Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Carrying stuff and letting it go



Recently, as I moved into my new room, I figured I couldn't put up with so much junk being out in the open without a "home" to reside in. The plan is to free up as much space as possible, and have clear surfaces in the bedroom, so I can relax and enjoy white space. Since I have an unused room, I have decided to turn it into my official attic room and dumped all the stuff overflow up there. I have donated a lot of things over the years but I still own a lot. I can tell you that boxing and carrying all that stuff upstairs made me want to reconsider owning so much.

I felt the same when I
moved into my new house almost two years ago. We had so much to carry, it was more difficult than heavy lifting for two hours at the gym! That goes to show that actually carrying your things, feeling their weight, might help decide if they are worth owning.

One book that really helped me acquire a new perspective on decluttering and minimalism was Marie Kondo's The life-changing magic of tidying up. As she explains that you should only keep objects that bring you joy, I figured that I should probably let go of the ones that were weighing me down.

Also, I think the Japanese love white space, which I am starting to create around the house for more visual appeal.

Another book that helped me tremendously was Clutter busting your life, by Brook Palmer. On top of the rehashed arguments in favor of tossing old junk, he mentioned something that really struck a chord. He said that objects were like food in the fridge: they serve their purpose at a given moment in time, but when they are done, we need to move on, in the same way I wouldn't want to hold on to spoiled milk. That made so much sense! It really helped me let go of some sentimental items for which I had no use or space, although I was feeling too guilty to let them go.

With that in mind when I left the apartment to move into a house, and doing the move myself, I really reconsidered some of the items that I had at home. Mostly, I didn't want to have to pack, carry things over, and then unpack them, so I figured letting go was a good option.

How about you, does having to move help with decluttering? Does carrying your belongings make you rethink their value in your life? Let me know in the comments below!


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