Ah, December, a perfect month for giving. Are you getting into the spirit too? Feeling generous at this time of year? Even if we are the giving type all year-long, during December, we find joy in extra desires to give of ourselves. By spending extra time with loved ones. Spending energy finding a perfect gift for someone special. Spending money on cool things for others. Buying gifts where we may hear, “Oh, dear, you really shouldn’t have.”
But what about donations, not monetary ones? I’m talking about giving away stuff we no longer need or use.
Let’s get into our enjoyment of giving by getting into letting go of stuff. Remember our New Year’s resolution to clear out clutter? Have you finished what you started the first of the year? Or is it a project you’ve still got in the works like me? At this point in the year, the easy way out is to fall back on our favorite excuse, “Nah, I can just wait until 1/1/17 to get into it again.”
I’ve used that excuse before, more times than I like to admit! Why do we wait until the first of the year to try to start again? There’s no rule that says we have to. The end of a year is a perfect time to get into the groove of emptying the nest of clutter.
Yeah, okay, I get it, there’s so much going on with the end of year stuff. It is hard to imagine adding yet another thing to our plates. But, maybe clearing stuff out would be a good thing to do when we’re busy? We might not have as much energy to talk ourselves into keeping things until a better time to work on it? We might make decisions easier because our resistance to deciding to keep it is lessened.
I bet if you ruthlessly walked around your house with a box in hand, you could easily find 12 things that you don’t use, need, or want. Things that are broken, no longer working, garbage in a sense. Stop reading…go, right now, do it…I dare you. Load up that box and come back here to read more…
See, that was easy, wasn’t it? 12 items of clutter removed. Don’t you feel just a bit lighter? 12 items a day isn’t that hard to do!
Wouldn’t it be great to feel even lighter and brighter for the season? Giving by donating is heartwarming and it feels good in so many ways. Plus you’re giving a gift to yourself too. The gift of a place where you love to be and the freedom to enjoy the lighter side of life.
I double dog dare you to think differently! A sweet candy cane twist to going lighter. Imagine how light and bright you’ll feel. White, light space, means opportunity. Look at the beauty of the whiteness of snow at this time of year. It is so light and bright. Instead of waiting to kick off our winter projects until January, let’s embrace the change in seasons with a project proven to make your life pounds lighter, right now, here in December.
Go lighter, “Let it snow, (heck yeah), let it go!”
Oh boy, I’m excited too, but wait a second. Before we get started, we have to get serious about one thing.
This one thing has been the demise of every attempt at letting go of clutter. Despite advice found in clutter clearing books or from the experts, we do this to ourselves every unsuccessful time. We sabotage our attempts at clearing clutter all on our own. Our failures revolve around this one thing, and one thing alone.
Our (my) failure to clear clutter is our (my) inability to commit to DECIDE. Indecision beats us (me) every time.
Take a quick look around at your clutter (stuff you don’t want, need, use)? Frame your thoughts by asking yourself, “Have I missed out on making a decision about something?”
Do you have pile papers sitting anywhere that you haven’t done something with? Why? What decisions haven’t you made about those papers?
Do you have clothing in your closet you haven’t worn in a very long time? Why? What decisions haven’t you made about clothes you don’t use or want?
Do you have items in boxes stored somewhere in your house? Boxes you haven’t looked at and don’t even remember why you have them? Why? Are you storing them until later to decide what to do with them?
You don’t have to look far to see indecision has cluttered your life.
Look around you, right where you are at this moment in time. Do you have stuff close by that you don’t like, but still keep and you don’t know why? How do you feel? Frustrated, tired, depressed, irritated? You haven’t made a decision to remove an irritant from your life. You’re hanging on to an item because of indecision. The item is just an item. The irritant is the indecision about the item.
Now look around you, do you have stuff close by that you love? How do you feel? Happy, relaxed, energized, ready to take on the world? You’ve hung on to the item because you decided to keep it and how it makes you feel. The happiness comes from the decision you made about the item, not the item itself.
Yes, it is true. Our ability to DECIDE kick starts us to a lighter side of life and ultimately the level of happiness we are looking for in life.
Don’t believe me yet? Okay, let’s take today to test the theory. For the whole day, observe our feelings as we look around. Look at two things:
- Things that irritate you and you wonder why you still have them. Ask yourself, “What decisions haven’t I made about this?”
- Things you love (aka, bring you a happy, light and bright feeling) and ask yourself, “What decisions have I made about this?”
Are you ready to “Let it snow, (heck yeah), let it go!?” Let’s get going, I feel lighter already. PS…Even if you decided this project is not for you, you feel lighter having made that decision don’t you? See…deciding makes the difference!
I’m looking forward to you joining me and hearing how your clutter clearing is going! See you soon for updates to this going lighter project!
