Julie Gumm - Author

Not my finest moment…

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Confession: Yesterday I had my bi-annual freak-out about the amount of crap we have.

I had dared to venture into the under-the-stair closet.

What you can’t see in the picture is that the closet actually turns the corner to the left (while quickly becoming about 3 ft tall).

And that is where I was headed, in search of the box for my Canon camera that I’m selling on ebay.

This back section of the closet contains Mark’s boyhood baseball collection… and his Hot Wheels collection.

And 2 bins worth of misc. computer parts, cables, remote controls, wireless routers …

And the original boxes for some of our small electronics.

It was also the scene of one not-so-grown-up hissy fit.

By yours truly.

Standing precariously amidst the portable DVD player, a box of remotes, unused backpacks and the kids board games, I tried to see the sought-after box.

As I started to move some things around I could feel the frustration building.

And then I lost my balance, barely catching myself but banging my head against the wall.

And then I lost my mind.

I started picking up empty boxes and hurling them out of the closet. Along with several empty backpacks. (You know, to get put somewhere else…ahem.)

Probably against his better judgment Mark came to see if I needed help.

I will leave out the rest of that conversation, but suffice it to say that I took out my frustrations on my poor hubby who was ready to load everything into the back of the van right there and haul it to Goodwill. Which I was tempted to let him do except a lot of the stuff needs to go on e-bay.

STUFF drives me nuts. Specifically UNUSED stuff.

And CLUTTER.

You know those neat little IKEA showrooms where everything is put away in color-coordinated boxes and displayed on shelves in just the right way? Yeah, that makes me all warm and fuzzy.

Now that we don’t have money fights this, quite honestly, is probably the area where Mark and I struggle the most.

Usually I don’t throw things though.

Sorry honey!

When Excess Brings Chaos

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We, as Americans, live in a world of excess. The amounts of excess vary from person to person. We may not think we have excess but usually because that’s because we’re looking at what the next door neighbor has. Or the guy in the office across the hall. Or that really popular couple at church.

In the last few years, because of the places we’ve traveled and the experiences we’ve had I, more often than not, find myself thinking of the truly needy in this world.

Growing up I’m sure my mom thought I was a lost cause in the “excess” department. I was the collector – knick knack, clothes, books. But some how when I went away to college it’s like a switched flip. Suddenly on my own, in charge of my own space, I became a model organizer and a regular purger of unnecessary stuff.

I’m not claiming that I am perfect, that I don’t collect anything – just look at my collection of scrapbooking stuff (currently collecting dust in the corner of my bedroom).  But I purge often, and sometimes with reckless abandon. I have probably swung even further to the other side to compensate for my dear, sweet husbands um, well, non-purging tendencies.

This weekend was the semi-annual switching out of the seasonal clothes. We’ve had gorgeous sunny weather with highs in the 70s and it was time to get out the summer wear. For 3 days my living room looked like a textile factory that exploded. As I pulled out the 2 bins of girls clothes and begin to separate them into piles I was struck by the excess.

We do laundry every weekend, at the longest going 8 days in between laundry washing. I counted up Natalie’s shirts – some that fit her from last summer and some that Beza no longer fit in that got added to her pile.

27 shirts…for a 7 year old. One that comes downstairs in mismatched colors half the time.

Noah’s shorts were almost as bad.

As I was pulling the winter shirts off of hangers I realized there were shirts that went unworn the entire season.

So I declared war on the excess clothing and set out to whittle their clothes down to a respectable amount. We found 10 pairs of shorts, 10 matching shirts. We went through the winter stuff and, before we put it away, pulled out the too scratchy, too tight and “ugly” shirts that apparently were NEVER going to get worn.

I ended up with 2 bags of hand me downs for a friend. 2 bags for Goodwill and 1 bin for my nephews.

I supposed I need to tackle my closet next?