As my father-in-law and their neighbor have been working on our kitchen, tearing up the floor and putting down tile to improve the look of our kitchen, we have been forced to eat off paper plates and out in our living room. Having lost our grill due to it shooting fire out at my husband like a dragon, we can't even attempt to cook outside. (Plus it has rained nearly every day). Unfortunately we can't afford to go out to eat every day either. So what are our options? Cold lunch meat sandwiches for supper. For some this may not seem so dramatic. For us its been a lesson in learning to live more simply.
Recently I read an article in a magazine where the couple, who had lost their 4,000 square foot home to a fire rebuilt their home using just two shed from their back yard. Instead of the home being 4000 square feet they brought it down to 925 square feet...barely a kitchen and a bedroom and bathroom existed. What they spoke about was learning to live simply.
Why should we learn to live more simply? It's not because of times like this where we are forced to move into smaller spaces or for when we are doing renovations. And its not so that I don't have to keep cleaning up things. Rather, having so many things in our life tend to clutter up our lives and re-prioritize our thinking and even what we find important. What use is it having so much stuff? Some may say that it is so they can keep up with the Joneses. (Who are these supposedly elusive Joneses anyway? They don't live on my street. Most of the Joneses I know live in the projects next to my street. Why would I want to live that poor?) Some may say that it gives them happiness. Isn't what you have and don't have the bone of contention of arguments in a marriage?
So many people think that having things may make them happy. This happiness is a temporary thing. Think about it...you go our and buy a new thing...a video game console, a sound system, puzzles, books, anything. You are so excited about it that you tell everyone about it or you spend the next two weeks using the item until you've actually grown tired of it. The next thing you know it sits and gathers dust. Sure on occasion you actually pull it out or look at it and then it gets put on the shelf once again. Are these things that we really need in our lives?
Yesterday I started cleaning things out of different areas of our home. I looked at these things and realized I really didn't need these things. I looked at them and thought...."hmmm...if I had only thought about the fact that I wouldn't really need these things two weeks after I bought them maybe I wouldn't have gotten them." It's nice to want. It's nice to be able to share with others in your life the bragging stories that come along with owning things. But it is worth it? Do people love you any more just because you have an expensive car or alot of things? No. Is popularity all that important? For some, yes. For the former nerd/athlete like myself? No.
I'm nearing 40 and every year that I get closer to that means dropping my high school mentality of trying to fit in with the popular crowd. So what's more important in your life? Having? Being? Or is it just living simply? Think about it. I gotta go....I have more decluttering to do.
There truly are so many things that we have all purchased and then wondered why later. Even the WII, which is a really cool thing, sits there most of the time without being used. However, one thing that does get used, and as far as I'm concerned, is well worth the money, is our computer. Nowadays, the computer can do just about anything that isn't physical, and I just don't know what I would do without it.
ReplyDeleteAs we all grow older, we also develop a mindset for family and friends. We have a need for a large room so that we can have family get-togethers. That room is right now on hold due to the iffy economy. When we buy furniture, we buy a comfortable chair for our self. But thinking of when someone stops by, we must have a nice chair for them also. Otherwise, we would have to offer our favorite chair to them, and then where the hell am I going to sit?
So when we are buying that “thing” for ourselves, to make ourselves happy, those are what usually ends up in the closet with minimal use. If we are thinking about others, we buy that sofa, build that room, and get a dining table that opens up to seat guests, and so on. Those things, though not used constantly, must be ready for those special occasions when a visitor or visitors drop in. I actually don't have a lot of friends that stop in often. But when they do, their comfort is top priority.
All of this is so true. Most items aren’t necessary. I come from a simple background that is instilled in me. I can indulge myself occasionally. I don’t worry about things like who can sit, if there is dust collected on furniture or if the bathroom sink is sparkly, Instead, I have throw pillows for the floor people can sit on, plenty of water for soup to make it go around for hungry visitors and great conversation which I assume is why someone would stop in. They came to see the person not the things. I choose to declutter all the time. I choose to keep things I truly love and honor them by displaying them. We use our crystal because it is not honored from the back of some cabinet. If it gets broke, oh well. As for the wii, I seldom use it. Not because I don’t enjoy it but because I know it is there and can enjoy it when I want to. There was also the thought of grandchildren that visit that dearly love our wii. I get much pleasure watching them on the wii. So that was money well spent.
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