Too Much STUFF!!!!

Mike and I have been pretty excited about our garage lately, because we were just getting to the point where it was pretty well cleaned out and getting closer to our (well, more like MY) dream of being able to park TWO cars inside of it.

The dream has died.

Today, I had to bring home everything from my classroom. Believe it or not, we can barely walk in the garage now!!! And I can honestly say that everything from my classroom was put to good use and used on a frequent, if not daily, basis!

What is it with us humans and STUFF?? 1500 sq. ft of house including a 2-car garage is PLENTY of space for 2 people and one dog...and my home is getting full to the brim. And the solution, ladies and gentleman, is NOT to get a bigger house! This house is quite fine just the size it is! :-) The first part of the solution is to purge sensibly! And not feel guilty about it! The second part of the solution is to make wiser choices when purchasing in the future ("Do I really need this?").

Seriously, if I could get by without STUFF I would...because it's just STUFF! This summer I am going to take on the project of getting rid of a lot of stuff that hasn't been touched. If I haven't used it in a 6 months to a year, it's either going on eBay or to Good Will or an end-of-summer garage sale.

I am not a pack rat to begin with. I will admit that I am a little on the messy side...before I was married, I was a LOT on the messy side. But now I enjoy having just what is needed and not much more.

So you can imagine our mutual anxiety when we peer into the garage now and can't find a path. It's very scary.

In fact, I am thinking of doing something different for holiday gifting this year...because holidays are seasons where a lot tends to be accumulated AND maybe I am not the only one who feels like they have too much stuff. How about making a donation in someone's name to some kind of mission or charity? I think that would be very nice, thoughtful, and giving...and a whole lot less theiving of my space!