Letting Go Of Things

I’m in the midst of trying to de-clutter my home. I’ve been at it for a while. It’s amazing, somewhat shocking actually, the amount of stuff I’ve accumulated over the years. A lot of things have been packed in boxes tucked away in closets or the downstairs storage room for more years than I can remember. Honestly, I don’t even know what is in some of those boxes anymore.

But when I open one of those boxes, I find it hard to let the contents go. Why is that? Part of the reason is sentimental, I think. Sometimes I recall the amount of money I originally spent on it and can’t bear the thought of simply putting it in a thrift store donation box or worse yet, tossing it out.

I’ve given a few things away to people who will enjoy and appreciate them but let’s be real here, not many people that we know want our old stuff. It simply is not their jam. I know it’s time to seriously ponder all of the options.

(1) Keep it all. (2) Give away to friends or family. (3) Donate to charity for them to sell. (4) Try to sell it myself on Facebook Marketplace, Kijiji or Craig’s List. (5) Organize a garage sale in the spring. (6) Throw it in the trash.

Let’s examine all the options, one by one. I could keep everything, bury my head in the sand and ignore the problem. Ultimately though, somebody down the line will have to deal with the disposition of it all. I don’t really like the thought of everything being tossed in a dumpster because they do not know what to do with it or just want it dealt with as quickly as possible.

There are some things that I can give to family, especially heirlooms passed down to me from other family members. Donating to charity is always an option so that maybe someone else will get to enjoy them as I once did. Throwing things out, unless they are broken or otherwise rendered useless, is off the table for me.

Trying to sell them online would take a lot of time and energy that I don’t have. The same goes for trying to run a garage sale. These options would take more work than I would likely gain in cash from the effort. So where does that leave me? I guess I have to stand up, put my big girl pants on and make the tough decisions required.

As things stand now, all of this stuff is weighing me down and sucking the life out of me. I know as hard as it will be to part with things, I know that I likely won’t miss them either. After all, they’ve been packed in boxes hidden away for years without a care or thought from me. Wish me luck with it!