When we are born, we are born with nothing but ourselves; no clothes on our body, no items in our hands or other things around our body. We soothe ourselves with our own hands and feet or with our mother’s body. 

When we are taken home, we are wrapped in warm blankets and cute clothes to keep us warm and comfortable. Our parents decorate our rooms with cute decorations, furniture and toys even before we are physically able to play with them. That is when the accumulation begins, not necessarily by us but starting with our families. 

Our families want to show us their love by giving us ‘stuff’ they think we might like or need, never mind that we may or may not appreciate or need it as babies, children or even as adults. As we grow, our clothing, furniture, and toy collections grow. We accumulate more and more.

We have all been there as parents, digging through clothes, toys and other things from our kids’ room to throw away, give away or sell. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying having stuff is a bad thing. I liked my stuff as a kid and as an adult now.

I think what we learn as we grow and accumulate more STUFF is that the more stuff we have, the more important or safe or rich or better off we are. I think it is okay to have stuff. I love my stuff; my clothes, my toys, my collectibles etc. I think we need to learn and teach our children that it is okay to accumulate but it is also okay not to collect beyond our financial or boundary needs.

I have learned this in the last two years since I moved into the semi full-time. I don’t have the finances (my allowance) or the boundaries (square footage) to buy and accumulate more stuff. I needed to discern what I loved, what were necessities and what I could live without.

I will talk about my PURGE experiences in another post. It has been quite an eye-opening experience. 

I have always accumulated a lot of stuff and not purged very often in my life. This is where HOARDING begins- my next blog so come back and visit to read about my hoarding experiences and my family’s hoarding experiences. See you soon.

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