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01-12-2019 09:36 AM
@Susan Louise: you are my hero!
I just received Let It Go in the mail on Thursday and have started reading it. A good follow-up to his It's All Too Much!, which I re-read every January.
Question: do you ever feel that you got rid of too much or regret getting rid of particular items?
01-12-2019 11:28 AM - edited 01-12-2019 12:23 PM
@queendiva wrote:@Susan Louise: you are my hero!
I just received Let It Go in the mail on Thursday and have started reading it. A good follow-up to his It's All Too Much!, which I re-read every January.
Question: do you ever feel that you got rid of too much or regret getting rid of particular items?
@queendiva I didn't regret purging anything...not one single thing. Why? I kept EVERYTHING that brought me joy.
Some folks may look at everything they own brings joy/is useful. Well, as long as it's not trash, I suppose. However, then nothing is 'special'.
That is why in my long post I broke down the specific addition to purging the closets...putting on EVERY piece of clothing/shoes and to see if it fits, looks good on me and is comfortable. If the garment still brought me joy looking at it, that wasn't enough criteria for ME to keep it. The garment has to have a function. I had to have joy wearing it. The garment wasn't allowed to remain in my closet or a drawer otherwise. I even wore a neutral colored top to wrap every single scarf around my neck to see which ones still brought me joy. They all had pretty patterns, which of coarse is why I bought them. However, by actually putting each of them on I was able to choose which ones stayed and which went to charity. I repeat, I put on every piece of clothing/shoes!
Sentimental pieces had their pics taken and I 'Let them Go'.
Also keep in mind, just because a garment brings you joy just by looking at it or holding it...may also stop bringing you joy as soon as you put it on. It may not fit anymore or not look good on you as it once did...or maybe your taste has changed and you couldn't even see that til you looked in the mirror wearing it. This is especially true for a piece of clothing you had for many years.
By looking at everything you own in that respect/viewpoint, it's a game changer on purging...well, for me it was anyway. HTH
01-12-2019 12:37 PM - edited 01-12-2019 06:20 PM
OK, so I decided to go through the pantry closet today instead of waiting until next week. Done. Tossed just a few items used for annual Christmas cookie baking. Also went back over kitchen gadgets. Found four to donate. Two pantry items will be dropped off for DS and DDIL later- items I know they will use.
While watching the b'ball game this afternoon I will take the big tree down. I enjoy leaving it up until mid-January. Nativity will get packed up, too. I should have time to go through some shoes, too- anything that can be done in front of the TV. The small "winter tree" will stay up until some time next month for something extra light and bright in the house.
ETA: PW's challenge today was magazines & catalogues. I do not keep back issues, I tear out pages of interest and go through that small collection about once a month. Recipes get filed, other pages/ coupons get used, then recycled, so nothing additional to address today. I think I accomplished a good amount this week. I try not to get involved with cleaning or purging on Sundays.
See you on Monday!
01-12-2019 01:57 PM - edited 01-12-2019 02:07 PM
Here's a pic of my grandparents lamp that I mentioned in post #137 of this thread that we had rewired and I found a new lampshade for...
And this is the other table lamp in the livingroom I was afraid would look silly together with my grandparents lamp. Oh how I squealed with delight when everything looked great together. Since the lamps weren't on 2 endtables, only on one, it just worked
So folks, things that REALLY bring you joy...get them out of boxes, drawers, dark closets or the basement and use them! Get them in daylight and enjoy them!
01-12-2019 05:20 PM
@Susan Louise- thank you so much for your post. I, too, have been reading books, websites and watching videos, but it really does take a mind shift. I am working on the purge side of the equation as well as the other side of not bringing more in. My mantra for 2019 is "use what you have" to help reduce the stuff coming in. This thread is also helpful for motivation to purge. I really liked your sentence about "bringing things out of the dark" and use them if they bring you joy.
01-12-2019 05:47 PM
A nice set of candles I formerly would bring out in the fall. Seldom lit them and they still smell really nice. (they may have been a Valerie item) They are boxed and ready to be donated and I don't need so much decor any more. Also, boxing up some nice bath towels, but some that I just don't care for and I have too many right now.
01-12-2019 06:40 PM
I almost cringe when I hear of someone getting rid of candles. I love candles! If I were a neighbor to any of you, I'd probably be standing there with my arms out saying "I'll take them"!
Anyway, today I wanted to tidy up under the kitchen sink. I found an old sample of Finish Quantum Power & Free. It had a coupon with it that expired 12/31/14. I have to wonder why we set samples aside and never use them.
01-12-2019 06:58 PM
Saw this and thought it appropriate for here, and oh so true.
01-12-2019 07:41 PM
@rnmom wrote:@Susan Louise-Awesome post! Thank you so much for taking the time to share your journey with us!
I'd love to get to that place of total peace/zen. Unfortunately, I don't think that's going to happen with 2 kids still in the house LOL. My kids are only 10 and 13 so I still have a long time to wait. In the meantime, I declutter where I can and try to keep things as nice as possible, but it is a constant job keeping things picked up and neat. Someday................
Don't despair! I've been in the same boat, with raising my son and all the 'stuff' that comes with kids. He has moved out (now 22 years old) and not to discourage you, but only a portion of the 'stuff' went with him.
When we are first starting out, we usually aren't in a position to take everything that we hope to have/keep in our lives. I remember it being that way in my first couple of apartments, and I remember then and still am very grateful that my mom kept things in her home as long as she could, that I wasn't able to take with me in those early adult years. Things like childhood books, toys, dolls, and all the beautiful perfect Barbie clothes (and dolls) that my grandmother handmade for me. They are simply stunning, and such a place in time in their styles and fabrics (1960's). I still have all the board games we had as kids, and used them extensively with my son when growing up. There were even a couple of toys that belonged to my father that we were able to have to enjoy for another generation. I am so grateful my mom, even though I know she didn't want to, kept those things until I could be in a position to have them.
I still have some that kind of stuff from my kid's childhood, all of it so nice and just waiting for the next generation. I so struggle with wanting the space back, but not enough to let go of things that could never be replaced and will have much use and joy for the next generation.
If at some point it looks like he won't have a family, I'll make a decision about how and where to move things on, but until that time, it is a dance of being frustrated with the stuff taking up space in the basement/closet, and the knowledge that disposing of it will be a regret later.
So again, not to discourage you, but the having too much kid's stuff doesn't seem to leave your home when they do! But I'm not going to wish my life away to get it done and over with. I settle for now, with reducing my own 'stuff', some of his now and then when it seems not so important anymore, and patiently (sometimes?) wait for life to take it's course.
Oh the trials of being a mother! LOL
01-12-2019 07:52 PM
@Susan Louise wrote:Here's a pic of my grandparents lamp that I mentioned in post #137 of this thread that we had rewired and I found a new lampshade for...
And this is the other table lamp in the livingroom I was afraid would look silly together with my grandparents lamp. Oh how I squealed with delight when everything looked great together. Since the lamps weren't on 2 endtables, only on one, it just worked
So folks, things that REALLY bring you joy...get them out of boxes, drawers, dark closets or the basement and use them! Get them in daylight and enjoy them!
Oh those lamps are beautiful and I think they look great in the same area.
I have a number of things handed down from previous generations, and I go to great lengths to make them work in various areas of my home. I actually take it as a fun challenge sometimes to take things that connect me to the past and make them work in places and ways I never thought they could/would.
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