This morning someone told me a good clutter busting story. She said that she and her husband had moved to Germany about eleven years ago. They could only take eight suitcases with them and had to put most of their things in storage. They thought they would only be gone for two years. Ten years later they moved back to the United States and got a new home. A few weeks later they went to the storage locker. She said she and her husband discovered that, "most of the things didn't resonate with us anymore." They gave them away.
I've discovered the same thing with my clients: over time things lose their resonance with people. We are changing all the time. A lot of times we don't notice it because we are distracted by all the things going on in our lives. But we are different people than we were twenty, ten, five, and three years ago. We are different than we were a month ago. The thing is we tend to hang onto things not thinking they don't fit our lives anymore. We just know on some level we are uncomfortable in our living space.
My friend had the unusual situation of being away from her things for ten years and it was easier for her to see the contrast. But having this understanding now in your awareness, you can use it as a tool to investigate and sort through your things and see what no longer resonates with you. You can even pretend your home is the storage locker and you've been away ten years and you're looking through your stuff to see what you like and what you don't like. Then you can take those things that no longer fit you and donate, recycle, sell, or toss them. Your life will feel fresher. It will feel good to be home.
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I'm inviting you to write me with a clutter busting question. The one I choose to answer on my blog for this week will get a free half hour clutter busting phone consultation. You can write me at brooks@clutterbusting.com