It's time

I've been saying for a couple years now that I want to own less and be happy with less so I will feel less smothered/overwhelmed by all the stuff.

In the old days, all my stuff was a comfy blanket to keep me warm in uncertain times. Sparse homes made me feel cold and uncomfortable even for a short visit! How things have changed. Now a cluttered home suffocates me and so much of my own things seem to just harbour mess and stress.

That photo of my office area that I posted a while back is a prime example. What's that all about? My blog is "Happy Shiny Me" and that image is neither "happy" nor "shiny", but it is "me" in that place at that time.

That's how I know it is time.  It's GOTTA GO. All the books I don't read, papers I don't look at, tools I don't use, treasures that don't mean anything anymore. Movies that I keep rewatching (don't I have better things to do with my time?) I've held onto so much for so long, it won't be easy... I have to be strong, with a clear vision of my end goal - SPACE TO BREATHE -  and space to bring new experiences into my life.

So that I don't have any immediate regrets, I will be utilizing the vast empty space under my house as a purgatory for my stuff. Taking a tip from other declutterers I will have boxes taped up with the current date written clearly. If I do not break the seal looking to retrieve something from the box in one year, I am sure I can safely get rid of it. An added bonus of keeping the boxes in the crawlspace is that I will likely try to "make do" without this item instead of going looking for it. And if I can make do without it once, then I can likely permanently live without this theoretical item, right?