Stuff :: Less Stuff

Back a while (here), I wrote a bit about how we made the decision to put the farm idea away for a time. Things had gotten out of control and it was time to pause, take a breath and address some basics. Our life was far from intentional and simple. (Was...?) One of the areas we badly needed to address was the amount of stuff that had accumulated all around us. It was closing in on us - especially me.

For a long time now, Jim and I have been operating under the idea of "simple living". Which has so many books and magazines and articles, written about it by now that it is no longer "simple". And maybe when you get into it, it really isn't from the start anyway, but that's another topic. Suffice it to say that for all of our years together we have embraced the value of living simply: among other things, living with and needing less stuff. And before we had kids, I think we did pretty well with that. Since then, however, it's become more of a theoretical proposition. And I'm not just talking about all the baby and now child paraphernalia, though of course that's included. But as things got more hectic, it got easier and easier to not notice the piles cropping up here and there, the toys that were much easier to leave out under foot than put away at the end of a long day, the stuff that sat around on any and all flat surfaces not immediately put away that quickly blended into the landscape... You get the picture.

Now, I've never been one to keep up with the dusting, or keeping the counters cleared off every day - more of the "company's coming, time for ninja cleaning!" sort. But over the Winter and Spring, things really got out of hand and I started to feel a bit claustrophobic, on edge whenever I was around home.

And so, we are making some changes. Drew and Garrett's toys got an overhaul, we took a couple car loads of stuff to the boys' school rummage sale - and then the thrift store - and most impressive so far, cleaned out the porch. The whole house is on the list, a room a week till the end of the summer (loosely following the plan in this book). It feels so very good to be making a difference, clearing out the stuff, bringing some intentionality and order - simplicity - back to our home, creating a little more space to breathe and to be.