Do we really need all this stuff?

As I came home from work the other night, I looked into the open garages of my neighbors. (I can't help but look. And you know you look, too.) I couldn't believe all the stuff that was in there. No cars. Just rows and rows of boxes and shelves and...stuff.

My husband and I have often talked about all the storage places popping up around us. There have been three new ones in about a 5 mile radius over the past year. We learned our life lesson on storage units when we were younger and made the pledge to never use them again. But we like to talk about setting up a small shop next door to one of those storage places that teaches people how to let go of their stuff.

Because here's the thing: We all have too much stuff. Blame it on the storage places, or the stuff we inherit from well meaning family members or online shopping, but the truth is piling up around us: We all have too much stuff.

When my husband and I were younger and moving more frequently, we prided ourselves on the purges we did. We were so good at de-cluttering before each move. And then, when we became parents and moved again we became shocked at the insane amount of stuff our son owned. So we purged some more.

It's like the ultimate battle in our household: Go to a room; pick up an item; question its existence.

But that questioning is hard to do when you work and have to get ready for back to school and have a hundred other items vying for your attention. So, the stuff just piles up.

This topic makes me look around my home with a different lens, because I want my son to know that maybe we don't need so much stuff. And maybe we should find a way to stop bringing so much stuff into the house to start with.

Do you think you have too much stuff in your home? Tell me in the comments.