If you have been following along you know that our family committed to letting go of one thing every day in 2017. If you’d like to catch up check out these other two blogs about our journey. (365 Things and Abundance, 365 Things and Music)
We are just over a quarter through this journey. Over 100 things have been collected and sent on their way. Things like flower vases and knick-knacks, kitchen gadgets and duplicate dishes, CDs and movies, and junk drawer ‘maybe-it-will-be-useful-someday’ things.
Structure and Order
We started this to create simplicity and space. 100 things later, I’d say we have been successful in creating tiny pockets of space and a little more simplicity. What I’ve noticed lately though is a growing sense of order. Things are easier to find. There is more room on a few of our shelves. We have created a lightness in some rooms. By taking away a few items, there is a sense of order and structure to what is left behind.
Still Manageable
Our family is probably like yours - busy. There was no way we could tackle a whole closet at a time. Sure we could have made it a priority and given up some other activity to make it happen. But let’s be real. There was no motivation to make that trade off. And yet, let go of one thing a day? Doable. No trade offs. Just awareness and ease. It is still the most manageable way we could have done this.
There is no need for us to set aside a few hours to pull everything out of a space, sort, stack, organize, and put it all away again. Instead, we are like tiny fairies whisking something away unnoticed one piece at a time. Slowly. Painlessly. But significantly over time. It is our slow trip to less.
Avoiding
At 100 things we have been able to empty those places in our house that were easy. The next 100 might easy too. But the 100 after that? Probably not as easy. I’ve already started to notice there are places we are avoiding. Pockets of things we don’t want to look in. Some of them contain things from our past. Some of them are just too full and overwhelming. Some of them are filled things only one of us has accumulated. I still think the one thing at a time approach will help but I am anxious to discover how this journey will feel when we get to the last quarter.
Our Rules
We have made up some rules as we have gone along. Clothes don’t count (that would be too easy). It takes 2 CDs, book, or movies to equal one thing. It takes 10 magazines to equal one thing. Something that is obviously garbage doesn’t count. Everyone has to agree to let something go. You might have different rules if you give this a try. It doesn’t really matter what the rules are as long as you are finding the simplicity you crave.
I’d Love to Know
If you decide to join in, please reach out via social media or email and let me know.