I won't own an elephant again..even if it's free

Sometimes people want to give you very valuable items for free, but they often give you very large burdens instead. Below is the picture of an elephant gift, a once expensive item that lost it's usefulness. It was thoughtfully given but became something more than we bargained for.


  One Huge Project that My husband and I have been putting off for years. He and I had to lift it end over end to get it close enough to the fence for the tractor to pick it up. Not to mention this was filled with Styrofoam peanuts that scattered all over. The kids were helping clean up all that mess well past bedtime. But we had a lot of fun and it is so rewarding to have it gone.
So long.... you giant luxury burden.

I believe this experience has taught us when taking on ownership of "elephants"

Free doesn't mean freedom (possessions can tie us down)
Proper Care and Maintenance is also part of ownership
Don't buy or (agree to own) something that weighs as much as an elephant.

Home and Life

With all the money spent on buying, renting, remodeling, refinishing, decorating, redecorating, furnishing, painting, cleaning, maintaining, gadget-ing, appliance-ing, we spend very little time in our homes. Most work outside the home, and have many activities during the evenings and weekends. Most of our time is spent in our beds sleeping.
According to a study by the National Sleep Foundation, the average employed American works a 46-hour work week; 38% of the respondents in their study worked more than 50 hours per week. And people average around 7 to 8.5 hours of sleep.

Hours in a week    168

 Work                       46

 Sleep                       56

Left over                   66 hours
[FYI viewing television average is 30 hours a week]

That doesn't include commuting time, grocery shopping, or any extra activities (sports,gym, church, dates, entertainment).
Why do we spend so much money and effort in purchasing homes and making them look good and yet spend so little time on living life at home? How can staying home take so much effort? I want to enjoy being in my home and spend my time with my family. I don't want to be busy, I have books to read, kids to play with, laundry to wash and recipes to try.  

Tomorrow...How do we enjoy just being at home?