Does anyone do this?

[onencgirl]

Sorry if this gets long...

I have always been frugal and lived a fairly simplistic lifestyle. I hate clutter. The less the better I feel.

My twin brother is the opposite (go figure) . For example, he goes to auctions and buys boxes not knowing what's in them. (drives me nuts). He owns a few rentals and is also a barber. So he goes thru the boxes, finds and sorts thru. Whatever he doesn't want or need he sells in his barber shop. He never prices anything, just agrees on a price. I guess this is something he enjoys doing but it seems to be alot of extra work to me. I think he makes a little profit but am sure he just breaks even or loses at times. He also raises the best tomatoes around and people line up to get them. To each his own... he is happy doing this.

We were raised as orphans being shuffled around and I always traveled light whereas he always wanted "things" around.

Not really a point here but makes me think how people with the same upbringing turn out so different.

[monkeywrangler71]

I hate clutter, my dream is a tiny, empty house (with no basement ). My brother has a huge house, we used to tease him about his mansion, and collects everything. I sometimes have that urge to collect, but the clutter hating overrides it. I know both of us collect information, we have tons of books, but I can't handle the boxes of papers. Other than books, I keep my information collecting electronic. My brother definately likes stuff though, whereas I just find it a burden.

[Karen1]

yea even close family can be so different in their ways

I am the animal lover and farmer....no one in my family likes animals or dirt...HA HA HA

My family think I am nuts having hogs, chickens, horses, farm 120 acres and tons of hard work....LOL

so yes, so many do things so different. key to a good family, never intrude on others dreams or hobbies or such if it hurts no one at all....everyone has their own rights to do "their own thing"---that works in our family!

[MaryCarney]

I have four sisters, and if there can be five kinds of opposite, we are!!!
Interesting thread!

[bumplett]

my brother is an emotional shopper -

I'm not - buying 'stuff' would make me feel guilty.

[JustMegan79]

Im in the middle of the road, though my sister and I are at opposite ends of the spectrum. She lives up near DC, she and her dh have power jobs, our parents paid for her education, she has a new Jeep and her own harley, etc. Very "ambitious" towards material things. I drive a 17 year old car, repay my own college loans, work small jobs, garden, live rather country and at a much slower pace. I am happy with my own life, she feels I am a loser...

Sometimes people experience and deal with the exact same life, yet become polar opposites once they reach adulthood. As long as we are each happy with our own lives, and dealing with the past in a way we personally can accept, and in the long run not hurting others, then I feel as if everything is ok. My path is not hers, as hers is not mine. And, as yours is not your brothers.

Perhaps where you gain comfort, peace and stability from a gloriously simplistic lifestyle, he draws the exact same comfort from objects surrounding him. Maybe even somehow relating the excess of "things" directly to the shuffling and abandonment, which often can leave children with little or no personal possesions.

I feel that my sister chases materials, and I chase simplicity. Life certainly can be lived many ways.

God Bless,
Megan

[savvy_sniper]

I often ask my MIL how she could raise two sons and they turn out SO different! Hubby is VERY neat, orderly, thoughtful, kind, considerate, etc. His brother is a slob, inconsiderate, selfish, thoughtless, etc.

[scooby8themall]

I practically raised my 2 brothers my mom and step dad drank a lot.One brother is a truck driver and goes between neat and not so neat he is single spends all his money on big toys then whines to me how broke he is,my other brother well the Army takes very good care of him with a four figure pension and he has so much stuff and I mean stuff you can not even walk around his house and he whines all the time about how broke he is .Now as for me I have trinkets and a wee bit of clutter I left home early and vowed I would have the world by the tail well I don't but I do have a roof over my head and food we are not rich but we are not poor either and I love being frugal ,gardening and canning being self sufficient.Some times when my brothers carry on I wonder where I went wrong with them lol.But yeah we are completely different as are my 3 step brothers /.sisters .I have often thought of this question myself . Thanks for the post.

[pollypurebred39]

My Sister and I are night and day

Me-2 kids
Sister- 8 kids
my husband-blue collar
her husband-white collar
her home-very big, could fit my home inside of it 4-6 X's
my home-small rancher
she has so much stuff that I can't figure how it fits and welcomes more
I am always seeking to purge and declutter what we have

[frugalwarrior]

It's probably more common thatn not. I tell my parents that I don't think my DB and i would know each other if we weren't related. We are 5 years apart and opposite.
-I like stuff and G. sale for lots. My stuff is transitory. I buy it,use it,trade it, get rid of it. It's stuff.
-My DB is minimalistic. The few things he owns are valuable to him.

-I love animals.Have lots. He has one.

-His life is ordered. I'm kinda chaotic.

-He is quiet,hates talking on the phone.
-I am loud.

My kids are the same.
DD likes art,fantasy,a loner,creative,loud,critical

DS-outdoorsy,social w/in his peer group,quiet,gets along w/ other.

Few families agree. We still get along. It's not just cause your twins.

[bonnotsm9]

2 of my sister and I are so different, I'm not sure we are even from the same planet.

Another sister and I are alike in some ways, not in others.

My brother, whom I didn't meet until I was 39 (he ran away after my father married my mom), are lots alike. Go figure.

[frugalfranny]

Interesting that it is a TWIN! You always 'hear' how they can be so alike, finish each others sentence, etc. etc. etc.

Are you identical? They have done all sorts of studies on identical twins which I have found very interesting.

Interesting reading in this thread.

[homemaker66]

My sister and I are alike in many ways. I can't stand clutter at all in my house. I am always overhauling the house and it drives my husband crazy. If you don't use it get rid of it.

[onencgirl]

Interesting that it is a TWIN! You always 'hear' how they can be so alike, finish each others sentence, etc. etc. etc.

Are you identical? They have done all sorts of studies on identical twins which I have found very interesting.

Interesting reading in this thread.

No, we aren't identical since we are opposite sex. We do finish each others sentences at times and other things like when I broke my arm as a child a week later my brother broke his. lol He lives in Indiana now and I live in NC but whenever I decide to call him my phone rings.

[Teresa T]

It really is true that you can be the least like those you are related to.