Clutter, Money and Stuff!!

[QM]

I think I've reached my second phase of frugal living. I've lived a frugal lifestyle for 2-1/2 years now, dipped out of it for a bit mentally and am ready to dive back in.

I was at a local Christian bookstore this evening and came across a few inspiring "words of wisdom". I copied them down so I could share. The clutter poem and paragraph are oh so true. The money paragraph hit it bang on! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

"Clutter Came Calling"
Clutter came calling, with baggage in hand,
To scatter his chaos all over the land.
His plan was quite simple: convince everyone
That "more" is much better and frantic means "fun."
So clutter got messy (it didn't take long)
And soon the whole kingdom was singing his song:
"More, we want more," so that's what they got,
But now they need storage for all that they bought!

It is amazing how much a cluttered household can affect our sense of peace and comfort. Clutter creates an atmosphere of confusion and unrest, both of which war against the environment we all really want--and need--in our homes. So, choose your strategy and liberate yourself from unnecessary clutter!

Book: "The Rewards of Simplicity--A Practical and Spiritual Approach"
Authors: Pam & Chuck D. Pierce

But godliness with contentment is great gain. 1 Timothy 6:6

Money--we spend so much time persuing it, managing it and thinking about it. How much should you save, invest and tithe? If you're married, how much should go toward your shopping verses your husband's golf game? Who should pay the bills? Stress over money can make a person feel torn or drive a couple apart.
But in the end, money has no real, eternal value. It's ultimately worthless. It cannot save you or satisfy you, and it can distract from what's really important. So the next time a conflict over money erups in your heart or house, ask yourself: I'd it really worth this worry?

Read 1 Timothy 6:6-10

[peanut]

So true...about clutter creating an atmosphere of confusion and unrest. And different people have different levels of tolerance for it. Apparently DH has a lower tolerance than I do. I've been de-cluttering today and have 2 large garbage bags of stuff to go the Salvation Army. And 2 boxes to be shipped to my girls. I'm also trying to sell furniture. I want peace and rest in my home again!

[sinopa27]

thank you so much for sharing this. I am off the next 2 days and will do some de-cluttering!!

[pollypurebred39]

I love that poem, thanks for sharing QM.

I like Peanut have been decluttering, my tolerance for too much stuff is low. Or, I think has become low as the years have gone on and I find it difficult to keep up with or clean. Yes, cleaning clutter, seems insane to me now.

I'm leaning towards simplifying my life in all regards, and in some ways that means more stuff. An oxymoron if ever I heard one. I've begun the challenge of mastering OAMC. I know for some here that's nothing new and easy as pie, for me not so much. What that means is for it to be truly workable for me I'm going to need to have special containers for the individual freezer meals for myself=more clutter.

As this whole process of simplifying my life evolves, and I declutter, I'm finding ideas for simplifying popping in my head. One of which sounds brilliant and completely crazy at the same time. I've never enjoyed having loads and loads of clothing and yet nothing wear, years ago I cleaned out my closet and it does in fact, echo. One would think it would have made life easier, but in fact it's made it harder. So my crazy lightbulb moment? Why not have 30 dresses, 30 pairs of PJ's, 30 sets of underclothing, 30 pairs of night time underwear. Wash them once a month, just like cooking once a month. Okay, maybe that's extreme, but it's rolling around in my head and I'm not entirely sure it's a bad idea.

[sinopa27]

that's a different idea......30 of the different articles of clothing. I would do 1 more....31 for wash day. 30 dresses would make my life so easy.

[sinopa27]

post your plans on OAMC. I am now just learning to meal plan for a week.

[pollypurebred39]

Sure sinopa, I'll bump the link I started of some ideas I had.

I thought the 30 dresses thing was brilliant myself, even if it did seem a bit crazy/extreme. There's nothing to match with 30 dresses right? It's a grab a go deal.

[miss_cas]

I had a friend for over a decade who lived with her Mom. The family dutifully purchased Xmas gifts for each other. No one wanted for anything in this wealthy family. Their friends looked on from other situations without anything offered but that's another story. When the friends wondered if their problem was their friendship with this family, they moved on as I did. Grin, again that's another story.

Placed on a 20ft high and 20ft wide wall were shelves of collectibles and knick nacks placed 3 deep on each shelf. The family suffered through their allergies. The wall was a nagging point for a month before its annual dusting. It was hard to gaze upon the clutter.

Watching this unfold, I changed my lifestyle. Not much waste here and not much wasted work. A lifestyle ruled by your stuff isn't one you will want to remember. A life populated with experiences will always be worth remembering.

I do maintain my home. My little 3 bedroom place requires the housework, maintenance work and yard work. I just maintain my lifestyle not my stuff.

My limited amount of stuff doesn't own me any longer.

[mauimagic]

I just maintain my lifestyle not my stuff.

My limited amount of stuff doesn't own me any longer.

Love this quote - so true.

I was thinking about the process of decluttering and realized that we really need this to be a process instead of instataneous magic - we built it up - need to take it down.

[tervsforme]

Thank you so much for this post. It is so very true. I am working on decluttering and feel so much better when things are neat, clean and simple!

[peanut]

"I had a friend for over a decade who lived with her Mom. The family dutifully purchased Xmas gifts for each other. No one wanted for anything in this wealthy family. Their friends looked on from other situations without anything offered but that's another story. When the friends wondered if their problem was their friendship with this family, they moved on as I did. Grin, again that's another story."

I didn't answer this before because I think it may be kind of OT. But I'm curious, since when did gift giving become a sign of the status of one's friendship? Have I missed something here? If I tried to give gifts to my friends DH would have an absolute bird! I try to barter and give them first dibs on my cast offs, but that's not the same as gift giving...which we don't do at all with anyone other than family... Maybe this is a cultural thing? Or maybe we're poor and don't know it?

[sinopa27]

while I have been decluttering, I kept asking myself why did I keep this? old receipts??? papers???

[peanut]

OT sinopa27: I love the photo for your avatar. Is that a grapefruit rind that plant is growing in?

DH and I took a car full of stuff to the Salvation Army yesterday. Now I'm down one layer, I'll work on the next.

Ever notice how de-cluttering seems to need to be done in layers? You take out the obvious junk. Then there's the obvious junk you forgot about. And then the less obvious junk you have to think about to make sure it's junk...etc.

[tervsforme]

I definitely think decluttering needs to be done in layers. Like you said, you take the obvious stuff out, step back and take a deep breath, admire how much better it looks, then dive in for round 2!

[QM]

I definitely think decluttering needs to be done in layers. Like you said, you take the obvious stuff out, step back and take a deep breath, admire how much better it looks, then dive in for round 2!

I agree about the layers. I find, though, that with getting the first layer done AND regular housecleaning, the next layer seems to never get done. That's why I find 'to do lists' helpful!