I find that I am constantly Clearing the Crap from the children's bedrooms - clothes that are too small and toys that have been outgrown - I can easily move them on to others, the market pile or the trash.
Rubbish on the floor, lego pieces hiding in corners, inside-out socks everywhere, pencil sharpenings on the carpet... Grrrr, don't get me started!!!!
But I have been keeping one storage box containing the most favoured baby toys - those special items that were the best quality, were expensive, or held sentimental value. I guess I didn't want to see them go because of what they represented:
the era when my children were babies.
I was thinking that if I ever had friends visit with small children, then I could bring out that box for them to have some beautiful items to play with. Realistically... how often does that happen! And in the mean time I have a big storage box taking up space!!!
And then I say to myself... Oh, But these items are timeless and could be passed to my childrens' children... Really!... I'm gonna have that box in my cupboard for the next 30 years!!!
So, the last time that I tidied up the toys in the spare room cupboard....
I took this photo of the lovely items
in the sentimental box of bubby stuff....
and
then
got
rid
of
it!!!
but there comes a time when it just has to go...
But when you take the time to really look into yourself and find who you really are, you see that you are timeless. There is no need to hold onto a previous chapter of your life. Your presence is not dependant upon past experiences or storing physical objects.
_______________________________________________________
And all of those wonderful artistic creations...
fabulous learning experiences...
but there comes a time when it just has to go...
Beautiful? ... Yes
Clutter? ... Yes
GONE!
I see that a major reason why we hold onto things is our emotional attachment to them. It's not so much the items themselves, but what they represent - a time gone by, a happy memory, a significant stage of life. We fear that if we lose these things, we will lose that part of ourselves.
But when you take the time to really look into yourself and find who you really are, you see that you are timeless. There is no need to hold onto a previous chapter of your life. Your presence is not dependant upon past experiences or storing physical objects.
The end of an era
The passage of time
We learn
We grow
We move on
We embrace the Now
Without fear of what was or will be
_______________________________________________________
What a great idea to take a photo of them. I didn't actually keep much in the way of toys etc but the drawings, art works etc - I have boxes of them! Might see how strong I can be next time I do their rooms...
ReplyDeleteIn light of the book I am reading at the moment called "Miss Minimilist" I am going to have to follow some of your advice above and GET A GRIP! I have two memory boxes which I will keep of Georgia's early baby years. But as for the endless amount of Kindy and beyond art work - I can photograph it and then put it to rest. I keep journals and newsletters of our life every 6 months to yearly, so that should suffice enough for the memory box. Thank you for the inspiration - yet again. And I have one box of very special and yes, expensive, well kept, good quality baby toys, but they do get used often by other children. So I shall keep that too. 3 boxes in 9 years can't be all that bad. As for MY stuff after 40 years, well, that's another story. I am working on that at the moment. DEcluterring = FREEDOM!
ReplyDeleteThank you so very much for your comments ladies. It means a great deal to me to know that my writing and Clear the Crap Process is reaching people and possibly making a difference in their lives.
ReplyDeleteTaking photos of the "CRAP" (good and bad) as I declutter my surroundings, or creating images to represent what I declutter from my mind, has become an integral part of the "Clear the CRAP Method".
I wish you well with your downsizing and thank you for joining me here.
Jo
I'm glad to find this post. My girls always make me feel so guilty when I throw away their school work or artwork. I have 6 children! I don't have a spare room just for storage. So I take a photo of them holding the "best" ones and then turf the lot. (I do, however, keep all the little scraps of paper that say "I luv my mummm")
ReplyDeleteHee hee... I keep all those "I love you Mum" love notes as well, Mum-Me.
ReplyDeleteHave you visited my facebook page yet? (You can click the link in the FB box on the right of this page)
Today I posted on FB a link to two pages that I found that provide helpful information specifically for large families.
You may be able to share some information and pick up on some tips with them.
Cheers,
Jo.