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Every wonder where the term January white sales came from?
Apparently the term originated in 1878 from John Wanamaker, a Philadelphia department store owner. He was an innovator, and a creative merchandising genius and promonet of the power of advertising. He was also known for his enduring reputation for honesty, and the inventor of the price tag.
Mr. Wanamaker realized that sales were always low in the month of January for bed linens. Bed linens, which were available at the time only in white, were sold at a discount. He decreed January to be the time for a white sale. Fast forward to today, and you’ll see how JCPenny’s and similar department stores will always advertise their linens, in January although now much more varied in colors, textures and style. The purpose remains the same; to entice buyers to keep coming back after the Christmas spending season has ended. It’s now evolved into not just buying new bed linens, but also a new year, cleansing and organizing time of year. If you’ve been to a store lately you’ll see a lot of storage bins and organizing tools. It goes along with the new year mentality of out with the old and in with the new. The New Year is synonymous with fresh starts.
But what happens, if year after year you succumb to these enticing sales and go out and buy new but forget to let go of the old? Clutter. I admit, my own linen closet has probably 30 sets of sheets that I seem to justify needing even though there are only two of us living here.
Have you ever noticed that in almost every balanced marriage you will find the sentimental pack rat and the minimalist? Which one are you? I truly believe we attract the Yin of our Yang to find this balance and it works.
So whichever one you are, here is a tip to help this month to find that balance in your home so you can still occasionally enjoy bringing home something new and fresh from a White sale, but also willing to let go of what’s gotten a little dark and dingy.
My own mother, a minimalist, taught me a great trick to control the clutter called the laundry basket trick, also known as the surface sweep, according to apartmenttherapy.com. You take your basket around your house, one room at a time and throw into it all the things that don’t belong there, and eventually deliver them to the room they do. How did your hair brush end up on the kitchen counter for example, or why are your garden gloves in the bathroom? This is a great technique, where if you stay focused and gather all that is out of place, you will eventually restore order and tidiness in your home.
As for me, I’m going to justify keeping my 30 sets of sheets and claim that they are necessary for covering the plants when we have a frost, building forts with the grandkids when they visit, and of course just for when company comes. Ok, maybe I’ll whittle it down a bit, and donate a few to a charity that could use them too. I hear that’s a good thing too. Sometimes, we forget that after years of accumulating stuff, there is always someone out there younger starting out without a big budget, and having some gently used items may just be what they need to start their fresh new beginnings.
When it comes to fresh starts and new beginnings, the new year comes with new opportunites to get your healthcare plans in order. Whether it is your Medicare plan, Marketplace plans, needing a Hospital Indemity plan, or a Cancer Plan, Pet Health Matching Account, you name it, our Trusted Health Coaches can help you! Give us a call today! All of our consultations are at no cost to you, and are without hassle or obligation.
