Tag: Stuff

Phase Two

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©jb katke

Where on earth did all this stuff come from?

Yours truly is the culprit. My accumulation of all things quilt had gotten out of hand. Ranging from long ago vacations and shop hop road trips with the girls. To set the record straight, my husband, Dave, never discouraged my purchases. Is it okay to blame him too, misery does love company you know?   

But the purging process must be done-particularly when so little quilting is done anymore. It takes valuable time and sprains the brain dealing with it all. Gadgets are surfacing that I knew I had…somewhere. Several years ago, I was gifted with a sign that hangs in the room, ‘Organized people are just too lazy to look for it!’

We all have the same number of hours in the day—it’s how we use them that is important. Dave is doing good—the quilt room reno continues on. Walls are painted and flooring installed, the bookshelf is next, but construction will take time. I stand sentry at the doorway cheering him on. It’s taking on a new look and I’m loving it!

Getting back to the stuff though. Discarding of a past life is wrenching. Whether it’s baggage in our memory or accumulated stuff, all gets heavier with time. Unintended excess happens and the circumstances out of control can easily turn frustration into hate. If one is not careful, terrible things can happen.

Like an attempted assassination. That is the extreme. Hardship comes in too many disguises to determine what is a product of hate and what is not. Life is difficult to define because our story varies from person to person. How can one shake the history of their life?

Hints of that kind of change do exist. At the risk of being overly simplistic, use what I have been doing in my former quilt room as an example. Dispose of the unnecessary. Pitch the things that are no longer useful.

Surround yourself with people that encourage. Where? Try visiting your local Bible believing church. The place is chock full of people like you, in the process of making life better—not just for themselves but for others too. Collecting friends is of greater value than stuff.

Is There a Good Mad?

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20200103_142146 © JBKatke

The question is can I hold the mad…for a year?

The house is officially dedecked from Christmas. Except for the few items that got overlooked in the packing.  Unintentional tradition reigns.

What I don’t understand is why I had so much trouble packing things away. I had bought nothing extra, but somehow couldn’t get things packed back into the box they came from. What’s with that?

Each year I enjoy hauling the décor out that I haven’t seen in a year. It’s fun to transition the house to be festive. Memories are relived. The ornaments family members have made, the ones grandpa used to painstakingly place over lights so they would spin.

Packing the stuff away again finds me in the no fun zone. The box I thought I had for my nutcracker was missing. I like for him to be protected in storage. This year my little guy is going to fend for himself to stay presentable for next year.

I had boxes and bins everywhere and nothing seemed to fit in them. Frustration led me to anger. This should not be happening. My husband wisely kept his distance from me until it was time to stow the goods away.

“Look, they fit in the space just fine.”

That is not the point. I’m supposed to be getting rid of stuff.

“How come it’s taking more boxes than ever to get them put away?”

I’m furious. Next year I must be ruthless. Somehow ruthless doesn’t blend with a season of celebrating Jesus’ birth.

Some people can hold onto a good mad for a lifetime. I can’t recommend that, it’s wearing a perpetual chip on your shoulder that permeates everything and everyone around you. That is a real no fun zone.

Instead I aim to learn from this experience, like decorating with large objects. It’s too easy to overlook small things hanging here and there around the house. I’m not going to ask why God brought all this stuff under my roof either. He didn’t, he just allowed it.

That puts the ball back in my court to graciously let go of stuff that adds nothing but stress. I prefer my life not have room for anger, but to be filled with Jesus’ positive energy. With his help I can do this