Too Much Stuff

This past week has been a busy one for me. I came back ready for action after staying with my cousins after the third spraying for mites. I moved up my sewing stash again. This time it is smaller since I gave even more away. I also moved up my clothes, again finding more room than the first time around because I thinned things down. We went to IKEA and got an underbed chest so I could get my shoes out of the way. We also got Phil a chest of drawers so he won't have to put his clothes on the floor when he visits. We also hung some art. As Phil said when he visited, "It looks like you down-sized. You have art everywhere I turn my head. It's a little too much for my taste." On the other hand, friends Mike and Florence came over, helped hang a few things, and said that they liked the art because it reminded them of our house in Bellevue and the many good times we had together there. We then emptied out the self-storage unit, which took about 7 carloads to accomplish. That stuff had to go into our garage. Then, of course, I had to sort through things and stack up boxes. My goal was to have our remaining things stored in the garage with enough room for one car to park. It took awhile, but I managed. Neither Larry nor I had enough motivation to try to thin down our possessions even more right now, but we both know that will have to happen in the future. What is in the dozens of boxes stacked in our garage? Photo albums, books, school papers, things that we made, Cliff and Phil's stuff, the Villeroy and Boch dishes I like so well, but don't manage to use very often, the crystal, a few vases, bedding, and many framed photos and paintings that we don't have room to display. When I look at it, I think that we still have too much stuff. But I also give myself permission to take time to continue the down-sizing process--and I also tell myself that I have done a good job so far.

I read somewhere that someone is putting on a one-man show about the things that people save and what they throw away. There is definitely a psychology to this. I think that it is OK to hold onto some items from your past, but not to the extent that they keep you from enjoying the present.