De-stuffing

As you know, I've been reading some books about minimalism/making do with less/finding what really brings me joy and focusing my time, money, and energy on that.

Well, it goes without saying that I've had just a tiny urge to go through all the STUFF in my house and ask a few questions of that stuff...

Do you deserve a place in my home?
What value do you add to my household?
Do you make my life easier?
Do I have a place to put you?

I got these questions from a book I just read called The Joy of Less by Francine Jay.  In her book, Jay quotes William Morris who said, "Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."

I have a long way to go, but over the last month or so, I have taken quite a few trips to my local thrift shop with a car at least somewhat full of items I decided weren't useful or beautiful to me.  At first it was really hard.  I'm pretty sentimental, and I have a tendency to keep things just in case.  But after two or three years of thinking I'm going to wear a sweater and then not actually ever wearing it, it's time to say goodbye.

The first de-junking my husband and I attempted together was only somewhat successful, but since we started, I find something almost every day that belongs in my DI pile.  It is getting soooo much easier to let go of THINGS that I'm not using and don't value.  The freedom that comes with all this has surprised me.  Less stuff means less to clean and keep track of and take care of.  Plus, I find joy thinking that my junk is going to become someone else's treasure.  I know I've had plenty of those treasure moments at the DI....

Those questions I've been asking of my stuff also work great when I'm out shopping and find something I want to buy.  Do I really need all this stuff?  Why buy more stuff when I'm in the process of getting rid of so much right now?  And no, this doesn't mean I'm never going to buy anything ever again.  I just bought a car last week.  But I'm much more deliberate in my purchasing choices.

Here are a few more inspiring quotes from the book:

"When we're old and gray, we won't wax poetic on the things we had - but rather on what we did in the spaces between them."

"He who knows he has enough is rich."  - Loa Tzu

"So what do we have to do to become minsumers?  Not much, actually.  We don't have to protest, boycott, or block the doors to megastores; in fact, we don't even have to lift a finger, leave the house, or spend an extra moment of our precious time.  It's simply a matter of not buying.  Whenever we ignore television commercials, breeze by impulse items without a glance, borrow books from the library, mend our clothes instead of replacing them, or resist purchasing the latest electronic gadget, we're committing our own little acts of 'consumer disobedience.'  By simply not buying, we accomplish a world of good:  we avoid supporting exploitative labor practices, and we reclaim the resources of our planet - delivering them from the hands of corporations into those of our children.  It's one of the easiest and most effective ways to heal the Earth and improve the life of its inhabitants."

I'm all about making life better for this dude and his whole generation...