Until today you may have been holding onto things for fear they would not be replaced in your life. Just for today, imagine what your life would be like if you were to receive something better than what you are holding onto right now. –Iyanla Vanzant
I’ve recently moved into a gorgeous town house half the size of our prior home. I naively thought that if I sold 60% of the furniture and clothes, books, etc., we would fit just fine. Wrong! When we first moved in it looked like a furniture warehouse. Every time I got rid of another piece of furniture the house felt bigger and I liked it better. Less is definitely turning out to be more.
Initially I thought I’d better hang onto the antique furniture because it was valuable and beautiful. But now I’ve come to realize there is no point keeping something, however lovely it is, if it doesn’t work in your current life. We are now auctioning off a Victorian nursing chair and a 1920s dresser. My new motto is to live for now and if something doesn’t fit into our new home, out it goes.
By making the space, I found a solid oak bookcase at the auction that we can use in the dining room to store all the china and linens. It fits the space perfectly!
What are you holding on to thinking you might need it in the future? Let it go and you’ll make room for something new and better to come into your life. It may not be stuff, it could be commitments to organizations, relationships, bad habits…
Homework:
Make a list of all the things you are keeping because you might need them in the future. Walk around your home with an objective friend and ask him or her what they would eliminate if they were an interior designer. Or even better yet, hire an interior designer to come around and get an expert opinion on the matter.
In your online journal, spend a few minutes writing about the new and better things you’d rather have now that you have created the space for them.
10 Minute Option:
Find one thing in your life that you can let go of and let it go, creating the space for something new and better to come in to your life. Be willing to live with the space for awhile. You might find you prefer the emptiness!
Alternatively, grab a box and walk around your home, tossing in things you can eliminate and then put them in the back of the car to drop off at a charity.
Enjoy!
Talane
