Hellebores beginning to bloom in my garden.
In 2009 my husband and I decided we needed to move to a smaller home and get rid of the stuff we’d been carrying around with us for years. We put our house on the market, found a lovely home half the size of the one we were in, and began a giant purge. We moved to our new home in June of 2010 and are so grateful that we had decided to go ahead with what at the time was a very daunting process.
Yes, we simplified our lives, but stuff has a way of building up when you’re not looking. And to be perfectly honest there are boxes we still have not yet unpacked from that last move. Not wanting to get caught up in the same mess we were in before we came here, it’s time to clean things out again. The big question is, why do I need the things in those boxes that I haven’t missed in the past seven years? In the next few months I plan on opening up those boxes to see what they hold. I will also clean out the large file cabinet I stuffed old papers in at our last house. When we moved here I removed the important files, placed them in a smaller file-cabinet and promised to weed through the rest when I had time. Guess what? It never happened.
Now I’m yearning to unpack the mystery boxes, and get rid of all those useless files I haven’t gone through in years. I will give away or trash what is no longer useful or necessary. I sometimes wonder what we will do when we can no longer take care of this wonderful space we live in. But it simply isn’t yet time to worry about that. And when the time does come to move on, I don’t want to have to go through a major purge again. So here I am in clean-out mode. Just thinking about shredding old documents and giving away things I no longer want or need always lifts weight from my shoulders and frees my soul.
And it’s not just material goods I’m looking to get rid of. In the past several months since my book was published I’ve taken time to get out, see more people, and have some fun. I want more time for that. Though I will never stop writing and will continue to blog here, I’ve decided to let my newsletter, published on the first of every month, go by the wayside. I’ve had trouble keeping both writing venues interesting to read. And having too many deadlines just doesn’t make me happy. I’d like time to perhaps write essays for other venues, read more, and continue the more relaxed and simpler life I’m enjoying. Some of you are following me both my blog and newsletter. I will be publishing a newsletter tomorrow to inform those who are only following my newsletter about my decision and to encourage them to follow me here.
As for this blog I intend to keep publishing it weekly on Tuesdays, but from time to time may publish it on another day of the week instead. It all depends on what life throws my way. And if I plan to be away from my desk for a while I’ll let you know. I will give more space here to write about the books I’ve been reading, as well as keeping you updated on all the challenges and changes I’m working on.
For those of you who missed my announcement on Facebook last week, I did a radio interview with James Miller on Lifeology, about breaking generational behavior patterns. You can listen to it here.
Are you in the mood to clean out all the old stuff that is keeping you from moving on?
