Going to Sarah's apartment in California was refreshing and inspiring. A self proclaimed hippie, she does not have a cluttered home full of possessions. Small containers of food that fit inside one reusable bag that she could carry home by foot from the market down the street filled her refrigerator. It was completely different from my life of bulk.
We try hard to live simply. Serious effort is exerted in this area. I don't shop much. We stay home and eat at home and do most of our recreating at home.
Yet, I battle endlessly with junk junk (yes, I meant to say that twice. It's not just junk, it's junk junk!) everywhere. Our floors are littered with little things. Legos here, a barbie dress there, blankets, hats, stickers, paper scraps, gloves, shoes, socks, rotting bananas and rubbery carrots hiding in corners or under furniture. And, I am a really, really clean person who purges ALL THE TIME! JOTSC probably have 1/4 the amount of toys average American kids do. Maybe 1/6. Sometimes we get rid of them all at once because it's just too much. We keep a good handle on limiting what comes in.
There is very little storage in our house, no basement, and there is still room in the closets, so we are not pack rats. And still, I feel the clutter closing in on me every.day.of.my.life.
Shall I just give up and accept it, learn to not care? Is this a battle that can be won? How do those women from Denmark on Oprah do it?
Is a mega family destined to a lifetime full of mega junk management? If you've got the answers, could you kindly fill me in? :)
8 comments:
i have no answers...but i'll be listening!
Once kids arrive on the scene, all bets are off!
I saw that ridiculous episode too.
I've been to Denmark.....those ladies have a LOT of money...there are 'other' people in Denmark.
AND.
there was ONE of your friend.....times what she has by the number of people in your family and it's probably close to the same amount of 'junk junk'.
I'm just sayin'.
i think you need to relax.
~chrissy ♪♪♪ <3 <3
If it makes you feel any better, before we moved here I purged A LOT, A LOT, A LOT! Our entire playroom- all the large things (dollhouse, table and chairs, little kitchen) got sold or given away. All the action figures that the boys (didn't play with anymore) and all the Imaginex toys that were cool, but too many pieces, and not "played with enough"- all given away.
And if you can believe it, I miss all those things. We do not have enough to play with here!! We have a large playroom space and almost nothing in it. I dread having other kids come over to play because our house is B-O-R-I-N-G! We have lego sets, a couple Playmobile things and THAT'S IT. So, my house may be decluttered, but it's even hard for me to tell the kids "GO PLAY" - there's not a lot of options anymore (!). So don't feel like you're overwhelmed- kids need things to play with and they need OPTIONS and things that get relegated to the corner or under the couch today will be SO MUCH FUN in a couple months when they're found again.
It's your stage of life - embrace it! When there are no more toys to be stepped on or picked up, you'll wonder where your babies went!
The Hollys have a very good point! Put 5 kiddos at Sarah's house and it might be a tad more messy and cluttered.....
Haha, no lie Chrissy. I do!
Katy-you're always making me sad these days as I see your babies fading away into much larger, more self sufficient versions of themselves. Where DID your babies go? They were just running around here with mine. Wasn't that yesterday? Time flies by, doesn't it? My baby is almost 2! Thanks for the reminder.
Katy, I meant you're making me sad in the very best way ;-) Miss you!!!
So this is what I think...out loud and in a public comment. :)
I have been beat to the punch pointing out the number of people in your home. I know you do your best to limit the stuff...but in reality, even small amounts of stuff multiplied by 7 is lots of stuff. If you got rid of all the toys and then got snowed in for 10 days.......This is to say that your goal of living simply is a good one. Just think, if you did not live simply, you would be way overwhelmed. But I think stuff gets a bad name because of what happens when people find their value and worth in their stuff.....when people break the bank trying to keep up with the Jones' stuff....when their stuff becomes their priority. The reality is, you can't live like your friend unless you want to go bonkers!!! There are probably things you would like to learn from her and probably things she would like to learn from you. But you are two different people living two different lives with differnet amounts of stuff. The question is, where is your worth and I know you well enough to say, it is certainly not in your stuff.
Post a Comment