Spring is in full effect, which means it’s nearly time for our big move from Utah to Washington State! Getting a house ready to show and sell is a whole ass cleanup project, in case you were wondering. 🤪 I thought we’d done a good job of keeping our clutter to a minimum over the years, but there’s been so much that ended up at the donation center.
The process of clearing out and packing up all our belongings has got me thinking about how we decide what to keep and what to discard. Some items have obviously reached the end of their lifespan and are easy to let go, like the cutlery set I bought in 2007 that only has three butter knives left.
Other belongings are outdated, but aren’t ready to leave our lives just yet. The 1970s dish set that belonged to my grandparents will still set the table for our meals. I’ll continue to watch movies from my childhood on old VHS tapes with my great aunt’s handwriting when I’m sick in bed. Besides being retro awesome and comforting, these are daily connections to my roots and ancestors.
What really surprised me was how many things we acquired since moving in ten years ago and no longer use. The evolution of our travel style was reflected in the variety of backpacks, cross-body bags, and suitcase options piled in the corner of our storage room. Each one was filled to the brim with memories, making it much harder to let them go.
As out-of-use items from the past made their way out the door, I noticed myself feeling lighter. I started to wonder about how the “stuff” that builds up in our lives impacts us in ways we don’t often think about. Maybe a good clearing out of closets and drawers can help us let go of more than just our physical objects.
The “Stuff” We Collect
In the back of my office closet, I found a few boxes filled with office supplies, posters, and other memorabilia from my time teaching junior high school. I quit that job in 2015, hoping that the travel business I started would take off. Because the future was wildly uncertain, I kept all those bits and bobs around in case I needed a backup plan. Even though that business turned out to be a bust, I never went back to the classroom or cleaned out that part of the closet.
The intricately patterned green and white mosaic lamp I picked up on one of my trips to Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina, sat on the floor next to my bookshelves. It stopped working at least five years ago, but I’d kept it anyway. My time in Sarajevo was an incubator for who I was becoming as I left teaching to follow my heart toward something more aligned with my sense of purpose, even though I didn’t know it at the time.
Although I had every intention of getting it fixed, I never got around to it. The lamp stood in its usual spot, unused, but as a reminder of the courage it took to leave the well-worn path behind and forge my own way forward. It helped me to remember how courageous I could be in pursuit of my dreams.
Letting Go of More Than Clutter
The boxes of teaching supplies have become forgotten dust collectors. Similarly, the intensity of the terrifying and exhilarating decision to leave the world of traditional work behind has faded over the years. I’ve grown accustomed to leaping into the unknown, and didn’t have any hesitation about sending those boxes on their way.
The lamp was a different story. Pausing to assess whether I wanted to keep it, I was reminded of who I was and what I wanted from life when I bought it. During my couple of months in Sarajevo, I felt like I was in free fall. All I wanted was to do work that mattered to me, but the business I’d started was going nowhere.
Nearly ten years later, my life looks a whole lot closer to what I was dreaming about then. There was some internal debate about whether or not to keep the lamp. Sarajevo is near and dear to my heart, and I could still get the lamp fixed. In the end, I decided to let the lamp go so I could make room for a new dream.
Watching the stuff leaving my life gave me the perfect opportunity to reflect on who I was when each item entered my world. It turns out, I wasn’t just getting rid of my belongings. Decluttering became an exercise in recognizing, appreciating, and saying goodbye to past versions of myself. Each one helped me get where I am today, but also came with limiting beliefs and stories that I don’t want to carry into my next chapter.
After lightening the load and creating room in my physical, mental, and emotional spaces, I can’t help but wonder who I’ll become next!
Wrapping Up + Reflections
What’s your decluttering story? I’d love to hear what you’re letting go of and what you’re inviting into your life in the process! Tell us in the comments!
Curious about where you might have some hidden clutter or clearer pathways to work with? Let’s play together in the space between possibility and practicality with an astrology reading! Start with the Big Three or deep dive with a full natal chart reading. ✨
