Give It Away

I recently got married, and part of the transition involved moving my fiancé and me into a one-bedroom apartment. We got married in our 30s, so we both had been living on our own for several years.

We had a lot of stuff.

In order to fit into the new place, we had to get rid of a lot of stuff. I mean A LOT of stuff. Like multiple trips to Goodwill with a FULL U-HAUL. It was a struggle. But I’m glad we did it. There was something freeing about getting rid of all our extra stuff. We felt lighter.

As human beings, we have a tendency to accumulate stuff. It just happens naturally, without even realizing it. You get gifts at Christmas and your birthday. You buy a new shirt at the store. You pick up a movie or a new baseball glove. Slowly but surely, the amount of stuff in your home expands.

You don’t need all that stuff. You don’t use all that stuff. Most of it just sits there, lonely and unused.

Then there’s the other side of the coin. A lot of people don’t have much stuff. A lot of people can’t buy their kids presents for Christmas or their birthday. A lot of people can’t buy a new shirt at the store, or a movie, or a baseball glove.

That’s why it’s important to give our extra stuff away. Instead of sitting there filling up our house, making our lives more anxious and cluttered, our stuff could be put to good use. Someone could actually use and enjoy our extra stuff with a thankful heart. It’s a win-win.

Here’s an action step: At least once per year, go through all the stuff in your house. If you haven’t used something in the last six months, give it away. If you have two of something, give one away. If you have something you don’t need, give it away. If something is cluttering your space and making you anxious, give it away. If you have so much extra stuff that you actually pay money each month to keep it in a storage unit, give that extra stuff away.

You don’t need all that extra stuff. Do everyone (and yourself) a favor and give it away.