How do you declutter your things? Do you throw away the things that you don't need? What do you do with it? When do you declutter your things?
I do not know if there is a saying about keeping a lot of things but since last year I have decided to let go of the things that makes my life heavy when welcoming the year. Ooohh I couldn't do anything about my body weight so last year I decided to deposit all the coins that I have kept over the years, throw away some things that I think would be of no use to me and donate clothes to the needy. There were a lot of people that was affected by the typhoon just towards the end of the year so our subdivision asked each homeowners if we have some clothes to donate to them. Good thing we already arranged it thatvwe just needed to bring it to our village administration.
Then come January, our country was again put into test when our fellow Filipinos in Batangas were affected by the volcano eruption. We started sorting out some clothes again to donate to them.
Even if we have already donated a lot of clothes, we still have a lot of stuffs. My mom and I just sorted our things as well as some of my brother's clothes. We can't touch any of my dad's things because he would know if something is missing. You see my family really has a lot of stuffs.
My dad used to buy a lot of secondhand stuffs but he rarely uses them. "Ukay-ukay"? Yes, ukay-ukay. LOL. Ukay-ukay is a Filipino store that sells secondhand items. According to Wikipedia, term "ukay-ukay" is derived from the Cebuano verb ukay which means to dig. Some ukay-ukay stores just pile all the things organized by category on a table and people would have to dig through those piles. My mom on the other hand holds a lot of sentiments over things. She is not the type of person who throws away things easily.
I know there is nothing wrong in buying secondhand items or being too sentimental over a thing but if our place is already becoming like a storage, I think that they themselves should do something about it. I kept reminding them about it but they wouldn't listen. I only have authorization over my things so I only declutter my stuffs. If I were given the chance to clean our house, there are really a lot of things that I would throw away. I feel like these things are weighing us down. Don't you feel the same way? It is as if we have a lot of excess baggage not just materially but also emotionally.
Not only did I let go some of the material things that I have but I also let go of my hate and grudges towards others and towards myself. It actually felt good because I felt lighter during 2020 and probably because I loss a few pounds that end of the year.
Where do you think I should start? I honestly don't know where to begin but I can see that there are still a lot of things that is taking up space not just in our home but also in my mind, heart and life. Deep right? I know that it is normal to feel that way but I want to have a fresh new start again this coming new year. I know that we should treat each day as a new beginning but for me it is a little different if it's new year.
You'll be surprise if you can see them in person. We even have some old televisions that aren't working around the house. Take note I said televisions. Even a very rusty aircondition and an old bath tub. I feel like our house is like a junk shop. As much as I want to dispose all of it, my dad doesn't allow us to do so. What am I going to do? Now you know why I said that I feel like all those things (or junks) are making our lives heavier.
There was even a time that I watched my mom how she organized her closet. I told her to dispose some of her clothes that she doesn't use but she said that she can still wear them when she lose weight. Ugh! So when is that? Then sometimes I would see her wearing my house clothes because she said that it was loose and comfy.
Do you also hold onto some things that has a sentimental value to you? How about in disposing clothes? I think even Marie Kondo, a known Japanese organizing consultant, would have a hard time to convince my parents in letting go of their things. It is as if that all of their things spark joy. LOL.
Just by thinking about all of our stuffs makes me lazy. Wish me luck so I can declutter some things before the year ends.
