Have you ever had trouble getting rid of a particular item but felt relief when it was gone?
There have been multiple items that I have had trouble getting rid of, yet when I finally did it felt amazing!
Overall Rating: votes
-
Posted 9 months ago #
-
Oh yes. I'm a bit of a music nerd and it took me a long time to donate my old tape deck and cd player. I hadn't used the tape deck in years (do they even make cassettes anymore?), but couldn't bear to part with it. I finally pulled the trigger last week and feel a thousand times better. Both the deck and cd player were just gathering dust, and now I hope some other person or organization will pick them up at the Good Will.
Posted 9 months ago # -
I'm a music nerd myself, and was referring to music in my previous post (although I never said it)! I have been deleting songs off of iTunes that I don't like and selling CDs I no longer want and it is scary at first but feels great when they leave my home. It's funny how anxious I feel getting rid of them but it really does feel good!
Posted 9 months ago # -
I remember thinking "I can never get rid of this because......" Then after a few months or years, I finally get rid of it. It might sit in the maybe box for a while, but then I let it go. It feels great!
Posted 9 months ago # -
A while back, I created a "I'll think about it tomorrow" box. If I know it should go, but I can't get rid of it yet, I'll toss it in there for a while. I've managed to part with a lot of old clothes that way.
If you look on The Happiness Project blog, you'll find a post about the pleasure of finally completing a long needed task. I try to think about that when I know I should part with something but have the dreaded emotional block.
Posted 9 months ago # -
I've been feeling that way about the attic -- at least so far. I was dreading going up there, thinking it would be really tough stuff to get rid of, but so far it has been a huge relief to thin it out.
If I had gone into the attic a year ago it might not have been so easy, though. I've gotten rid of "better" stuff, and that has helped me cope with this stuff.
Posted 9 months ago # -
I felt that kind of relief when I sold my bow. I had intended to get serious about archery, and had that "Must go down to the range" feeling every time I looked at it. Similar feeling when I got rid of the mismatched cross-country skis (boots and skis not compatible, but I tried using them anyway).
Posted 9 months ago # -
After a really sucky tag sale (I unknowingly chose a day that the Civitan group holds its huge once-a-month tag sale!), I put a lot of the leftovers in 2 big boxes, They'd been in the finished basement for a few weeks; I knew that I'd eventually taken them to Salvation Army, but I just never made the time. Out of sight, out of mind.
Last Monday, I put the seats down in the car (a wagon), disassembled the privacy cover, put down a protective blanket. It wasn't until Friday that I actually took the boxes over.
After I got home, I realized I should've done some Native American dance and lit a candle or something to get the bad-shopping-decisions mojo out of my house and the regret at wasted money, too! (Well, I did use many of those things, but then moved on to smarter or less-cluttered living.)
The guilt is quicky fading, and now without that stuff in my way, I can actually get that basement in better shape -- maybe painting, maybe new sliding-glass-door curtains instead of the vinyl blinds -- to make it look more presentable!
Posted 9 months ago # -
OOPS! Meant to mention this, too:
I had a small framed print in an upstairs hallway, pass it everyday. But it was starting to grate on me. It's titled "Not Quite There," and while a dozen years ago it actually seemed inspirational to me, I realized a little while ago that it was just bringing me down. It said to me: There's still so much you haven't done yet, or procrastinated about; that you haven't reached this dream or that goal. And while some of that is true, I just didn't want that message in my face anymore.
Today I kind of got rid of it by replacing it with another piece of art that I had in another room but which was always partially blocked by a powder-room door.
Don't know what I'll do with "Not Quite There" -- a very contemporary-looking geometric piece that probably won't appeal to many folks; it's now deposited in the basement, and maybe I'll put it on Craigslist or just take it a thrift store. But that is something that is certainly going to be out of sight, out of mind!
Posted 9 months ago # -
I hoarded "gift with purchase" cosmetics and makeup bags for YEARS, thinking I'd sell them on eBay one day. Finally, after the box I had it all in was nearly bursting at the seams AND I was on the brink of moving again (I had already moved that box once), I listed it on eBay starting at 99 cents. I honestly didn't care how much I got for it... just wanted to declutter the stuff and the years-long to-do intention. On my listing
I fully disclosed that some of the items were more than 10 years old... no matter...
a bidding war ensued and I got $90+ for the lot.The money sure was nice, but the real prize was decluttering that box AND any future boxes. I've stopped cold turkey getting sucked into the "gwp" offers. Even if there's something valuable for me in the assortment, there's way more that's utter waste and clutter and consumerist bloat. I don't want any part of it any more.
Posted 9 months ago # -
i posted in ATAD about my wooden balinese doll.
i wanted that thing for years and then finally ought it.
and since i began consciously decluttering, it has been on my hit list....but i couldn't quite let it go.
today i re-homed it and OMG it felt so GOOD!!!ella, i stopped all that gwp stuff a while back too and yes....it feels amazing not to be enslaved by it anymore.
because it really is a kind of slavery.
and now it is easy and natural for me to simply say, no thanks.Posted 9 months ago # -
After decluttering a lot of old makeup I made a huge mistake this past Friday and purchased 5 eyeshadows. I think I will be returning two of them (I didn't use them). That is a huge downfall for me - I never use up my makeup before purchasing new ones. I think I will feel better when I return at least two of the eyeshadows!
Posted 9 months ago # -
Today I am going to post a partially completed quilt top to my best friend; it has been sitting in a box in the basement for 10 years, making me twitch with guilt whenever I passed it. (My tastes changed and my eyesight worsened.) Last night on FB I asked if anyone was interested, and she told me that since childhood she has wanted exactly this style of quilt, in these colors, and that she has a piece of Toile de Jouy that will be the perfect backing.
It will be such a relief to get it out of the house, especially knowing that it's fulfilling a childhood dream for my bestie.
Posted 9 months ago # -
the feeling of relief when a thing is gone is the reason that keeps me going on and on and on :)
Posted 9 months ago # -
I had a hard time letting go of my digital piano, even felt a little twinge as our friend was loading it into his truck ... but once it was gone, it was SUCH a relief! The thing was like a reproach to me every time I saw it ... "why don't you play meeeeee?!" LOL
Posted 9 months ago # -
Yes, indeed I have. There still are some things that I am chewing on but will eventually let go of. After grandma's death I have for the first time begun to challenge myself with "pick either this or that but not both" and with rather impressive results too. Her being gone and us having seen the mess has been a wake-up call for me; prioritizing is everything and you cannot choose the cake in its entirety - or you are hoarding. Having a choice even when it means just one and not two in means a lot and is actually rather thrilling; I can make a good decision that will satisfy me in the long run and so I still eat some of the delicious cake.
Posted 9 months ago # -
Several, maybe even Many times. The most recent ~~ while in the process of downsizing the garden, I've been floundering on getting rid of some of my clematis. There are some that don't do as well as they should because of our climate. I bought them when I first learned of clematis, but knew nothing about the species. Today I started cutting down the vines. It wasn't easy to start, but then I began to feel free from the confusion of having to many and not being able to plant the ones still in pots. It took me only two years to do it. While I was cutting down the vines, I wondered if I would have been able to get rid of the slackers if I hadn't decluttered my house. I don't think I would been able to do it.
Posted 9 months ago # -
JJ- dh and I did the same with our garden at our old house a couple years before we moved. we had just done a whole house remodel, inside and out and had decluttered tons of stuff inside. then-when it became more work than fun to be out in the gardens, we decided to declutter them. dh took many plants from our gardens to people at work, he wouldn't just toss them. we used shrubs, grasses, and hardscape pieces to fill in. it was still beautiful, but importantly- it was enjoyable - to not dread having to go out and "work" in the gardens again! we had both reached the stage in our lives where we didn't want a bunch of extra stuff laying around our home just in case, and it spilled over into the yard. miraculously we were both on the same page with this decluttering. plus, we aren't exactly spring chickens anymore...
Posted 9 months ago # -
It is really a light and joyful feeling when you make the break with something that has been holding you back. You give up on the pointless guilt of having spent money on something that proved unsuitable, or no longer represents you. Maybe you are shedding the burden of other people's expectations or inheritance.
When an item like this is gone I feel like skipping!
Posted 9 months ago # -
"today i re-homed it" - Bandicoot, that is a wonderful perspective and makes it easier for me to release items.
Posted 9 months ago #
Reply »
You must log in to post. If you do not already have an account, you can register here.
