Drowning In Stuff

I feel like I’m drowning in stuff.

Anybody else feel like that?

And it’s not all bad stuff, and it’s certainly not all stuff that we’ve purchased. A lot of it is stuff that we’ve been given. We’ve been very blessed over the years to receive lots of hand-me-down clothes and shoes from friends. A lot of times those also come with other items like purses, decorations, books, etc.

But I also do shop at thrift stores and Good Will. I add to the problem some.

And of course – kids grow. They outgrow clothes. Y’ALL. We have bags and bags of clothes that need to go away. We have mountains of laundry we need to downsize. Some of that also needs to go away.

Don’t get me started on the books!! Even if we weren’t homeschoolers, we would probably have lots of books. But the used curricula just adds to it. I have boxes of books and things which need to GO AWAY.

There is just too much stuff.

And why? Why does it pile up? Why haven’t I done something with it yet?

I mentioned that I just don’t know how to process it all and get rid of it. It’s not that I’m a hoarder, because I have no attachment to this stuff at all.

However, I do have waste issues, so I can’t just throw it all away. And I struggle with just hauling it all to the thrift store because I’d like to help out other friends with growing kids and other homeschool friends who need curriculum. But I don’t want to pass on junk, so things have to be sorted into sizes and things not worth passing on have to be culled. In other words: it would be a project. And I have trouble making time for that project because I want to sit down and do it all at once.

Oh, and the papers. THE PAPERS. Another thing I put off so I can do it in one session. But that never happens.

So I clearly have issues. And the result is lots and lots of stuff. (Did I mention that stuff needs. to. go. away??) 

So, eventually, inevitably, after a while of drowning in stuff, I hit my breaking point.

I make a 180-switch from “I can’t just round it all up and drop it off at the thrift store” to “JUST ROUND IT ALL UP AND DROP IT OFF AT THE THRIFT STORE.”

And I am there. So there.

I want to get rid of almost everything and go minimalist. I want to clear out the majority of the house in favor of a sparsely decorated, sparsely furnitured, sparsely stocked, clean and open space. I want to go bare bones.

MAKE IT ALL GO AWAY.

Do ya feel me?

I don’t know if I’ll actually go “minimalist…” the feeling probably won’t last long after I get rid of the majority of the clutter. But I might. I JUST MIGHT.