever. This year most of my gifts were bought from independent businesses and stuff I found at a craft fair. I asked one friend what they wanted and they just said to make them some cookies because they like my baking and I'm like, rly? that's it? But I'm good with that. Have a Merry Christmas and thanks for sharing I like just listening to your videos it is very comforting.
I'm with your friend! Food gifts are my favorite. They're almost certain to be enjoyed and even if you don't like/can't eat the particular food thing they're easy to share with friends. And I think there is so much love in food a friend made (though I'll never say no to fancy cheese and chocolates either!). I am generally leaning more toward owning fewer, more precious things...like you said, locally made or really well made items.
I always learn so much from you, no matter the subject! I really appreciate your candor & storytelling style also. My relationship with acquisition & collection of stuff has recently changed for the better, it's such a relief. I'm doing a low buy 2025 and am wrapping up a low buy 2024 too. I broke a lot of terrible habits this year, and hope to level up even more this next year. My ultimate goal is to create more and consume less (but more consciously). I have bags of stuff going to the local "free store" for the needy-they have very little overhead (the store is run and maintained by volunteers) and the folks shop it just like a regular store but everything is totally free. Thanks again and happy holidays!
I hope the “ramblings” continue next year! As someone born in Florida in ‘82 herself, they’re all so relatable. I’m originally from S. Florida so our family trip was to Disney (that’s as far as my mom wanted to travel lol) and I fondly remember the excitement of sitting next to my brother with the massive phone book listening in as he called every..single..hotel.. in Kissimmee to try and get the best deal 😂 wouldn’t give up those times for anything!
My mom would do the same thing for all our trips but with the "Mobile travel guide". Man those things were worn out. Good times indeed!
I love videos like this; just listening to you chat about your life. I hope they do well for you. Your childhood sounds nice. I can totally relate to having too much stuff and not wanting to throw things out.
Great talk!!!😊😊😊
My parents were very frugal and I am grateful to have that fiscal caution.
i'll aways begin my comments by saying this word: Lovely! always lovely to see you upload.
i hope that, alongside being able to pick your writer brain in the coming year with more "focused" videos, we still get lots of lydia as a person! i love hearing about your life growing up and how you became the woman we see on camera, as i relate to you so much and really crave the extra layer of authenticity that anecdotal story videos add onto your already comforting and casual tone!
Yes, "focused" definitely doesn't mean a lack of personal content! Some of the more personal videos have done quite well. I am just going to try mainly to stick to topics that fit "the creative life". This one is a little off of that, but there are plenty of chatty topics that are. The danger with a video like this is that if it DOES go viral you get a lot of like, phantom subscribers. My best performing video is my frugal tips video but a lot of the subscribers from it didn't stick around, and the channel kind of slumped for a while once it stopped going viral, so...I have to be careful about doing too much of that sort of thing.
Hello, Fairly recent viewer/subscriber here and mainly want to say your videos are refreshing and delightful to me. This really resonates in particular as recently I've been calling into question these very things, even also doing a somewhat similar video where I mused on what it would be like if my only possessions fit in a duffle bag.
Being born in 1982 and growing up in the 70's really resonated too. 🙂Am a '75 kid here though growing up mostly in the 80's felt more like late 60's-mid 70's. Also turning 50 next year has me taking stock of all this..relating to this kind of materiality. I know that feeling when all I had was 4 cassettes, a boom box and two books...the feeling of savoring just those. Anyhow, thanks for sharing and wishing you the best in the new year with all of that. -Carm
Welcome to the channel! My partner was born in '73 so we talk about the 70s/80s a lot too. It was certainly easy to feel stuck in time, my grandparents and other relatives houses were all very 60s and 70s.
Thanks for sharing your journey with finances and stuff. I really appreciate your insight about this. We're close to the same age, and I resonated with a lot of what you said, especially your description of "stable poor" and how that influenced your feelings about acquisition. One thing I've noticed with my friends and neighbors since the hurricane - no one wants to exchange gifts this year. The storm and its aftermath seem to have affected our relationship to stuff. I know cleaning out my moldy basement made me want to pare down my possessions to the essentials (which in my case include a lot of books :) Anyway, hope you have a nice and relaxing Christmas.
Yeah, I didn't even mention the hurricane's affect on the psychology of stuff, but I saw my neighbor Lois's possessions and photos scattered all over town the morning after. She is an artist and had such a funky house on the river. And of course I know other people who lost everything as well. It just makes you think that it can be a psychological burden, something to lose.
Thank you for this video. I'm arriving to the same point in my life. The excitement of getting "stuff" after growing up with little now turned burdensome. After my mom passed away I had to go through all her things and I promised myself not to do that to my kids one day. 2025 as a year of going essential sounds fantastic ❤ Have a wonderful Christmas!
Yes...I tried to do a no/low-buy year this year and while I didn't really succeed, I did grow more and more discerning as the year went on. And I definitely bought less in general. I am currently lusting after the newer edition of Tolkien's letters, which I also want to do a video about, but since I don't have time to make the video or read the letters until I finish my L. M. Montgomery read, I am making myself wait until that's done (with the one exception of if B&N does that 50% hardcover sale on Boxing Day...). I am getting more and more excited to buy them. By the time I finally do get them it's going to feel like such a treat.
I was "living in a condemned house with no plumbing or HVAC in rural IL" poor, and it gave me a great appreciation for DIY everything. My first adult job was in 2001 making $5.25/hr at a grocery store, so circumstances did not improve for quite a while, lol.
Oh wow, and here I was making $6.25 an hour, hard to believe it could get worse, LOL...by 2007 I was up to $7.50 😆
@lidiyafoxgloveauthor The chain I worked for kept wages pretty low even for people who'd worked there for years. They had a monopoly on the area, so no incentive to raise wages. I stayed 13 years and made $10/hr as a manager by the time I left. I have a full-time remote job now.
Funny timing, as I literally just completed my annual splurge on Amazon:
$2 kindle collections like the Marvel Essentials, getting the comics I loved as a kid - at about the same price, twenty cents or so per issue! Plus with better color, and I look at them on my 50-inch screen instead of a small piece of paper. The first year I did it, i spent almost $100, This year, only $20.
I don't have but a handful of printed comics anymore - a decade back I gave thousands away, just to finally get 'em all out of my house.
Nowadays I have less and less stuff overall. My house is almost empty. I like it that way. My sister is almost a hoarder of collectible antiques, ie junk, and it just feels oppressive to be in an overstuffed room.
These are my favorite type of videos from you.
Thanks so much, Lydia. Have a wonderful holiday! 🤗💕🎄☃️🧑🎄🎁🎉❄️🎊🥳
I loved your video, because I could relate to what you were saying about your stuff and gift giving. My situation is not the typical one so there a lot I’m still trying to figure out what I want to hold on to vs what I’m realistically able to. I look forward to the future content!
Very relatable topic. I’ve really been wanting to focus on declutterring but it’s been hard to commit. Been expanding collections slowly at least 😂. Always had that collector mindset for sure. Gotta buckle down next year though. I have too many unread books and manga on my shelf (it’s been years 😅), unplayed video games and unopened jigsaw puzzles.
Having a collection of things I truly love is the goal for sure 😊
Oh yes the jigsaw puzzles too...yes. I relate to all of that. I just got rid of a bunch of jigsaw puzzles that were thrifted anyway, like...I can always thrift more, but I probably didn't need twenty thrifted puzzles when I also have new puzzles I need to do...
This manages to explain my life very well, without having anything to do with it. My pain point is crafting supplies. I do use them, but I don't use them enough to justify this big of a collection. However, if I only have a few items, I never use them for fear that I'll ruin them and then have nothing. So I'm stuck.
This is quite relatable...
On Dana K. White's podcast, she interviewed a hoarder expert and he said that the tipping point for collecting morphing into hoarding is trauma, or some emotional loss. A couple of her tips are to have a donatable Donate box. (Nothing pretty! Functional cardboard.) Keep one in the laundry room, so that you can put things directly into the box (or a bag) so that once you've put it in, you never have to think about it again. T'is the season to start decluttering! HAPPY 2025! 🙂
I pretty much always have had a "to the thrift store" box going...and I was actually superb at keeping everything I owned within the same space I had in my childhood bedroom...until I started making pretty good money AND I had bought this sprawling fixer upper Victorian house. "Full bookshelves are good insulation", I told myself, and so it began...
@@lidiyafoxgloveauthor Very relatable!! Books are my weakness! 🙂
This video really hit me. 🖤
My love language is gift-giving, my childhood's favorite times was during Christmas. I'm 29 and I'm the only person in the family who puts anything under the Christmas tree. I also don't like clutter so I make sure to get my family that they need or will definitely use (as well as a surprise item). I am also a collector, I collect books, and I cannot live without them lol. I can get rid of anything but never my books :)
Wow. This video really resonated with me. Thank you so much.
I was born in USSR. And everything sounds sooo familiar! We were not only poor, there was nothing in the stores as well😅
So glad to be away from that land.
But after growing up constantly recycling, reusing, keeping jars, not asking for anything extra - all the consumerism culture seems wild to me. I can’t understand people who have piles of tshirts, cosmetics, etc. But I’ve seen some American RUclipsrs who show their decluttering process, and omg. I don’t think I had this amount of stuff throughout my life if I put together everything I ever owned😂
On the other hand, for a year I lived out of a tiny suitcase, and that was managable. I do miss some things I had and those are lost forever, but yeah, stuff is not neaded.
It is very wild! I feel embarrassed I ever participated in any small part of it, honestly. My grandma was a kid in Germany during the war so I think she has had much the same mindset you described. My grandparents never like to waste anything, worn clothes become cleaning rags, Ziploc bags get washed and reused, etc. But now we have so much stuff that even if you only shop at thrift stores and such you can end up with such an excess almost before you know it...
Thank you for the perspective!
@@lidiyafoxgloveauthor oh please don’t feel embarassed! Life still is so different all over the world. And if people can afford to live comfortable life and have hobbies - I consider that a success of that particular society development (and not a privilege as some would say).
And damn I am happy not to wash bags anymore😂
@@vritarita6871 LOL I don't wash bags either...my mom still does though, but they are not that easy to wash!
same with the experience of not owning much so what i had was/is so precious.
we didn't really celebrate christmas or anything during the season. The closest was a couple of times where we'd pack up and take a week long road trip because gas was relatively cheap back then.
But i'm kind of opposite where i don't like spending money, i just save it. The stupidly i loan it to family and they act baffled when i ask "when are you going to start paying that back?"
Also 14k subs! Let's goooooooooooooo!
Proud of you! 💟
We definitely got a lot of presents at Christmas because it was a big family and I was also the first grandchild on both sides. But a lot of my relatives didn't get the sort of kid I was (basically, I ONLY wanted books!) and I actively dreaded opening their gifts...my dad's mom was notoriously bad at even comprehending our age group and once got us board puzzles when we were age 10 and 8...and then after my January birthday came the 11 month dry spell!
And thank you! 14k! My original stretch goal was 5k by the end of the year!
@@lidiyafoxgloveauthor there's still time! 15k before January!
@@morleywritesbooks I knooow...it's gonna be so close but my views have dropped like a rock and I don't have another video until the 29th so I don't think I'll quite make it. Unless I broke up my year end video into two videos, whiiiich...hmm. Still might not get me there, but isn't a bad idea...
@@lidiyafoxgloveauthor Well, i believe in you ☺ You worked hard to get here!
Best. Ramble. Ever!! ❤
I've also been thinking about how I enjoyed my things more when I just had this one precious, coveted item. Nowadays, whatever I want, I can buy the item with one tap and after the initial dopamine hit subsides, I feel empty in my shopping (not that I shop a lot, but I've been conditioned to expect next day delivery etc...there's no magic anymore). Maybe it's the disappearance of the anticipation and the challenge of getting that one gift. I'm definitely aiming for a more intentional, no-buy year (in terms of clothes anyway).
It used to be more of an event to shop for the thing too. I remember how excited I was to go to Bookstop as a kid. Part of that is just being a kid, of course, but it was also the only way you could get anything or to some extent, even find out what existed! I'm not saying I want to go back to the days before internet shopping, but it is definitely less of a thrill.
Happy holidays!!! ☺️🎄🩵💚❤️❄️
Naruto...Naruto...
😂