Old and New – Need and Place for Both…

We have our new “rig” for our next big adventure.  We are also in full packing and moving mode.  As I sat yesterday, going through “stuff”, purging and deciding what to save, it occurred to me that I would do well to apply the same concept to my life.  Our new house is bright, shiny and fresh.  Uncluttered and clean, a whole new realm of possibilities.  I get to decide what I am going to put in it, how I will stock the shelves and decorate.  Should I discard all the old, and only purchase new items to fill it with?  Should I just move ALL (OK – well it ALL won’t fit!) the old stuff in there and go on as if nothing has changed?

I am choosing to weed out the less important, some gets tossed, some gets donated/given to someone who will make better use of it, some gets sold.  The cherished items and the really useful things – they get moved into the new home.  Some stuff gets stored for another day – the stuff I still want but can’t have at the moment.  There is also a need for new things because you don’t have what you need for the new.

It sounds so easy to tell someone they need to do this.  It looks so easy to read it on paper.  Put into practice, it is a rollercoaster of emotion.  Add in a deadline…crazypants!  Seriously, discovering treasures that were packed away and hidden years ago, finding stuff that at the time seemed important (and now I can’t even remember what it was saved for), remembering happy times and sad tears – it is joyful, enriching, and exhausting.  It’s also helpful in understanding why it’s so hard to unload personal baggage.  If you’re going to do this, and you have the option and luxury, choose someone special to take with you.  I have had the joy of sharing this cleansing experience with the kids, Bill, Mom, and my brother.  They are awesome traveling companions, willing to share the smiles, tears, and cart out the trash!

A great benefit and source of joy is sharing treasured items with friends that will put them good use, and donating to others that have more need of the item than I do.  Making others happy is always an easy way to improve your own demeanor, a favorite selfish way to add more smiles to the world.

Once I finish with the house, I’ll start an “inside” job.  Although I’m thinking that is already a work in progress.  It’s just that I’m pretty sure my mind is a whole lot more cluttered than the house is/was….