Love yourself enough to enjoy good stuff now

Why do we save our good stuff for a special occasion? I'm talking:

1. Good china

2. Nice glasses

3. Linen tablecloths.

4. Pretty underwear or nightgowns

5. Good purses

6. New towels

7. Special bottles of bubble bath and soap

8. Cloth napkins

9. Candles

10. Good silverware

11. Fancy tea pots or silver tea services

12. Cute stationery note pads

We all have some of these things stashed in our cabinets, linen closets and dresser drawers. They are just sitting there unloved and collecting dust. We got them for wedding presents or our parents handed them down to us. You may have even purchased them. They are all waiting until we unpack and use them to bless us or our families.

Let me tell you why I think they are unloved and why we don't use them. We have put them in a place that we can't easily get to them. They are in a box in the garage, on a shelf in the basement, stuck so far back under your cabinets, that it would take two hours to pull them out or they are on the very top shelf and you need a ladder to get to them. Then if you do get them out, they need to be washed. We don't have time to enjoy our pretty things so we hide them away. We don't have to see them and feel guilty about not using them or we really don't love them at all.

If we will get rid of the clutter that is in our kitchen, our linen closets and our china cabinets, we will have more room for the things we love. When we take the time to get them clean, they will be ready to use. There is another benefit.

When we set a formal table, we can teach our children proper table manners. Many times we eat with our fingers when we have sandwiches and pizza. Our children have no clue which fork to use first or how to use a butter knife or cut meat. If we are going to help our children feel comfortable in these types of situations, they need practice. This is a good time to let them practice setting the table and using their best table manners. This has become a lost art. They will need this one day, when a boss asks them over for dinner or at their own wedding.