Well, what a weekend that turned out to be! I cannot begin to tell you how many different things I am learning as I undertake this decluttering journey.
Today I just want to touch on one aspect of it as I went on an all out mission to clear out my garage which was literally bursting at the seams with 'stuff' that hadn't been looked at for about 4 years, much of which was never going to be used by me again.
The items pretty much fell into 3 categories;
1. Things suitable for sale.
2. Things to give away.
3. Things to discard.
As I'd had a 6 cubic metre skip bin delivered to my driveway last week, the throw away items were easy to dispose of.
See part of this process here http://youtu.be/4Qp--nCcrxU as my band of willing helpers and I began the bin filling process on Saturday. (Full credit to Rob for his videography and editing skills.)
The obvious choice for the give away items was to box/bag them up and deliver them to the local goodwill stores in the area. This process began weeks ago and will continue over the coming months as I re-visit the inside of my already 'culled' cupboards in every room of my house for a second look.
I had some larger, more valuable items such as furniture, power tools and other household items which I chose to sell. For these, I made use of our local Facebook Buy, swap and sell pages. What a fantastic tool this turned out to be! A quick photo and a description of the item and the listing was ready to load onto Facebook where the enquiries came thick and fast. There were no issues, I was free of a whole host of things I no longer needed and all in all, the people I dealt with were incredibly appreciative to have obtained such a bargain as the ones I had on offer. I also had some larger give away items that I listed on this page which were snapped up by folks in the blink of an eye.
Having put aside the entire weekend for this rather large task, time was on my side so I wasn't adverse to some friendly banter with the folks that visited my shed to collect their goodies. Without exception, they were all open to a light hearted chat and it again reminded me of how more alike than unalike we all are in so many ways, regardless of where our walk in life has taken us.
As the skip bin's contents edge their way towards the fill line, and with 3 days until pick-up, I continue to scour the yard and the sheds for things to discard. Without a doubt, this part of my de-cluttering journey has had the most impact through the sheer volume of 'stuff' that has left my life.
For those of you wondering, no, it wasn't easy. Yes, I did stand over some things and hesitate, procrastinate even, as I made the decision as to whether or not I really wanted to part with certain things from my past. I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt, that now, on the other side of that, where the items have been driven away from my home in someone else's car, I will never, ever miss them. Most of the hesitating was done as I fantasised about the day that I may use that 'thing' again...I won't. If I hadn't in the 4 years that it's been sitting at the back of the shed gathering dust and providing a home for the multitude of spiders that live there, I'm never going to. Accepting that the past is the past, (whether that be a week or a decade) and that to move forward in the most positive way possible, free from the weight of dragging all these things along with me, letting go of them was necessary. This was certainly a thought process rather than a single, fleeting thought.
I'm getting the hang of it, slowly, (Yay me!) and there's still a ways to go but now rather than dreading it as I did at the beginning of this journey, which began with one drawer, I'm embracing each and every stage with gusto.
And on we go......lighter.
Today I just want to touch on one aspect of it as I went on an all out mission to clear out my garage which was literally bursting at the seams with 'stuff' that hadn't been looked at for about 4 years, much of which was never going to be used by me again.
The items pretty much fell into 3 categories;
1. Things suitable for sale.
2. Things to give away.
3. Things to discard.
As I'd had a 6 cubic metre skip bin delivered to my driveway last week, the throw away items were easy to dispose of.See part of this process here http://youtu.be/4Qp--nCcrxU as my band of willing helpers and I began the bin filling process on Saturday. (Full credit to Rob for his videography and editing skills.)
The obvious choice for the give away items was to box/bag them up and deliver them to the local goodwill stores in the area. This process began weeks ago and will continue over the coming months as I re-visit the inside of my already 'culled' cupboards in every room of my house for a second look.
I had some larger, more valuable items such as furniture, power tools and other household items which I chose to sell. For these, I made use of our local Facebook Buy, swap and sell pages. What a fantastic tool this turned out to be! A quick photo and a description of the item and the listing was ready to load onto Facebook where the enquiries came thick and fast. There were no issues, I was free of a whole host of things I no longer needed and all in all, the people I dealt with were incredibly appreciative to have obtained such a bargain as the ones I had on offer. I also had some larger give away items that I listed on this page which were snapped up by folks in the blink of an eye.
Having put aside the entire weekend for this rather large task, time was on my side so I wasn't adverse to some friendly banter with the folks that visited my shed to collect their goodies. Without exception, they were all open to a light hearted chat and it again reminded me of how more alike than unalike we all are in so many ways, regardless of where our walk in life has taken us.
As the skip bin's contents edge their way towards the fill line, and with 3 days until pick-up, I continue to scour the yard and the sheds for things to discard. Without a doubt, this part of my de-cluttering journey has had the most impact through the sheer volume of 'stuff' that has left my life.
For those of you wondering, no, it wasn't easy. Yes, I did stand over some things and hesitate, procrastinate even, as I made the decision as to whether or not I really wanted to part with certain things from my past. I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt, that now, on the other side of that, where the items have been driven away from my home in someone else's car, I will never, ever miss them. Most of the hesitating was done as I fantasised about the day that I may use that 'thing' again...I won't. If I hadn't in the 4 years that it's been sitting at the back of the shed gathering dust and providing a home for the multitude of spiders that live there, I'm never going to. Accepting that the past is the past, (whether that be a week or a decade) and that to move forward in the most positive way possible, free from the weight of dragging all these things along with me, letting go of them was necessary. This was certainly a thought process rather than a single, fleeting thought.I'm getting the hang of it, slowly, (Yay me!) and there's still a ways to go but now rather than dreading it as I did at the beginning of this journey, which began with one drawer, I'm embracing each and every stage with gusto.
And on we go......lighter.
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