To Keep or not to Keep?
I come from a long line of sentimental people. They treasure things of the past and in some ways I can relate. I really enjoy taking something old and re-purposing it into something new or just refinishing it to make it look new. I’ve made an armoire into a pantry, an old coffee table into a lego table (with help for the hubby). I’ve repainted frames, cabinets, chairs , pretty much anything I could get my hands on.
However, I’m very different in other ways. If I don’t find an object useful, or see its purpose in my life right now, I have no problem getting rid of it, whether donating or just trashing it.
A few blogs ago I talked about how I’m trying to simplify my life and everything in it. As I’ve been on my adventure of being a stay at home wife and mom, I’ve learned a little bit about living simply and actually enjoying it. You see when you’re a one income family, you have to pick and choose what you spend your money on. I’ve had to tell my girls no to buying things, myself no, and my husband no. Some months we just don’t have any extra, just enough for necessities. Some it might stress out and it does me sometimes, but I have learned to become more thrifty and more creative especially when we are at the end of the month waiting on the “glorious payday”. I have certainly been able to see that we survive and we learn to become a little more humble with each passing day. When you have a lot of stuff, you really don’t treasure what you have because you really and truly don’t know what you have. There is too much excess. Don’t get me wrong, we are very blessed and have been given numerous amounts of things and have really not had to do without. And while I’m grateful for that, I also feel the need to teach my children, life doesn’t always hand us everything we want. We can be happy without many material things that we feel are necessary, but truly are not.
So I have been on a decluttering journey the past few days with Marie Kondo. I hope to finish by the end of the week. I have to admit I did not read the entire book; I’m onIy in the first chapter, but thanks to Pinterest I was able to go ahead and get started with the process. Sometimes I can be impatient when I set my mind to do something, I’m not willing to waste any time, I’m ready to get the show on the road! So I jumped right in even though I probably shouldn’t have if I wanted to do it exactly right. Anyways, Marie Kondo wrote a book entitled The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, and it’s premise is basically how to tidy up once and for all. Following certain steps you purge your belongings that do no spark joy. It goes into detail in the book what this exactly means. But after it’s all said and done you can live in a home where your surrounded by things that truly bring you joy, things that are truly meaningful. Along the way I have realized how much excess we really have and so we are doing our best to only keep what we absolutely need. This has been a challenge and will continue to be, but I hope at the end I can say we found joy in the process and joy of letting go of things we simply don’t need. Am I crazy? Probably, and Matt will confirm it. But the loving man he is supports this crazy woman and all her “hey I got an idea” moments.
I’ll leave you with this:
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:19-21 NIV
However, I’m very different in other ways. If I don’t find an object useful, or see its purpose in my life right now, I have no problem getting rid of it, whether donating or just trashing it.
A few blogs ago I talked about how I’m trying to simplify my life and everything in it. As I’ve been on my adventure of being a stay at home wife and mom, I’ve learned a little bit about living simply and actually enjoying it. You see when you’re a one income family, you have to pick and choose what you spend your money on. I’ve had to tell my girls no to buying things, myself no, and my husband no. Some months we just don’t have any extra, just enough for necessities. Some it might stress out and it does me sometimes, but I have learned to become more thrifty and more creative especially when we are at the end of the month waiting on the “glorious payday”. I have certainly been able to see that we survive and we learn to become a little more humble with each passing day. When you have a lot of stuff, you really don’t treasure what you have because you really and truly don’t know what you have. There is too much excess. Don’t get me wrong, we are very blessed and have been given numerous amounts of things and have really not had to do without. And while I’m grateful for that, I also feel the need to teach my children, life doesn’t always hand us everything we want. We can be happy without many material things that we feel are necessary, but truly are not.
So I have been on a decluttering journey the past few days with Marie Kondo. I hope to finish by the end of the week. I have to admit I did not read the entire book; I’m onIy in the first chapter, but thanks to Pinterest I was able to go ahead and get started with the process. Sometimes I can be impatient when I set my mind to do something, I’m not willing to waste any time, I’m ready to get the show on the road! So I jumped right in even though I probably shouldn’t have if I wanted to do it exactly right. Anyways, Marie Kondo wrote a book entitled The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, and it’s premise is basically how to tidy up once and for all. Following certain steps you purge your belongings that do no spark joy. It goes into detail in the book what this exactly means. But after it’s all said and done you can live in a home where your surrounded by things that truly bring you joy, things that are truly meaningful. Along the way I have realized how much excess we really have and so we are doing our best to only keep what we absolutely need. This has been a challenge and will continue to be, but I hope at the end I can say we found joy in the process and joy of letting go of things we simply don’t need. Am I crazy? Probably, and Matt will confirm it. But the loving man he is supports this crazy woman and all her “hey I got an idea” moments.
I’ll leave you with this:
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:19-21 NIV
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