This article is so incredibly written. Thank you for taking time and sharing! I will be giving you credit for your awesome wisdom in my time management course for stay at home moms!
ZendaJanuary 11, 2015
That "home management guru" was actually William Morris, designer, author, artist, and the founder of the Arts and Crafts design movement, in his speech "On the Beauty of Life."
Jan CrinerJanuary 10, 2015
My sister lends moral support to people who need to dejunk all over our ward/family. Her first question is always "When did you use/wear this last?" IF you can't answer in 5 seconds, it goes to the D.I. This article was meant for me and I learned things about myself in it!
JanetJanuary 10, 2015
Thanks Darla - my pledge to myself for 2015!
Craig from LoganJanuary 9, 2015
This article is "music to my soul". It is how I have felt for many years. I have often seen the value people often associate with THINGS and that value takes presidence over the real important things of life. I myself have hopefully overcome worshipping things and how it has freed me to concentrate on other things. I still have things that I value, but they are small in number and in size. My funds are better spent trying to help family and loved ones in temporary need.
TimJanuary 9, 2015
Good article. Of the reasons for keeping stuff number 3 has the most resonance with me. I now have two of quite a number of things. And number 6 doesn't seem like a reason at all, more an excuse to procrastinate.
Kelly KnightJanuary 9, 2015
A few years ago a member of the Seventy gave a talk in General Conference on de-stufficating our homes. It was an excellent talk but I can't seem to find it.
When our children were younger, every once in a while I would have them bring all their clothes to the living room and put them in a big pile. They would then get to go through and pull out a certain number of items they really wanted to keep and wear, and everything else went to DI. This helped keep the clutter down, somewhat.
Finally, in the book "There is Life After Housework" is the idea that if you have something, other than family heirlooms, that you have not used in the last six-months, you probably don't need it. Get rid of these things, and it is amazing what freedom one finds. My wife and I have been down-sizing our possession in anticipation of a future mission, and the fact that we have gone from a four bed house to a two bed apartment has shown us how much we've had that we really don't need anymore.
SusanJanuary 9, 2015
Great article, and one that can be used by anyone and everyone! I will be showing it to my husband, who is a "collector of stuff." Thank you!
Kareen ChristenJanuary 9, 2015
This was the best article I have read on this subject. Thank you for your thoughts. I have just returned from a 3 month stay with my son and children. His wife recently died from cancer and he wanted me to help sort and dispose of much that she had accumulated through their 13 years of marriage. Sometimes illness can be the source of our need to store and accumulate. I believe this was her problem. We donated at least a thousand pounds of clothes, gifts that she had purchased and never given, took clothing that had been purchased back to stores and received refunds, and decluttered my son's home. Some would tend to believe that we were trying to erase her memory. Not so. This left room in their lives to think about and appreciate pictures and memories of her without the irritation of thinking," Why in the world did she buy this? What would she have wanted me to do with this?" My son thanked me many times for helping him with this arduous task and many people benefited from charitable donations.
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Ali ChristianAugust 10, 2018
This article is so incredibly written. Thank you for taking time and sharing! I will be giving you credit for your awesome wisdom in my time management course for stay at home moms!
ZendaJanuary 11, 2015
That "home management guru" was actually William Morris, designer, author, artist, and the founder of the Arts and Crafts design movement, in his speech "On the Beauty of Life."
Jan CrinerJanuary 10, 2015
My sister lends moral support to people who need to dejunk all over our ward/family. Her first question is always "When did you use/wear this last?" IF you can't answer in 5 seconds, it goes to the D.I. This article was meant for me and I learned things about myself in it!
JanetJanuary 10, 2015
Thanks Darla - my pledge to myself for 2015!
Craig from LoganJanuary 9, 2015
This article is "music to my soul". It is how I have felt for many years. I have often seen the value people often associate with THINGS and that value takes presidence over the real important things of life. I myself have hopefully overcome worshipping things and how it has freed me to concentrate on other things. I still have things that I value, but they are small in number and in size. My funds are better spent trying to help family and loved ones in temporary need.
TimJanuary 9, 2015
Good article. Of the reasons for keeping stuff number 3 has the most resonance with me. I now have two of quite a number of things. And number 6 doesn't seem like a reason at all, more an excuse to procrastinate.
Kelly KnightJanuary 9, 2015
A few years ago a member of the Seventy gave a talk in General Conference on de-stufficating our homes. It was an excellent talk but I can't seem to find it. When our children were younger, every once in a while I would have them bring all their clothes to the living room and put them in a big pile. They would then get to go through and pull out a certain number of items they really wanted to keep and wear, and everything else went to DI. This helped keep the clutter down, somewhat. Finally, in the book "There is Life After Housework" is the idea that if you have something, other than family heirlooms, that you have not used in the last six-months, you probably don't need it. Get rid of these things, and it is amazing what freedom one finds. My wife and I have been down-sizing our possession in anticipation of a future mission, and the fact that we have gone from a four bed house to a two bed apartment has shown us how much we've had that we really don't need anymore.
SusanJanuary 9, 2015
Great article, and one that can be used by anyone and everyone! I will be showing it to my husband, who is a "collector of stuff." Thank you!
Kareen ChristenJanuary 9, 2015
This was the best article I have read on this subject. Thank you for your thoughts. I have just returned from a 3 month stay with my son and children. His wife recently died from cancer and he wanted me to help sort and dispose of much that she had accumulated through their 13 years of marriage. Sometimes illness can be the source of our need to store and accumulate. I believe this was her problem. We donated at least a thousand pounds of clothes, gifts that she had purchased and never given, took clothing that had been purchased back to stores and received refunds, and decluttered my son's home. Some would tend to believe that we were trying to erase her memory. Not so. This left room in their lives to think about and appreciate pictures and memories of her without the irritation of thinking," Why in the world did she buy this? What would she have wanted me to do with this?" My son thanked me many times for helping him with this arduous task and many people benefited from charitable donations.
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