Stuff

My Canadian photography friend posted this on her blog--and I have heard it before, but loved to see it as a reminder.

“We invest a great deal in the acquisition of stuff. Companies bombard us with slick, relentless propaganda as to why we must have their stuff and judge an individual’s success by their stuff’s sheer quantity and supposed quality. I like stuff. I especially like the word stuff. But consumption never was creativity; it brings few lasting satisfactions and can bring burdensome debts. Stuff beyond our basic needs does not liberate. Consider the overall investment of your time. You have to shop for stuff. You have to clean, maintain and organize stuff. You lose stuff. You look for stuff. You polish stuff. Secure it against theft, trip over it, recharge it, upgrade it, accessorize it, pack it, move it, unpack it, insure it, fix it, and eventually sell, trash or bequeath it. Stuff has no use beyond this life and it takes a lot from us. Very much unlike stuff, knowledge has few such liabilities. Knowledge does not depreciate but grows deeper, stronger and more valuable with each use.”
                        - Shawn W. Miller, BYU Devotional, August 3, 2010 (punctuation altered)

I am blessed to have many friends who subscribe to this way of life.

I am not a stuff person.  In fact, my poor kids have often asked where their toys went--because they just up and disappeared on them.

I hate paying for bullcrap. Toys, clothes that kids will outgrow, Pajamas--does anyone else hate paying money for pajamas??

But what I will spend a bazillion dollars for is memories.  Road trips, camping, outings.  Now that to me is where I have to watch myself with money.

We are still in the middle of trying to buy a car. I just can't bring myself to spend that much money on a vehicle.  It seems ridiculous.

The only thing that I have realized that is going to make me do it----road trips. Having a car with no mileage on it, a good engine and a warranty.  So in short--memories.

That major deciding factor on which vehicle we choose--cargo room. How many coolers and suitcases can we fit back there??

I am already planning our east cost trip for next summer, and the West coast to Canada trip for the summer after that.

I love the reminder this quote gives me. 

Now I am going to go throw away some STUFF.