Decluttering The Hard Stuff

 

During the month of June I did another big declutter in my home.  Most of the items I went through and decided to let go of were ultimately the hardest decisions I have made so far in my decluttering journey.  These were the “just in case” items, the “someday I will use this” items as well as the super hard sentimental items that really can tug at our heart strings, especially when they belonged to someone you really love and they are no longer with us.

 

After watching loads of Youtube videos about minimalism and decluttering I knew when I went into this over two years ago that eventually my journey would lead me to this moment.  I started out by getting rid of the easy stuff, the stuff that I no longer wanted, needed or used.  If I wasn’t sure of something I kept that item and revisited it later.  A year later when I made my next pass through my entire house I found it much easier of a process and a lot of the items I had decided to keep but didn’t need or use, I now no longer wanted so out they went.

 

I then adopted a new routine that as I work my way through my housekeeping checklist I also declutter.  I also declutter whenever I feel the urge, as sometimes it just happens that I want to go through a drawer or a closet just to see if I’ve acquired something I don’t need to hang onto.

 

Once I had been steadily decluttering for about two and a half years I was finally ready to go through and address the hard stuff.  Because here is the thing – NO ONE ELSE WANTS OUR STUFF.  That’s the God’s honest truth about it.  Plus, we can’t take it with is when we go and whether you are a Believer or not, once we die NONE of it really matters.

 

I'm keeping only what is serving me at this point in my life

With that in the back of my mind I also had to ask myself the question of why I was keeping other people’s stuff, things my children had left behind, when they didn’t want it.  Memories and emotions of the past can be difficult because these are parts of our lives and those of the people we love most, but letting go of the stuff doesn’t mean we don’t remember or that we love less.

 

I let it go!!

Keeping it actually felt weighty, like I have had this overwhelming responsibility to keep and curate someone else’s possessions.  To what end?  When I die what will happen to all of this stuff?  Most likely it will end up in the trash.  That’s the real truth.  So I let it go and now someone else will actually have the opportunity to use it and enjoy it rather than having it in a box on a shelf collecting dust.  And I did it completely guilt free.

 

Even Jack is feeling relieved

So I encourage you to take a realistic look at your “hard stuff” and consider letting it go.  In the process you will most likely feel better and you will save your grieving loved ones the burden of doing it for you once you pass on.  I’m sure my children and grandchildren will appreciate that I did.