De-cluttering STUFF

I never knew how much "STUFF" I have.  A few days ago I took one look at my cluttered garage and decided it was time to make a change!  Before I knew it I was waist deep in stuff.  Stuff that I have been holding on to for no real purpose.  Baby clothes that are stained and ruined.  Dishes and containers that were replaced, but yet still kept.  Toys galore!  Nothing but STUFF!

Why do humans keep stuff?  There has to be some psychological reasoning behind it.  If you don't use it, don't need it, will never use it again, and it has no real purpose, then why do we hold onto it?  Is there some desire deep down to hoard things?  Is that feeling is more pronounced in some than in others?  I was shocked by the amount of things that I have buried inside every corner of my house.  And the more I searched, the more I found.  Paperwork from 5+ years ago, coats in my hall closet that I never wear, pants in my bedroom that don't fit, shoes that I've never seen, scraps of paper 'just in case'.  Really?  Why do I need all this stuff?

I started to de-clutter.  It was difficult at first getting rid of all those extra things laying around.  But the more I searched, the more I found, and it was easier to get rid of all the pointless items.  I wish I would have taken a picture of my garage a few days ago.  You couldn't even walk through it without falling over something.  Of course, this was because I started dumping container after container on the floor determined to really see all the JUNK I was holding onto.

My goal is simple:  

 Hold onto only what I need

Have a place for everything

Make use of the old things by donating or selling

I started by choosing my shelves.  I have 4 shelving units in my garage.  Everything has to fit on those 4 units (within reason of course!  Obviously the stroller can't fit on there)  So I have to be picky about what stays and what goes.  Then I grouped together items and found a container.  If it did not fit in the container, out it went!  My favorite things went into the container first, then the next things I wanted to keep, and if I ran out of space, I had to get rid of it.  This was SO MUCH EASIER instead of trying to find containers I had laying around to fit all my STUFF.  And it helped me stay on task.

There is something refreshing about purging your life of everything that is unnecessary.  It is like a make over.  Get rid of the old stuff to make way for the new.  And this time, the new is not going to be a whole bunch of useless things.  It will have a purpose and a point if it steps into my household.  And if it doesn't, then I will not hesitate to get rid of it. 

Steve and I are at a good place right now.  We are cleansing our lives.  We are improving our finances and knocking out the things that are tying us down.  We are clearing the physical junk that surrounds our home.  We are making steps to become a healthier family.  We are growing, improving, and learning more each day.  And it feels great.