Living in Excess...

So... this post is written with GREAT humility.  I've been arguing with God abe about it for a couple of days and saying, really God, I get it, I don't need to share on my blog...  But, he says, I do, and so... I do. 

You see, I've been doing Spring Cleaning this week.  (yeah me!)  One of the things I decided to do was to go through ALL of our closets and clothes.  The kids helped with their items the other night, and Tom and I did our closets yesterday. (including me cleaning all the shelves and drawers and everything:-) 

A few things you should know about us first.
 1)  nearly ALL of our clothes come from 2nd hand stores.  Most of my life I have done this.  I grew up a child of the 80's farm crisis.  Need I say more?  Anyway, I'm a bit frugile and just can't justify what some items of clothing cost. 
2)  If you asked me, I would say that Tom does not have many clothes.  In fact, we have friends that joke that he only wears "free" t-shirts because that is all they ever see him in:-)   
3) I did approach this a little more 'serious' this time, than other times I've cleaned out...  But I do clean out 1-2 times/ year.  (just not to this degree:-)

SO... as we were sorting and folding and packing it up to go to the local second hand store (which by the way, allows us to have an account for HOME Ministries, so I donate under that name and then when we have people we encounter who have a need for clothing items, we just let them go and shop...) 

ok - sorry - back on focus...  As we were packing it up, I decided to keep track.  (THUS BEGINS THE 'BAD IDEA" piece)  I can honestly say that it is beyond embarassing. 

Tom                                                     Jen
Pants - 8                                               Pants - 15
Shirts - 29                                            Shirts 45
Shorts - 15                                           Shorts/Slickies - 15                                     
T-Shirts - 35                                        T-Shirts 42
Slickie's 3                                            Dresses - 10
                                                            Purses - 6
                                                            Sweaters/Sweatshirts - 38

OK - now seriously.....  that is what we got rid of.  That is beyond rediculous.  We could clothe an entire village somewhere with what we weren't even wearing.  How is it that we get that much "stuff" and don't even realize it?  Why on earth, with that many "things" in my closet would I buy ANYTHING else?  Why would I say that Tom doesn't have "any" clothe?  We live in such excess taht this seems normal?  REALLY????? 

And we aren't sitting here with empty closets and drawers.  We STILL have more clothes than we need.... 

Needless to say, God and I have spent some time talking this out...  Well, most of it was me apologizing for my life of excess.  Anyway... what I kept hearing him say is this...

Do you think you're the only one living in excess?  How many other people would have similar experiences doing the same thing? 

So... I am left with the question - what am I going to do about it?  What will I do differently?  It would seem that the obvious answer would be this - DO NOT BUY ANY MORE CLOTHES!  And that is one of the answers.  I kept thinking - so what... So I don't buy anything else.  Who does that help?  What changes in the big picture?  and on and on.... 

HOWEVER, here's where I've landed. 

Whenever I do buy anything, whatever I spend I will commit to donating the equivalent amount.  This in essence means that I'm committing to doubling the cost of everything I buy.... 

I'm still processing and hiding my face a bit.  It REALLY is humbling.  Here's what you can do to help me.... look in your closet. Do some SPRING cleaning of your own. Where is your excess?  and bettter yet... where should it be?