The Impetus for the Intervention . . .

I don’t think of myself as an unusual girl. A single young woman in my late twenties, God has blessed me with a fantastic career, a supportive family and a beautiful home. I purchased my house in the summer of 2008. With three bedrooms , two baths and in some of the most redundant track housing you’ve ever seen, it’s far from palatial but it is mine 100%. What’s amazing about this house is the ridiculous amount of stuff I’ve acquired in such a short time. Prior to owning this house, I lived in a tiny one bedroom apartment and actually downsized from that into a roommate situation that limited my stuff to one room.


When I moved in to this house, I had 2 or 3 carloads of belongings. I remember thinking, how would I ever get enough stuff to make this house feel like a home and not a sparsely furnished hotel room. Well, needless to say, I rose to the challenge. In the past year and a half, I’ve managed to increase 10 fold. In my defense, this wasn’t all from purchasing and I’m not a uncontrollable shopaholic. A significant amount of my belongings came from consolidating. I had stuff with me when I moved. I had stuff in my parent’s barn left over from living totally on my own. I had stuff in my childhood bedroom. Heck, I had stuff I didn’t even know I had waiting for me at my grandma’s house where it had been sitting until I got “a place of my own.” I’m also the “I’ll take that” girl. You know the one – she is always quick to take someone else’s cast offs because she’s sure she’ll find a use for it someday. Combine that with my nature – imagine a zombie made up partially of HGTV, Martha Stewart, and Donna Reed – I’ve created an environment burgeoning with stuff.

My happy, hospitable home is at risk. My closets are overflowing, I don’t have room in my kitchen cabinets for food, and my shelves are so packed, I couldn’t fit another book, game or DVD on them. I’m determined to fight my American consumerist self and reduce my stuff by half. I know it’s going to be a challenge. I’m terribly sentimental. I’m a fanatical crafter (always a stuff magnet). And I’m a bit of a boyscout – “Be Prepared” and all that – which means I’m hesitant to part with anything I might possibly need eventually. But I’m determined to own my stuff and not let my stuff own me. So, let the challenge begin!