Do you ever look around your house and wonder how you accumulated so much stuff? Sometimes I’m puzzled by the sheer amount of things my three-person family has managed to cram into a tiny apartment. And we also pay a monthly fee for an overflow storage facility, because not everything fits into our living space.

There are many categories of stuff in my life. The three biggies are as follows (excluding the exorbitant overflow storage unit):

1. Clothes and shoes: Ok, I’ll admit it – like most women, I have a shoe problem. But in this category, I’m far from the biggest offender. My husband and daughter’s wardrobes put my shoe collection to shame. I know this because the only place for me to keep my clothes is in half of my daughter’s closet. Seriously, I’m not exaggerating.
2. Toys: I like to think that we’re on the moderate side of toy possession. Yet at times this still seems like too much.  We have enough stuffed animals to fill Noah’s Ark, and my daughter doesn’t really bother with anything other than her one or two favorites.
3. General stuff:  This category is the kicker. It’s where all the random stuff fits in. I’m talking about piles of things that have no home – this can include mail delivered to you by mistake, an old insurance claim you have to fight, or a notice about something months away. Or maybe its pieces of things or unidentifiable objects – we have a lot of these in my home; these are the objects that look important, as though they could hold the key to getting your two year-old cell phone to work, or possibly fit into some mechanical device that seems important. You’re reluctant to throw these things away, because it feels like as soon as you do, you’ll need it and know exactly where it belongs. General stuff is a big issue.

Now, I’m not on the verge of a major anti-clutter breakthrough or anything. Truth be told, out of my family, I’m probably the one with the least stuff; I also have the smallest home and the least children. But over the past week, I’ve been reflecting on the things we need.

I’m not at my home right now. My daughter and I are staying at my parents’ house, helping out while my mom recovers from knee surgery. When we arrived, we didn’t know how long we’d be staying or when we’d get back. As a result, I packed about four outfits for each of us, and one toy.

I didn’t pack my daughter’s singing picnic basket, or her bath toys. I didn’t bring any fleeces or jackets. My footwear choices are sneakers or flip-flops. And my enormous deluxe stroller and shopping cart cover are at home.

You know what? We’re just fine. My daughter is having the time of her life emptying Gramum’s cabinets and examining her Tupperware collection. I’m enjoying the coziness of my mom’s extra fleece coat. We’re without the staples of our everyday life at home, and we don’t miss them at all. In fact, the only thing my daughter and I really miss is her daddy (we’ll be home soon honey!).

So maybe, when we do get home, we’ll declutter a bit. I’d love to ditch the storage unit, but who can say? The only thing I know for sure is as long as we’ve got family, fleece and Tupperware, we have all that we need.