stuff and contentment

A few years ago we has custom organizers put into every closet in our house. There was a place for everything and everything had a place. The kids clothing was hung at the perfect length for them, there were plenty of shelves to keep toys out of sight, I even had a closet for my business items and they all fit. It was wonderful! I say "was" because we have since moved. Which is also a wonderful thing! But once you've been spoiled with custom organizers, it is certainly hard to start over again with a single shelf sitting on top of one long clothing rod. Unfortunately, putting in custom organizers is not at the top (or even near the top) of our "to do" list here yet. So I've had to get creative.

Today's gift of Survival: Creativity. That's what I do. I make things work somehow, someway, creatively. Pretty much I make do with what I've got and it tends to work out decently (usually). I have to try things about 6 different ways first to make sure I like it so it takes a while to make creative work around here. I make my baskets, suitcases, crates, and trunks do the work for me while still making these functional things look like home decor. Storing Christmas decor, toys, scrapbooking supplies, and recycling. This makes them mostly out of sight and easy to clean up!

In here you will find a bunch of Christmas decorations.

Much miscellaneous that disappears when I close the suitcase
and stack the others on top.

paper recycleables

Toys, usually this basket is
not so full but a number of our toys from upstairs
have found their way downstairs
and not back up again! Imagine that.

Ribbon and such
...and the laundry baskets.
Someday maybe these kids will have real laundry baskets,
but to be quite honest, these have held up better
than some of the plastic ones we have been through!

A few years back, my hubby and I put ourselves on a budget (eliminating numerous arguments and allowing us to do, financially, things we never thought possible - more on that later, I'm sure). That budget gave me guidelines - no expensive shopping trips unless I had saved up the money for it. It gave me a "make do" attitude. I look around my house and I have so much stuff! I can most definitely "make do" with what I've got and I usually do.

This past January, my husband went on a mission trip to Cambodia (he felt the nudge that he couldn't ignore and ended up 15 hours away for 2 weeks!) When he came back, he showed us pictures of the way the people there were living. Even the really nice homes he showed had so little, but just enough. Enough to make the people happy and content. When I look around my house and see how much stuff I have...

I know that God has blessed me with a lot of stuff, but should that really be my focus? He has blessed me with SO much more:
A husband who works hard on so many levels for our family,
Healthy and happy children,
A supportive family,
Wonderfully encouraging friends,
His word for guidance,
His peace when I can't find my own,
Comfort amidst great sadness,
The amazing gift of his son dying on the cross for all my sins,
Smiles from strangers,
Laughter,
Joy that bubbles up and runs over,
His amazing creation - spring is fantastic!
Grace,
Wisdom,
Hugs,
and, and, and...
I could go on and on with the list of blessings that have nothing to do with the "stuff" sitting in my baskets, trunks, suitcases, and such. Sometimes it takes stepping back to see the blessings that are right in front of us.

KC