My friend sent me a text early one morning. “Jenny, help! I have way too many jackets but I can’t seem to throw any of them away. What if I need them one day!” Ah, yes. We have all fallen into this trap. We want to hold on to something because we spent our hard earned money on it, and we know very well that perhaps one day down the road, a need for this item may arise. After she explained to me exactly how many jackets she had, and we talked about how many she should actually keep, this is what we discussed.
First, and you will probably hear me say this over and over again, it is extremely important to release items that no longer serve you. Hanging on to them keeps energy stagnant and your space cluttered. There is no room for new energy or new items to come into your life. That however, is a topic for another day.
What I really want to get at the heart of here, is fear. Most people hear that word and they think of fear of heights, or the dark (yep, those are my two biggies), and so on, but fear comes in all forms, shapes, and sizes. When you say you don’t want to get rid of a possession for the sole reason of possibly needing it in the future, you are basically saying that you don’t trust that your needs will be met. The fear is that you will not be provided for. When you release the item in question, you are moving forward confidently, knowing that if the need for this item arises, you will be able to get your hands on whatever is required to suit the situation.
Think about it. If you decide to let something go, and maybe a year or two later you find that you could use that item, you have an entire network of friends, family, facebook pages and neighborhood yard sales to scour. My group of friends is so incredible. People have passed along microwaves, sporting gear, shoes…I could go on and on. All I had to do was ask. It was given.
Now imagine the scenario playing out the opposite way, and how many items you might be saving for fear of needing it one day. You could have a whole garage full of things laying around, simply waiting for the day it might serve you. Not the best use of your space or your energy.
Has it ever happened that I regretted moving an item along? Yes. I’m not going to lie. Once or twice I have actually needed an item that I had given away. However, it was either provided to me by a friend/family member or was bought at a low cost. It didn’t break the bank. Never has it presented as a true, bona fide problem. A few years ago, I had purchased one of those stuffed animal hammocks for my daughter’s room in order to keep those furry little guys more organized. We never used it. For some reason, when we revamped her room, we decided not to put it up. Last year, I wanted to hang it and then recalled I gave it away. Bummer. I think I paid $10 for it and so it was not too big of a deal if I had to buy a new one. However, I remembered my ambivalence in getting rid of it, and checked my storage space. Voila! There it was. Guess what? Did we hang the darn thing? NO! It just didn’t seem to make the cut again. I’ve since passed it on but it helped me realize that it’s okay to trust my instincts the first time around.
If you truly are having trouble parting with an item, give it six months or a year at max. Put it in storage for that amount of time. If you don’t use it, pass it on. No questions asked. You’ve proved to yourself that you are doing fine without it.
Trust. That is the key point. Trust and believe that you and your needs will always be provided for and they will. Release what no longer serves you and move forward confidently, with ease and without clutter. I’ve seen it played out time and time again in my own life. If the proverbial ship has sailed and you really needed to be on it, ask for help. A life preserver will be thrown, and you will more than likely get what you need.
Chaos to Calm 