I am moving house tomorrow. It’s pretty crazy around here with all the boxes, packing and things all over the place…

I know what you’re thinking, actually wondering-what the hell am I doing writing a blog when I ought to be packing…Don’t leave yet. Read on and you’ll see why I am writing this blog in the middle of this madness.

Moving Home, Spring Cleaning or Simply getting rid of junk

Most people shudder at the thought of moving home because of all the packing and unpacking that needs to be done. “Too much of work!”.   It’s not really the work involved that’s scary but going through all the junk that one has accumulated over the years (not all of it but most of it), that’s daunting. Going through piles and piles of clothes, papers, bags, shoes and a hundred other items that have not been used or seen since you moved into the house or since a few years ago, can be stressful. It’s when you realize you’ve done nothing but bought unnecessary items and hoarded it in the name of emotions, memories or just because you’ve made the mistake of investing in it that throwing it doesn’t seem an option. “Who knows, maybe I will use it some day?”, so push it into the store or to the top of the cupboard or under the bed or anywhere else where you can’t really see it (so it rids you of the guilt) and and yet continues to exist (you bought it so it’s there). “Throwing it would be  money down the drain”.

DON’T WAIT TO MOVE, TO CLEAR OUT YOUR JUNK!

Those who love moving, setting up a house and don’t mind the change then this is just another opportunity to clear up the mess.

Creating Memories or Clutter?

Over a period of time, every home becomes a warehouse of junk- some have it displayed like a beautiful museum of antiques while others ensure that it’s safely hidden behind closed doors. BUT all home have it! This memorabilia slowly encroaches every available space in your house like tentacles and everything that REALLY matters-  like you, your family and the things you need,  manage to survive in the remaining available space.

First the store room, then the wardrobes, then drawers, suitcases, storage boxes slowly get filled- old product manuals, grocery bills, receipts, credit card statements, account statements,  electronics, chargers that don’t work or are outdated, toys and clothes that the kids have outgrown or are out of fashion , old books, extra curtains, bedspreads, expired cosmetics, one earring of a pair, the list is endless …

We call it saving for a rainy day. “What if…?”.

Hoarding is akin to having a mental disease and sadly most people are inflicted and are unaware of it! Unused items are stored for years on end hoping to be used some day. Will that day ever come? Not for most things because of changes in technology, fashion, your body size or simply because it’s simply unusable.

Teach children to clear clutter by giving useful items to charity and throwing unnecessary items away

We have been taught to save, to take care of things, to accumulate but we have never been taught to throw things away, to let go!!! Wish we had been taught to throw away physical, emotional and any other baggage that was weighing us down.

Small Spaces

It’s not as though we are staying in those sprawling country homes where space is one’s least concern and trunks and trunks of unused items simply find their way to the attic, the basement or the garage…

Unfortunately, we live in the city where space is both limited and expensive. Yet, the most intelligent of us tend to hoard, more often renting an expensive place for the furniture and all the other wealth we’ve accumulated over the years while we slog at work to pay the rent and to buy more stuff to fill up the few still available empty corners!

Clearing Stuff…

Emotional Baggage

As I begin to pack to move, I look around me at the things that need to be left behind- a bag of old photographs – “These would have to stay!”, a bag full of cards and letters that my husband had written to me when we were courting – “When was the last time I had gone through them-before the kids came along- 16 years ago!”( I couldn’t throw them out, maybe I would read them one day- when the kids left the nest…), then there were the children’s first birthday dress, their first note-book – and there I am admiring their writing and thinking, “it’s so beautiful, I can’t throw it”, their graduation cloak when they moved from kindergarten to Primary, a few of my mom’s saris that hung in my wardrobe and made me feel like she was still around…”Oh dear!”.

The Right Decision

Stuck in a rut, I decided to ask my daughter “Do you need this jacket? Does it fit you?”. “No” she said un-hesitant, momentarily looking up from the book she was reading. “But you like it right? It’s your first woolen jacket – your favorite color. You loved it when you were little”, I implored, half hoping she felt connected to it; like I did. “I don’t have feelings for it mama. You can give it away. It will help some kid in a refugee camp,in the winter” she answered, with no ounce of doubt.  On seeing the startled look on my face, she said, slightly confused, “But that’s what you and dad always say right? That we must help people…”. Not waiting for me to answer, she continued her reading.

I looked back at the jacket, feeling rather small and embarrassed. Wow! In a moment she took away any doubt I previously had.That’s when the decision to let go was made. Without further thought, I put it into a bag for charity and along with it a lot of other things that had not been used or that had long been replaced by the latest versions.

Packing to move had suddenly become simple minus all the emotional baggage!

If there’s something that you are not using or haven’t used for over a year, you probably don’t need it. But there are lots of people out there who desperately do. Giving it away doesn’t cost anything but will help you get more space and bring a smile to somebody’s lips, somebody who truly needs your junk and will make good use of it too!!!

Look around you

We all know there are millions  who don’t have a decent dress or walk miles without slippers or shoes, don’t have a sheet to keep out the cold and desperately need it. We all want to help but just don’t know how to or how much to. Without dishing out cash…all we need to do is to give away things that we don’t need or don’t use or are bored of using.

You’ll be surprised how many people you end up helping just by wanting to help yourself.

So what are you waiting for- Clear the clutter , 1 drawer at a time and create smiles 🙂

BE THE ONE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

YOUR INDIFFERENCE MATTERS!!! YOUR JUNK MAYBE SOMEBODY’S TREASURE or Just their chance to a little comfort, a little warmth, a little ease, that you are blessed abundantly with!

Send the message around and spread the love…

Writing this blog has helped me and it’s definitely helped someone out there- now I have more boxes moving out but not into the new house 🙂

I hope you reading this blog will make a difference in somebody’s life today…