Keeping up with the Jones'

I've never been good at this game.

I honestly don't understand it.

Even as a kid, I didn't want what everyone else had. I had more fun seeing their joy and sharing what they had than wishing I had that thing.

Now that I'm an adult, I STILL don't get it.

I have a little house. Yeah, it's 1200 square feet and houses 3 people. Sometimes it feels like we step on each other, but we still have enough space to go into separate rooms to get away from the others. MUCH better than the 2 bedroom 700 square foot duplexes we've lived in. Also, it only takes us MAYBE an hour to get the house cleaned up and company ready. Seriously. An hour, 90 minutes tops.

I have a little car. I LOVE my little car. I can zip in and out of traffic, I don't have to do an 18 point turn in the parking lot, I can park nearly ANYWHERE, it only takes (currently) $16 to fill the tank, I get great gas mileage and... IT'S PAID OFF. No car payment! WOO HOO!

We don't have a LOT of stuff. Which is probably why the housecleaning goes pretty quickly. Though I've noticed a bit of clutter starting to edge it's way into my home. I will need to peel a layer or two off before it bugs me too much.

I've tried to live simply... and for the most part, it's worked for me. It got tough when I had a wee little one- crib, stroller, car seat, high chair, so on and so forth. But lately even Kels has slimmed her belongings down. I think she's also figured out that having too much S.T.U.F.F. can be unhealthy.

I still don't understand why the Jones' feels as though they need all that S.T.U.F.F., though.
BTW, S.T.U.F.F. stands for Stuff That Undermines Family Fun. It's a FlyLady thing.