I planned on starting this post with a video clip from the TV show ‘Hoarders’ but I decided not to because I didn’t want you to throw up all over your computer.
I’m not saying that to be gross or over-dramatic. I haven’t seen a TV in nearly a year but every time I think about that show, my gag reflexes, literally, go into full throttle.
I’m not sure what’s more startling, the amount of stuff ‘these people’ have hoarded or the fact that they have no idea that their obsessive behavior is abnormal.
I mean…how does a woman with a living room full of old, used baby diapers (note: her “kids” were teenagers at the time of taping) think her behavior is normal?
Because every hoarder feels justified as they slowly die drowning in their pile of junk. I hope that scares you because it scares me!
Hopefully, you don’t have a living room full of dirty diapers. You’re not an extreme hoarder like those crazies on the show, right?
But, you know what is crazy about hoarding?
If people from other parts of the world, say a country like Zimbabwe or India, had the opportunity to see your life for a week, they’d be just as appalled at our hoarding as we are about crazy diaper lady.
And I think they’d be shocked at how “NORMAL” we think it is.
Most of us have no idea how much we hoard. I had no idea how much I hoarded until I lived in India. I spent the month living in an orphanage. Long and short of it…the orphanage has 35 kids. A pastor, his wife, and a housekeeper feed and take care of all 35 children, and there are 3 bedrooms. The pastor and his wife sleep in one bedroom, the boys sleep in one room and the nanny sleeps in the girl’s room.
It was difficult for me to comprehend 17 boys sleeping in one room. There were 6 beds and the boys slept two in a bed. The remaining 5 boys slept on the cold cement floor. Everyone’s clothes were found in two blue drawers at the bottom of the bunk (see picture below).
If you’ve been reading my blogs then you know that I love and appreciate simplicity.
I find it difficult to sit in a room full of stuff.
Although, I don’t have much, I went through my bag and gave some of my clothes to the kids.
First, I got rid of excess clothes. Then anything that was in the “incase I need it” pile that I hadn’t worn in the first 6 months on the race was donated too.
Although, every possession I have fits in a bookbag, you may be surprised how many shirts I had managed to fit once I learned how to pack efficiently. I’m not sure where all these shirts came from but I was appalled at how many shirts I had.
The smiles on their faces got me thinking…what would happen if I got rid of all my stuff until I could use the word ‘simple’ to describe my space?
No piling, stuffing, boxing or hoarding.
Just simplicity.
That’s my challenge for you today.
Will you join me in choosing to intentionally live a simplistic lifestyle? Will you commit to less hoarding and more giving?
I know you don’t consider yourself a hoarder but I’m convinced that you’d be shocked if you actually opened our eyes and paid small attention to how much stuff you have.
* Stuff that you have that you don’t need.
* Stuff you are saving for a rainy day that hasn’t happened in over a year.
* Stuff that’s a backup to your backup.
* Stuff from high school, junior high, weddings etc.
* Stuff that’s stuffed under stuff.
* Stuff. Stuff. Stuff.
* Stuff you are saving for a rainy day that hasn’t happened in over a year.
* Stuff that’s a backup to your backup.
* Stuff from high school, junior high, weddings etc.
* Stuff that’s stuffed under stuff.
* Stuff. Stuff. Stuff.
The sad part is, there are people who NEED the backup to your backup.
Stuff is everywhere but like ‘diaper lady’, we don’t see it.
I got rid of two EXTRA coats. Two!
I started the race with one coat and have had 7 months of summer on the race. Where did I acquire two additional coats!?
How sick is that? I hate hoarding and I’m on a mission to kill it.
I pray God makes you sick of your extra stuff and I hope you join me in this movement.
If someone way less fortune than you observed your life, what would they be shocked that you have so much of?
My name is Jamal and I hoard shirts and coats.
What do you hoard?
p.s. Have you seen the pictures from the countries that I’ve visited? Visit www.facebook.com/jamalsworldrace to see the latest pics. You dont have to have a FB profile to see the pictures.
