An old multiplication test from the third grade. Towels that I used in my dorm room at the University of South Dakota. Ancient birthday / holiday / just-because cards that I keep tucked away in the top drawer of my dresser. The baton that I haven't twirled (well, in public anyway) since at least the eighth grade. An endless collection of old VCR tapes, cassettes tapes, DVDs, and CDs. Clothes, furniture, books, an old shoe box full of Garbage Pail Kid cards... Even old magazines aren't immune to my irrational sense of sentimentality. ('Teen magazines from the early '90s? Seriously?) Anything that holds even a hint of nostalgia stays. If it meant something to me at all - even if it was five or twelve or twenty years ago - well then, it's worth keeping.
Now, this particular quirk of mine drives my husband crazy. Chris is neat. Orderly. And, most definitely, a minimalist to his very core. He shreds. He organizes. He cleans. He declutters. He throws away...
And I have to say that I envy him a bit. To him, the past is the past. He doesn't feel the need to hold on to inanimate objects in order to remember a particular occasion or resurrect feelings of a special event. In fact, he doesn't look back much at all. He's a forward thinker, a forward looker and, most importantly, a forward dreamer. In his mind, the past is the past and, since it's already done, why worry or think about it anymore? Sure, he has some fond memories that he enjoys reminiscing about from time to time, and he most certainly appreciates the present moment. But most of the time his attention is turned toward the future. Set in the direction of his dreams, his aspirations.
Personally, I believe that's a smart way to be.
This past week, I've tossed out, donated, and shredded more things than I can count. And with each item that I dislodged from my life, I found myself breathing a little easier. In fact, it was almost like a huge weight had been lifted from not only my chest but from my very soul. With less baggage - physical and mental - I feel lighter, stronger, and more alive and clear minded than I've ever felt before.
I'm learning that decluttering my life is an important process. Clearing out the old makes way for the new. Discarding negative beliefs clears a path for the positive. Making peace with and leaving an unhealthy situation creates room for more uplifting experiences.
And it's funny... The things I thought I couldn't live without? Well, turns out that I can.
Give it a try. Whether it's decluttering the closet, garage, cupboards, or even our minds, we can all benefit from a little deep cleaning.
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"The opposite of simplicity, as I understand it, is not complexity but clutter."
-- Scott Russell Sanders
