Day 19: Get Rid of Stuff You Don’t Need

Go through your living space today and be ruthless in getting rid of ALL the stuff you don’t need. Every single bit of it. Go through closets, bedrooms, shelves, storage rooms, even your home office and ask yourself the following questions for each item: Do I really need this? Do I even want it anymore? If yes, keep it and love it. If no, kick it to the curb by throwing it away, giving it away or recycling it. If you have a roommate, live-in partner, spouse or kids, you can also ask them to do the same.

Since my childhood, I have held on to any and everything that my allowance could afford me…everything that I have won, earned…every birthday, Christmas gift…every craft, book, trophy, certificate, homework assignment…every too small shirt, shoe, dress and anything else that I have owned. I realized early that I had a problem with LETTING GO – letting go of people AND letting go of THINGS! There was a blind attachment to THINGS (to this world), that I needed to let go!

I actually started this process back in May of last year before I moved. And you know what? It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I got rid of LOADS of PAPER: old bills, old receipts, 4-year old pay stubs, magazines, and half-used notebooks. After dealing with all the paper, I moved to the closet and the bins of clothing. After a good four hours of trying on clothes, shoes, and sorting through jewelry, I found that nearly 3/4 of my closet space had been taken up by clothes that I couldn’t fit, clothes that I would never, EVER wear again, shoes that were TOO small, and those pieces that I had to ask myself what in the world were you thinking??? I gave a lot away to the Salvation Army, and to my coworker’s daughter. I must say, after all was said and done, I really felt good!

In the process of cleaning out my closets, I did an all-around purge: phone book, Facebook, emails, texts (yes, I saved these – trying to relive moments, which would always backfire), and letters, amongst other things.

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