SO MUCH STUFF
With all the saving this and saving that “preaching” going on like here and here….you may think we are hoarders.😂 This is actually not true at all.
Now, there is a little issue with picnic baskets that needs to be addressed (have to talk to The Mister about that….hahaha), however that aside, we are not busting at the seems.
In fact, our last home was under 1400 for the four of us.
Often times, the thought is……..If I get bigger I will have room for all my stuff.
MAYBE – MAYBE NOT!
The big message we hope people will come away from our site is to make the best with what you have.
For example, if you live in a 500 sq. ft home, you will need to focus on that and ROCK IT. You should have a “Small Home” inspiration board on Pinterest and the IKEA catalog should be by your bed stand. Look at New Yorkers………they are well equipped in small apartments and making do in amazing ways.
One area that can provide people the most frustration when decorating, and thus a ticket to hoardsville, is falling in love with so many styles or the “it” items of the moment.
Pinterest and Instagram could be blamed for this, but before that it was magazines and other peoples homes.
RAE DUNN CRAZE
Just recently, there has been a CRAZY rush for Rae Dunn Pottery that is most commonly found at TJ Maxx:
Let’s preface this by saying we DIDN’T NEED ANYTHING nor did we have the space for it!!
You know what else we don’t have……… the extra money for it.
GUESS what, they came home anyways.
And once home, the process of where are they going to go starts.
And the budget issue starts!
FINALLLLY, despite all the gorgeous pics on Instagram and the overall cuteness factor, sanity returned.
No need, no budget, no space!
They are not staying!
EVEN THOUGH “EVERYONE” SEEMS TO HAVE THEM!
LOVE WHAT YOU HAVE
If you are struggling to get a handle on your décor and the space that it inhabits, here are some tips:
-Pic a style and try to decorate around that. That doesn’t mean eclectic is not good, that’s just your style. Do a Pinterest board based on your (one) style that is most fitting to what you can do/want to do.
– Ask do I need? Do I have space for it? Do I have a budget for it?
– DONATE, DONATE, DONATE. If you have too much stuff, know that other people may be in need and blessed with what you have. If we keep all previous blessings, we have no room for new ones.
– Learn from buying mistakes. So often we have guilt over the mistakes that we either keep it and it torments us or we give it away quickly and try to forget (making the mistake all over again). If you tend to impulse buy, try to put a barrier in place or someone to be accountable to.
– Contentment. Keeping up with neighbors, friends, and even bloggers, Instagram, and the media, will only bring the ugly C word…..COMPARRISON. We believe comparison is used to divide us more than anything else. ROCK YOU!
– If you have a friend who is willing, have them come help you purge. A GOOD friend, will help you get rid of things you can’t seem to part with WHILE being sensitive to your attachment to things.
– Learn how to transform the ordinary to extraordinary. Say you have a dresser that you can’t replace financially but isn’t you. Learn the techniques of painting like we did, here.
One last tip…..
For those of you who have lost loved ones, getting rid of their items can be difficult. Someone once said that the people aren’t in those things. Take a few items that mean something to you, and BLESS someone else with the rest. The person that you loved didn’t want you to be burdened with their whole house. And just because they loved it, doesn’t mean you have to. It’s just STUFF!
And a little story-
Just this past week at a Bible study a women talked about how she use to visit her grandmother and there was a bed that she could stay in and a place for her things. She had fond memories of visiting.
Recently she went back to visit her grandmother, in the same house, and there was so much stuff that the bed couldn’t be used and no place to put her luggage. It was filled to the brim and people could no longer visit.
It was no longer inviting or welcoming.
Sometimes we own our stuff but sometimes the tables turn and our stuff owns us.
How much time we have to work for it, we stress over it, we hoard it that the enjoyment is gone. If you are at that place, take heart, it can be a new day. Take back ownership and ROCK YOU!
Rock who you’ve been made to be. ROCK what you own.
Love your life and the people in it.
That’s a great post !
You are the sweetest!
Great post! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thank you Grace for your sweet comment!
What a great blog you have. So many tips and ideas,a nd right up my alley. I too have recently started a similar blog focusing on re-purposing, and not adding to the land fill. Good luck to you and your family and God Bless.
Mary, Thanks so much for stopping by. I will have to check for your blog too! 🙂
Thank you so much, I needed to read this! I remembered one of my favorite sayings that I “filed” a little to far in my memory: Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or live without.
Linda, I LOVE THAT SAYING!!! Hmmm, might be a future blog post. THANKS 🙂
hi! I really enjoyed your post:) I also love the Rae Dunn line and have been looking for some of the pieces you said you’re getting rid of. Are you interested in selling them?
Thanks,
Kristina
Kristina, I am sorry I already sold them. Hope you find your pieces.
Yes, yes, I recently found the overwhelming feeling of too much stuff. Just a small purge was enough to get the ball rolling
Mary, There is nothing like a good purge 🙂