What was I thinking?

For the last few weeks, I've been in a de-cluttering mode.  In previous years, I've tried various methods, such as the "stuff it all in a container and hide it under the bed" technique, the "go to the Container Store and hope for inspiration" technique, and the "Hide it in the sunroom and shut the door" technique.  Now, I'm pulling out all stops and going for the "if I don't use it, get rid of it" technique. 

When I de-clutter, I sometimes find myself attempting to answer this one big question: What was I thinking when I bought this?

For example, last year I was cleaning out my pantry and I found a huge bottle of sriracha sauce.  I know that sriracha sauce is popular, but I've never used it at home.  I don't cook anything that calls for sriracha sauce. I certainly don't need a monster-sized bottle of it.  When I was in the grocery store and put it in my cart, what thought process was I going through?  I have no idea.  Maybe I had it in mind to try a recipe, long since forgotten, that I'd read in a magazine.  Maybe I had a coupon.  Maybe I had absorbed some subliminal message that hip people stocked sriracha sauce in their pantries.  I couldn't tell you.

Several years ago, I had a box filled with baby clothes that I'd put aside after the Son of Never Stops Eating was born.  In that box was a baby sling, to be used to "wear your baby".  I have no idea why I bought it.  I know that people wear their babies with success, but this item looked brand-new.  I don't recall ever using it.  The teenager discovered mobility about 3 months after she was born, when she rolled over, and after that it became the fun game of "let's run away from Mommy and watch her panic!".  My son was a huge kid from day one, and I'm fairly certain I never could have carried him in a wearable baby carrier and remained upright.  So why did I buy it?  Maybe I read an article online about how a good mother should wear her baby, and I wanted to be a good mother, so I went out and bought one, or I thought it would be good for mommy-baby bonding. However, it will forever remain a mystery. I will probably just chalk that one up to postpartum hormones.

So now, in the back of my closet, I have found a pair of peau-de-soie evening pumps.  Let me tell you right now, the Mom of No does not have much need for peau-de-soie evening shoes.  First, I don't wear heels.  I'm already tall enough, and I have bunions. I like my shoes flat and comfortable.  Second,  I never go anywhere that would have a dress code that requires such footwear.   I think I might have bought these shoes in college.  Maybe I was thinking that I should have a pair just in case, because you never know when you will be invited to a gala, a movie premiere in Hollywood, or a presidential inauguration.  Maybe it seemed like something an adult woman should own- yes, I am grown up now, I pay for my own car insurance and I own peau-de-soie pumps.

I put the pumps in the "get rid of pile".  As soon as I did that, I started having angst.  Suppose all of a sudden, an invitation arrived in the mail for a ball?  I would need those shoes to go with the evening gown I don't own.  I retrieved the shoes and put them on.  The bunions and the knees started screaming in protest.  No, even if I was invited somewhere like that, I would not be wearing those shoes.  I put them back on the pile.  Bye bye, peau-de-soie shoes.