I believe in stewardship! Whether it be our money, our belongings, our use of resources and most especially the Creation we all call home. We cannot keep our heads buried in the sand anymore. Our gross obsession with consuming will bring nothing but folly, in the end. Don't get me wrong, I want "things" as much as the next person, but I have to know when "enough is enough". I have a friend that often says something to this effect, "I spend my day moving my stuff, dusting my stuff and worrying my toddler will break my stuff and ultimately, my stuff dictates my life." 
 
I live in a 1850 square foot home that is over one hundred years old, guess how many original closets it has? One, Uno, Une, 1!!!! It took me a few years to figure out why. But as we started to fill up the house with acquisitions, I started pondering storage space. HOW DID PEOPLE LIVE IN THIS HOUSE WITHOUT CLOSETS!?!? Here was the AH-HA moment, right after we watched a depression era movie, one of my kids asked where all the kid's toys were in the movie, how come their room only had a bed, side table, lamp and a bookcase? See where I'm going with this? I mean come-on, where would we put the play kitchen, and fully outfitted doll house, the baby changing table and crib, the tea-party table and toy box full of stuffed animals, the legos (on my, THE LEGOS) the hot wheels and musical instruments? Average people back then had a set of work clothes, some "Sunday" clothes, a couple of pairs of shoes and basic necessities to live life. Well, we are an average family and when I look around at our collection of stuff, it appears to be more royal than average. That tells me something about my expectations, my lack of knowing my "real" financial means and finally, my often inability to be frugal when I should.
 
I write all this to say, I need balance, I need to teach my kids balance and the ability to make choices about "stuff". I'm not going to have a massive yard sale and become a minimalist, but I have started asking questions. Questions like, "if I buy you that toy, which one is it going to replace at home?" or "Where are you going to put that away when you get home?" and my favorite, "where will I stuff another pair of shoes"? (I love shoes, I think I would have them ALL, if someone let me). This change in belief is taking patience on our part as parents, self-control on their part as children and ultimately the ability to make the choice of when, enough is enough.
 
What are ways to promote the idea of stewardship? How do you teach your children or those kids that are around you to make healthy choices for their lives and their home? Please share how you have started the process of contentment with your current belongings, rather than the constant search for the next thing.