The War on Stuff

"Everything that you currently own is the stuff of future yard sales, landfills, and dumps."  

(Not sure of the reference... can anyone help me out?)  

Stuff stresses me out.  Am I the only one?

I've been going through the house lately searching for things to sell in our garage sale this weekend.  And I can't believe how much I've found to get rid of.  It's been very therapeutic.  I could never be a hoarder, I would go crazy.  I love getting rid of stuff so much that once I threw away our truck payment book... go ahead, ask Matt, he wasn't too happy.

I follow money saving mom's blog and she talks about her minimalist lifestyle, right down to her wardrobe!  She only owns a few shirts and a few pants that all can be mixed and matched together and pairs them with scarves and different accessories so that it seems like she has many more outfits than she really does.  Brilliant!  Although, I can't go that far yet...

But I've enjoyed getting rid of stuff throughout the house!  It makes the house more tidy; more room in the cabinets & closets, things are easier to find, I could go on and on.

Here's my first minimalist project.... and I'm sure all the ladies out there will be outraged.  But I have a shoe rack that fits 9 pairs of shoes.  So I put my favorite 9 pairs of shoes on it and got rid of the rest.  I don't need more than 9 pairs of shoes.

The next is my kitchen.  I like my counter-tops and the top of my fridge clear... so if I can't fit it inside my cabinets, it gets evicted.  No mercy.

I will leave you with a few pictures from Italian photographer Gabriele Galimberti's photos of children around the world with their most prized possessions.  They bring much perspective to our love of stuff.    

Most prized possessions of a little boy in Malawi:

Most prized possessions of a little girl in Italy:

You can see the rest of the pictures here.

Join me in my minimalist journey... I promise you will be less stressed and appreciate more :)  

Luke 12:15 (MSG) Speaking to the people, he went on, "Take care!  Protect yourself against the least bit of greed.  Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot."