I teach part-time. My husband works as guidance counselor at a public high school. My husband also works a second job. I tell you this so when I rattle off the following list, you won’t think the green stuff drips from our wallets.
::
Electronic devices owned by my eight-year-old: 12
Baby dolls and stuffed animals lining my girls' room: 77
Board games stacked in our closet: 44
Pairs of shoes owned by yours truly: 35
Button-up shirts owned by the love of my life: 65
::
The numbers make me dizzy, and honestly, the numbers embarrass me. Who needs this much?
But today we de-stuffed. We cleared. We cleaned out, and we committed to buy less.
As my family works on developing giving attitudes, we've started to evaluate the excess in our lives, how it made its way into our house, and what we want to do about it.
However, sometimes even small attempts to give away don't come easily, especially for my girl.
Let’s hear it, friends. When you look around your house, what do you see? How does your family battle excess in your home and life?
22 comments:
Good for you! As homeschoolers this is something we fight all the time with books and paper and experiments. Not to mention all the toys of my youngest. I am waiting on summer to get in the middle of it all with no interruptions.
Southern Gal,
I'm sure homeschoolers understand this big time. We have friends who homeschool, and they make it look easy (I'm sure it is NOT!).
For me, it's not just the organization piece. Although, tossing and giving away makes things neater around here. It's the why do I "need" it all anyway?
Oh yes kids toys, clothes, homeschool curriculum that "I might use one day!" I'm still hanging on to a big bag of clothes that I "might wear again one day"
I love this idea of getting rid of stuff! :)
I LOVED THIS! The practical numbers are so good . . . It's so easy to accumulate-- it's like a battle that keeps keeping on. Even here, I struggles with the broken toys, the games we never really play, the clothes that stay in the drawers . . .
Thanks for the practical encouragement, friend.
btw, i tried to tweet this post and fb it, but it wouldn't let me-- said "page not found". just fyi. maybe it's me! but i did WANT to tweet and share it!
Many years, we clean out stuff before Christmas and birthdays. I've tried to instill in them an "out with the old, in with the new" philosophy. But, my youngest loves to create and sees potential in an old envelope, so sometimes it's a bit challenging with her.
I love this. This is exactly what I've been thinking for quite some time and this gives me the motivation to do it. I have too much. It's time to clear out some of the excess to make room for life.
Becky
Only 77 stuffed animals...you are already living simply. Great post.
As I've De-stuffed, I've learned also to buy less. For a while there, I kept buying more stuff as I de-stuffed -- I guess I just wanted new stuff. Less is more!
Laura,
Bummer, you know I was playing around with this post after I published it, maybe that's the problem. ??? Thanks for wanting to pass it along.
Jen,
Potential in old envelopes? Yes, Amelia, the star of the above clip wants to save it all. . .old stickers that don't stick, beads for potential craft projects, broken crayons. I have to sneak it away!
Ministry to Motherhood,
Motivation is tricky for me too! It's just like so many other things I want to do. I struggle to make the time, but hopefully we will follow through with this, even in a small way!
Douglas,
77 stuffed animals. I know. I'm mortified to even write that, really.
Esther,
Yes, I've de-stuffed before, but even if we aren't the ones buying the new "stuff", it always seems to creep back in!
I am having "Order Week" over at my place. Trying to get down to 40 items in my wardrobe among other things. I loved your post and am sharing it with my readers over on my blog today.
Kathy
P.S. Counting stuffed animals is brave... that may have to be next!
Kathy,
Thanks for sharing my post with your readers. I can't wait to click over and check out what "Order Week" looks like at your house!
40 items in a wardrobe? Sigh. Does that include shoes? Because if it does, even after I've thrown some of those old shoes in the donation box, I fear I would be WAY over.
I have to get rid of "stuff" so that I can cope with life otherwise it can make me feel anxious and kind of crazy. ADHD requires that my "stuff" be pared down to a minimum, otherwise it demands my attention at the cost of other things that are more important.
if the love of your life wants to donate his shirts to the love of my life, i wouldn't complain. his numbers would at least jump up from 8 and also maybe he'd get out of 1992. just saying :)
but i'm a huge declutterer! i do this probably every month on some level. too much stuff makes me feel closed in and messy and claustrophoic! also, living in a small house makes this a necessity. plus i love order and organization. now if only i could get this particular OCD trait to carry over into household cleaning.....
p.s.- B. LOVED seeing A. on the computer!!! kept saying "that's my friend!" so cute! :)
Renee,
Come and get our goods. We would happily pass them on. You don't have clutter at your house. It's one of the things I love about your style. Stuff isn't the focus so you can really notice all of the little touches you incorporate.
Yep, Amelia was pretty amazed to see herself as well! She's sort-of a celebrity.
Just today, I looked around and thought about de-cluttering once again. I cannot understand how we can haul away bags of clothes and clutter only to have it grow back so mysteriously. I needed your reminder, thanks!
I love de-cluttering, organizing, and getting rid of stuff. My next project are my files at work.
We seriously need to do this in my family. Way too many electronics and toys. Thanks for posting.
When we transferred to our new house, I realized how much stuff (junk) I accumulated. I still have boxes to open, and I left even more in a warehouse! :^( Patsy from
HeARTworks
Loved the video. Little girl is quite a cutie. We just gave away some stuff at the McClure household, too. I don't like to hang onto things indefinitely "just in case" because I know what it's like to need things. I like to pass them on knowing that things will come back around when I need them, too. Great post!
This hits home on so many levels. And that girl of yours? She made me laugh. Obviously, you're the only one who needs to give up stuff. Makes perfect sense to me.
Oh, this was so good. I have been following Megan at sortacrunchy.net and she is making her house an oasis. My husband and I have taken it to heart in our home to, but I never thought of counting our stuff to see where we really had too much. Really resonates with me! Thanks for being so open. ~Jessica
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