Declutter Your World

We recently moved out of our home for the past 7 years into a new home.  The move gave us a chance to clean out a lot of drawers and closets and to make some decisions about what we wanted to keep and what we would give away or throw out. I was amazed at how much “stuff” we had accumulated over the past 7 years.  I was also amazed at how much stuff we had not used and in some cases even forgotten that we had in the past 7 years.  With each decision about what to keep, what to give away, and what to throw out, we had to think consciously about what was important.  Some of the decisions were very difficult.  I found that I had become attached to things that were really not useful to me, but there was an emotional connection that was hard to let go.

It was easier to let go and give our things away when we imagined that we were giving back parts of ourselves to the world.  We had stuff that was still good and useful, but not needed by us.  The old saying is true, “One person’s trash is another’s treasure.”   And so, we made several trips to Goodwill and to GraceWorks to give back.

I can’t exactly explain it, but this process made my soul feel a little freer, perhaps a little less cluttered.  Getting the stuff out of the house made my life seem just a little more simple and less chaotic.  And so, I decided that would look at the things in my office, on my desk, on my bookshelves, and in my cabinets to see if there were things that I could give back.  I even went through my computer files to see what needed to be deleted.  And just like in our home, I found lots that I did not really need and I cleaned out.

This has been a good experience for me.  Both my inner and outer worlds are just a little less cluttered to start the New Year.