Saturday, April 25, 2009

The Count Down Begins

It's official. We have too much stuff.

I saw a picture once of the belongings of an American house and also those of a few other countries, outside on their lawns. It was embarrassing to see what the average family has here in the United States compared to the rest of the world.

And the even sadder, more embarrassing thing:

I do believe we have even more than the average.

We've made it through the basement so far. Sorting, pricing (for our sale) and setting aside the things we want to take. So much stuff that we kept because we might need or want it someday. I think there will be freedom in letting it go. Freedom in having less. I found it easier and easier to NOT add things to the save pile as the week went on. As a matter of fact, I'm sure I'm going to sort through that very pile again as I pack and whittle it down even smaller.

I really don't want my identity in things. I want there to be more to my life after I'm gone than a bunch of stuff. I want to invest in things that matter. Things you can't put a price tag on. I didn't really give it that much thought until I saw the pile of empty tubs today. You know, the ones that had been full at the beginning of the week. The contents I no longer need.

There should be some empy, plastic tubs at our sale too.

2 comments:

David Jensen said...

Heidi and I helped both my brother and her sister move in the last couple of months. The reoccurring statement when trying to decide to keep things was something like this...
"Yes your mother gave you this, but it is not your mother."
It can be very freeing to get relationships focused back on the person.
You post makes me wonder how often I might pack away things and associate them with the giver. A compliment, an insult, perhaps a blessing from the Lord. But if I store them away for another day what does it profit me? How much better to release a relationship from bonds of things.
I hope you enjoy your freedom!

Aaron and Joy Edewards said...

When is the big sale?