What the Hell Am I Going to Do With All This CRAP?

in my mind, i have reconciled the fact that at times i can be an unreasonable heinous bitch. although i have not outwardly expressed these feelings, i am feeling like one right about now. i just sometimes get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of STUFF that makes its way unbidden into my house. the intentions are good. i know that. which is why i feel like an unappreciative and horrible person. but my house is cluttered enough as it is with things that i actually need so that the mountains of extraneous crap that is absolutely non-functional make me crazy. but some people are compulsive shoppers, and they don't consider whether the person they're buying random crap (that will most likely never get used) for has either the space or the use for it. it is how some people show affection, buying things. but it is very hard for me to appreciate this fact when the THINGS in question have no purpose and come in jumbo-sized shopping bags full of small items and 30-gallon totes.

i enjoy a stuffed animal every now and then. but i do not require twelve of them at a time. that sort of makes it impossible to appreciate their individual cuteness. one would suffice, i promise. particularly considering that i just received four of them not three weeks ago. i don't even know what else is lurking in all those bags and boxes.

how exactly do you make someone understand that you love them and you know they love you so it is unnecessary to dump loads of random stuff on you at every visit - tactfully? is that even possible? can you simultaneously express love and affection and reject gifts that you neither need nor want? or do you just sit back and say nothing? believe me, over the years, plenty of unwanted junk has made its way to the local goodwill or been sold one way or another, but the current influx has reached titanic proportions that i lack the ability to deal with. is it feasible to reduce the number and increase the quality of gifts that people insist on buying for no discernible occasion? i mean, i like gifts as much as the next person, but one or two items are much more appreciated than fifteen or twenty.