Most of us have too much stuff. Even the people who think they have very little, probably still have things they don’t need or use. We have a multitude of reasons to keep things. They are sentimental, they were a gift (from someone who may visit and check that we have the gift), they are books we may want to read again, they are useful (someday), they are valuable, they are required (like old tax records), or they may be needed in the future (like clothes we don’t fit into anymore). Of course, there are things we actually use but that list is much smaller than the things we keep. Storage units are big business and our homes are full.
I am less of a keeper than many of my friends and go through things often, tossing or donating items I don’t need, and slimming down my possessions. This may come from moving regularly as a child but I also notice that I am not as sentimental as my peers. Even so, I often go through an inner struggle and sometimes postpone letting them go until the time is right.
Yesterday I purchased some build-your-own trail mix. When the container was empty, it seemed like a waste to toss it. I thought I could use it for left overs or bring it back to the store to refill next time I needed trail mix. This morning the container went in the trash. It is a waste but I can’t bear to live with that container cluttering up my life. I probably won’t buy trail mix in that fashion again, not worth the waste of the container and the pang of guilt for wasting plastic.
Eighteen months ago I left the real estate business. I kept all the marketing materials, motivational tapes and CDs, workbooks, and awards. I gave some CDs away, little by little, and last week the rest went into the trash. It was hard but it also felt cleansing. I had not looked at any of it for over a year. Why keep the past when I am moving into the future?
Nature hates a vacuum and as I let go of unnecessary things, new things come to fill the void. Some of them are not important and they are thrown away but some area extra special and they are kept. A blossoming friendship, a warm snuggle with my husband, a long loving conversation with my daughter, or an unexpected surprise are the things I keep. Giving myself room for the best in life, by releasing that which doesn’t matter, starts as a physical act but ends up as a reward on a much deeper level.