Letting Go…of Stuff!

Perhaps this is an odd topic for someone who sells stuff and, in general, likes stuff. But I do think life is best lived when the things we have in it are needed, used and/or adored. And I’m happy to say most of my things are much adored. Like this big Mexican silver and gemstone cross. I wear it at least once every week.

And this antique, wood, twist-leg English stool with a carved top.

I bought it years ago from an eBay seller in New Orleans. It’s been a mini-wonder in our house. It gets moved around to serve as a foot stool, a drinks stool (when a book is placed on top) and as a handy spot for a laptop.

And this artisan-made pottery compote was a thrift-store find that now corrals fruit on our sideboard. I love this shade of slate green and the masculine heft to this piece.

But like many folks though, I hang onto things that are neither needed, used or adored. For example, in our entertainment center we house 125-175 DVDs. A few we do re-watch, but nowadays we mostly watch movies on Netflix or Hulu. Is it time to let most of these go??And I’ve got some clothes that I still like, but don’t wear. Silly to keep them as they take up valuable closet space. I should get rid of them, but I keep thinking, “But I paid a lot for these!!” Sigh. I know they need to go. My plan is to take them to a consignment store or I could list them on eBay (which is NOT my favorite selling venue) or perhaps take them to a charity that has a closet for homeless/low-income folks. But one way or another, I need to let them go.

Of course, our life is more complicated by my need to house all my Etsy store inventory. Finding room for hundreds and hundreds of items has been…challenging. And at times distressing!

Perhaps that’s why I’ve decided to let go of more of my store stuff too. For example, I’ve decided to jettison all but one of my remaining men’s silk ties. I never really wanted to be in the tie-selling business. Over the years I’ve sold eight ties. These are the duds. The tie with the quirky stick guys has been in my store three years. Always thought he would sell. Bye, bye!

But my biggest decision is to let go of a heap of lower-value knickknacks, ashtrays, vases, etc. Here are a few. If I had an antique booth, I’d put them there with a “can’t-resist” price, but I don’t have a booth. I could save them for a yard sale, but gosh yard sales are always more work than they are worth, IMHO. Nope, I’m not going to waste any more time, energy or space on them. Bye, bye!

I will admit it’s not always easy for me to let go of stuff, but it always (always, always!) feels good having the unwanted stuff out of the house and out of my life. So I’m going to keep working at it this spring, both personally and for my store.

I do have several books, all with underlined bits, that have helped me in this area:

• “The Joy of Less,” by Francine Jay
• “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up,” by Marie Kondo
• “Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui,” Karen Kingston

Like most self-help books I don’t agree with everything, but each has provided unique insights and guidelines into letting go of stuff. I’ll leave you with this thought from Marie Kondo’s book:

Keep only those things which speak to your heart. Then take the plunge and discard all the rest.

And this from Karen Kingston’s:

Just because you own something, it doesn’t mean you have to keep it forever.

As always, happy hunting…and purging!

Karen