Do I Love You?
My whole life, I have struggled with housekeeping. As a child, my room was a disaster area. As a college student, I cleaned frantically for several hours right before room inspections. As a wife, I have looked hopelessly around the house at the mess and then collapsed into tears. I have fought this battle for 24 years. This year, I actually feel like I am winning.
I have started feeling the freedom to get rid of stuff. Decluttering! I have always held onto everything because I might need it someday. Many of the things that I hold on to hold precious memories. I think I am afraid that I might lose those memories if I pass on the stuff. And by keeping all the stuff around, I am unable to enjoy any of it. I am robbing myself of my life. I spend so much time maintaining my stuff that I can’t make new friends to create new memories.
The first time I tried to do some serious decluttering, I felt like I was in the midst of a panic attack. My head was buzzing and I couldn’t breath. I couldn’t make the decision about what to keep and what to get rid of. I sat down on the couch again and cried. I didn’t think I would ever have a clean, peaceful, decluttered, organized house.
Even in the midst of hopelessness, I was unwilling to give up.I did some soul searching; I did some researching. I was able to come up with guidelines for decluttering.
When I pick something up, I ask it and myself, “Do I love you?” If the answer is no, I know that the best place for the item is in my goodwill box. When the answer is yes, I ask myself, “If I love you so much that I want to keep you, where can I put you that I will love and use you regularly?” Usually, I am able to find homes for the things I love. And you know what? I love using the stuff that I love the most! I smile every time I see it.
I encourage you to look around the room and find something you don’t love. Pass it on to someone who will love it and use it every day.
Tags: De-Cluttering, Household hints
September 18th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Great post! I know what you mean about how hard it can be to throw away something that holds special memories.
What I do, if it’s something I know is just going to sit stored in a box somewhere out of site most of the time anyway but that I want to keep because of the memory, is to simply take a picture of it and file the picture on my computer under a “memories” folder. That way, the memory stays with me, but I can happily and peacefully part with the item knowing I will never forget its specialness in my life.
September 19th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Sarah, I have thought about the taking pictures thing, but I never get around to actually taking the picture.
I am trying to use the stuff that I love and release the things that are just being stored in boxes. I’m working on it. If something is just sitting in a box, I have to question whether it has a real specialness or if it is just a perceived importance.