The Purge

There is is nothing like moving to help you realize how much stuff you have. We found a new rental (yay!) and that means it’s time to pack everything up. And, it’s always daunting. All the little things that are hidden away in drawers and cupboards, they make their way into boxes, and you can actually feel the heaviness of all your stuff. Having to physically pack and move every single thing is eye-opening and exhausting. I am making a conscious effort to purge things I don’t need. I’ve tried to get better about this throughout the years. This is our fourth move in three years (yikes!), so it’s becoming the norm.

Once I knew we were looking for another rental, I started to pack. I wanted to put the energy out there into the universe that this was happening, even though we hadn’t found our perfect spot yet. That allowed me the extra time to sort through our things and donate where possible. I love the feeling of giving something away to someone who needs and wants it! I’ve learned that letting something sit in my closet, cupboard, garage, etc. is such a disservice to whatever that thing is.

For example, I held on to a snowboard my dad bought me for my 16th birthday. I had such an emotional connection to it. But, if I was honest with myself, I really had no desire to snowboard at this point in my life. Every time I go snowboarding, I have to re-learn; I don’t go consistently enough to be good and agile at it, so it ends up feeling hard and not that enjoyable, I get incredibly sore, it’s expensive, the list goes on… But, I still held on to that snowboard and boots. Every time I moved, I carried that damn snowboard around with me.

So, during our last move I decided it was okay to part with it. We ended up finding a young person who was actually going to use it and enjoy themselves snowboarding; imagine that! It brought me joy to know it was actually going to be used. And, what I’ve come to realize is that there is no need for the emotional attachment to things. What that snowboard represented to me was the love from and for my dad. And, I have that without the snowboard. There are other ways to remind me of the love he has for me… I can call him, text him, visit him. What’s actually important is we can still celebrate our love for each other (no things needed!). Releasing things has given me more sense of freedom and a release from the actual physical burden of those things.

Here’s a snapshot of some items I’ve been able to donate to individuals over the past few weeks. It always feels so good to know things I’m not using will go to someone who has a need for it.

It’s a lot of little things, but it all adds up. Less things to move and less clutter in the house. I am striving to simplify my things to what I actually use and not hold on to things “just in case.” It’s a work in progress, but every little bit really does made a difference!