Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Shedding Stuff

We sure do have a lot of stuff. And by we, I mean most of you reading this and me. And by stuff I mean everything from clothes to plasticware to games to electronics to CDs and DVDs to junk to googahs. Stuff. Stuff. Stuff!

We've been sorting through our stuff YET AGAIN. This makes the fourth time in two years. I'm amazed at the stuff we still have. We have approximately 200 CDs that we rarely listen to. We have at least 200 children's books. Today I found Roscoe's old chain and ID; he died four years ago. We have broken toys, marbles galore, rain gear that's never been used (all bright orange, of course.) Collections. I have coins and trinkets from all over the world - Rome, Germany, France, Russia. . . My son has a rock collection and stuffed animals. My daughter has marbles and shells. My husband collects clothes. Well, not officially, but it sure seems like it.

We used to have more stuff. We used to have 4 televisions. Now we're down to two. Soon we'll be at zero. Cars? Currently two. Next week - one. In a month - zero. Book shelves filled with books? We went from three to two to one. In the past year we've gone from about 20 plants to 10. Soon that will be zero, as well.

I must say it is very liberating to purge the STUFF. It's very interesting to reflect on all we have and all we think we need. Neither are necessary. What do you really need after all?

My husband and I realized that with our impending move we haven't frequented Kohls or Target or Walmart or Shopko more than 3 or 4 times in the last 5 months. We simply don't need the stuff.

I've had several conversations with friends and colleagues in the past year where we discussed STUFF. To my recollection every person agreed they had too much stuff. Not one wished they had more stuff. There's something to chew on, eh?

Let me encourage you to do a little purging of your own stuff. You know you want to! If you aren't using it, sell it. Or better yet, donate it. It feels good. Your junk may be someone else's treasure. So what is that old lamp still doing in your basement, anyway?

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