Isn’t it refreshing to look around your home and think, ‘You know, I’m ready to get rid of such-and-such’?

For most of my life I’ve felt the need to keep almost everything. Quite a number of things have contributed to this thought pattern:

• Lack of monetary funds to replace things
• Sudden upheaval which forced articles to be discarded (sometimes without the opportunity to go through them)
• The all-annoying question of ‘But what if?’
• Unsure whether I would be able to replace certain items

After moving over ten times in ten years (and quite a number before!) I’m tired of packing and repacking. I’m frustrated with looking around my home and seeing clutter. During these past few months of near sci-fi-movie-dom in our world, I’ve had a lot of time to think. I’ve had a lot of time to go through things. I’ve had a lot of time to tell things ‘goodbye’.

I thought I would open bins and boxes and be overwhelmed and worried and unsure about what to keep or donate. I thought I would be unable to let go of anything and then feel more stressed because I knew I’d have to move it again, but the opposite happened.

As I was going through the various items that have been collected on life’s journey, I began to recognise what I really wanted to keep versus what I thought I should keep. Gifts people had given me I’ve never really liked or used? Gone. Books I bought just because there was a sale but I’m never going to read for one reason or another? Gone. Craft items I kept for ‘what if’ reasons? Gone. Clothes I kept even though I never (or rarely) wore them? Gone.

Now, the mental fortitude it takes for someone like me who is constantly hearing in their mind, ‘Wait! So-and-so gave that to you!’ or ‘Stop! You just bought that!’ or ‘Hold on – you know, someday….’ is immense. This has not been one of those purging times (I’ve done those and have often regretted them!). I’m saying I’ve thought long about this. What I’m currently sending out to bless someone else are legitimately useful things – that I’ve had stuffed in bins and boxes. Have I missed them? For the most part, nope. Have I rediscovered some treasures? Absolutely!

I haven’t gone through everything at once, either. I started with the things I knew I could handle

• Clothes
• Craft things
• Kitchen stuffs
• Memory items or trinkets

and am foregoing things I’m not quite able to go through just yet

• Books
• Media
• Papers

I’m learning that it’s okay to take the time to go through things. I allowed myself after this last move to slowly sift through my possessions, to set them aside before donating them so I would be sure I wouldn’t miss them. Now, I feel more at peace in my home because I like what I have in it – in fact, it’s a rather refreshing place to be.