I had a conversation with my mom recently {and we have a lot of these conversations} about all the stuff we accumulate. I grew up in a home where we were blessed but we did not throw a lot of money around. Due to life and job situations, as I got older we actually started having less money. Going into adulthood I learned to appreciate a good deal, how to be frugal, and to not have big fancy things.
My mom and I discussed that when one passes away, the children are usually left with a lot of junk. In particular we were talking about all the shoe boxes of old photos my mom had that she was saving for us kids to have to look back on. Though this seems like the nostalgic thing to do, realistically I will probably want a handful of those pictures {not all of them} and my brother probably will continue on in life without any of them. Now I am all about the memories and photos but as I continue to accumulate more and more every year, I am starting to question all the hoarding we are doing...for memory's sake...or for my unborn children's sake that they might like it or need it one day.
Last year I did some serious damage to my craft room and got rid of a ton of stuff. Today it is still a mess. I have a whole bookcase full of scrapbooks I made from sixth grade up until the year before I got married. And in case you wanted to do the math, I got married at 25.
I have had the burden on my heart for awhile now that sometimes all my stuff keeps me from living my life. And when I am overwhelmed by all the stuff in my house, I leave the house only to buy more. I read a recent post about being a compulsive thrifter that really hit home with me. All this time I have been thinking I am saving myself money when really I am just slowly giving it away penny by penny for things I use for a season only to sell it in next summer's yard sale.
My focus is changing. I am looking at things differently. I am working on my craft room again. Why have stuff when you don't even have the room to use it? I have started taking photos {only the really good memory filled ones} out of my old scrapbooks to make one large digital scrapbook...a life book before marriage. It is a lot of work but I think my children will thank me one day that they have one book to look through instead of 20. I am going through my home over and over again. I am trying to make things more timeless and simple. I am trying to make it accommodate the life we live and not just pretty stuff.
How do you handle all the "stuff"?
