I make things more difficult than they need to be.

My New Year's resolution to get rid of ten things a day was a continuation of what I'd already been doing to pare down our possessions before we move to a smaller house. It isn't really about reducing the amount of stuff we own, it is more about streamlining our lives. We have very busy lives. Apparently, I am an overachiever and I won't admit it. (Several people, in different areas of my life, have pointed this out to me recently. I still don't buy it.)

I had a set of three ceramic mixing bowls from my mother-in-law. They were pretty and went well with our kitchen decor. They also weighed a ton. I nearly gave myself a hernia every time I took them out of the cupboard. I had those mixing bowls for five years. Last month, I did more baking than I normally do and it became apparent that I had to get rid of those mixing bowls. It wasn't an easy decision, though. They are nice. They were a gift. They are functional and in great condition. But, I had to ask myself this, "Do they make my life easier?" No, so they go. They went.

I wanted to replace them with plastic mixing bowls with a pour spout and rubber grips, so I put a set of those mixing bowls on my Amazon wish list. And, just as I was getting to this part of the post, I thought, "You have a good job, jackass, why don't you just buy them for yourself?" [please hold]  So, I just did, along with a new mandoline slicer to replace the comically dangerous one we used to own and new measuring devices that will help us reduce the number of them we need to own.

For some reason, I don't like to buy new things that would make my life easier if I already own something that is performing basically the same function. A few months ago, I finally bought a new trashcan to use for recycling in the kitchen. The lid had broken on the old stepcan and no longer worked with the pedal. It pissed me off every time I had to lift it to put something in there, or it fell on the floor because it sat at a weird angle on top of the can. I lived with that broken thing for a year. A year! What the hell is wrong with me?

Last night, I bought 100 paper coffee cups with plastic lids. I finally said, "Screw the environment." I am tired of having every cupholder in my car filled with a dirty glass from my house. I take a drink with me to work in the morning, but I can't bring the glass in when I get home because my hands are full with kids. Once I get into the house, I have to let the dog out, get the baby's bottle, and get the toddler's dinner. Then, I forget to go back out, and I bring a new glass out in the morning. Now, I can just throw away (recycle) the dirty cup when I get to work. Seriously, the environment can suck it.

The next thing I am going to do is buy duplicates of some of my make-up and moisturizers so that I can keep a little bag in my purse. I tried putting my regular make-up bag in my purse but then I would be too lazy to go downstairs and fish it out in the morning when I wanted to put on make-up, so I ended up carrying it around all the time and never wearing make-up.

This is so obvious, but it has taken me 35 years to figure it out.