To toss/recycle:
A whole bunch of beautifully painted paper towels left over from our recent watercolor spree. (They had been used just to wipe up spills, blot art, etc. but were so pretty that I carefully line dried them to reuse for some later art project of some kind. . . sheesh! This is when urges to reuse get out of hand)
To give to Goodwill:
1 men’s cords
1 men’s T
1 striped top
1 cute but too small pair of gold sandals
1 girl denim jumper
1 baby onesie and 1 matching leggings
To sell on Ebay:
1 velour Hanna Andersson top with 1 matching tights
1 Oilily boy cord overalls
To give to friends/church:
2 baby long sleeved onesies (puppy themed, so cute)
1 adorable matching baby hoodie
2 pair baby socks
2 wooden baby puzzles
1 new “Adventure Bible!” New Testament (freebie at Easter at MIL’s church—we “won” FOUR, I gave 3 away already, this last one is also going, seeing as how we have a whole collection of Bibles already)
5 beanie babyish stuffed toys (the kids had to choose a couple of toys to let go, since our “soft toy basket” is overflowing. This is just the tip of the iceberg, but the rest of the toys the girls were special and could not be parted with.)
To donate to the public library for their annual book sale:
2 young adult paperbacks (did not earn a coveted place in my collection)
To freecycle:
Set of 3 never used fingerpaints (who knows if they are really child safe? Creeps me out)
1 baby shape sorter toy, with 6 shapes
1 shape sorter plastic car, with 5 shapes
1 baby toy
bag of about 20 misc. little plastic toys
1 weirdly shaped metal cookie cutter (is it a giant rosebud opening? A Dali bunny mid-leap?)
2 plastic insulated sippie cups (these were our favorites. . . until we began studying plastics. . . ) 1 plastic slide whistle
1 pair green girl shorts
1 white girl top
To return to family:
1 pair baby sandals
1 green baby hoodie
This is approximately SIXTY items, which means a total of:
ONE HUNDRED and SEVENTEEN!
And it feels so good.
And the really sad thing—there is still a lot to go.
Now, don’t get me wrong; it’s not like I am a pack rat and there is stuff falling out of every closet and every surface area is stacked a foot deep, etc. No one could make an interesting reality TV show out of my clutter. ; ) I am really, really good about de-cluttering as a lifestyle—I have to, or our house would quickly become completely and totally unlivable, not just embarrassing.
But when you live in a teeny, tiny house with this many people, there is always something new coming in the house, which means something else will have to go to make room. . . . And for some reason people LOVE to give us things. Not just at Christmas or birthdays. And not just family members or good friends. I mean people I barely know will offer us stuff. And it's weird--some of these people have never seen our house, so aren't assuming small old shack = poor, and I am usually picky about how my kids are dressed in public, and have really expensive tastes in little girl clothes, so its not like I think we look poor. I think it must be the number of kids we have! But whatever the reason, people give us stuff all. the. time.
But don't get me wrong--I like it! Because it is fun to get "new" clothes to try out and see if they work for me. It is fun to get hand-me-down toys that the kids can play with for a while and then pass on to others. The problem is just if the things are not truly given to us--if they are given with the expectation that we must keep them, and if the giver will be offended if we decided we can not use the item and need to pass it on. So it is actually nicer sometimes to get things from acquaintances than from family members--the things are truly given with an open hand, so we do not have to keep stuff around by obligation that ends up just being a burden.
I know I sound really ungrateful as I write this. No one gives to us to put a burden on us, they give to us out of love or concern! But yet, too much stuff is a burden--and not just for us, I believe this is true for every person on the planet--and the hardest part of purging is worrying about the feelings of people whom we love and have concern for in return.
As I have come to realize over the course of living in this house, just because something is nice and has value (practical, monetary, etc.) does not mean I can/should/want to ultimately keep it. I love nice things, and think I have an eye for good stuff. But if something does not fit our needs or values or available house space, then it has to go. We cannot allow STUFF to take center stage (literally!) in our home. And we certainly cannot let STUFF affect how we love or don't love people--an important lesson I am still learning.
Because I am still learning how to be gracious when given stuff that has strings attached--meaning I know we don't want or need it but will now have to hold onto it for who knows how long so the giver knows we appreciate it. Because, by the way, I ALWAYS appreciate it. Or at least I always appreciate the generosity and care for us that is behind it! But too much stuff makes me feel overwhelmed, overburdened, struggling to feel at peace in my own home.
To cope, I have two strategies:
1) Embrace the crawlspace.
Bins under the house make things so much better. Out of sight, out of mind. But what do you do when the bins are full, as they were a couple of months ago? You decide that there is nothing to do but begin the purge and hope your loved ones who gave you the things you no longer need or have room for will be able to accept your reassurances that your need to give things back or pass them along has nothing to do with your appreciation of those things or your love for them.
2) Trust God to give me peace, when I cannot control the amount of stuff in/under my house.
A few years back I was really getting upset with some of the things being given to us by loving, well-meaning family members (note to family: perhaps a puzzle that is labeled "Giant Floor Puzzle" should not be given to people who live in a house with a very itsy bitsy floor. And if you try to convince us to let you buy us a travel storage container for the top of the car so we can get all the Christmas presents for the kids back home, well, might I just suggest that if the presents don't fit in the car that they are not going to fit in the childrens' one closet?! pant, pant).
See--I get all worked up and most decidedly UN-peaceful and UN-grateful when we have too much stuff.
But God kinda asked me around that time when I was so frustrated if I would choose to trust Him and be thankful if we had nothing. And without hesitation, I thought, Of course! And then He kinda asked me, so why would I not choose to trust Him and be thankful with having too much? Wow. Ok, Lord, I hear you.
And there is even a beautiful piece of Scripture that addresses this, and--woudn't you know it!--ends up with a verse that a lot of Christians know and can recite, but maybe have not thought about the context of:
"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength."--written by Paul to the Phillipians in Chapter 4.
And I so needed to hear that. To keep my heart from being hardened by stuff, by allowing it to affect my spirit. It does not matter how much stuff we end up with--what matters is how we handle it. And most importantly, how we chose to love, no matter what.
Time to go de-clutter some Earl Grey and bittersweet chocolate!
That very last bit of decluttering I can really relate to:)
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