How much stuff is enough stuff? How many dishes are normal? How much clothes do we need? When does a lot become a hoard? Is it possible to have too little?
My grandmother is a hoarder and so is my mother. I grew up in a house that I slowly watched get more and more filled with stuff. As another child would move out with their belongings, their now vacant room would refill just as quickly with miscellaneous junk. I find that I too have the tendency to want to hoard but being aware of it has made all the difference. I recently closed down my family daycare business of 10 years. There was a lot of toys and furniture involved. I went through and sold or donated most of it and only kept what my own children play with.
My house became a lot emptier, it was nice. I fell in love with the empty spaces. I had never seen empty spaces before. We didn't have them growing up. As far as toys go, I do believe in a good, healthy amount being available for kids to play with. I would rather trip over the toys they are playing with than have kids glued to monitors all day. Clothes have always been simple for me. I only keep what fits and what I wear. My oldest sons clothes are put in space bags and kept for my youngest. Once my youngest son and daughter grow out of their clothes they are donated.
I only keep what I can realistically use. Is my house empty? Not even close but it isn't jam packed either. We have bonus rooms that we use for extras. The kids have a music room for their drum set, keyboard, and guitar. We have a very large dining room that doubles as a space for video games. I can see my floor and I can see my walls so I think I'm doing OK.
The compulsion to try and find a reason to keep things is no longer something I struggle with. It was a burden and kept me from doing the things I wanted to do. It is freeing to throw things out. Do you need to go shopping for stuff to stuff your stuff in?
No comments:
Post a Comment