Decluttering, but I'm feeling weak and doubtful.

[JustinHasMovedOut]

I'm hoping for some encouragement and inspiration.

We have been really successfully clearing our home for the past 3 weeks. It's wonderful - getting easier to clean and my mind feels clearer.

I stumbled on some photos of memories that I didn't want to keep. I've shredded and disposed of them. But it has made me wobble.

Am I erasing my past?

I have a lovely DH and Dd and I'm so happy with the present moment. I do have ghosts in my past and it's just hard as I unearth some of them.

Argh! Help me. I don't want to lose the flow I have been in but I'm oddly unsettled.

Don't let the past hold you back....
Isn't that a Kondo idea? Thank your stuff for the good times & let it go to benefit someone else or at least allow room for new good experiences into your life. Even if the past was painful, thank it for how it made you the person you are today, the good lessons you've learnt, the challenges you learnt to embrace the skills you gained to not make the same mistakes again... and let the physical representations of the past go so you can let the future in.

It's funny... I hold onto very little for emotional reasons. I just hate spending money or waste & dread having to go out & buy replacements. We all have our decluttering challenges!

I found writing down what I want for the future helped. For me it was to walk into a light airy house with no clutter in the hall way... Etc. You can't change the past; you can change your future.

Your past made you the person you are today. Your experiences are real and can never be erased.

Stuff is just stuff.

Getting rid of it won't erase your past.

Thank you for these words. I've just hit a wall, but this is helping me to break through it. I had developed so much self trust and those memories have made me doubt myself.

I'm scared I am becoming a neurotic declutterer instead of a neurotic hoarder.

the funny thing about Kondo is that she's actually very materialistic. I mean, she LOVES her stuff. And wants everyone else to love their stuff. I guess the idea is that too much stuff becomes a burden instead of "joy". Anyway, you can love your stuff, too. Just make sure it's stuff worthy of love, I guess!

I am over reacting I think - the house has still got lots of nice things. I'm only getting rid of useless or ugly things. I just had such a clear idea of what was useful vs useless and beautiful vs ugly but I've lost that trust in my assessments.

I'm going to google Kondo.

Justin, I would thoroughly recommend Marie Kondo's method by the way. You could borrow her book from the library to try?