Recalibrate

Want to get re-inspired for letting go of things around your home? Take a break from it.

I just spent 5 nights staying at my boyfriend's place and came home tonight ready for major purging of stuff that I don't require anymore.

The trick is to go somewhere else that you can relax. Before you come home think about what you actually missed. That's the definite "keeper" stuff. The junk you walk in and say "jeez, I forgot I even had that" about is a good place to start the discarding.

Even without that dichotomy, though, I found the time away left me in a clearer mental space to distinguish between that which I keep more as the museum of me and less as something I actually use & enjoy now.

I'm enjoying saying some farewells this evening, and the ability to save the story or favorite details from things in pictures on Flickr is helping a lot!

Comments

[Gina]

I think that having a few "museum" of me items is not a bad thing, however, there has to be a little on those. Well, there has to be a limit on even the pieces that are the current me. I think this gets easier as time goes on. And yes, stepping away from it does help. Perspective.

[Anne]

How nice to have a new dash of Discardia just at a time I need one! I'm finding that a lot of what was my "museum of me" becomes less museum-like and more just junk as time passes. Many of the things I wasn't able to part with when I moved 3 years ago are now in the "why is this here? Let's purge" category now. It's easier to do that in areas I haven't been to in a while - though the idea of going somewhere restful and coming back refreshed is a good one.

[martina]

Mom and I decided to have a "even if it is an heirloom we've never liked it" purge. She asked me if I wanted things first (thanks for Nana's sterling!) and put the rest up on ebay. I did the same thing. We didn't make much money what with the commission the seller charged, but now our homes have less clutter and only the things we love.

[Dinah]

Hooray! Congratulations, Martina!