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| What is it about "our stuff" that makes us hold on to things, even if they no longer fit in our lives? |
My angel with a broken, glued wing has been around as long as I can remember, and I distinctly remember unpacking my stone mushroom in a new home in Tennessee, when I was twelve or thirteen. I've moved MANY times since then, and with each move, I became more and more discriminating about sentimental attachments.
But there are still a few hold outs. Neither this angel nor this mushroom ever gets displayed in our home anymore. Other mementos with far more value--whether sentimental or monetary--have displaced these two trinkets. They're usually "out of sight, out of mind," so why am I finding it so hard to finally let go?
Yesterday was cheat day, and I had a fine time eating pasta and cake. Soo easy eating what I want when I want it. Wish decluttering were as easy as cheating!
9 comments:
I really don't see the harm in keeping those trinkets from the past. Sounds like they give you some good memories when you come across them. Toss them in a showbox and put it away. Someday you'll be glad you kept them.
oh yes..I really know those old stuff (and your feelings), but I am also glad that it is not too much. From time to time I gave up some old stuff, I felt better then and I generally like to have not too much. What I still have are my first shoes (!) and some other things. So I always decide on how important these thing are for me, but I also believe that we will leave this world on one day and leave all these things..
JenMuna
@Sue, yeah, it's "someday" that makes it hard to let go. What if when I'm an older than old lady, those trinkets are all the memories I have left? ;)
@JenMuna, watching some loved ones die and leave behind everything for the next generation to deal with is part of why I am trying to embrace minimalism. I find it so sad to think we spend a lifetime accumulating stuff that can all be gone in a moment, as when the majority of my great aunt's stuff was auctioned off after her death. *sigh*
I think we should keep what we want and let it go when we die. Did you ever think it is sometimes a comfort for people to go through a parent's like belongings and say goodbye a thousand time? I am not talking about hoarders here. I have things I want to keep and I will keep those things until I just don't care about them anymore or I die.
Not talking hoarding here, but why are people trying to spare children of the ritual of going through and deciding what it to be kept by the next generation.
I think it is important in the circle of life. This is not about saving 75 years of utility bills or the warranties from the last four stoves, plus the manuals. One utility bill is interesting and the manuals can be sold online.
There is a family ledger that tells the prices of things bought. It is interesting, like one utility bill would be. I don't like to destroy the past. Like I said, not talking hoarding cats and rotten food or every baby tooth or every pair of shoes.
Maybe at the end of your life, your children will caress the things you love. Don't ask them now. You are still here...lol.
I would keep my first shoes. Why not?
Okay, not spelling or punctuating right. Please read over it since I cannot snatch it back to edit...lol.
I have gotten better about letting some things go lately but I still have way too much stuff.
I guess yesterday was my "cheat" day although I have not take pasta out of my diet. I would not however have eaten the goulash that Phil made yesterday if my experimental soup hadn't turned out to be so nasty.
I believe it's good to keep things from our childhood or past to show our children or grandchildren the things we had...Why else would I and many others so desperately be trying to find things from the past ..say our parents had/displayed..or our grandparents...:) I seek my Granny's kitchen ware..
~~HUGS~~
Confession! I cheat with decluttering all the time. Instead of getting rid of stuff, I put it in a closet where I'll forget about it until the next time I "clean."
@Practical, no worries...even tho' I am meticulously whittling down my possessions, there will be MORE than enough for our DD to sift through when the time comes.
@Becky, OUCH, hate it when a soup turns on me! ;)
@Blessings, I furnished DD's 1st kitchen (when she was at university) with several pieces bought at antique shops and yard sales that were duplicates of mine. Wanted her to feel at home. LOTS of my kitchen ware was bought because it reminded me of my grandparents' kitchens!
@femme, *chuckle* :-D
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