Decluttering as a spiritual exercise... or Why do I own 25 coffee cups?

T,
Leave it to our kids to bring us back down to earth, right? LOL, your post made me smile because my kids would say the exact same thing!
I was thinking about your decluttering day. (BTW, when did declutter become an official word?)

Anyways, this is an area where I really struggle. Believe me, I've watched enough episodes of "Clean House" to know that I'd fit right in with the people on the show. For example, why DO I own 25 coffee cups? There is myself and my husband using them on a regular basis. Once in a while, my kids use them for hot chocolate or I'll need a couple for guests. Not that there is anything wrong in itself with having so many cups, but it is a symptom of a larger problem of too much attachment to material things.

I need an "attitude adjustment" as my dad would say. I've got to get around this mental block. I know in my heart that I don't need all this stuff and, in many ways, they make my life more difficult. So I'm going to try a new perspective.I'll try to view decluttering as a spiritual exercise. Similar to the way that tithing seperates you from materialism and too much attachment to money, I hope that decluttering will help to seperate me from too much attachment to my possessions. After all, I have what I need most in my faith, my family, my dear friends, my health, and my memories.
I'm not saying this new perspective is going make it easy or any less painful. But maybe it will help me to take baby steps. By the end of today, I'll only own 24 coffee cups.
A.


Deuteronomy 12
12:11

Then to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name--there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice possessions you have vowed to the Lord.