Letting go.

Welcome to October.  Now it really is more fall-like, isn't it?  We start to realize that the 85 days left until Christmas is going to be all too short!  Do not fear.  "Simplify the Season" is coming soon.  With all this talk of change of seasons, I thought it would be a good time to discuss change in organizing.  (Wow, what a seg-way!)

"Change is not easy, but it is incredibly liberating."(1) Stemming from this idea is that the stuff we surround ourselves with should be stuff that we love, we find useful, is current.  So what happens to the stuff that is out-of-date, obsolete, no longer useful to us, or lovely?  Friend, that is what we call "clutter".  Whether it is your home or office, if the contents are not serving you and your present purpose, they have no business being in your life.  Does that sound harsh?  Maybe a little.  Maybe because it is true.  I am not suggesting we throw out everything we own and start anew.  I am suggesting that we all are capable of filling our lives (and homes) with stuff that really has no purpose other than collecting dust.  I may be talking about your bread machine, that 7th pair of black heels, or the spare 2000 paper clips which are lurking in a desk drawer.  what is it for you, friend?  Is there one area that you know you really need to let go of certain stuff?  Will you commit to take time this week to JUST THINK about what that space in your home will be once you let go of the stuff?  Ok, enough about the change part for now.  Do you want to know abut the liberating part?  That is the part where you find that you don't miss what you've donated and tossed.  The part where you have a room that looks the way you want it to look in your head.  You have peace.  You have room to live, conduct business, share your life, breathe.  That is true liberation.

I have had the candid conversation with many women lately who feel like being a grown-up, trying to have everything under control, and motherhood has zapped their fun.  At what point do we forget about living life abundantly?  When is it that we trade in fun for drudgery?  My challenge to you this week is to have fun.  In all that you do, have fun.  If you haven't heard of living abundantly before, I would love to talk with you more about it.  If you aren't sure what this "having fun" is all about, think about what defines FUN for you.  This is more than a 15 minute challenge to contentment.  Laugh, paint pottery, quilt, sure... fix dinner, do a load of wash, make the beds, pick up the toys.... but in all your daily decisions, choose fun.

 

 

1. It's All Too Much: An easy plan for living a richer life with less stuff; Peter Walsh; copyright 2007; page 52.

~J