The Power of a “What If We Didn’t Own This?” Bag

This summer, with four kids at home, one being a newborn, I haven’t been as vigilant of a gatekeeper as usual regarding what enters our house. 

My focus has been more on soaking up baby snuggles than redirecting the influx of random stuff (usually kid-related) that seems to be a natural part of living in our culture.

A no-longer-loved Happy Meal toy from an outing with Dad here, an empty container of slime (still not sure where the contents of that one ever ended up) there.

You get the picture.

As I’m tuning back into our home environment, resetting areas as we start up homeschooling, I’ve found myself scanning our living space and asking a question—seemingly on repeat: 

“What if we didn’t own this?”

For me, minimalism has always been about experimenting. About clearing away the excess and observing.

And though I’ve long since proved the “less is more” theory to be true (owning less stuff absolutely makes space for more of what matters and more life), I continue to experiment with minimalism as I journey deeper into this lifestyle and as our seasons of life change.

This month has called for the development of a new experimentation tool: the “What If We Didn’t Own This?” Bag. 

It’s a reusable grocery bag that hangs in our hall closet. And, man, is it powerful.

Here’s an example of how it works:

We visit grandparents for a day and return home with more than we left with (tiny plastic snakes, plastic bangle bracelets, bouncy balls, etc). They’re small “treasures;” they seem harmless, so I say yes. If they are well-loved and cared for, they can stay.

The next morning I almost trip on a bouncy ball making breakfast. And then I discover the puppy ate through three plastic snakes for breakfast.

I scoop it all up, quickly discard the snakes’ plastic remains, examine the bouncy ball (also covered in chew marks) and ask, “Why do we even own this?” I can’t think of a good answer, so I place it into the bag hanging in the hall closet.

The examples continue:

When I realize our baby has outgrown her newborn clothes, and I never even dressed her in three of the outfits, I stop and ask, “What if we didn’t own these?”

When our two year old smiles up at me and his teeth are clenching a glow-in-the-dark ring from the doctor’s office token machine, I snatch it and ask, “What if we didn’t own this?” 

When I realize I’ve been picking up the same gray, fleece IKEA throw blanket because kids are dragging it out of the closet instead of actually ever using it, I pause and ask, “What if we didn’t own this?” 

If the answer to my hypothetical question seems positive, then the item goes in the bag. 

The item sits in its new home—the “What If We Didn’t Own This?” Bag—for about a month. If someone asks for something from the bag by memory, then out it comes. If it’s loved and used, then I’m always up for giving it a second chance at earning a spot in our home.

But here’s the thing, only once over the past several months has anyone asked for anything I’d placed in the bag. Once. Our four-year-old daughter asked for a whistle. Which I happily gave to her, only to end up being crushed under a scooter tire—a worse fate than being donated, if you ask me.

Here’s the takeaway: Many things enter our home that don’t actually serve a purpose in our lives. We don’t use them, love them, or need them. The purpose of material possessions is to be used for some good. If we’re holding onto things that have no value, we are keeping them from fulfilling their true purpose in someone else’s life.

A “What If We Didn’t Own This?” Bag winnows out things from your home that, for you, no longer hold a purpose. And adopting this mindset as you survey your home minimizes clutter.

When we’re purposeful with what we surround ourselves with, our lives become more purposeful. And a life lived on purpose is a more fulfilled, meaningful life.

I encourage you to try this experiment at home. Hang up a reusable bag, round up the random, unused, uncared for items in your home, and month by month, give them a chance to serve a greater purpose elsewhere.

Let’s question the purpose of our possessions and begin chiseling away at the excess until we craft an authentic life, focused on what matters.

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