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"We need a bigger house," my wife said, as we looked around the living room, the floor covered with blocks and toy action figures, books stacked on the floor near our overburdened bookcase, and the kitchen table buried under who knows what.

"Yeah," I agreed, "the four of us don't fit in this two-bedroom, one-bath house anymore."

The word "anymore" hung in the air, reminding us that when Michael, our second son, was born, we weren't concerned about the size of our house.

"You know," my wife continued, "maybe we don't need a bigger house. Maybe we just need fewer things."

That's how our mission to purge the clutter began. And somewhere along the way, we discovered that fewer things not only freed up more living space, it also freed up more time to spend together as a family and with God, and helped us prioritize what was really important.

By getting rid of things, we realized how insignificant they were and how foolish we had been for spending so much time and energy obtaining them, ignoring each other, our kids, and God in the process.

So where did we start? We needed to lay some ground rules. After a heated debate over a large bowl of French vanilla ice cream, we agreed to the following principles:

If we haven't used it in a year, get rid of it. Clothes we hadn't worn, toys the boys hadn't played with, books which had gone unread were packed up and given to the Goodwill or our church. The exception to the "one year" rule were family mementos—family photos, cards my wife and I had exchanged through the years, and crafts by our older son David—especially any that said, "I love you, Daddy," "Happy Daddy's Day," and my favorite "Daddy's better than pizza."

If we have two, give one away. From wedding gifts to Christmas and birthday gifts, we had our share of plates, glasses, kitchen appliances, and ties. Way too many ties. We picked out what we needed and donated the rest.

If it promotes bad habits, it has to go. Items that took time away from the family or from God had to go. That included computer games and many of our secular novels. We also debated sticking the TV in the closet or canceling cable. But, alas, my spirit was willing but the flesh too weak. (A man needs his 150 channels, you know).

Raid the pantry. Living in Miami, we have our Hurricane supplies close at hand—plenty of canned foods and bottled water. But one can get carried away. We took inventory and donated the extra.

Do we need this? If the item didn't meet our physical, emotional, or spiritual needs, we decided it probably shouldn't stay in the house. My exercise machine stayed; my gourmet ice cream maker did not.

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