I was watching Veggie Tales with my grandson. If you want to have a good laugh while being taught something I recommend Veggie Tales. This episode was ‘Madam Blueberry’. Madam Blueberry was blue and she didn’t know why. She had friends, a nice home and lovely things. She just didn’t know why she was blue.

Then one day she saw outside her window from her house (which was in a tree) a Stuff Mart being built. She didn’t know what it was but soon three veggies from Stuff Mart came and convinced her through clever songs that she was blue because she didn’t have enough stuff. Her friends tried to convince her that wasn’t the reason she was sad, but she wouldn’t listen to them.

Off she went to Stuff Mart and bought and bought things she didn’t need, didn’t want, and could never use. She had all the stuff delivered to her house. They were hauling all the stuff up by a rope. As she was hurrying home after shopping she could see her house tipping this way and that way because of all the stuff that was now in her home. She breathed a sigh of relief when the house righted itself and didn’t fall.

But then a butterfly landed on her house and “Oh No,” that is all it took. All the stuff came tumbling out of the door and fell into a pond and her house catapulted away. She then realized she didn’t need all that stuff to be happy. She had friends and just enough things to make her happy.

Do you ever feel like Madam Blueberry? You have to have something to make you happy and then when you get it, it didn’t make you happy? I bought a template to make a quilt block a few years ago and I was so happy when it came in the mail. I told my friend how happy I was and she asked me if I wanted to put it with things she had bought ; that when she bought them made her happy yet she had never used.

I was puzzled because of course I was going to use it. As it turned out I have never used it, instead I made my own template and made my grandmother’s flower garden quilt with the template I made. How ironic it is that we absolutely think we need some things and then once we have them they really aren’t that important.

But if you do have a lot of stuff and you want to keep everything that is fine, but it can be a burden unless it is organized, or has a purpose. If it lights you up or it has special meaning, then keep it. Here are some tips of what to do with stuff:

·Organize your stuff to make it attractive and enjoyable to you.

·When things get worn from use, get rid of them. If there is still good use in them, donate to charity.

·Before buying more stuff take stock of what you have and ask yourself if you really need it. You can enjoy it at the store, if you walk away and stop thinking about it chances are you don’t really want it nor need it.

·If you have inherited a family member’s things, share with other family members, if it has no meaning to you or your family it is okay to pass it along to someone else. You don’t have to keep it just because you inherited it. If you do it then becomes just stuff that can be a burden to you and your family.

·If you don’t have room for more stuff then that is a clue that less is more (at least it is better).

·Stuff becomes a burden when you have upkeep on it that weighs you down and keeps you from doing the things you truly like to do, or doing things that light you up. For instance if dusting is your ‘thing’ then lots of stuff may suit you.

Like I said before stuff is not bad, as long as it is organized and brings light to you in your home and in your life then it crosses over from stuff to treasures. I wouldn’t want your house to become so heavy with stuff like Madam Blueberry’s house that you couldn’t enjoy friends, family hobbies and life.

Marilyn is a creative organizer who has been organizing for over 20 years. She is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers and is working towards becoming a Certified Professional Organizer. Professionally she has been organizing homes and offices for two years. She holds a bachelors degree in Social Work. She has reared five daughters and currently lives in Utah.

Go to her website http://www.marilynbohn.com where you can find free organizing tips and interesting blogs and helpful articles on organizing.

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