That Bag I Knew I Needed

I love Christmas time and mostly everything that comes around the Holiday time, but I do find it sad that most of us spend one day being thankful on Thanksgiving and then a full month of want, want, want.

The real reason for Christmas gets easily brushed to the side because we find ourselves deep in buying all the things we will soon regret buying.

It was around Christmas time in 2011 when I started feeling this tug that I needed less. Now at this time in our lives we had just found out we were pregnant with our first baby boy.

I slowly began figuring out that the stuff we were having to move and set up was just that — stuff that left me feeling smothered.

I remember thinking I need to clean out. I need to give some things away and this is when it all began. I started slowly, one room at a time.

I suddenly felt so much lighter with each haul to the local goodwill or women's shelter. Giving away the things we didn't need felt like I could slowly breathe again.

I remember this bag that cost as much as our monthly mortgage at the time. I loved it, used it often, but deep down knew I didn't need it.

That bag that I felt like I needed was just the thing I needed to give away to understand the real gift of giving.

Giving something away that you at one time felt like you really loved and needed was a different kind of giving. It was selfless and felt freeing.

I prayed that the person that got this bag would love it and carry it not for the bag society made it out to be, but for what it meant to them.

"She is worth far more than rubies and pearls." — Proverbs 31:10

Stuff is just that, it's just stuff.

I hope I am being an example for our boys showing them that the things we do have will never define us.

Christmas time with children can easily become too much, but we have stuck to a rule: 2 things they want, 2 things they need and 1 surprise.

I also love a good travel gift that is an adventure for our family instead of the stuff.

Giving that bag away helped me realize what I want and what I need are two very different things.

Giving this bag away seven years ago started my journey and the minimalism process for me, and it has given me so much more than I could possibly ever give.

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth... For where your treasure is there your heart will be also." — Matthew 6:19-21

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas.

Much love,

XX - Ash