Is Less Really More?

Most of us are aware that our economy has been in rather rough shape.  Whether we look at the price of food, energy or most consumer goods, it has been a challenge for those of us that who want to keep our budgets from spiraling out of control.

We have done several things to reduce our expenses ; changing our the insurance carrier for our home and vehicle.  We have also slimmed down our food budget and are continuing to work pursue cutting back on energy consumption.

For now,  I feel we have done what we can to save on our monthly and yearly expenses and so I started a mission to see what else we could be do as we continue to get out of debt.   I continued to look further for ways to get us out of debt.  Since money is tight, I decided a good place to start was with our home.

What could I do to make our home easier to function in and locate whatever we were searching for?

I sought to be better organized and more functional.  So I began on a mission to reorganize and declutter and in the process, came to some startling conclusions.  We had too much!  I would have never never would have guessed that since I have never not viewed myself as a major consumer but after a year of working on reducing and minimizing, I now realize how wrong I was had been seeing our home in a skewed light. Don’t get me wrong, inside our house does not appear cluttered or that it looks as though we have been over consuming but what lurks inside closets, under beds, inside totes, cupboards and drawers tells an entirely different story.

The search began to look for 10 items that we could rid ourselves of and it not matter if area took 10 minutes or a month to complete the task.  Then we could rid ourselves of these possessions.   Soon I gathered  three boxes and kept them close by while I went about the searching and reorganizing; one box for charity, one for garbage and one to pass on to someone I knew that who could use the item.

I went through totes of paperwork and purged, shredding shredded and just plain  tossed unnecessary documents.

Clothes that no longer fit were given away or that were wanted and some
were plainly worn out and discarded; shoes, purses, nothing was off limits.

Another area was our kitchen. 

We have a pantry and one other food storage areas and I realized that I lacked serious organization in those places as well and so I got busy placing all the vegetables, pastas, rice, beans, etc. in locations that were specifically grouped for them.  I also purchased hanging door racks so that for various spice jars, vinegars and other seasonings.  Now at a glance, I can determine what we are running short on before we go on a shopping trip; no more six boxes of salt and no flour and we have now saved time and money.

There is still plenty more to be done but as I continue on in purging and simplifying that can be done to our home, we now have a sense of order and peace.  Having less to sort through and bringing order organization out of clutter is really about being free and not seeking after more than we need.  I think of the words of Paul,”I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”  More of God and less of things and us us and things is a goal I strive for.