Determined to Be Simple

Not simple minded....just simple! I have really been thinking about all the stuff we have and what a mess our house stays in because of that. Well, there are other reasons why our house stays a mess, but honestly a large part of it is because there is no way to keep up with the amount of stuff that we own.

I visited my aunt's house this weekend. Every time I visit one of her houses (her real house or her "country home") I want my house to look better. One time, when Sweetheart was around 5 or 6, we visited my aunt's real home and I went home and started cleaning. A few weeks later Sweetheart observed me cleaning and asked, "How many weeks have you been trying to make your house look like Aunt N's?"

The little smartie pants.

The real answer? Years!

I don't mean to be all philosophical, but I've really been thinking about how stuff ties us down, consumes our time, orders our day, and makes life a bit un-enjoyable. Oh sure, some stuff makes life better, don't get me wrong! But in general, we just have TOO MUCH of everything.

I started working on that yesterday. (If you've been reading my blog for a while, please don't bring up the fact that I have preached this sermon before! I got my kitchen and laundry room done and that was the end.) This time, I started in the room that always gets left for last: our bedroom. I rearranged, dusted, cleaned and it looks great!

BUT, I'm not done! Oh no ma'am! It's clean and new and I found the cedar chest under all the laundry, but it's still not simplified. There is stuff all over the place in that room and it must be dealt with. I began with that cedar chest. It holds our sheets and it was full to the top. It's a HUGE cedar chest so we obviously had enough sheets for our entire block. I now have a big pile of mismatched sheets in the hall to give away, plus sheets that don't fit any beds we currently own. It's much better now.

So what else could I possibly need to do in there? Oh boy, where do I start? It's all those hidden places: the closet, the nightstand drawers (who knows what's in those?) the top of the dresser, the bathroom cabinets, under the bathroom sink, etc. I am very serious. We are getting rid of stuff. We do not need this much junk in our lives.

And this cleaning spree comes from lots of time thinking about consumerism and how the media tells us we need, need, need and thoughts about contentment, etc. All those are good things to think about, but I decided I needed to do something about it. And it starts at home.

In the master bedroom to be more specific.

So, how much stuff do you have in your bedroom? :)