No, I’m not talking about competing with Sir Dyson.
I’m referring to creating holes in your life so that you can fill the holes up with new things.
Last weekend we cleaned the carpeting in the upstairs. It’s carpeting we inherited with the house and it isn’t the greatest, but we aren’t ready to replace it yet. (Mostly because it’s the ongoing debate between us: hardwood—me—versus carpeting—Alex.) At the same time, I tore the kitchen apart. It’s been a couple of years since I’ve done that and figured it was time to see what might be lurking in the top rear of the snack cupboard. I rearranged and moved Alex’s mother’s dishes from the hutch to the cupboard. I don’t believe in saving things for the sake of saving things. Use them! I made space in drawers and found room in cupboards. A week later and those spaces are still empty.
I read this novel once … well, I read many novels all the time … and actually I didn’t finish reading this one because it was poorly written … but all that aside, the character in this book only kept 200 belongings at one time. Now, that’s impossible for a working person living in a house, driving a car, who has friendships. Think about it—if she had plates, silverware and glasses for four people, she was already pooched on only having 200 things. Heck, my sock collection alone would get me into serious trouble with that number.
Keep Your Home Organized, Creating Spaces!
As Certified Professional Organizers state, if you keep collecting things and you never get rid of anything, where does it all go? It becomes what you live in. Hence, clutter in our lives, which leads to clutter in our minds, which leads to stagnation. I don’t know about you, but if I’m stagnating and unable to have sideways or forward motion, I’m done. Shut me off, turn me over and toss me in a corner. But don’t let me stagnate. Ever.
Sometimes, we have to stop and acknowledge that the keeping of unnecessary things boils down to unmade decisions. Think about what you really want on that desert island with you and get rid of the rest.
You have to eliminate things—sometimes inanimate, sometimes the dead plant you keep trying to revive, and sometimes a person who is simply no longer good for you to have in your life. But if you don’t eliminate and clear out space—create a vacuum—for something new to come in, it simply can’t.
Nowadays Hoarders Get to be on TV
My point is, we have to have holes in the days of our lives in order to fill them up with new experiences, new people, new things. We have to have loss in our hearts to know how much those hearts can be filled with love. We have to dig up last year’s bulbs in order to plant spring flowers.
Life is a cycle and vacuuming out the old stuff is critical. Creating holes for your vacuum to find: essential.
And yes, it’s time to clean the rest of our house.
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Read next: Having an Abundance Mentality
I always love getting rid of stuff, and I’ve been doing so this past month as I get ready to make my move to Montana. I was already pretty pared down, but I did manage to offload a few boxes of stuff. The new place doesn’t have a garage or storage shed, and it’s only a one-bedroom house, so I can’t hide much away. The bedroom is upstairs with a couple of storage cubbies under the eaves, but that’s it. If it seems like I’ll stay in the house for awhile, I’ll probably look at some type of storage shed… Read more »
Do you find that when you move, you throw out before you leave and again when you unpack?
Hiding things is one of the worst things I do. I have an entertainment center my father built that I keep opening drawers on and tossing things in! So bad. That’s a winter project, though. Good luck with the move! Oh and send me your new address.
Even though I think I’ve weeded things out quite a bit, I know more will go when I start opening the boxes again! I’ve also been on an Amazon spree to makeup for the tight budget I’ve been on the past few years 😉
I’m having fun just being on this side of your move. I love the adventure of changing scenery. This (10 years) is the longest I’ve lived in one place since I left home at 18. It feels weird! Gotta love an Amazon spree!
I enjoyed this one! I need to remove things from my house! and I need your organizer friend LOL
Hey, sock loving stylist (ps for other readers: Sartori Salon in MacDonald, PA–she’s awesome), you just had a yard sale, now I can refer you to Patty’s Clutter Rescue Kit. It works great to get unnecessary things out of our lives so we can fill it up with good things!
If I wasn’t sitting here coughing my head off you would have motivated me to start throwing away all the stupid things I am holding onto. Guess I will have to reread this when I am feeling better. Thanks for the motivation. 🙂
Kelli, you’re so delightful! Your post made me laugh out loud. Not at your coughing (boo hiss to that), but to throwing away stupid things. You summed it up well with that statement. We all hold onto stupid things all the time!
Take care and feel better. And don’t let my brother read this!
Rose sometimes hearing my own words through another person’s perspective is more powerful than anything on earth. You’ve written some things that hit home and for that I am grateful. Thank you, my friend!
Welcome back to you, my dear PK. You have taught me a lot about thinking through purchases or other things I may bring into my home; my life Our time is limited and stuff–mental or otherwise–can waste what we have. You help me be conscious of that, which helps me avoid the waste!