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| Clipart from Microsoft. |
Stuff. Everyone
has it. And there never seems to be
enough room for it all. When we’re not
careful, stuff can take over our lives, define who we are, dominate our homes
and our time and crowd out things that really matter. Like the ability to have time and energy for
the people we care about.
It doesn’t have to.
Sometimes, you just have to say, “Enough is enough!” and get
ruthless. In her writings on
decluttering, Flylady Marla Cilley gives guidelines on what to keep and what to
get rid of. These basically boil down to
“Do you want it, need it, or love it?” A
few days ago, after weeks of procrastinating, I decided to finally give it a
try.
Yesterday, while clearing years of accumulated junk from
a closet, it hit me: Stuff is Not
Love. Just because the person who gave
you something loves you, it doesn’t mean that you have to hang onto that thing
if you don’t want, need, or love it.
Love is love; stuff is stuff.
Sometimes stuff is given as an expression of love, but it isn’t the same
thing. If someone loved you before they
gave you something, they’ll still love you regardless of whether you keep it.
You might think this would be obvious, yet when it really
sank in, it had a profound effect. I was
able to take a gift I’d received two years earlier, which was still in good
condition, and pass it on to my sister as a holiday present. She loved it – and will use it.
Understanding that Stuff is Not Love makes regifting
guilt-free!
So far I have decluttered my dresser, a mound of clean laundry,
and most of one closet. Three big bags
of clothes went to the donation box for a local women’s shelter. A whole trash bin of just plain junk not even
worth passing on to someone else is waiting for garbage day. And bags of gifts for friends are ready to be
delivered. It’s energizing. It’s addictive.
Even better, when we understand that stuff is not love
and start releasing the stuff we’ve accumulated into the world, we are loving
ourselves by understanding that we do not need to give or receive things to be
loveable. And we are letting those
things that are still useable go on to others who do need them, want them, and
will love them.
Stuff is stuff.
Love is love.
You are worthy of love just as you are.
