It was December 2020. I had a new baby, a homeschooled two and four year old, a husband working from home in the dining room, and piles of presents my kids had just gotten for Christmas. My to-do list was longer than the daylight hours. The demands for my time and attention were unending. I poured most of my energy into maintaining the status quo: folding laundry, washing dishes, and picking up toys. I wanted to fix the situation, and I had the perfect solution.

We needed a bigger house with more closet space, not to mention a home office. I was sure that more square footage would fix the problem. But before I could locate the perfect dream home, I snapped. I couldn’t live in that state for one more minute. I had a choice to make: either burn the house down and start over or grab a trash bag and start hauling stuff out.

I set a goal to get rid of 100 bags of stuff over the next twelve months. I vowed to get rid of it in the quickest and easiest way possible, giving it away to the nearest possible receptacle. I thought that amount of stuff would be a challenge. Little did I know that at the end of the year, I would give away over 200 bags and boxes of excess from our home, enough to fill a 12-foot moving truck top to bottom and front to back.

Good Stewarding

I have always been what I considered a “good steward” of items. In my mind this meant keeping things that I might use one day, buying things at a bargain, and recouping the leftover value by reselling it when finished with something. I was afraid that giving things away would make me less generous. Surely this great exodus of things would suck me into a perspective of scarcity. If I only have one of something instead of five, I would be more possessive of the one, right?

Instead, like all of God’s promises that seem to make no sense, the very opposite happened. The more I released my grip and let things slip through my fingers, the more I realized that things come and go. There is no need to hoard or protect.

For the next year, with every item my hand touched or my eyes lingered on, I asked myself if I needed that thing. If the answer was no, it went into a bag and out the door. More and more things that I was sure I needed in the first few rounds made their way into the donate pile.

What Did You Get Rid Of?

People always ask what I got rid of and how it filled that much space. Do you know what is surprising? I can’t answer them, because I don’t remember. I haven’t missed a single item that I’ve given away.

Today, I love my house. I am so glad we didn’t move. I am grateful for every square inch of space, including my office in the laundry room and my husband’s in the dining room. I love our shelf in the bathroom that doubles as a linen closet. I love that every cabinet holds things we need and use, and I am grateful for each of those items. I am even more blessed by the empty spaces, the piles that aren’t there, and the simplicity of limiting our intake.

The Truth About Good Stewards

Most of all, I am grateful to have a new perspective on stewardship. It turns out that being a good steward includes giving something away to someone else who can use it. Luke 6:38 says to give and it will be given to you. The more we give away, the more generous we become. We don’t need to surround ourselves with things to be happy, because nothing compares with the lightness and joy that increases as our load decreases. Each of us has been given so much, and we have the opportunity to extend those blessings to others.

I never imagined how having less would help me realize I am blessed beyond measure. I am so grateful for less!

Meet Erin Greneaux

Where to find her . . .

• Website
• Sunday God Meets Monday Mom Podcast
• Substack
• Free Weekly Devotionals

Begin Within is a series to inspire a year-round lifestyle of gratitude that will impact not only your own life, but the lives of your neighbors as well. Gratitude is a theme we talk about often around here because it ties so closely into other missional living rhythms. Practicing gratitude reminds to keep our hearts soft and expectant and our eyes open. Therefore, the more we embrace gratitude, the easier it becomes to truly see our neighbors and where we can join what God is already doing in our neighborhoods.

If you would like to contribute to Begin Within, you can find the submission guidelines here.

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If you would like to cultivate rhythms in addition to gratitude that will empower you live on mission in your neighborhood, check out Cultivating a Missional Life: A 30-Day Devotional to Gently Help You Open Your Heart, Home, and Life to Your Neighbors. This small book will help you make a big impact in your neighborhood as you learn to let missional living flow from the inside out. Get the 30-day missional living challenge free when you purchase the book.