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What is getting in your way?

The story of my life currently would be the De-Clutterer. And the theme is: if it is not nailed down, get rid of it. Or, show me a trash bag and I will fill it. We are moving our headquarters office after being in our current location for 10 years, and my daughter is now out of the house away at college. My work and home life sometimes have grand synergy, and this time it is particularly strong. I have the opportunity at both work and home to clean out the (treasures, stuff, insert a word that starts with cr here) that I have held on to way too long. The files that I have not opened in eight years − check; the sheet music for Lindsay’s clarinet (she played for a very brief period seven years ago) − check; the clothes that I do not wear because they do not fit, but someday might − check. I tend to hold on to things a bit longer than necessary, but by the looks of the stuff around here, I am not the only one. 


Why is it so hard to let go of things? Why do we hold on to things way past their point of usefulness? Where does the fear come from that grips me when I go to toss something? (I might someday/sometime need this, right?!)

We recently had a speaker at our staff meeting − Barbara Hemphill, who is an organizational expert who shared with us some incredibly practical tips for getting rid of clutter, and also helped us to identify some of the emotional ties we all have to “things.” It was a really powerful session, and has all of us here focused on decluttering, letting go and spending time thinking about what is behind the need to hold on to our stuff.

Personally, I am looking forward to feeling my load get a little lighter. I identified some areas that I was holding on to in the past, or hoping to change things in the future. This accumulated stuff I have around me is not contributing to success in the future, it is clear. 

My hope is that shedding some of this stuff will provide a bit of clarity and provide some freedom and space to dream a bit. 

What is getting in your way?