I live with a complex man. A man who at one pointe seriously considered being homeless. A man who as a child grew up with a bed, some toys placed along his bedroom wall and several matching sweat pants suits. He is so simplistic in so many ways. Yet he will hold on to anything he's ever received unless you need it. Then he will give it to you freely. I on the other hand grew up with everything a little girl would want. I grew up with a dress in every color(with matching leggings) a bedroom set including two matching twin beds with canopy's (really?). I had my own playroom until Alyssa was born and had stuffed animals that were enormous. And I would rather give it away before it is even my own. Thankfully Richard and I have found a new way to grow our family. One of the ways is by eating as a family every night. With our large dinner plates collecting dust(Richard and I use the smaller size ones with the kids). We equally hate doing laundry every 3 days. Thankfully we live in a community where it is common to leave unwanted items our for neighbors.
Several years ago I read about a couple in Portland who got rid of most everything they owned and were left with 100 items. Subsequently they got rid of a huge amount debt with their new lifestyle. I can't recall at the moment but either her or her husband worked from home. Richard works from home and us both being at home in "lounge clothes" or in swim suits the rest of the time. We felt ready for a new challenge! We will be personalizing it to our family which will probably go something like, 50 items for each child, 100 items for me, 100 for Richard, and 100 "family items" like furniture. So for us it will be like less than 100 items per person. Each year brings new beginnings and new ends. I encourage you to create a personal challenge, it doesn't have to be 100 items but make it a meaningful one. Simplify your life, you'll realize how little everything else really matters.
1 comment:
I was just talking to Ben about this. I look around at all of our STUFF and it is really driving me crazy lately. This Christmas was especially filled with stuff. I feel like we have wayy too much of it, and I want to get rid of it all. I mean, we have over 100 books alone! I know one day we will be able to live more simply, maybe in the woods in a tepee. Why do we need so much STUFF??? He is a partial hoarder I have concluded.
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