Too much

We live in a disposable society where not only do we throw out an incredible amount of 'stuff'; we also collect an incredible amount of stuff.

And this stuff is getting overwhelming. I'm not sure if it's the impending winter, with long days and nights spent inside our cozy 3 bedroom home, or the fact that with three kids comes a lot of stuff. And stuff that we could do without.

I started realizing how much 'stuff' we have when I discovered the bed bug in the boys' room. With that we had to pack up everything into black plastic bags. We were only allowed to keep out what we really needed: clothes for the next few days, a blanket for each child, a few toys, etc. When we were allowed to unpack, we did so slowly, after a week of living with just what we needed, I quickly found that some of that 'stuff' that was packed in those black bags, wasn't really missed. Of course, there were times when there was that one thing that I went looking for in the sea of black bags, but for the most part, we didn't miss the stuff. As we unpacked, we went through our clothes and items to figure out what we really needed. I surfed through the wealth of organizing information online and found an extremely helpful tip with clothes: 'pretend you are going on a month long vacation and pack enough clothes for that month.' Most of us probably have a few outfits that we wear all the time, these are the ones that we feel the most comfortable in. So I went through my clothes and donated ones that I didn't want/need. I was amazed at how much room my little closet actually had!

Of course life gets crazy and that's about as far as I got with cleaning out the 'stuff.' However, it's time to get real again! On the list to clean out:

• kid's toys; seriously they have too much! And half they don't even play with!
• school stuff from Alan and I
• kitchen; I do a pretty good job of keeping the kitchen clutter down, but there are some extra sets of dishes, and 'stuff' that is just taking up space. 
• those rubbermaid totes in the workshop area, they are all labeled, but I really need to go through them. 
• Alan has some climbing gear and 'stuff' he want to sell. 

Since money is tight, selling this 'stuff' is a good idea, so a yard sale and listing stuff on Craig's list is in the plans. 

I feel better, knowing that we don't have so much stuff. And it makes keeping the house straight a bit easier too. For me, simple is better.