I have a love-hate relationship with stuff.
Awhile back we took our old basement couch to the dump, but I kept the cushions because they also fit the love seat. Great! Spares in case the love seat’s get stained or damaged! In the meantime, they are taking up room and getting played with and generally getting in the way in the basement. Not so great.
The same thing happens with worn out clothes (could be used for kids’ costumes or fabric), outgrown clothes (you never know when we’ll have younger ones in the house again), kitchen items I never use (but someday I might!), and random art and craft supplies that make me feel like someday I might be better at doing art class with the boys.
See what I mean? I want to hang on to stuff that has so much potential, but I really don’t want it taking up space and making our home feel cluttery.
And Wade is no better. Not recognizing the full potential of his clutter, I’m often tempted to just toss gobs of it and hope he’ll never notice. Once in awhile I do, but the ancient original Mac still sits on our bedroom floor, taunting me with its worthlessness every time I walk by it. I'm certain he'd notice if I tossed that!
And just when I feel motived to purge the house of anything and everything that hasn't been used or admired in the last year (or five), something comes in handy and I’m justified in having held on to it for so long.
Today was a strong de-clutter day for me. With a hint of eternal perspective encouraging me to let go of what’s not really valuable, I filled four bags with trash and one big box for the Clothes Closet, a local second hand store. Over and over I asked myself, “Do I need it? Do I want it?” I’ve come to realize that when the mood to declutter strikes, it’s best to take full advantage of it. If it’s still going strong tomorrow, I’ve got a couple particular areas in mind to purge.
And you know, it feels really good, and it looks really good. Why do I not just live unclutteredly all the time? I know, I know, it’s because those old broken window frames will someday make the most adorable picture frames, there may come a day when the entire family needs a thermos full of hot chocolate, and you just never know when there will be a girl in the house who will love reading my old Nancy Drew books.
