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SeaStar
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| Posted: May 02 2014 at 7:03pm | IP Logged
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Talking about taking a school sabbatical for a year has reminded me that I want to share with you all my latest project: I am taking a stuff sabbatical.
The majority of what I own right now is in boxes. I put it there- basically to see if I can live without it. Discovery: I can't remember what is in most of the boxes. I am living without it- can't even remember what most of it is.
Even my books- yes, most of my books, are in boxes right now. Discovery:
I have way too many books. I knew that, really- but you don't really, really know it until you move an endless pile of book boxes into your garage, and you can't believe there are, yep, still more boxes waiting in line to go, and your muscles ache, and your kind dh, who is helping you, says he doesn't care if he ever sees a book again. It is amazing how many boxes it takes to hold the contents of just one bookcase.
Yeah. Too many. And not just books.
My house, prior to this exercise, cleaned up well for company. Everything could be made neat and tidy, and I got "oh, you are so organized" a lot. Over the past couple of years I have purged over 200 boxes and bags of stuff from my house. It was looking really good. So I thought.
Friends, label makers lie. Tidy and organized does not make it all OK, at least not for me.
I have felt lately that all my stuff, is, literally, killing me. Sucking up my time and energy. Tying up space and resources. Keeping me from doing things I really enjoy. Making me grumpy. Forcing me into battle with my kids over things like Legos everywhere.... when who bought the Legos in the first place? The sweaty lady moving all those book boxes. Her.
So call me Pandora. I've got all that toxic stuff boxed up. My original plan was to bring back in one box at a time and go through it slowly and see if I really and truly needed to keep it all. Only now I am finding I have pretty much no desire to sift through those boxes. None. So we have boxes in the garage and stacked in hallways and no one wants to go through them.
I think that says it all right there.
Can I live without those OOP science books that only I am excited about? Check. Can I live without that really long black skirt that I wear only once a year? Check. Can I live without the extremely large glass bowl resting on a base of silver elephant heads that was a wedding gift? Double check.
I am shaking my head over all the time and energy and money I have wasted on stuff. I would even like to go farther and argue that it is not school or kids or even activities that burns moms out. It's all the stuff we have to keep up with on top of that.
Do your books own you?
Do your shoes own you?
Do your kitchen gadgets own you?
This Lenten exercise has gotten a little crazy here, and I have work to do... letting go work, which is hard and has made me not want to buy anything ever again. From this perspective, being frugal is easy. I love all the space I now have without all the stuff.
Too bad I still have boxes to sort through  . Yard sale, anyone?
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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jawgee
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| Posted: May 03 2014 at 6:45am | IP Logged
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Oh, I hear you! The Boy Scout yard sale is coming in about a month, and I am going to fill it. The stuff from my kids, especially, is overtaking the house.
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Monica
C (12/2001), N (11/2005), M (5/2008), J (8/2009) and three angels
The Catholic Cup on Facebook
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: May 03 2014 at 7:34am | IP Logged
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Did you read Clutter Free with Kids? I think you were the one that posted it as a free e-book offer some time ago. I read it early in lent as I was starting my 40 bags, and I found it inspiring. I have heard that Organized Simplicity is good, too. I don't think I want to be a true minimalist, but I also don't want to waste space and energy on things that are not used and enjoyed.
I want to do more and be more radical. My problem isn't motivation, it is time and energy. I also don't have a basement or garage (the teensy garage is full of dh's workshop stuff) to be an intermediary place, so planning a yardsale would be too stressful. I just took the stuff to goodwill because I needed it OUT!
After getting rid of 40ish garbage bags of things, my only regret is the lid to a sippy cup I threw away because the cup was missing for forever and subsequently found the cup. So, all in all, the net loss of a cup lid is acceptable. 
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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SeaStar
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| Posted: May 03 2014 at 8:51am | IP Logged
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We have a yard sale coming up in the next two weeks in our neighborhood, but honestly, I don't know if I want to organize for a sale. I just want stuff gone, so Goodwill sounds good to me.
I hear you about the time thing... it takes time to purge! I find it emotionally draining as well. I've been setting the timer for myself to work in 20 minute
increments- and even then the kids tend to interrupt. But the progress is happening. When I feel discouraged I mentally run down the list of things I have put in the give away box that day.
I also want to be more radical.
Last month I took a bunch of stuff to Once Upon a Child, and a very pregnant lady was there turning in a lot of her baby gear. I asked her why, and she said most of it was duplicate stuff from her first baby.
And then she declared (not said- she *declared*!) : I want to make room for my kids. I want to enjoy them.
Yes! I want to make room for *us*, not our stuff.
"Be on guard against all kinds of greed; a man's worth does not consist in the abundance of his possessions". Luke 12:15
OK- so my worth does not consist in the number of books I own. Have to drill that one into my brain. 
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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Kathryn
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| Posted: May 09 2014 at 10:37am | IP Logged
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Magazines, newspapers and homeschool catalogs is what owns me. Tooooo many papers...always "afraid" I'll miss something. I have gotten better over the years when I remember that God will provide what I need when I need it. That helps loosen the death grip I have on some of my papers as I hesitantly toss them into the recycle bin and walk away quickly. 
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Kathryn in TX
(dd 16, ds 15, dd 8, dd 5)
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: May 09 2014 at 10:45am | IP Logged
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Melinda just set out the boxes for the yard sale.. make some big signs that say silly things like:
"No unreasonable offer refused"
And let people hunt on their own through the boxes. If the prices are fairly cheap, people will do it.. then you can make a bit of money and the leftovers can go to thrift stores. 
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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SeaStar
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| Posted: May 09 2014 at 4:17pm | IP Logged
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That is a good idea, Jodie.... have to think about it.
I have also thought of putting out the boxes and saying: It's all free!
That ought to move it out fairly quickly...
Kathryn- yes! Walk away very, very quickly..... I hear you on that  
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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cathhomeschool
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| Posted: July 05 2014 at 4:57pm | IP Logged
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We are in the process of packing up to move...somewhere. Hopefully we'll downsize our space. We are definitely downsizing our stuff. I thought that I'd done a pretty great job of decluttering until I started preparing for this move. It turns out that we have SO much that I mistakenly thought was important to someone, or that *was* "important" until I said use it (3 versions of monopoly) or lose it.
Yes, keeping up with our *stuff* takes too much time and energy. That is not where I want to spend my time and it's not where my family wants to spend it either. We want to spend time playing soccer. We want to travel. We want to serve others. We want to use more of our resources to help the poor in our area. It's a great vision, but it's hard for the kids to translate that into "We don't need 3 versions of Monopoly, or even one because we don't actually play that game. We just like the idea of playing it." It's just as hard for me to translate it into not needing craft supplies, decorations, *books,* and so many other things.
I stumbled across a great post at The Year of Less: When Decluttering Hurts. Her comment on having
Quote:
| A heart that still confuses stylish and cute for what is truly beautiful. |
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is so true for me.
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Janette (4 boys - 22, 21, 15, 14)
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SeaStar
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| Posted: July 05 2014 at 5:54pm | IP Logged
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So many great points, Janette.
The past two weeks I have felt very bogged down by my clutter and at a standstill of sorts. My momentum is gone... I wander around the house wondering what to do with certain items and accomplish nothing.
After reading your comments and the excellent post you linked, I believe I am stuck on these two points:
1. I am giving certain things false importance.
2. I like the idea of having certain items more than I like the items themselves.
and I'll add in my own third sticking point:
3. What can I do with items that have a personal photo or my name on them?
I have a large wooden study board from college that a friend made for me. It has our picture on the top under a layer of poured, clear finish, which was professionally done. There is no way save destroying the board that I can get that picture out. Yet I don't feel like I want something with my picture on it floating around the Goodwill. So where does that leave me?
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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countrymom
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| Posted: July 15 2014 at 3:21pm | IP Logged
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the trash bin  or if you live in the country, the burn pile
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: Frugal Friday: Stuff Sabbatical
