Do You Have Too Much Stuff?

I’ve mentioned a few times that our family of 6 lives in a 1,200 sq. ft. house. Because of this, I’m constantly throwing something out, donating something, or giving things away. Space is a constant factor. I am a little neurotic about having several spaces in the house that are spotless. Certain countertops aren’t allowed to have anything on them. Leave something on it for 24 hours and I’ll get rid of it. If I yell out ‘Do I see something on the counter?!?’ all the kids will come running for fear of whatever it is getting thrown out. We don’t buy much but if we bring in a bag of stuff from Target, I expect an equal sized bag of something else to leave.

I prided myself on having hardly a thing in my house that wasn’t a necessity. The kid’s toys and clothes are regularly rotated out of the house when they start to get worn. My husband and I share an 8-foot-wide closet. When you only have 4 feet for clothes, you simply can’t own something you only wear occasionally. School stuff is very organized. Everything has a place. I’m a champ at this. I was Marie Kondo before Marie Kondo existed!

Or so I thought.

Chris would like me to consider switching jobs to 100% remote. He’d like to sell the house and travel for a couple years with the kids. When I stopped laughing, I tried to figure out how I could live in a trailer without losing my mind when I can barely keep it together in a place 10x the size. I told him I’d be willing to have a serious conversation about his idea when we get back from our travels. It will either solidify the lifestyle or make our home feel like an enormous mansion. Either way, win-win.

As I walked through our home the last few days, I paused to look at each item I considered a ‘necessity’. We have more than a dozen plates in our house. We have 6 in the trailer. We also only have one cup, one fork, one knife, etc. per person. Four feet of closet space would be a luxury in a trailer. I only have 15”. I have a medicine ball and a couple kettle bells at home. In the trailer, you have to consider size and weight so I never take them with me. Instead, I ask my 3-year-old to hop on my back while I do squats. Trailer life forces us to truly figure out what is a necessity.

No, I’m not going to get rid of all our stuff anytime soon but it changed my perspective on ‘necessity’. You may be looking to buy something because ‘I HAVE TO HAVE IT!’ but do you really need it?

It’s an interesting exercise. Walk around your house today and ask yourself, ‘Do I really need all this stuff?!?’ Maybe it’s time to sell or at the very least, hold off on buying something new.

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