Realization: It’s Just Stuff
One good thing about moving is getting rid of your stuff. Many might see that as the downside of moving, and I have to admit, it’s not easy. The past two months I have been looking almost every single object that we own with questions in my mind (Can I live without this? How much did this cost? Did I get my money’s worth? If I’d never see this thing again, would I be OK? What memories this thing comes with?) and piling them in one of three piles: to donate/sell, to trash, to keep. And the “keep” pile I have been going through a time, after time, after time and taking more things from the “keep” pile to the other two. Because while at first it seems like every single thing in our home had a special meaning, cost so much money that I didn’t want to get rid of, or was fancy, or “I might use it again”, or was just useless, pointless, but just plain pretty. On the end of the day – not many items were things that I couldn’t live without. I was on the right track when the thought hit me: what if I had to leave this house in an hour, what would I take? And the number of items in the “keep” pile started being smaller and smaller, and I realized that the things that are important are not necessary the ones that have high dollar value. I started getting a feeling “it’s just stuff”, and asked myself to let it go. I kept saying to myself “it’s just stuff, it is not important.”Refresh
I found a few local families/single moms who didn’t have much and had lost what they had for different reasons, and it felt so good to be able to help these people to create Christmas in their homes with simply giving away our old things. Even if you are not moving, it’s a great idea to go through your home and get rid of things you might not need anymore and donate them for people who would enjoy them. You will feel good about helping – and your home will feel refreshed with less stuff. And I’d be lying if I didn’t admit this… getting rid of the old stuff is great… because shopping for new stuff will be fun too… You will realize that stuff sometimes keeps us from doing things in life we would like to. Or have you ever said or “I wish my home would look like from a design magazine, but it’s always so cluttered” or “I’d do more crafts if I had a place where to do crafts” (and because you have so much stuff, you can’t find place to do crafts)? Oh, how many times I haven’t pulled out the blender for a smoothie, just because my kitchen counter is too full, or how many times I’ve left the house with the perfect scarf for my outfit, just because I couldn’t find it from all of my stuff… Organization might be another topic, but it starts with a refreshing clean up & getting rid of stuff!
