Stuff

While I do consider myself a bargain shopper, over the past several years, I have become more and more picky about what I want to come through the doors of our house.

I am strongly focused on finding the balance between nothing...

and too much...

In the early years of my marriage, I enthusiastically mastered the whole "feather the nest" thing by finding bargains at every store around.  I loved fixing up our house, and gathering things to make that possible.

Years went by, and at some point, that "gathering stage" ended.  I found that I

did not want more stuff...

it just made life more cluttered, and difficult to manage.

Since then, while I do like to tweak things and make improvements to our home when we can, I have become very intentional about what I want to add to our "stash".

I have soooo realized that 

more stuff = more work = more stress.  

For the last several years, I have tried to have 2 yard sales each year...one in the spring, and one in the fall.  When the sale is over, we take anything that is left to Goodwill.

I have joked many times that my goal is to some day have one of those yard sales that people look at from their cars, and see that there is just one piddly little table with a few items sitting on it...

so they just drive on by!

Then I will know that I have won the war against stuff!

That hasn't happened yet...and as long as I have kids at home, it probably won't.

(I would rather have my kids, and the stuff that comes with them ANY day!),

So for now, being intentional about what comes IN, and making sure that things are regularly moving OUT, keeps me actively engaged in the battle!

This morning, Nester linked to this post, which I  L.O.V.E.D.

It is a must read.

What do you do to avoid too much stuff?

Writing the Waves,

Christi