I'm tired of collecting trash

I'm a stuffer. I like stuff, I want stuff, I buy stuff. I spend lots and lots of time moving stuff around because I have so much stuff. And it's all just, well, just stuff. I've always known this about myself. And I've always known this about stuff.

I've always used shopping as a pick me up. I am a firm believer, or rather I WAS a firm believer, in retail therapy. A trip through the aisles of Target can instantly boost my mood. And my buggy always has stuff thrown in. Stuff I didn't know I wanted, needed, or even cared about, until that trip to Target. Do you know that I know at least 7 employees by name and well enough for them to enquire about my life and day to day goings and for me to do the same? When I walk in, there is usually someone who says "hey" to me within 3 minutes.

I get daily emails on my phone from Pottery Barn, Old Navy, Origins, Target, Smocked Auctions and a whole bunch more. I am constantly looking for things to buy to fill some space in me that is obviously lacking. That's going to change. It's become very clear to me, that I don't want this at all anymore.

You see, I inherited a bunch of stuff. Stuff I don't know what to do with. Stuff I don't want. Stuff I don't have the mental space or energy to deal with. And so today, I decided, I no longer like stuff. I no longer want to buy it, or go look at it. I don't want to move it around. And I don't want a bunch of it sitting in my home when I die.

When I am dead, the granite countertops we financed, that have not enhanced my life in ANY way, will mean absolutely nothing to anyone. The 50 shirts I own, will all be pitched or packed up and given to Goodwill. The gazillion little odds and ends in my home will be tossed, useless, unnecessary, and basically just a burden for someone to get rid of. And here's the catch, they don't mean anything to me either.

It took looking at my mom's house, crammed with stuff (getting sick of that word? Ha! I would never let my students use it, so I'm going all out here!) and me not knowing what to do with it, where to put it, who to give it to or sell it to, for me to realize, some stuff just isn't important.

This quote from Toy Story 3 has always resonated with me. I am going to remember it every time I am tempted to put something in my buggy that I don't need, LOVE, or use every day.


"We're all just trash, waiting to be thrown away!" --Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear

I'm tired of collecting trash.