I've spent nearly 5 months away from our house, a place where we have put so much of our own effort and creativity, so it is great to be back in my own space. But just minutes after wheeling our suitcases inside, I looked around my home and thought, "Why do I have all of this?"
Even with the lack of sleep from travel and having a newborn plus all there is to do with getting back to life in Uganda, I have an unavoidable itch to purge my home. In the precious moments of free time I can find since I've been back, I go through one section of my home at a time and decide what goes and what stays. It's interesting to watch my own thoughts as I try to justify each decision and it makes me realize why I've acquired so much in the first place. I've realized how much I can be attached to things, to stuff and how much mental energy each thing takes from me. I realize that I hang on to something just because...
someone gave it to me
I bought it during one of our travels
I got it for a deal
it was expensive
I took/wore it to a particular event
it could be used sometime in the future
it was made ethically/locally/with natural sources
I made it
But having all of this stuff really isn't improving our lives, so I'm slowly attempting to purge my things down to what we really love or need. As I take one step at a time to simplify my life, this time simplification means cutting down on material things.
What makes you keep something unnecessarily? Do you have any sources of inspiration to share in regards to simplifying our lives on a material level?