In a consumer culture, there's the risk of acquiring too many unnecessary items, and if that happens, it's likely that those items get in the way of good living. Today as I consider this potential dilemma, I am thinking about the items that matter to me now, and items that we no longer need or want.
Books
Over time, our family has used a good number of books for lots of reasons including study, enjoyment, and instruction. Today I'll cull the collection. I believe there's a used book drop nearby where I can give away books we no longer need. I'll cull the collection in the following ways:
- I'll give away books related to study that we'll likely never use again.
- I'll give away informational books that have information that is more easily found via the Internet
- I'll save our wonderful collection of children's books to share with grandchildren someday
- I'll save most of our cookbooks which I use often
- I'll save a nice collection of classic fiction titles and I'll save a number of professional books that greatly impacted me as an educator. I'll give those books away to people who I think will really profit from them sometime.
Toys
- I'll keep a small collection of classic toys for visiting children and give away any others that we have
Kitchen equipment
- We've acquired too many pans and unneeded cooking items--we'll give the extras away
Celebration items
- I'll keep a collection of celebration items since I anticipate many celebrations in the years ahead.
Children's special items
- I'll create a box for each of my children's special items. I'll let them know that the box is there and encourage them to take those boxes when they settle down.
A good rule of thumb for what items to toss and what items to save is that if you haven't used an item in a year and it's not very special, then get rid of it. And, as for special items, you need to think ahead about how those items may be of use later in life. For example, I can imagine reading the wonderful children's books I've collected to young relatives in the future, and I can imagine sharing some of my favorite recipes and cookbooks with family members.
Of course, it's a good idea to not collect a number of unnecessary items in the first place. Ignore the consumer culture's lure to shop, shop, shop, and instead spend your money on a few items that matter and lots of meaningful, good times and events that truly enrich life instead. Onward.