Over the years, I have watched many inspirational videos about decluttering. One common denominator I have seen is that those who film their journey from the start believe that you only need to do a big purge once in your life and then it's good, but that is so wrong. Decluttering will almost always happen in layers, just like peeling an onion. It takes both time and mental strain to declutter your things. We are bound to our things whether we want to or not. As soon as we take the thing in our hands, the feeling comes that I want to keep this.
But I still want to point out that I absolutely believe that you need to touch all things when you declutter. It is also the fairest thing and if you listen to Marie Kondo, you should also say thank you to the things you choose to remove, to thank them for what they have done in your life for you. We also need to remind ourselves that some things, and people for that matter, are just passing through our lives, once they have fulfilled their purpose it is okay to let go and let them pass on to new adventures.
Decluttering is an ongoing process, don't be scared now, it will get easier and easier each time you do it but it is a process. However, I want to highlight that there are so many benefits to decluttering your things. If nothing else, you will feel more free because you free up time for other things than your things when you have started to reduce the inventory in your possession. It will also take time before you will realize that you need to stop bringing things in to see any difference, they are a maturation process in the decluttering journey that most people go through.
I still want to press this point about transit. We do not own our things, they own us when we collect them in piles and fill up our rooms at home and other places such as garages and storage rooms. For some strange reason, we think it is better for things to stand unused and in many homes also moldy in a corner than to actually declutter them and let someone else use them. The question is what makes us so attached to our things.
We feel safe with things around us, we feel a kind of community with other people when we have what others have, we feel included and not outside of society when we can afford to buy the latest, we hold on to our past through our things, we think that material status makes us good people but that is so wrong. If we are not the least bit us without our things, then we are all the more without our things. When things keep us tied and locked at home, we miss out on life out there. When we stay home for a weekend to clean, we miss out on fun moments with the kids, with friends or interesting exciting things to discover outdoors. We miss out on the sun's rays on our heads, the water whipping our faces at the sea and the wind whistling and the birds singing in the forest.
Many people, including me in the past, missed out on so many experiences because my things took up all my time. Do you want your things to take up all your time? Or do you want to have time for other things, such as listening to the birds in the forest, sitting on the beach and just being, reading in the garden or watching your children's joy in the park? Only you can answer that question. If you want to have time for other things, I suggest you check out all my other blog posts or check out my YouTube channel "marys life home and away" to get inspiration to make a change in your life. The choice is yours.
