You have to say goodbye to some things to be able to invite other things in. That applies to material things, things that require your time and so much more. Our family is in the process of deciding what we want and what we are willing to get rid of to make room / time for what matters to us.
Minimalism is a way of thinking that really speaks to me. I've always struggled with feeling like we have too much, are doing too much, are doing things because others think we should or are not doing things because others don't think it's a good idea. It sort of drains my energy. We have so many messages coming at us all the time that I believe we don't even always know what we really think about what we are or aren't doing. We forget to stop and look; to decide intentionally. We maybe don't pay attention to the very life we are living every day. Each day just goes by in a blur. We end up being run by our habits instead of deliberately choosing how we spend our time and resources.
I could talk about simplifying and being intentional forever. But do I live it? Not as well as I would like. This year I've started on that path a little more than ever and my first small step is clearing out the things in my life that don't fit the life our family wants to create. I've worked on saying No to things that don't fit that picture and right now I'm literally clearing out cupboards and storage rooms and closets. It feels SO SO good. Just in the last couple of days we've cleared out large furniture pieces that we just didn't need, along with the stuff that was stored in them.
I've been able to practice methods that I'm learning about so that maybe someday I can help others do the same thing (future career maybe?). My husband Justin was reluctant over the years but these last few weeks he's become completely engaged in the process. It's been fun!
Yesterday we agreed to say Goodbye to our collections. I have collected Coke stuff since high school, which was a long time ago, and most of it went on our local sale site and was picked up today! It was very freeing to let it go. And Justin is giving his ornamental sword collection to someone else that will love it well and we are selling his little suits of armor. We enjoyed these things for a long time but lately they've just been taking up space and collecting dust. We are giving away and selling our movie collection with plans of getting them digitally to take up less space. And this is just the beginning. I cannot believe how many 'things' we have. In the past couple of weeks we've cleared out a coffee table, two small cabinets, a queen mattress and a sofa table and it hardly feels like anything is gone. We have a long way to go.
If this is something that interests you, you've probably already followed Joshua Becker of becomingminimalist.com. If you haven't, check it out for great tips on how to start and the long list of benefits that come with minimalizing.
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