Stuff and Things

Was sorting, bagging, and boxing up more stuff to take to the local thrift store operated by the Home of Grace ( which runs a shelter for abused women and children and a rehab program for alcoholic men), when a friend of mine from Cali rang in.
Seems he and his gf emptied a storage unit of the things they no longer use and want and tried to donate the items to Goodwill and the Salvation Army.
They were turned down on most of the stuff. Seems they were not that much in need of donations in that area (Silicon Valley), and some of the furniture had a scratch or two. He was shocked as the items are in good condition. His gf showed him the small scratch on a table leg of one item which a man at Goodwill told her made it totally unacceptable. Also, they are both large people and their clothes are large sizes, and even though the clothes were in good shape, the man said they had no calls for sizes that large and would just be "stuck" with the clothes. 
They tried to find some other group, church, or organization to take the stuff, but as this was done on their day off, and time was running out, they wound up having to take the stuff to the dump and paying to be rid of it. No, I am not kidding!
As frustrated as he was by all of this (he said it sickened him to have to throw away good things that some people might need and be able to use), my friend said the dump still beat continuing to pay to store the stuff.
He is more of a minimalist, while his gf is a hoarder, so they are slowly but surely compromising their views and adjusting. Divesting themselves of this storage unit was a major step for them, but it was clouded by having to literally dump the contents of the unit. Sad but true story, and sad commentary on our times as well.
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 Over the years, I have seen (in the cases of my Mom and Aunt and some of their elderly neighbors) what happens when hoarding folk die. The children or grands are left to deal with all this "stuff". Some keep it or most of it out of a sense of obligation, or some feel overwhelmed and just trash everything. Neither way is really good, and the point is that it is all so unnecessary. 
No, I am not against folks having possessions. It is not like I think we should all run around nude and live in a cave or a tree...BUT..There is a limit.
When you start having to pack away and store stuff, whether in a rental unit, the closets in your home, a spare room,  or your garage or outside shed, you know it is time to stop it and get real! Give it away, have a yard sale, whatever it takes. 
Speaking as one who has had too much "stuff" over the years, and has begun getting rid of it, believe me when I say it is freeing beyond anything you might have imagined. 
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Another friend of mine in the same (or worse?) shape recently decided that within the next two years, he will have divested himself of at least half of his "things". If you had any idea of how much stuff and therefore how much effort and work this involves, you would know that this is a major undertaking, and will entail some serious commitment of time and sweat on his part. I am so happy for him and proud of him!! This is really an accomplishment in terms of change of mindset alone. WTG!!
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Jesus tells us in Matthew 6: 19-21, not to store up treasures for ourselves here on earth. He goes on to say that where our treasures are, there will be our hearts also.
No I do not believe the Bible teaches us to live in poverty as some sign of piety, but to trust in God, obey him, and seek him first. We are the heirs of Abraham through Christ Jesus, and Abraham was not a poor man; but he did put God first and was blessed.
Ok. Ok. I can see you rolling your eyes. Don't take my word for it. Look it up, and check out Mark 8: 36 -37, Luke 9:25,  and Matthew 6: 31-34..to name just a few.
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So now what do YOU think??