Judy and I have just experienced moving.  The census bureau says the average American moves once every 5 years. My wife got a new job, so we had to move to a new house that we are required to live in.  It's a nice house, and all, but I kind of liked the one in which we spent the last 13 years.

We moved from a two-story house to a one-story, so, including the walk-out basements at both places, we now have about 2/3 the room we used to.  That's not a bad thing.  The 3 kids are out of the house. And I hear downsizing is trendy now.

We invited some friends over and showed them around.  The main floor looks pretty presentable. We didn't show them the storage room in the basement with wall-to-wall boxes filled with junk. Things we don't need. Many things we don't ever use.  Things we really never needed.  Things that are still in the boxes we packed up 13 years ago and haven't opened since the move before this one.  Judy and I have tried to set future dates and times when we will go through it.  We'll see how that goes. 

It remains me of the guy in the parable of the rich fool who had two many barns. He built a few more, thinking he might "need" the stuff some time. He was a "collector." Collecting is okay.  All of us do it.  I used to have a really nice collection of model tall ships.  Trouble is, they were from an old girlfriend.  They "left the harbor" once I started dating Judy.  I collect cups and caps now, each with a memory attached.

But hoarding is another thing.  Jesus comes down pretty hard on the rich dude, saying:  "You fool!  You have all this stuff, but you're going to die tonight.  What good does it do you?"  Or, as I was once heard in an old country song: "You never see a hearse with a trailer hitch."

Maybe I'll hire one of those professional de-clutterers to come and clean out the storage room at $50 an hour.  It would probably be worth it.  And maybe she knows someone who can also come and de-clutter the rest of my life so I can focus on the things that really matter. Could use a little help there, too.