What our kids are learning by watching how we treat our stuff!
What our kids are learning by watching how we treat our stuff!
Posted by: Tamara Meyer in organizing families on Mar 20, 2009
"When you do not honor and respect what you own, the lesson you are teaching your children is that they can own whatever they want, but they don't have to be responsible for what they own." - Peter Walsh on the Oprah Winfrey show, Wednesday 3/18/09
I respect Peter Walsh for many reasons, but the thing that really excites me is when he spreads the word that it is "not about the stuff." It is never about the "stuff", but more how the "stuff" affects our lives. I am so glad that the millions of Oprah viewers are hearing that message. It helps raise awareness about the organizing profession and the role professional organizers play in affecting the lives of others. I get goosebumps just thinking about it.
It really hit close to home for me when he talked about how parents' behaviors around how they treat their "stuff" affect their children. I have never really been a careless spender because I believe that any "stuff" I aquire I must take responsibility for storing, maintaining, utilizing, and ultimately discarding. Even so, I was guilty of replacing things that were broken instead of trying to fix them, or purchasing the latest gadget even when the old model worked just fine (like my fancy cell phone). My kids had adopted this behavior and I noticed that they were treating their "stuff" more like it was disposable instead of like a treasure they may keep for awhile. I hadn't really paid attention to that fact until recently when we started changing our spending habits. As adults, we were very aware of the economic situation, but our kids thought it was "business as usual".
One positive outcome of this economic climate is that my husband and I are changing our relationship to our "stuff" once again. We are spending less, taking care of the "stuff" we already have, and making our purchasing decisions more of a family affair. We have started explaining this to our kids when they ask for more "stuff". The kids are even making more careful decisions with how they spend their allowance money.
Even though I'm sure that the economic situation will improve for all of us, I don't think my attitudes regarding "stuff" will go back to the way they were. I also hope the lessons we teach our children regarding their "stuff" will last them a lifetime. May they never take what they have for granted.
I respect Peter Walsh for many reasons, but the thing that really excites me is when he spreads the word that it is "not about the stuff." It is never about the "stuff", but more how the "stuff" affects our lives. I am so glad that the millions of Oprah viewers are hearing that message. It helps raise awareness about the organizing profession and the role professional organizers play in affecting the lives of others. I get goosebumps just thinking about it.
It really hit close to home for me when he talked about how parents' behaviors around how they treat their "stuff" affect their children. I have never really been a careless spender because I believe that any "stuff" I aquire I must take responsibility for storing, maintaining, utilizing, and ultimately discarding. Even so, I was guilty of replacing things that were broken instead of trying to fix them, or purchasing the latest gadget even when the old model worked just fine (like my fancy cell phone). My kids had adopted this behavior and I noticed that they were treating their "stuff" more like it was disposable instead of like a treasure they may keep for awhile. I hadn't really paid attention to that fact until recently when we started changing our spending habits. As adults, we were very aware of the economic situation, but our kids thought it was "business as usual".
One positive outcome of this economic climate is that my husband and I are changing our relationship to our "stuff" once again. We are spending less, taking care of the "stuff" we already have, and making our purchasing decisions more of a family affair. We have started explaining this to our kids when they ask for more "stuff". The kids are even making more careful decisions with how they spend their allowance money.
Even though I'm sure that the economic situation will improve for all of us, I don't think my attitudes regarding "stuff" will go back to the way they were. I also hope the lessons we teach our children regarding their "stuff" will last them a lifetime. May they never take what they have for granted.
Has your family changed their relationship with "stuff" in this economic climate? How has it affected what you are teaching your children about "stuff"?
You can see Peter on Oprah and take advantage of some great deals from the Container Store at http://www.oprah.com/dated/oprahshow/oprahshow-20090129-messy-house-tour
Let go of the "stuff"!
Tamara Meyer
Organizing Consultant
www.meyerorganizing.com
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