Too much stuff?

Recently I have been trying to scale down all my "stuff". I am surprised at people's reactions to this, and the thoughts of, "Why would you do that?" or "That's great, but I can't get rid of my stuff." or "Yeah, just be more out there and 'green' Becca."

This whole thing really started for me around February, when we did a series of events in Morgantown called Another World is Possible. The first night there was a speaker who talked about our responsibility to be a good steward of what we have been given. His name was Dr. Sleeth, and you may have heard of his book Serve God, Save the Planet. Through reading his book, attending his lecture, and getting a chance to chat with him afterwards a a little cafe known as so.zo, I really began to think about ways that I could change.

You see, I like most Americans have WAY too much stuff. Maybe you can relate. I am a grad student, who for 3 years lived alone in a 3 bedroom apartment full of stuff. Amazing, huh?And you know, if there can be shows like Clean House on Style network (which I still find an odd place for that to be aired) then obviously there is an issue within our culture!

As I have been thinking more about this, I did a little research. Do you know if you Google "too much stuff" you come up with about 22,700,000 results? (Yes, Google is my go to shallow research tool.) That kind of interested me. There is a lot of information on these pages, mainly about how Americans have too much stuff, and steps you can take to lessen your clutter.

Any one of these ideas may help you get rid of clutter. But really are you going to stick with it? I don't think so, unless you have a change of mindset when it comes to why you have so much stuff anyway, or why you feel its important to simplify.

Now, I would suggest you read the book mentioned above, because I won't do a thorough job of explaining things here. But, suffice it to say that by taking care of the world around us we are honoring and serving God. I'm guessing that isn't enough to make you want to stop surfing the web and go clean out a closet though.

Here is my revelation: having so much stuff breeds laziness. Yup, you read that right. You see, when you have too many clothes, you can think, "well, I have something clean to wear, so I can wait a little while longer to do laundry." Then you end up with 8 loads to do at one time instead of 1-2 a week. Or how about dishes and silverware? Ever not done dishes because there was still some clean, and then it took you 2 hours to wash everything? Yeah, I've been there. Or how about the fact that when you have tons of clutter no matter how hard you try your house will never look clean? So what's the point in trying?

We are supposed to be good stewards if what we have been given. Is spending money on useless things being a good steward of our finances? Is having a house or apartment bigger than we need just so we can house more stuff a good use of resources and energy? Ever think about what could be done with all the money you spend on useless things? (see The hidden costs of too much stuff on MSN.com).

When I found out I had to move out of my old apartment because of a rent increase, I saw it as an opportunity to downsize. I was able (well, I kind of had to) get rid of about half of what I owned to fit it all in my new apartment. The funny thing is, I find myself still getting rid of stuff little by little when I realize I don't use it.

And I have less desire to go buy stuff because I want it or its cool, simply because I really don't need it and have no room for it anyway. I was shopping with some friends in downtown Wilmington on my birthday, and one of my friends asked if I was gonna get anything (most of the others were). I told him no, that I didn't really need any stuff. He seemed a little taken back by this answer. Not because he disagreed with it, but I think it shocked him to hear a girl in a cool boutique say that she wasn't going to buy anything! "But its your birthday!" He said. Well, birthday or not, I still don't need the stuff. Too often we make excuses for why we need the coolest, latest thing, when really what we have at home already is more than enough.

What can you get rid of that you don't use? Can you begin to think before you buy something, "Do I really need this?" and actually lessen your purchases?

Here are a couple more ideas to help you reduce your clutter or your intake:

Plan with your family and friends to only give consumable gifts for holidays (food, other necessities, etc.) or maybe even give a donation to your favorite charity.

Organize a clothing swap among your friends, you'll get some new clothes, and get rid of things in the process!

Borrow, borrow, borrow! Know someone who has something you'd like? See if you can borrow it. And in the same way, share what you have with others!

Try to get rid of 1/3 of the things you have a bunch of and never use all at once (winter accessories, Tupperware, desk supplies, etc.)

Take some time to think about what you can do to reduce your stuff. You may be surprised how easy it becomes after just a little practice!