STUFF

a few weeks ago i was reading my 5th grade yearbook, in which we were asked questions about ourselves and our future. one of the questions was...'what makes you the most happy?" most kid's answers were family, friends, recess...etc. my answer? 'getting new stuff!'

i'm pretty neat as far as people go, but i'm also the type of person that is very guilty of shopping a lot, getting rid of nothing, and stashing things in corners and closets for years. i don't like parting with things from my past, i feel almost like i'm throwing away memories. i think i have 5 'memory boxes' full of pictures and trinkets from the past.

while in college, i had to move around quite a bit, so i got in the habbit of taking lots of things to goodwill before each move. i HATE moving, so lessening my load each time became the goal.

then, last may, i moved home. and was faced with one room and two closets full of stuff that i had been collecting for years. slowly but surely i've gotten all my old stuff cleared out and made room for new. at the end of last summer my mom and i took 14 (FOURTEEN!) huge garbage bags full of clothes to goodwill. something about ridding yourself of stuff that you like, but really have no need for, is so gratifying.

now, between my new habit of purging stuff i don't need anymore, and almost a year of unemployment (and no funding to shop), i'm finally at a point where all my stuff fits in one room and one closet with room to spare. from a person that loves STUFF, finally not having too much of it is strangely satisfying.