Clearing Out & Letting Go

When the New Year begins, I get the urge to clean out. This urge usually happens about 3 to 4 times a year and when it comes you bet I am cleaning out whatever we don't use or need.  It usually begins with the kids toys and clothes. Next, my clothes and various items that I haven't used in a while. The Mr., he is great at cleaning out his side of the closet which leaves me lots of clothes to donate.

When all the cleaning out is complete there are multiple piles of stuff. This stuff is then put in boxes or bags to be donated or to a local consignment store.

A confession....the bags then sit...for a few days.....  And the rush of emotions come flooding in----
My thoughts go something like this:
"my babies are growing up so fast, I want to keep those cute little clothes"
"he really loved that toy a long time ago, I should keep it"
"the boys may still play with those toys again one day"
"that shirt/outfit was so cute, I should put it in a shadow box for safe keeping"
"what if those toys will be worth a lot of money one day"
"our grandchildren might like to play with those toys"

You get the idea... I could really go on and on but I won't.

Then after a few days, the bags of stuff sitting there gets to me and I have to take it away. I am a little obsessive you could say...things have a specific place and if anything is out of place it drives me crazy. So I guess once the stuff has been hiding in the bags/boxes the pile eventually gets to me and I get rid of it.

The hardest is taking the boys' items to the consignment store, I just walk in set the boxes/bags down and walk right out. I think if I stayed in there any longer I would just burst into tears.

Crazy how the mind works, isn't it?

Letting go is hard sometimes but in order for me to simplify and reduce the amount of "stuff" we have, a clean out is a must. I know that most people in general have more than they really need and the need to have more is becoming the norm, or at least it feels that way to me. I really get the urge to buy more than I really need at Target--love that store! I mean they have so many cute things! I try, I really do try and as you see from the photo above there are only a couple of bags in the front of the cart. So that my friends, was a quick and only a "needed items" shopping trip-coffee included!

I still have more cleaning out to do but I have to say, even though it was so hard to let go of all that stuff, it feels good now that it is gone.

That is the goal-to feel good,  to feel better-the clutter and extra stuff really does drag you down plus it's more to clean!