There’s Such A Thing As Too Much

So I’ve been thinking a lot about stuff, lately. Not in the abstract: I mean ‘stuff’ as in material things. They’re nice to have, or at least they can be. Some of them are necessary, some aren’t. I honestly believe that everyone should have some ‘unnecessary’ things that are simply pretty, or fun, because what is life without pleasure and beauty?

But I also think that stuff has a lot to do with stress, and not just in the commercialized, debt-inducing way. Our environment impacts us in huge ways we don’t always realize, and it isn’t always about ‘clean’ or ‘dirty’.

Some people thrive on chaos; clothes strewn everywhere and things thrown hither and thither and piled to the ceilings. Others only function in tightly controlled and organized spaces, with every thing folded just so and not a spec out of place. Most of us fall somewhere in the middle, average being what it is, but finding our unique balance of organizational chaos takes time.

This is on my mind because I realize that I was much less depressed, anxious, and overwhelmed on a daily basis when we first moved into this apartment, and we only had dollar store dishes and the few belongings we’d been able to drive with us from Illinois.

My stress increased tenfold when the rest of our items were finally delivered. Part of that is because we didn’t get a lot of warning, and they broke some stuff and lost some other stuff. But I’m starting to realize that the vast majority of the increased stress and anxiety is simply from the decreased space. And what’s in the apartment isn’t nearly half of what we have. Let’s face it; we’ve spent the last 8 years living in 3–4 bedroom houses on base, and now we’re in a 2 bedroom second-floor apartment.

There are things I will not part with, like the bedroom set my Gram bought me when I turned 16 that I have fought like Hel to hold onto all this time. There are things that I’ve missed, that I’d like to dig out and have again, like my kitchenaid.

To quote Sabrina, “More isn’t always better, Linus. Sometimes it’s just… more.”

I was happier with less. I’m ready to downsize.