Stuff. Too much of it.
I can’t get over how much time I spend thinking about how much stuff we have in our house. Maybe I’m just obsessed with thought and that’s my clutter.
For me, it seems to be a recurring theme. The hard part is looking at my stuff. It’s easy to get bent out of shape about how many toys, Legos, Hot Wheels, etc are strewn about the house. But when I step back and look at my own “SEE AY ARE PEA” I get paralyzed.
I’m reading a small business book put out by Price Pritchett about effectiveness. His books are great and really speak to my way of thinking. This particular one is by Richard Koch. The principle is how we spend 80% of our time for 20% of results. Turn that around and we’re spending 20% of our time for 80% of results. Take it a step further and we can increase productivity by focusing on the things that produce those greater results.
Where was I going with all this? Oh yes, all my stuff. Koch makes a good point about needing “white space”. In the past I’ve referred to this as “margin”. I find that when I have no margin in my life and I get a curve-ball thrown at me, it ends up feeling like a sucker punch. I’ve got to have margin to be healthy.
Margin. White space. Stuff. How about more margin and less stuff? How would that feel? I’d likely feel a big sense of relief. I think that’s part of why I enjoy getting away either alone or with my family. Even with a car full of kids and our stuff, it’s still less than in our house. We survive. We don’t “need” all the stuff we have in the house. In fact, I think we’re doing our kids a disservice.
The other day I read a little story on the Family Life website. It was about a family that took a year off from television. Amy and I did this for a month a long time ago. I think it was before kids. I’m really liking the idea. I’m serious about trying it. When I was first out of college and working in corporate America I didn’t have a TV. I missed the whole OJ Simpson chase. I’m sure I missed a number of other very important events. NOT.
I read more. I ran more. I rollerbladed more. I still desired a TV, but I wasn’t wasting away in front of one. I got to watch TV, but it was more intentional. I kept up with Seinfeld episodes thanks to Eva Wojnar, a co-worker who would bring in episodes for us to enjoy during lunch.
I’ll keep you posted on the TV front. On the stuff front, I’m thinking we could do better with half of what we have. I’ll keep you posted on that as well.
-Kyle Dreier