Purge people are in my house! We are moving in about 10 weeks and I am dead set on not taking clutter with me. No way. I have not-so-fond memories of the last time we moved (only less than one year ago) and how overwhelmed I was at the amount of stuff we had. I had purged before packing then too, but I’m going to be even more ruthless this time around.
Moving really puts it into perspective, because you actually have to take each and every “thing” with your own two hands, and place it in a box, then take it out of the box and decide where it’s home will be. And that’s a lot of work.
I want to get a head-start by clearing out as many things that I don’t want or need anymore, before we even start packing. My daughter Ava (8 ½) has jumped on the Purge People band wagon with me. (I’ve raised her right!) In fact, this morning before school she wanted to do some purging. That’s right, instead of watching PBS Kids or dilly-dallying around, she and I went through a cabinet in her bedroom. It stores books below and a drawer above holds little toys/coin purses, etc. We ended up with a bag of books and toys to donate and a bag of trash. It only took about 15 minutes. One area we can check off the list!
This is the type of purging I’ve already started doing around the house, and plan to continue in the next couple of weeks. One area at a time. I’ve already hit my dresser drawers and master bedroom closet, together with my husband. We came up with six bags of clothes and shoes to donate. (And we are not shoppers.) We just decided that we are not going to pack and carry anything we don’t absolutely love with us. Streamline!
I’ve also already streamlined by bathroom cabinet, pantry and magazine racks. The next areas I plan to purge this weekend are the entryway closet, linen closet and to finish Ava’s room. Then on to the garage! As I have time, I’m going to hit different areas – a cupboard here, a closet there – what I have time for, and pretty soon we’ll be ready to pack.
We are going to set up a staging area in the garage for all the purged things to go. One place for all the things we’re donating, one place for things we’re giving away to family, and one place for things we’re putting in a friend’s garage sale. And trash in the bin of course!
It is such a good feeling to get rid of things that don’t serve us anymore. We hold on to things for a lot of “maybe” reasons…Maybe I’ll wear this top again, maybe this will fit me next season, maybe I’ll use that again, maybe someone will read this, and on and on. I am choosing to live in the now. What do I need and want in my life now? Decisive action in the now spurs you forward into the future you want to create.
No comments:
Post a Comment