As seen in the Dayton Daily News on November 21, 2015.
The other day I walked into a card shop to purchase a birthday card. After choosing a card, I walked to the register. The cashier smiled and said, “Are you a rewards member?” I informed her I was not.
She then pulled some papers from behind the counter, handed them to me and asked, “Would you like to become a member?” I handed the papers back to her and replied, “No, thank you, I don’t shop here often enough to need a rewards card.”
She rang my purchase up and as she reached for a bag I said, “I don’t need a bag.” She then gave me some coupons for my next visit. I politely handed them back to her.
Holding my receipt she said, “I’m guessing you don’t want this either.” Pointing in her direction I smiled and said, “You are correct, my friend.”
In less than a minute, I politely taught this cashier to stop trying to hand me things. She caught on that I walked in for a card and I would leave with a card.
If your home is cluttered and it’s hard to find things, start watching for opportunities to train others to stop giving you things you don’t need.
Is someone constantly cutting out magazine or newspaper articles for you to read, even though you haven’t had time to read the previous ones they’ve given you?
Are people still adding to a collection you started, but no longer have an interest in?
At fast-food restaurants, are people handing you way more sauce packets or napkins than you need?
Are you snatching up sample-size toiletries from your hotels stays, even though your linen closet is overflowing with similar items?
Do your children have enough hand-me-down clothing for the year?
As innocent as these extras look, they take up valuable time. I ran several errands the day I purchased that card. With each stop, everyone wanted to hand me something I didn’t need.
If I would have taken these items, at some point I would have spent time looking through coupons I didn’t need, folding bags to take to the grocery store for recycling, filing receipts for items I didn’t need to return and stuffing samples into closets.
If we start saying no to these unnecessary items, we would not only save time, but valuable natural resources too. Stores would get the message to stop printing and wasting money on these items. Cashiers could be taught to only print the items we have an interest in.
You will also save your loved ones and friends from going to the trouble of buying or saving things for you that go unused.
Look around your home. How many items cluttering up your space could have been avoided if living with less was on the top of your mind?
Remember, you don’t have to organize what you don’t bring in. Start training your loved ones, friends and the public in general to ask before giving you things that take up your valuable time and energy.