The Brady Bunch Guide to Life, A Bathroom Remodel, and The Real Reason It's Time to Stop Buying Stuff
Plus, the first in a month-long series of special tributes to women who are changing the world, one business and product at a time. Happy Intl Women's Day.
Buenos Días, Substack Pals ~
Coming to you from a place called Chaosville - otherwise known as my house. At presstime, my husband and I are prepping for a bit of demo in our house. We’re having our primary bathroom redone.
I call this room Liberace’s Palace - there’s lots of gold, a shower spa like you’ve never seen, and tile everywhere. The only thing missing is a grand piano. Since we moved in four years ago, various plumbing, ventilation, and mold concerns have made this remodel necessary, and I can’t say I’m sad we need to gut the entire room.
I’ll keep you updated on the progress, so stay tuned for the next 6-8 weeks.
But, back to the prep work.
Since the bathroom leads to a walk-in closet and both are attached to our bedroom, we need to take everything out of the entire suite.
Which is basically an exercise in moving a bunch of stuff you never considered excessive … to another part of your home that already is full of stuff.
Lots and lots of stuff.
Just look what I found while cleaning out the bathroom alone:
The Brady Bunch Guide to Life by Paul Ruditis (found in my first aid kit box - a fact that’s both puzzling and ironic)
therapy ball that I mistook at first for a racquet ball
14 tubes of lip balm (yet I never have one in my purse when I need it)
Bobby Brown eye shadow duo from my 2007 wedding
(and this one’s the kicker) a travel-sized container of Mary Kay night cream from 1979. (My mom shared some with me in a tiny container perfect for an 8-year-old who had no need for night cream.)
Update: The eye shadow got tossed, the ball is in my box of PT tricks, the lip balm family also got the heave-ho (I kept thinking about all the germs), and the Brady Bunch book is on a shelf in my office, where it should be. The Mary Kay night cream? Keeping it. Maybe it’s actually the Fountain of Youth?
At any rate, in the midst of this relocation exercise, I realized something.
I have a tremendous amount of sh*t.
Clothes I don’t wear. Shoes I’ve worn once. T-shirts up the wazoo. Scarves. So many scarves. Belts. (Not surprising, I still have a silver disco belt from grade school - I mean, hoard much?)
Well, as you might have guessed, all this stuff leads to What I’d Rather Be Talking About this week:
An exercise for you.
Look in your closet.
How much of what you see do you actually wear?
If you’re like me (and most people), you have a lot of clothes in your closet, but actually wear less than half.
Instead you’ll repeat the same favorites, go on random shopping sprees because you think you have no clothes, and end up buying more stuff you also, never wear.
That, in essence, is the story of my life.
But I realized something this past week.
When I have so many clothes, all I see is clothes.
A sea of clothes.
Nothing stands out, so I think I have nothing, and therefore buy more.
This routine adds to lots of nothing filling up every spare inch of my house.
The same thing happens with shoes. Books. Water-freaking-bottles. Mugs. Tote bags. (So many totes, yet why are they never there when I need them?)
We are so riddled with stuff that we can’t appreciate the beauty of any of it.
Worse, we also don’t recognize the beauty of that which is not stuff.
In other words, all of our crap takes our attention away from
the important things in life ~
as in
people
moments
conversations
experiences
meals together
None of those things will be found in your bedroom, bathroom, or walk-in closet.
They’re found in life.
Here’s to less stuff and more life…
(And turning Liberace’s Palace into a peaceful sanctuary with less stuff and more space. Stay tuned for updates on the bathroom demo & remodel!)
Since March 8 is International Women’s Day, this week will begin my month-long focus on women-owned businesses, women rock stars, and tips, tricks, and items the ladies might dig.
Plus, advice from the Brady Women:
This week’s featured women-owned brands:
Did you know the best International Women’s Day gifts come from women-owned brands? It’s true.
15 Growing Female-Owned Brands to Get Behind in 2025.
Some female-owned brands I love and support are: True Grace for supplements and their amazing Electro-Mag electrolyte powder, Wallaroo hats for my golf game and sun protection, Wolf River Leather because the owner is one of my besties and their bags are divine, and Canva for all of my design needs.
None of the links below will take up space in your closet:
Two bff’s created a gratitude app to rewire your brain for happiness & success.
You don’t have to be Beyoncé to have a private driver when you travel, thanks to Daytrip and its international door-to-door car service. Take advantage of their Int’l Women’s Day discount of 5% off in-app bookings March 6-10 with code CELEBRATEWOMEN.
Flying soon? Be sure you have your REAL ID… May 7 is the date TSA will be requiring this for airport check-in. (If you don’t, the news tells me you’ll have significant delays at the airport.)