The Stuff Mountain

So, in my heart, I like to think of myself as a minimalist but I also like to be prepared and not waste money.  These are often competing goals because although I definitely don’t want to have much clutter out in plain sight, I often keep things I’m no longer using because I might need them one day and I don’t want to repurchase them.  It’s a balance and mostly it means the clutter is in the closet and drawers, in my mind it seems more respectable that way- minimalist on the outside, girl-scout hoarder on the inside.  So whenever my husband comes up with some unique life plan (like living on a sailboat or an RV fulltime) I am always drawn with affection to the idea of getting rid of most of our stuff.

Well that idea is slowly becoming a reality.  We’ve gotten rid of LOTS of stuff already. I’m talking more than 25 boxes/bags of stuff (probably lots more than that, but I lost count), and to give you an idea, one of the last times we moved we bought 50 boxes and to my memory we were able to fit everything in those said boxes. It’s very surprising to me that  a.) we haven’t gotten rid of anything important yet and b.) we still have quite of bit of stuff.

In my quiet time today I was reminded of this verse: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Matthew 6:19-21

This is going to be an important key verse to remember as we get down to the nitty gritty parts of downsizing- it all, except for maybe a bible, has no eternal value.  And when my heart gets knit together with some of my belongings I tend or forget what my real treasure is.  My real treasure is the mighty God I serve. Oh, how prone I am to forget this!  And especially now, on the edge of a possible adventure, I need to remind myself to have my focus fixed on the One thing that really matters because the distraction of shiny dreams can easily lead me away from setting my affections on Christ.

So I’m still spending time in RV preparation mode, by watching fifth wheel safety videos on youtube, finding a suitable local RV park and purging anything that isn’t completely necessary but I have to do it after I’ve had my quiet time and then examine my heart to make sure it hasn’t run off on me.

So how are you doing with your daily focus? And how are you examining your heart to see what’s really satisfying you?

Press on friends!