What Does the Box Say?

Right next to our television, in the main part of the living room, lives a box.  Not a fancy box, just a plain, old cardboard box.

Ain't She a Beauty?

This box is anything but decorative. If anything it is an eye sore, but to us, it is a constant reminder.

A reminder for what, you might ask?

It is reminder to get rid of stuff that we no longer need.  

I'd much rather see a cute elephant, but the box works too!

According to Becoming Minimalist blogger Joshua Becker,  the average U.S. household has 300,000 things, the actual size of houses has tripled and throughout their lifetime people spend a total of 3,680 hours (equivalent of 153 days)  looking for misplaced items.  That's a whole lot of stuff and wasted time if you ask me!

So what's the big deal?

Well, it's not only the financial cost of buying and storing the stuff, but you must also maintain it, fix it, keep track of it, clean it, think about it, etc.

So what do we do about it?

Glad you asked...

In the past, we used to start a pile in our guest room: one shirt here, one plate there.  Over time it grew in size, ultimately becoming a formidable beast.  It was impossible to pack up, fit in the car and take to a donation center.  Which meant, it would just continue to grow.

Moving is a great time to purge unnecessary stuff.

We moved last May and as we unpacked, we combed through all sorts of things, pitching anything that we didn't need.  If felt great not having to find a spot for all this stuff that we had accumulated over the years.  And even better that we were able to donate most of it.

#helpingushelpingothers

After a few weeks, we were finally settled in, except for this one box. Since it wasn't quite full yet, we didn't want to take it.  So it stayed.  8 months later and it is still there.  Of course, when it gets full, we empty it, but the box remains.

Fancy home decor don't you think?

One new thing in the house, one old thing out. 

We've even set-up a house rule: Every time we bring something new into the house, like a t-shirt for example; we put an old shirt that we no longer need in the box.  That way we limit the things coming into the house.  It's a beautiful system.

Almost Full!

Donate when the box is full.

Since the box is of a manageable size, once it is full, we pick it up, put it in the car and take it to the donation center. Easy as..

Wait, wrong kind of pie!

Keeping it visible, keeps it top of mind. 

When it was in the guest room, it was out of sight, out of mind.  But now that it is right where we see it everyday, that means no more unyielding pile.

Help!

Also, it is easily accessible to add to at a moment's notice, since it is right in a central part of our (small) house.

It's even a conversation piece.

I find it fun to discuss it with guests when they come over.  Though some of our friends do not understand it, others share in our enjoyment of such a simple box.  I couldn't wait to show it with Tonya over at Budget and the Beach because I knew she would understand.

It's simple and valuable.

It's a simple thing to do and helps us maintain a controllable amount of stuff in our house.

So, what does the box say?

Ring-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding...Wa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pow...Fraka-kaka-kaka-kaka-kow!

I'd love to hear how you manage the amount of stuff in your house.