Too much stuff and Darfur bags

One thing that moving always confirms for us is how much stuff we've managed to accumulate. I've been unpacking things that I haven't used in years, yet once again I've boxed them up (packing them carefully so they won't be damaged) and moved them across the country. Today Ryan finished our closet. I'm troubled by the fact that I have more clothes that I DON'T wear than 90% of the people in the world have to wear. I don't think that Christians are prohibited from having nice things, or even lots of things, but I do wonder about the excesses in our lives. Much of what I have has been given to me as gifts or handed down to me, used, but it's there nevertheless. Maybe I should try to get rid of one (or two) articles of clothing for every one new thing that I bring in. I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on the matter.

On an entirely unrelated (maybe not) note: I must put in a plug for Darfur Bags. A friend of a friend, who lives (I think) in Manitoba (that's in Canada for all of my fellow Americans) makes these great messenger bags out of recycled (aka used previously) fabrics. They are gorgeous and very creative and she sends 100% of the proceeds to a charity benefitting the women of the Darfur region. Here's her blog, where you can view the bags: www.bags4darfur.blogspot.com
I've purchased several for gifts and every one has been received enthusiastically. And what a great story to tell when you show someone your bag. She does make masculine versions from time to time. Also - she did make one for a friend out of that friend's own vintage fabrics (children's clothes, sentimental items, etc) so maybe you have something you'd like her to recycle into a stylish bag. She collects buttons for this project too, so contact her if you have scads of those you're wanting to ditch. Sorry - did I mention her name is Joyce?

Am I a "Granola"?

Those of you who went to college with me, or have ever lived in Colorado, will know exactly what I mean by this statement. No, I have not stopped shaving, but today I went and procured a --- drum roll please--home composter. First, I have to say that we are loving Ontario's commitment to recycling. It's amazing how little actual garbage we have. One of my sisters, who shall remain nameless (but you know who you are!) said to me, "We're Republicans. We don't recycle." Tsk tsk. Now we've decided to take it a step further. Everyone in Caronport had a compost pile, but I was reluctant to have a pile of rotting food in my backyard. However, I've done a little research, prompted by the offer of home composters at our local county office, and discovered that, properly tended to, a composter doesn't have to be disgusting and will churn out some sweet smelling rich soil for our garden (in 6 months or so...) It has a lid and will sit in the side yard (so no pile of rotting food outside the back door). Our current anal practice is to seal up all of our food scraps in plastic produce bags, before putting them in the trash (to cut down on that trash can smell) so we really don't need to alter our habits all that much. You can even put coffee filters, tea bags, hair (I have lots of this), and clothes dryer lint in the composter. Between the home composter and the recycling bin, I'm betting that we'll only have 1-2 kitchen trash bags full of actual trash next week. I'll report back to you and let you know how close we came. I will still be shaving, however...