And then I read a book. It was called The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide: How to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify Your Life, and it was by Francine Jay.
Minimalism, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, is a lifestyle where you pare down your stuff to just the essentials, just the things that make you happiest, and just the things you use the most.
And suddenly this started clicking for me. This was my thought process: I have a lot of stuff. I have a few things I use all the time and a few things I love, but a lot of stuff that sits on a shelf or hangs in my closet that never gets touched. I don't like that I'm so cluttered. So why do I still have this stuff?
Hence, the throwing things out. First, my clothes. Then, my books. Then, my desk. Then, my closet. I went through every item, removed it from its home, and asked: "Do I love this? Do I use this? Will I miss this?" Two giant bags of clothes are gone. Three giant bags of garbage are gone. One giant bag of stuff has been given away. My room has never been so clean, so organized, and so loved. It's refreshing being in here, with everything in its place.
Having less stuff is kind of lovely. I wear all of my clothes and jewelry and scarves and sunglasses. I love all my books. It's easy to keep the place clean.
I've also been forced to reckon with how owning a lot of things I neither use nor like glorifies God. Paring down my possessions has genuinely made me less reliant on them. And it's made me less eager to go out and buy a bunch of new things I will soon have to store -- and eventually get rid of. I believe owning less stuff is a little step I've taken that's personally benefited me spiritually.
As I get older, I'm realizing that life is about so much more than stuff. And I've seen that stuff can take hold of your heart and actually rob it of happiness. In a culture that's told possessions are the key to joy and fulfillment, the Christian knows that's just not true. For me, owning less things is a little way to remind myself that contentedness, comfort, and satisfaction are not rooted in stuff; they're rooted in Christ.
No matter how much you own, the point of life is still the same -- glorify God with what you've been given. Be a good gospel steward. If you don't need to get rid of anything to do that, great. If you do, great.
But don't be a thoughtless and unengaged steward.