In this first world country, we are inundated with it. As children we begin to collect it; all those “treasures” that we find and in our eyes have incredible worth. Rocks, feathers, sticks and for those really adventurous types, maybe even some insects that have passed on.
School brings out the artist in us and each piece becomes a Rembrandt and must be preserved for historical purposes.
We head into adult life and the need for more is real. Furniture, bedding and kitchen items become necessary. If you want to add some aesthetic items…well, the collection grows. If parenthood arrives, look out! The mountain of items rivals Everest. The cycle continues when those wee humans start their collection.
The question is…What do we do with all the stuff? Do we need to just organize it? Get rid of it? Books have been written about it, self-help videos created, and let’s not forget the TV shows. The second-hand stores are flooded, buy/sell sites busy, and we endeavour to come to grips with our reality of stuff. Veggie Tales produced a piece called Madam Blueberry and she loved Stuff Mart. Thought provoking entertainment at it’s finest.
As a child I had little but I moved into adulthood, marriage, and parenthood, and my collection of stuff expanded at high speed. I loved making our house a home, decorating it and making it cozy, comfortable, and organized. In a heroic effort to be organized, I became the Rubbermaid Queen. I started a retreat business and the collection grew again. It was incredibly fun to create spaces that helped people relax and recharge. The business closed and my sons have become adults and I now find myself much more focused on downsizing my collection of stuff and organizing what I want to keep. I’m working to balance my enjoyment of “stuff” and not having to be burdened by the task of keeping it organized and stored.
While I’m on this great adventure, I will share with you, my readers, some of the ideas that help me. As you live your own adventure, I hope you discover what works for you and experience much fun in the process. Everest can be conquered.
A wire file holder can serve many purposes. I use one for holding cutting boards in my kitchen and one in my quilting room to hold rulers.
A vintage milk glass bowl works very well on my sewing desk to hold my small scissors and various other small items that would otherwise create clutter or get lost.
