I have started finally going through the things that have been boxed up for years, and moved from one house, to another.. Still in the box while being moved.. Once in a while I'd open a box, and kinda peek inside.. Then I'd close it up, and put it back in it's hiding place. No more! I think I need to do this metaphorically, as well as actually purging these physical things.
I went through one huge box today, that had all kinds of things in it. One of the things I found hardest to purge, were things that belonged to my kids. Things from when they were born, cards, things from special occasions, like first birthdays. I finally asked myself this very important question... Are my kids going to want these things when they move out? Are they really going to want the shirt they wore on their first birthday? What on earth would they do with it? I wasn't holding onto these things for them.. I was holding onto them for me, saying I was going to pass it down to them.
It got me thinking about all the things my mom gave me when I moved out of the house. A lot of it, I just didn't care about to be honest. Things like school papers.. It was cool to look at just a few really cool items, but that was about it. I don't need to save every paper my kids touched, and every shirt they wore on a special occasion. That's what pictures are for, right? Oh, and the cards.. Once upon a time, I had probably 4 shoe boxes FULL of cards. I dumped probably 3 boxes of them a few years ago, and never looked back. Today, I finally went through that last one, and kept only ones that are really special to me, and ones that I think my kids will want to see one day. I know have probably 1/5 of a shoe box full!
It felt really good when all was said and done. To know that I just cut down in probably a half hours time, one HUGE box of clutter. Know how big it is now? One shoe box, and part of a small box. I kept my year books, a few cards, a few keepsakes for my kids, and 2 stuffed animals that my husband got for our boys in Iraq. I had probably an entire trash bag full of stuff I purged. Some of it is in a good enough condition to donate, and the rest went into the trash.
One of the issues I had with this, is I hate how much trash there is in landfills. Pretty soon though, we are going to figure out what the recycling center close by actually takes, and start separating our stuff and taking it in there. So for now, if throwing it away frees my mind, it's worth it. The weight it has lifted is HUGE.
Now, mentally. I have had so much go on in my life lately that I need to do this very thing that I did with this box, but start going through the emotional baggage I have. Some of it from my childhood. It's time to let go. I do know, however, that it will take longer than a year to let it go. But recognizing you need to do it, and setting out to get it done is the first step, right?
Anyway, I'd love to hear your experiences with these kinds of things. Have you had the same struggles? Have you been able to overcome it? How did you take those first steps, and how did you maintain it?
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