Simplfying my Life

Since I found Headgates I have massively dejunked my house.   Since I never was a pack rat before and I was a queen of organization I was very surprised to see how many things we had that we really didn't need.  Too much stuff!!

The first thing I did was I got rid of all our extra stuff.  Everything from movies, spatulas, plastic plants, sheets, clothes to lots and lots of books and toys. Why did I have so much stuff?

Once I started getting rid of  our stuff I was finally able to give up so many things that I had emotionally been holding onto. In that process I learned to think about things in a whole new way.  I finally began to understand what it meant to simplify my life (which didn't mean reorganize my stuff) and I began to love it.

Some of the things I things I've learned include:

• We aren't going to spend Christmas/birthdays on the accumulation of more things.
• I don't want to spend my time dusting and cleaning. Read here.
• I don't want to spend my time reorganizing my organized clutter.
• We wasted too much time watching movies.
• We had too many books that weren't good books. They were mindless books that brought no value.  Abridged books were the first too go.
• I only want to buy quality products now that have lasting value.  I want appliances that I will take to a repair shop because they are worth repairing.  This contrasts my previous view of buying cheap stuff and throwing it away when it ceased to operate.
• We only need one or two extra pair of sheets not a dozen.
• We only need four of five pairs of pants and no more than a dozen shirts for everyday.
• We only need a minimum amount of shoes.
• We don't need a thousand paper clips.
• We spent too much on junk from the grocery store.
• Walmart is a temptation to buy things you don't need and are low in quality. Avoid unless needing the necessary things.  But then are those things really necessary?
• We waste too much paper.  We now only use the minimum. Read here.
• My kids are happier playing with their two or three remaining toys and playing outside than they were before with too many to count and pick up.
• We don't need a play room any more.
• My kids really do choose to read and learn in their free time now.
• I study and am happier more now that I don't feel overwhelmed about organizing my stuff.
• We spent more time together as a family.  We interact, we play and we talk.

I've learned a lot.  Who knew we could live with so few things?  I continue to get rid of more and more things on a weekly basis.  It's amazing to me how many things keep showing up.  I have definately learned to rethink my choices with what I spend Mr. Patriot's hard earned money on.  I ask myself things like, "Is this item worth one or two hours (or five, six....) of my husband's life working so I can buy this?"  "Is this something I really need?"  "What purpose will it serve?" "Will it help us come closer to Christ and to each other as a family?"  "Is it an item of quality or will it break easily?" "Is it easy to clean?"  These things have helped me to pare down what we have.

I can't not begin to really state how amazing it is to be free of so many idols, time-wasters, space-wasters, energy-drainers, and money-wasers.

Challenge: Take inventory of the things in your house. Do you really need it? Get rid of it all! That's what I did.  I learned I could live without so many things.  You'll find that it's all just stuff anyway!