I have too much stuff!!  And I don’t know where it even comes from; it just appears in my drawers and on my shelves. I keep giving stuff away and throwing stuff away and more stuff comes back! In order for me to be better and to have a better life I need less stuff in it. I hate walking into a room filled with stuff or opening a closet stuffed with stuff or not being able to find something because of all the stuff!

And believe me – I’m no hoarder – I clean stuff out constantly – yet more keeps magically appearing. How does this happen? Well for one, I have friends and family who buy me stuff. Not “oh my God thank you I’ve been looking all over for one of those I need it so much” stuff. Just stuff: A vase. Napkins. A coffee cup. A framed quip. All wonderful stuff. Thoughtful stuff. But stuff that takes up more space. Space I don’t have or don’t want to use. Now of course I want my friends and family to love me and think of me – just no more stuff. Chocolate, champagne, paid vacations or money, but no more stuff!

And then a have my own weaknesses. A friend and I go out, we stop in a cute store, I’m hooked. I buy something I absolutely do not need and put it on that newly cleared shelf in my office that I cleared so I wouldn’t have so much stuff around me. As of this moment I declare a moratorium on stuff. Unless I run out of something I am not buying another thing. I declare my home a stuff-free zone. If it isn’t something I use or makes me smile or sigh with pleasure; out it goes!

The problem with this is – my friends and family come over and if they don’t see their stuff they ask about it. This is tricky. I could lie and say it is put away but I have found it easier to just say, “You know, I love that you think of me but I’m really trying to not have stuff around that I don’t use and I have all the décor I need so I re-gifted it (or gave it away or whatever). I have a friend who gave two gifts back to me. She was honest – she told me she would never use them and maybe I knew someone else who would. At first I was hurt, but then I appreciated her honesty. Now I either take her to lunch or buy her a bottle of her favorite wine. See? Chocolate, champagne, paid vacation or money – no stuff!!!