You Never Know…

I have this little plaque in our playroom.

“You never know what you have…until you clean your room.”

Well, this goes for your whole house too.  After living for 43 years, you tend to collect a lot of stuff.  Yet, when you have a family, it multiplies.  Even though our family has moved 7 times since my husband & I got married (20 years ago,) we STILL have too much stuff.  To be honest, in the past, I didn’t make a big enough effort to purge as much as I should have.  I’m doing things differently this time.  Instead of jumping right into packing and haphazardly giving a few things away here and there, I have been primarily focusing on PURGING the last few months.

Here’s the deal, I come from sweet parents who are sentimental and like to hold onto things.  I come by it honest. {That saying might be a southern thang…he he he}  Personally, I really think there is a genetic disposition when it comes to this.  It’s been interesting, because my husband likes to throw things away.  He would rather throw things of value away than give them away.  I can’t do that.  If it has value, if someone else can use it…I would rather give it away.  Otherwise, I feel it’s like taking dollar bills and throwing them away.  I definitely see it’s easier to throw things away since it cuts out the sorting step and taking it to the local charity.  However, we initially paid for the items or someone gave them to us (which they paid for) and I can’t throw that money away.

If you’ve been reading here for awhile you know I have ADD.  I like to share the ins and outs of what it’s like to have it.  Mine is the inattentive kind.  Medicine has been miraculous for me.  However, when it comes to having a high stress level, like now, sometimes the medicine doesn’t work as much as I’d like.  I only realized I had ADD about 11 years ago.  So pre-medicine days (32 years) I would get so overwhelmed, there wouldn’t be much purging or sorting.  I was doing  good to just have everything packed for moving day.  To take a box and sort through it is almost like torture.  The act of making so many decisions is so mentally taxing on me that it effects me physically.  After going through several boxes I am completely wiped out.  I know my ADD has something to do with this.  My brain works differently than someone without ADD.

Over the years, I’ve been trying to teach my children about letting go of things they don’t need or use anymore.  I seem to have done a good enough job with my two oldest…it’s the youngest who is resistant.  Yet, I have been so pleased with her progress while we’ve been sorting.  I found it’s easier on her to give away things to people she knows and cares for.  It’s funny…she will make a pile for charity and then she will have an even bigger pile for our friends.  Personally, I find it easier to give things of value or emotional significance to my friends as well.  My best friend is also moving {yet she is moving 2 hours North of here, while I will be moving almost 3 hours South. } Anyway, there are many toys we’ve kept that my kids no longer play with. {Partly because I’m in denial they aren’t little anymore.}  We’ve had them in the playroom and when little ones come over to our house they know where they are.  I enjoy seeing the kids play with the toys.  Since we are downsizing, we won’t have room to store these toys anymore.  I’m grateful my youngest was able to give those toys to my best friend’s kids (who are much younger than my kids.)  Bestie sends me texts of the kids playing with the toys and it feels so great knowing the items are in a good home.

So, I’m off to go through more boxes.  Most of the boxes now are in the attic.  I’ve pretty much gone through the stuff in the home.  We have a HUGE attic, though and it was completely FULL before we began this process.  I refuse to move it all.  If it’s been in the attic all this time, I haven’t missed it much, right?  Moving is stressful but if it motivates me to purge and simplify…that’s a good thing.  I need to keep telling myself that during this process.

I hope everyone is having a good summer!

Lighten your load,