Stuff and nonsense.

Good morning.

You may remember I recently read a book by James Wallman called Stuffocation.

This is a bit of a thing with me at the moment coinciding with us moving, hopefully. (More of that later, hoepfully.)The basic idea being that we should try to stop buying stuff and spend our money on experiences instead and live life as an experientialist and not as materialistic. Thanks to this book we have sold our second car and I have placed my wedding dress with a dress agency to sell! The theory does not mean you cannot have things. You can have expensive things if they are what give you pleasure in a pursuit but it is about not just buying for the sake of buying, upgrading when you really don't need to etc. It covers lots of associated subjects from the point of view of sociologists, psychologists and economists and I thouroughly recommend it as an interesting view of society and consumerism.

Following on from that, I was the lucky winner of a book called The Simple Living Handbook by Lorilee Lippincott, thanks to Our Quiet Life In Suffolk. This fits in perfectly with the "stuff" theme as she says some very "simple" and sensible things, such as:

- Your stuff does not define you.

Many people think it does exactly that because if you don't have the latest gadget, biggest TV etc you are not up there with the Jones'. I'm pleased to be down here with the Houghtons frankly!

- Your stuff does not dictate your economic value in the world, your self-worth, or        your importance.

I agree with this entirely because I do not intend on spending my money just to impress        somebody else!

Ultimately, I am more than my stuff!

Thanks to various chapters and sections of her book I have this weekend 

• assessed my wardrobe including giving some things to the charity shop which I have been dragging around with me for ten years and STILL cannot fit into

• thought about just how many of the kitchen things I have already packed away for moving that I really need to bother unpacking

I admit that simplifying things like the boys toys will be tricky but on that level I am going to attempt to not replace tat with tat, as we call it in our house, especially as we have a birthday coming up next month.

Well I feel a bit cleansed after this experience and hope to continue feeling this way. I hope this frame of mind will help us in our new life when we are where we want to be and not where we have to currently be, as we are at the moment.

I would love any thoughts or comments on this post from you.xx