"STUFF" + Hope Refugee Services

STUFF - Who Needs It????

A while back I hired a professional organizer for 2 hours to do an assessment of our house and offer any organizational ideas. Her main comment was - "You have too much stuff."

Since I was a little girl, I have always wanted to live in a HUGE house. I just love the idea of having big parties, lots of peoples staying over night, a big kitchen (or 2) for cooking big meals. I don't think it was the actual "house" itself that I wanted but the ability to bring people together in community.

When we were getting ready to register for our wedding presents, someone commented "Who do you think you are going to be feeding with 20 place settings?" Hhmmm?? My mom, a pastor's wife, used to entertain, plan lots of parties, showers, banquets etc.. Of course she used the rooms at the church to entertain.

I haven't let go of the vision of myself as the entertainer in a big house even though that picture does not match my reality. So, when I find a sale on cloth napkins, I buy 25 instead of 8. We have never had 25 people in our house at once in the 12 years we have lived here... but the vision lives on. It's time to let go!!

Needless to say, the cupboards of our smallish townhouse are bursting at the seams- not to mention our closets.

With school starting next week, I have been frantically trying to get stuff done on my summer to do list. Sorting through clothes and organizing our closets was top on the list. I am embarrassed to say that Larry and I filled 18 garbage bags with usable clothing to take to Hope Refugee Services. How do two people accumulate that much stuff?

God has been speaking to me for a while about Quieting the Noise in my life. Getting rid of stuff clears space in our home but also in my head and stops the spinning.

In the past, it has been hard for me to decide what to give away. Questions like "What if I never find another pair of black pants that fit?" drive me crazy and I usually end up giving up.

Several questions helped me this time...

• Would I give this away if I knew the person I was giving it to had nothing to wear? I knew we were taking clothing to Hope Refugee services. Refugees usually come here with nothing so it was easy to let go.

• Does this fit my color plan? I read that you should have 2 main colors and an accent color in your wardrobe. It makes it easier to organize, shop without wasting money and to plan what to wear.

• Is this in the 80% or the 20%? Did you know that we only wear 20% of our clothing 80% of the time?

• Do I feel relaxed or comfortable in this? My favorite clothes I call "forget me" clothes. You put them on, are perfectly comfortable and you forget all about what you are wearing. Other clothes may look nice but they bug you all day. The shirt rides up or the shoulders don't feel right, or the fabric is scratchy etc.

As we drove up to Hope Refuge Services, I felt good about giving and I felt good about the space we were opening up in our house and in our heads.

But I also felt sad. Sad that we are faced every day with advertising that tells us we are "less than" unless we buy X Y or Z. As a "fifty something", I have the life experience to fight back and know that my worth does not come from stuff. But what message are our kids getting?

Who needs our stuff? They do!!! People who have faced hardship and horrors that we can only imagine or read about. People who have come to the "land of opportunity" but need help navigating until they get on their feet. People who have the same hopes and dreams for their kids and their families that we have.
If you live near Buffalo, I encourage you to think about donating to Hope Refugee Services. They need children's clothing, kitchen stuff and desperately need BEDS!!
Hope Refugee Services operates under the auspices of Houghton College. (one of my FAVORITE places) It is located at 318 Breckenridge in Buffalo.

Next door is the Indian Church of Buffalo. (see pic) It is easier to see the church sign than the number on the house.
We have also scheduled a pick up appointment with another charity for Friday morning. They will pick up the things that HRS could not use. I am looking forward to the WHOOSH of fresh air that will flow through the house as the stuff leaves and as we take another step toward Quieting the Noise!!


And now for a little comic relief ~~what to do when you want to post twice in one day????
Put them together of course... read on!!!

Some of you will remember my TOMATO TREE!!

Redemption in the garden turned out to be an interesting lesson. I'm not quite sure what the lesson is yet- but I will let you know.
My tomato tree turned yellow and then brown no matter how much loving care I gave it. Of all the beautiful yellow blossoms, only three did not wither and die. The 3 produced these tiny, rock hard tomatoes. (For those of you who have seen Tasha's garden pictures, you can tell who has the green thumb)

My neighbor's brother, who also took some of the plants, told us that these three will rot before they turn green. My neighbor's plants did not turn yellow but her tomatoes are as small and hard as mine.

HHHMMMMM! Not sure what happened. It may have been...
1. The spray used on lawns. (One of the downfalls of living in a townhouse- I would let the dandelions grow!!)
or
2. They were hybrid seeds.
or
3. They were Genetically Engineered seeds. (is that the same as hybrid?)
or
4. Their purpose in life was to teach me a lesson!!


Whatever the reason, there won't be any yummy BLT's at my house unless I make a trip to the farm market. The rest of the garden is actually doing well. I love this kale plant!!