Dear Friends,
February is Declutter for 15 minutes, and we are going to take full advantage of our time. Monday through Friday this month you will get a new Declutter Mission that follows the Zone we are in. If you have a declutter story or an idea that you have found to be useful please send us an email with MY DECLUTTER STORY in the subject line!
FlyLady Rebecca
February Declutter Mission:
No mission today! take a break and renew your spirit!
Dear Flylady,
My son and daughter-in-law were visiting when I had the brilliant idea to let them to choose any and all they wanted from an assortment of “treasures” I had in our extra room. I was really going to be generous and I took down new cookware and bakeware with famous chef’s names and added the nicest of the “treasures” I had.
When they came to check out the pile, I noticed right away that they were not picking anything up. They ended up taking the martini glasses that I’d picked up at a garage sale to serve ice cream in but never did.
It was a profound lesson to me on what was and was not a treasure. I had long been decluttering stuff, but after that, I have been decluttering “treasures“. I used to want to match up whatever I had to clear out with the proper person who would appreciate it. That was painstaking and slow and my friends’ homes were getting cluttered so I started taking everything to the thrift store. Done and done!
The best lesson I ever learned first started with something someone said about food. Instead of eating food you do not want or need because you bought or made too much, just realize “You wasted the money at the store when you bought it. Eating food you do not need or want will not change that.”
That works with regard to anything in the home. That new scratchy sweater with the tags that I have never worn? I wasted the money when I bought it and keeping it in my closet will not change that. If I pass it on, I can finally forget how I wasted that money when the sweater is not there as a constant reminder.
Also, when I have my boxes and bags ready for the thrift store, I ask my daughter to look at them and see if it is OK for all of it go go. She always looks and says, “It can all go!” At that point, I either take it to the thrift store or ask my husband to. I am better, but there are reasons we who become clutterers are the way we are. Having my daughter say it can all go relieves me of any anxiety that I might be giving away something I will miss. Having my husband take it relieves me of the opportunity to look through it one more time. I have given away HUGE amounts of stuff over the years–and I mean HUGE–and I can honestly say that I do not miss one item.
Thank you Flylady and Flylady Diane Denmark and all the rest of you who provide your wisdom and constant reminders free for all of us. It takes hearing it over and over, sometimes for years, before we can actually internalize the message and heal from our clutter issues.
Blessings to you!
Sue
