Saturday April 2 2016  SIMPLICITY AT ITS BEST

BIGGER ISN’T NECESSARILY BETTER.  Not in all things.  Take houses for instance.  I’ve always enjoyed the space of a larger home after Dave and I married.  As a child I grew up in very small spaces.  And when I say “VERY”, I mean very, very small.  Our first home after we married was about 1300 square foot.  I felt as if I lived in a palace.  I didn’t even have enough “stuff” to fill all the kitchen cupboards.  And, if I remember correctly, we got along superbly with just what we owned.  I had no inclination that the house was small.  Two years later we moved.

We moved “up” so to speak.  Our next house was about 2400 square foot.  It again seemed palatial.  The rooms were large, it sat on the side of a high hill and had an astounding view.  Again there were a few bare cupboards and several rooms that had no furniture.  Fast forward to 10 years later when we moved again.  By this time the house had two additional people living in it, lots of “stuff”, and no empty cupboards or rooms. 

That was a temporary move and we planned to back into the same house two years later.  Following those two years Dave was offered a job that would allow us to stay in the area permanently.  We had moved from HOT Southern California to the San Francisco Bay Area.  That area was my home stomping grounds so we decided to stay.

So time to buy another house.  This one was about 2900 square foot.  Again, extra room, more space, but no empty cupboards.  Actually we had a row of stored boxes that had not been unpacked since we moved to the area two years previously.  We lived in that house for two years. 

Our next move, 30 years ago, brought us to Wisconsin!  COLD WISCONSIN!  A few warm months a year and that was (and is) it!  I have never regretted our move to Wisconsin.  Again, another house, this one 4400 square foot.  Now that was a lot of a house and a lot of yard.  We were on five acres of wooded and groomed area.  It was like a dream come true!  Again, we had lots and lots of empty space.  Rooms we didn’t even use.  And lots and lots of boxes packed in one room that we didn’t even unpack for at least two years.  More stuff.

We eventually had the entire house used up.  More places to put more stuff.  And now…it is a nightmare.  It is difficult for me to part with the treasures of the past.  So I just fill another drawer, or another closet, The visual stays uncluttered but I know what is hidden.  And twenty years pass and our children move out and the house is quiet.  But the stuff still lingers.  And when I say stuff, I mean lots of stuff.  Some left behind by our daughter, however, most accumulated by me.  And here is where I am.  An over-sized house on an over-sized lot (we did sell two and a half acres), and lots and lots of stuff inside.

And as I sit typing this blog I am sitting in our daughter’s beautiful home in Florida.  It is serene, beautiful, nicely decorated AND UNCLUTTERED!  All 1100 square foot!  She is organized, particular, and amazingly self-disciplined when it comes to purchasing items that she does not need.  Nothing unneeded comes through the door.  Oh, how I wish I had learned that concept years ago!  It is so refreshing to be in an environment where everything has a place and is in its place when not being used.  Much due diligence is required.  Perhaps she did not want to repeat the mistakes of her mother.  However, I will say that we have about a roomful of stuff that belongs to her in OUR bedroom closet and shop.  Someday she plans to come to Wisconsin, go through it and take the rest.  Hmmm…I wonder if she’ll still want her Barbie bus and all her Barbie dolls.  And maybe I could encourage her to take all her baby clothes I saved for her.  On second thought, perhaps NOT!

Our marriage has been a 43 year journey with lots of stuff accumulated along the way.  Now it is time to downsize.  As I sit in the confines of Rebecca and Neil’s beautiful, well appointed home, I see how simple life can be without all the stuff to take care of.  I have come full circle to the fact that BIGGER ISN’T NECESSARILY BETTER!  Their home shows simplicity at its best!

TOO MUCH STUFF

By Kathleen Martens

April 2, 2016

Too much stuff

Becomes a load

When in the confines

Of your home.

Oh how I wish

I did not own

All the clutter

In places unknown.

It will be

Quite the surprise

When all displayed

Before my eyes

That which once

Was so dear

Now I wish

Was no longer here.

So, I will enjoy the presence of space while luxuriating in our daughter’s beautiful home!  Hopefully my stuff will still be there when I get back.  My hope is that I too will someday experience simplicity at its best!

Lord, thank You for loving me just as I am.

Lord, thank You this wonderful time away to visit our children.

Lord, thank You for all the “stuff” I have.

Lord, thank You for coconuts.

GOOD NIGHT AND GOD BLESS YOU