Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Purging is good.

OK, I'm packing and packing and packing...so why is there all this STUFF still hanging around?! Here's the deal...I have TOO much stuff. And I know if I have too much stuff, then you have way too much stuff. How do I know this? Because I've had two house fires in the past 4 years which significantly cleaned out our house, and I'm married to a man who was born without an acquisition gene. The thing is no one needs or wants or will ever use so much of the junk in their houses. You just think you do. You delude yourselves into thinking you "might need it someday" or "somebody might want it" or "it's got sentimental value". Really? Are you sure about that? Well, I have to admit--I never used the three dozen baby food jars that would have been great for crafts. I'm pretty sure my kids (or their future spouses) are not interested in every scribble they put down on paper in their early years. No matter how clean I am, I'm not using 12 towels. It's not going to come back into style and I'm probably still not going to fit into it even if it does.

I'm not realizing this because I'm moving to one of the poorest countries in the world. I'm realizing this because I'm tired of putting it in boxes. I'm wondering why it was so important to have in the first place. I'm tired of wondering why I have it when someone else could actually use it. Yesterday Mark saw a little boy at school negotiating with his older brother about whose turn it was to wear the one pair of mittens that they shared out to recess--so why do we have 5 pairs of mittens for 2 boys?

The funny part is that my husband comes from parents who are serious savers, and my mother saves nothing. I miss that I have almost nothing from my childhood to show my kids, and I do keep things that they've done or toys they've especially loved. But I don't think you need to wait 1-2 years to see if you'll wear it or use it. Heck, you can probably figure that one out in the store before you buy it! You know you aren't going to wear it or use it...so give it away. Give it to ARC or Lupus or Bridging or Goodwill or wherever the spirit moves you. If you have the urge to make a resolution, resolve to purge your life of the crap that fills up every corner. After you recover from the shock of how much junk you're storing, you'll be amazed at how it feels to let go!

And no...you can't go out and buy just a couple more things for that empty space over there...

6 comments:

Mama Ava said...

Of course I can look the other way when it comes to acquiring other people's stuff that needs watching while certain other people are away. That's just plain altruistic and you can have points for that.

andalucy said...

You guys are so funny.

I love throwing stuff out. It's one of my greatest joys. Except I don't think I get the points because I also love to go out and buy more stuff.

andalucy said...

Carla! What's up with not reading Austen? And you an English major!? Have you seen the new Pride and Prejudice movie?

Mama Ava said...

I don't know...for a long time I was down on anything resembling "chick lit" so I guess I just read other stuff...then I had kids and I don't have the attention span (or quiet time) to handle more than the comics or tabloid rumors about the celebrity du jour...now that I'm feeling sufficiently guilty so I'll need to pick up copies before I leave. I need someone to prioritize them for me...good thing my friend isn't reading this blog, though...she's DIEHARD Jane Austen fanatic. And no, I haven't seen the movies, either, but I could manage something on DVD.

Mama Ava said...

Hooray for you! I think it's a never-ending struggle--at least for me it is. I'm in no way immune from bringing home more and more stuff--but I'm hoping I'll have better perspective on it after our adventures. It does feel cathartic, though, doesn't it?!

Steve said...

I think we might keep that chair permanently.