Letting Go for a Simpler Life

As the new year brings lots of promise and hope for the future, so come the new years resolutions. As hard as it was in past years to keep, I am hopeful that this year will be different. One of resolutions I have is to learn to let go.

“You cannot let go of anything if you cannot notice that you are holding it. Admit your “weaknesses” and watch them morph into your greatest strengths.” 

Neale Donald Walsh

I would like to be able to let go of material things (clutter), the past (which I cannot change), and emotions over the things I cannot control. All these things are stressful and bring me further away from enjoying my life now and living in the moment. No one truly knows how much time we have here on earth, so I want to make the most of it. When I'm old and grey and my time is through here, I'd like to say that I lived my life in the best possible way. That I have no regrets for the things that were, and that I tried hard, lived life to the fullest, and gave love to those that needed it. Not much to ask for right?

Let's Start with...Clutter

Where do I begin. To be honest, I can be quite messy. I never felt the urge to make my bed in the morning, throw out junk mail when it comes in, or wash my dishes right away. I even told my husband when we moved in together that, “my only allergy is washing dishes”. Luckily we struck a deal and I do the cooking, he does the dishes. 
 

An old condo pic of my place. Papers on the tables, office in the back piled with papers and clothes...

Although I don't like to clean up after myself, I do in fact clean. The necessary things of course, so I am not a slob! It's all the other little things, like mail, miscellaneous papers floating around in random places (my night table, kitchen counter, any available surfaces really). Things me and my husband never put away, family pictures, bills, receipts, cards, books, and at the top of this list, empty plastic bags (courtesy of my lovely hubby, lol). They start stacking up and I quietly ignore the piles as they get higher and collect dust until they start to look like a Jenga Tower that just might collapse. As much as I try to ignore the pile, as soon as I look at it, I feel this surge of heat creep up my neck and I start to panic, feel crazy and then end up doing a 2 hour cleaning session where no one can talk to me and I can't be bothered. Then a month later the whole cycle starts again because I started a new pile the very next day.

When I was a kid, I never had to clean. I thought that was a good thing, but as I look back, it's a skill that I need to live a better life today. It was something that was never taught to me, my grandmother who lived with us made my bed every morning, the toys I played with magically got put back in my toy box whenever I was done, and I never had to clean my room (a kid's dream!) However, this has backfired on me today. Now that I am aware of the problem, I must find solutions! 

 

Some of the reasons why people get clutter are that they can't let go of items because:

• they are keeping things out of sentimental value (someone you care about gave it to you)
• mentality of “I might use this in the future” not throwing things out just in case
• Buying things because they're on sale
• paying a lot for something (no matter how old it is) so you can't let it go
• not having enough time to clean
• not making cleaning a priority

I don't want to live in a state of anxiety and stress anymore. I was looking up some ways online how to live clutter-free and here are some of the good ones:

• Start with one area at a time so as not to feel overwhelmed
• Give things away to a charity or local centre if you haven't used them in a year (especially clothes, it'll make you feel good too!)
  Buy less things

• Buy things of quality, not quantity
• Deal with bills & file receipts as soon as you're finished
• Do groceries & shopping with a list and don't stray from it
• Spend 10 minutes a day to unclutter a certain area
• Everyday make time to do something different: i.e. Mon-dusting, Tue-dusting etc...
• Put all clothes in the laundry bin right away
• Throwing things out right away that are not needed
• Put items away as soon as your done using them

Things You Should Throw

Old Makeup

Books you haven't read

Expired Medication

Duplicates of things

Old Toys

Obsolete gadgets

Old magazines, newspapers

Old receipts, cards

Old boxes that have nothing in them

Old cassette tapes, vhs tapes, etc...

Things You Should Give Away

Clothes that don't fit

Clothes that haven't been used in the last year

Gadgets you've never used that are still good (coffee makers, griddles)

Gifts you're never going to use (just make sure you don't give it back to the person who gave it to you!)

Books you haven't read

Kitschy party jewelry that you've never worn

Baby's gifts & clothes that haven't been used

This New Year's morning, I uncluttered my night table. I have plans to tackle my dresser tomorrow.