The accumulation of stuff

I would not call myself a minimalist. Nor would I call myself frugal. I would say, however, that I believe I have less 'stuff' in my house than I used to. This is partly because I have been spending wiser and not purchased new 'stuff'. This is partly because I realized I can't afford 'stuff''. It's also because with a tiny home, 'stuff' becomes more obvious, and quite frankly, there is not room to store it or display it.

Over the past three or so years, I have actively been involved in eliminating stuff from my life. I have donated and given away. I have had several garage sales. I do big drawer/closet purges three times a year for the boys and in the summer for me and the rest of the rooms of the house.

It's a great feeling to know I have rid myself of bags of clothes or boxes of things that were no longer, or perhaps, never, needed. It truly is a rush and I feel like I'm doing a good job of it.

Fast forward to this weekend. My oldest sister had a garage sale. She is the one with MS and just could not handle it all by herself. I was actually child free this weekend and could help her, which is a rarity.

She is the epitomy of a stuff collector. Since we grew up in the same 'not quite poor' household, it's strange that we are so different. If one wanted to go all psychological, one might say she is trying to fill some void by the accumulation of things. She's passed it on to her children, unfortunately.

She sold over $1300 worth of stuff at her garage sale. Much of it rarely, or never used. Kitchen gadgets that seemed like a good idea but never panned out. Seasonal decorations. Wall hangings etc from different redecorations. Gifts she gave the kids to 'fill out the stockings' that they never used.

She did well and sold a lot at hers. I also know that it is only a small portion of the extra stuff in her life and her house and closets are still full.

I think of her basement, with hundreds of VHS tapes she collected over the years that she wont' part with. Decorations all over, so quickly collected. She can't get down to the basement now as her legs won't let her work all those stairs. I wonder if just a tiny part of her is starting to see that the 'stuff' wasn't the life experiences she really needed or wanted.

Her house is neat, and clean. always, so not like one of the "hoarders" you see on TV, but that pyschological need to buy is still there. It's a shame it's a disease like MS that makes one think so very differently about 'stuff'