7 Questions to Evaluate Stuff

I call these my Tuesday questions because Tuesday is the ultimate litmus test for practicality. On Sundays we hear lots of great ideas and have grandiose dreams for our lives and purposes. On Mondays we begrudgingly or enthusiastically start the week. On Wednesdays we recharge for a half-way there point. On Thursdays and Fridays we already feel the excitement of the weekend building. Tuesdays are just normal. I was born on a Tuesday. I hope the world will be changed because of me. So if an idea can't affect my Tuesday, then it's not worth following. So the word Tuesday becomes my evaluation of worthiness in my life.

Whatever stuff we have defines part of us. It shows in a physical form what we love, what we aspire towards, where we've been, and what view of us we want to portray to others. Stuff is important.

Stuff is useless. It all ends up in a dump eventually. A very few items will be preserved in a museum if you become famous enough for a time. However, most of our possessions are simply dump fodder. We only have control over what we will carry from the store to the dump and how long we will carry it before delivering it to the dump. We pay money to the stores to haul their items to the dump for them. Stuff has no purpose on its own.

Before I buy it or when deciding whether to keep something, these Tuesday questions help me get a better perspective:

1. Do I love it?
Why would I want to keep a closetful of clothes that I don't like? Why would I spend money on something I don't love? I need to more than just like something to justify its space in my life. If I merely think it is cute, sweet, pretty, then someone else can be its pre-dump holding space. Things look good when they stay in the store too. Sometimes they even look better staying there in the store.

2. Does it add beauty or functionality to my life or just more work?
Many things I love cause more work than joy they give. Given enough money, I could own the world, but would I want to take care of it? Beauty and functionality are great if they don't add more sorrow and trouble.

3. Is it wasteful in how much time or space it takes?
I'm getting rid of my waffle makers because they take up more space and cause clutter in my cabinets than our twice a year waffle-eating can justify. Plus, if we go out to eat now, the waffles become even more of a treat than before and less guilt-inducing for the price at a restaurant. Kitchen gadgets and garage shop tools are my downfalls. One more doo-hicky to save me time often ends up frustrating me for the obnoxious space intrusion it always creates.

4. Would someone else be more blessed by it?
If an item has passed muster so far, it might be a blessing to someone else. I, along with most of you, would quickly say that I don't need much. So this item might be an opportunity for me to expand God's kingdom through generosity or pass on encouragement to a believer. Even if I love it, see a purpose for it, and can agree with its frugality, I might prefer to pass on its wonderfulness to someone else in love. This question shows our concern for God's kingdom and our care for others.

5. How long do I intend to have it and then what?
If we are merely carriers to the dump, then how long do we want to carry this thing? Will we be able to get rid of it easily? Anyone want an old weight bench? How much do I want to pay to get this thing and how long to I want to work to store or maintain this thing before delivering it to a dump? Will it have more use left in it to bless others? Will anyone one else want it when I am through?

6. Does its sentimentality override all of the above?
This is not my Get Out Of Jail Free question. Not every heirloom should be kept. My love for my Grandma depends on our relationship and its memories, not on every little trinket she gave me. If I get rid of the rolling pin from her, I do not love her less. I will not remember her less. It does not devalue her life or contributions. A rolling pin is only that, a rolling pin. The quilt from her, on the other hand, will probably never be used and, if Christ tarries, be decoration in my nursing home room someday.

I'd love to hear other questions you use to evaluate whether to purchase something or whether to keep something you already have.