I've been thinking lately about all the "stuff" I have. What are my plans for things like the half-dozen or so vases I have? I only use one about once a year. The vases aren't even beautiful pieces of art, they're just cheap, colored glass. Or the jewelry cluttering up my dresser? Again, nothing expensive or beautiful; mostly stuff I haven't bothered to wear in over a decade. What about the ginormous George Foreman Grill that's been sitting on top of my refrigerator for the last six years; I've never used it even once!
When I think about the collections of people like Michael Jackson or Elizabeth Taylor, I realize the silliness of having so much stuff around. They had houses full of stuff worth millions of dollars that just stayed behind collecting dust or starting fights among relatives after they left this place. Nobody's going to even bother fighting over my stuff, it will just be a nuisance for someone to go through and get rid of.
I recently became involved in a project to help clean out the house of a woman who has been buying and saving stuff for many, many years. Going through her house, I couldn't help but wonder at the purpose of owning all this useless stuff! She had so much stuff, she didn't even know what she had! She bought the same stuff over and over again as it became buried under piles of other stuff and she either couldn't find it or forgot she had it. Most of the stuff, it was obvious, she never even used!
I recently watched a short video about a family who decided to downsize. They sold their house of over 2,000 square feet and moved into a small, 350 square foot house. During the moving process, they had to purge and get rid of everything they owned that wasn't absolutely necessary. This family of three is now happily living in a 350 sq ft unit on a bit of land that allows them to grow their own vegetables. They aren't bogged down by having to house and take care of things they have no use for. I admire them! I want to be like them!
While both of these cases represent extremes at opposite ends of the spectrum, I'm sure there must be a comfortable spot for me somewhere in between. I do feel very fortunate to be the temporary custodian of some wonderful things, like the banjo and recorder I recently acquired. These are instruments that once belonged to a friend I dearly loved; a professor I highly admired. It means something to me to be the caretaker of instruments that were once in his custody.
Not only that, but they give me pleasure in other ways as well. I've always dreamed of learning to play the banjo and now, I'm just one step closer to achieving that goal. The recorder I already know how to play, but not well. I've been enjoying relearning how to make music with this charming instrument!
I have temporary custody of other things that I enjoy as well, such as my cookbook collection, my videos and photos of my family, my books and sheet music, to name a few. But the other stuff, the stuff I don't need and haven't used for years and years..... I need to get rid of it! It's dragging me down! Today, I am going to make a list of areas in my house that need to be purged and then I'm going to begin working my way methodically through the list, getting rid of everything that isn't necessary for living a healthy, happy, life. When my sojourn here is finished, I don't want it to take my children more than a couple of days to find new custodians for the things I leave behind.
When I think about the collections of people like Michael Jackson or Elizabeth Taylor, I realize the silliness of having so much stuff around. They had houses full of stuff worth millions of dollars that just stayed behind collecting dust or starting fights among relatives after they left this place. Nobody's going to even bother fighting over my stuff, it will just be a nuisance for someone to go through and get rid of.
I recently became involved in a project to help clean out the house of a woman who has been buying and saving stuff for many, many years. Going through her house, I couldn't help but wonder at the purpose of owning all this useless stuff! She had so much stuff, she didn't even know what she had! She bought the same stuff over and over again as it became buried under piles of other stuff and she either couldn't find it or forgot she had it. Most of the stuff, it was obvious, she never even used!
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| Stuff in bedroom |
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| Stuff in living room |
I recently watched a short video about a family who decided to downsize. They sold their house of over 2,000 square feet and moved into a small, 350 square foot house. During the moving process, they had to purge and get rid of everything they owned that wasn't absolutely necessary. This family of three is now happily living in a 350 sq ft unit on a bit of land that allows them to grow their own vegetables. They aren't bogged down by having to house and take care of things they have no use for. I admire them! I want to be like them!
While both of these cases represent extremes at opposite ends of the spectrum, I'm sure there must be a comfortable spot for me somewhere in between. I do feel very fortunate to be the temporary custodian of some wonderful things, like the banjo and recorder I recently acquired. These are instruments that once belonged to a friend I dearly loved; a professor I highly admired. It means something to me to be the caretaker of instruments that were once in his custody.
Not only that, but they give me pleasure in other ways as well. I've always dreamed of learning to play the banjo and now, I'm just one step closer to achieving that goal. The recorder I already know how to play, but not well. I've been enjoying relearning how to make music with this charming instrument!I have temporary custody of other things that I enjoy as well, such as my cookbook collection, my videos and photos of my family, my books and sheet music, to name a few. But the other stuff, the stuff I don't need and haven't used for years and years..... I need to get rid of it! It's dragging me down! Today, I am going to make a list of areas in my house that need to be purged and then I'm going to begin working my way methodically through the list, getting rid of everything that isn't necessary for living a healthy, happy, life. When my sojourn here is finished, I don't want it to take my children more than a couple of days to find new custodians for the things I leave behind.
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