My husband is a bit of a hoarder. He tends to hang on to things for a long time. It was really cute when I found a poem he wrote to a girl when he was a teenager. Of course, I had to read it with a sappy, romantic voice. There were his credit card payment receipts from college. I complained about them, but then at one point, he actually had to use them to prove he had paid off the card off during a dispute. After this moment when he was justified by hanging onto things, I've struggled with getting him to let go. I can't talk. I'm a teacher, and teachers have a problem. We also tend to cling to things with the idea that we may one day use them. That box of toilet paper tubes could be lovely elves at Christmas. The little plastic circles that hold the laminating film could be great tracing tools for shape identification. Do you see my problem? Between my husband's desire to insure he has everything he needs available and my urge to have resources available for crafts and teaching, we soon enter into a state of clutter. During the school year, I try to ignore the clutter. If people visit, I perform a little magic. Throw a blanket over the clutter, and it disappears! I always cringe when guests walk near my hallway closet in worry they may open it and be covered by an avalanche of clutter. The worst clutter comes in the form of mail/receipts. We itemize for taxes, so receipts are a must. However, I do not have time to organize receipts, so I shove them into ziploc bags, boxes, and any other container available. So now you know my secret. Every nook and cranny is packed with clutter. As summer finally arrived, I performed a ritual cleansing. I pulled clutter from every space possible. I asked myself the important questions. 1) Do I need this? 2) Have I used this in the last year? 3)Does this have emotional value to me? If the answer was no, then I created piles. There was the sale pile, donate pile, and trash pile. As I began to separate and declutter my home, a sense of calm came over me. I realized that holding onto unnecessary things were a weight, not a a convenience. I had thought that having these things available would help me, but instead the clutter they created caused stress. Don't we do this emotionally? We hold onto hurt or anger because we feel that in holding onto these feelings, we are vindicated. However, instead of helping us feel better, they bring stress, pain, and bitterness. Letting go of useless feelings are one of the best ways to lighten your life. Forgive more. Let love overcome anger and hurt. Declutter your heart!
Have a great week high-heeled warriors!
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