Drowning in Life.

Life feels so up in the air lately. I find my mind racing all the time, trying to shuffle through the 'to-dos' and the 'what ifs' and the 'if onlys'.... trying to make sense of this crazy thing that is life. Time really does keep ticking, ticking, ticking into the future and if I'm not actively managing every little aspect of life, I tend to feel like like I'm just being dragged along by it, constantly trying to catch up, get organized, get it together.
The biggest problem at the moment is one that Mama Berenstain Bear would put under the heading of 'too much stuff'. We are 7 living creatures living under the roof of this two bedroom house, and we are at max-capacity. I feel like I'm in a perpetual state of disarray and that no matter how often or how hard I try to get organized and find a proper place for everything, nothing is where it should be most of the time. I'm also in a perpetual state of clutter-clearing. I've got bags labeled 'give', bags labeled 'Craigslist', bags labeled '2T Winter', '3T summer', etc. I haven't seen my kitchen table for a few weeks now. It, too, has fallen victim to the 'too-much-stuff' syndrome which I am currently losing the battle against. Try as I might to develop systems for organizational storage, everything seems to find a place in the wrong place.
I like to think that all we need is more space, but my logical mind tells me that if I had more space I would probably just acquire more stuff with which to overload the spaciousness. What we really need is LESS STUFF. I have to remind myself multiple times a day- I must value space more than I value stuff if I am ever to feel organized and in control of my external surroundings. I resent this consumer-driven world and the tendency to be brainwashed by billions of ads- they're everywhere- constantly trying to make us feel like we'll be better/happier/more fulfilled if only we have this thing or that product or whatever.
Even my four year old daughter is already falling for it- every supermarket display and television commercial geared towards her demographic causes her to feel absolutely, wistfully, desperately void of whatever that particular sparkly-sneaker or battery-operated hamster could do to improve her sense of self.
At least I am aware of the situation (and knowing is half the battle, right G.I. Joe?), and am determined to get things under control. I like to re-read Karen Kingston's book 'Clear Your Clutter with Feng-Shui' to boost my motivation. Watching the occasional episode of 'Hoarders: Buried Alive' doesn't hurt, either! Note to self: if I ever come up with a logical reason why I need to save a dead kitten in the freezer I have lost this battle (seriously saw a hoarder explaining that she just kept ONE of the dead kittens from her cat's litter... no big deal, just one.). I resolve to not let that happen, hah! :)