Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Time to Let Go and Move on!

We are renting a rather large-for-us house right now.  Not what we had planned nor where we had planned, but it fell into our hands at just the right time and because of fear, we jumped.  Into a much too large-for-us house.  In many ways it has been a blessing, don't get me wrong, but in MANY more ways - a burden.

People have said to me, "Oh, you will miss all of this space when you move."
Maybe.  Maybe not.
I hope not.

My hope is that I will crave simplicity more than I crave space.  And for sure more than I crave stuff!  Because no matter what kind of space you have, you WILL fill it up.  We have.

I want to crave people more than stuff ya'll!  My prayer- Lord, let this be enough.

Piles here.  A stack there.  A box in that closet.  A hodgepodge in that drawer.  Is it just me?  Can you close your eyes and see it?  Does it weigh you down, heart, mind and soul?  It does me.

STUFF.
EVERYWHERE
Some needed, a lot- not!
And I want to know where it all came from.

OH!  Me!

OK, maybe not all me, but a lot me!
And I really am not that big of a spender.  We are on a budget after all.  So I just spend what's in each category.  'cause it's there.  But with our No-Spend January rule (final update to come at the end of the month) I am seeing how I could save even more money by limiting the spending in some of our categories or even getting rid of a few.  Gasp , I know!

Forget do I want it!  Do I NEED IT?

As I take carloads of STUFF to the local Goodwill Store, it literally makes me sick to think of all the money attached to those things that I am so readily giving away.

Stuffed animals x $10.00= $$$
Doo-dads x $5.00= $$$
Clothes x $30.00= $$$
Books x $6.00= $$$


And that's conservative, my friends.


"Wow, how did you fit all this stuff into a smaller house?"  I don't know, but we did.  At it was OK.  Things just expand to fill a space, remember?  But I am tired of filling those spaces.  I long for a small space with only the people and things I love and use surrounding me.  Emphasis on the people.

So we are in downsize mode.
Really.

When we move this summer I want to see the bare minimum going with us.  No extra stuff.  No clutter.  Just the people and things that I love.  When each thing comes out of a box on the other side of the move I want to know exactly why I have it and where it is going.  That's it.

When Jesus calls us to do something big for HIS glory, I am pretty sure He will not be calling me and my stuff.  And if He takes us to Heaven tomorrow, I can guarantee this stuff is not going with us.

I am pretty sure Jesus does not care that much about my stuff.
I don't want to either.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where theives break in and steal.  But store up for yourseleves tresures in Heaven...for where your tresaue is, there your heart will be also.  Matthew 6:19-21

_________________________________________________________________________________

Coming next week-  Guest post from my oldest about her College Transition and Kid's Toy Storage-Step 1 in Decluttering!
See ya back on Friday for a Fun Friday Book Giveaway!

4 comments:

  1. We did this Michele!! We moved from 3600 square feet to 1600 square feet. In our big house we had a 400 square foot storage room packed to the, an 1100 square foot garage completely full and another 1100 square foot of attic space with loads of stuff in it. I have NEVER BEEN HAPPIER in our small house. So simple, so stress free. I wouldn't go back to BIGGER if you paid me a million dollars. Seriously.

    ReplyDelete
  2. On the same page - but it's hard! We are also living in a large gorgeous house right now, and I do love the space so we aren't always on top of one another. But I am trying to make it feel empty!! I love the statement about unpacking on the other end... it will be so much easier to unpack with less stuff that all has a place and function. Every move I hate all the stuff, but this time I finally have a fire lit under my hiney to get it under control by the next move. I have 1.5 years. The year of the purge. Thanks for extra motivation! Oh - not to mention it takes much less time to clean up with less stuff to clean up. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Michelle,
    I completely understand. We came from a large house we were renting and now are nestled into base housing. I am going through closets and boxes oh my! But on another note on ABC.com there are links to websites where you can sell your stuff. Lots of easy to use sites, for clothing, toys, electronics etc. Maybe this will help with the guilt of wasted money. I am very thankful for the base thrift shop.

    ReplyDelete
  4. So Glad you have a godly view point on your stuff !
    We came from a 2400 sqft rental to our home now which is 1268 sqft! We are getting ready to have a family of 7 in 1268 sqft. And yes people are always asking how we fit in our house I feel like breaking out into the hymn "I feel like traveling on" you know the one with the words this world is not my home I am just a passing through...lol =).... We have absolutely no free space for clutter! I feel like I am constantly going through the garage bins, closets and toy bins trying to free up space! I love being clutter free though and the fact that I can vacuum my whole house in 5 minutes...maybe a little longer now that I am almost 35 weeks along...lol =)

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for commenting. I love hearing from you!