Wow you have a lot of stuff!
A lot of stuff!
"Wow you have a lot of stuff!" is what my landlord told me looking around the dinning room at my piles of boxes with a bewildered look in his eyes the day I moved into the townhouse I'm renting from him. I was insulted. "Yeah so? It's not that much. There are many other things I want and need! I've gotten rid of tons of things before moving. How dare you!" was my inner dialogue in response. Instead, I didn't say anything. I just looked around at the dinning room where SOME of my stuff was piled and then looked back at him.
Looking back on it now, he was absolutely right. It was none of his business, but he was right none the less. I have (will have had) a lot of stuff!
Preparing
So I've read 3 books on minimalism in 5 days and I'm on book number 4. I'm excited. I'm scared. All week I've been looking forward to attacking the first area of my home: the home office area. But as I stood there looking at my stuff, I got nervous. "But this stuff is valuable" I thought. Oh really? When was the last time you used it? When was the last time it added value to your life? Can't remember, can you? THEN GET RID OF IT!! Fine!!
The work
I started working on my pile of office junk around 10 am on Saturday. I worked at it until about 2 pm with a few breaks here and there. Discouraged! Upset! Frustrated! I didn't think I had THAT much stuff. I mean, I knew I had a lot. But man oh man did I underestimate the task at hand! After those 4 hours, I had two big bags and a plastic "dresser" to donate, a full garbage bag of paper to recycle, and a heavy duty garbage bag filled about 3/4 of the way. And I still was not done!!
I had to leave my house at 2:30 pm to go pick up my mom. I brought the donations to the Salvation Army on the way. Then we had errands to run. So I continued in the evening. My goal was to get this part of the house done on Saturday. I was not going to stop until I accomplished that goal. I didn't want to lose the momentum I had built up during the week getting psyched to tackle this mess.
What did I get rid of? Junk I haven't touched in years! Seriously! I hadn't touched it in years before moving to this townhouse in August 2013. And after moving, besides taking them out of the packed boxes, I haven't touched any of it.
That computer desk is now empty save for a few hanging file folders that I am giving away with the desk.
That office chair and that computer desk have already found new owners. One of my friends is taking the office chair, and my mom said she wanted the computer desk. So the desk stays there until she moves to her own place. The chair should be gone by next week.
OK, so it doesn't look like I did that much in that corner, but you have no idea how much stuff I shredded and sent to recycling!
What am I left with? A box with files and a few office supplies for those rare times I need to mail something, and a box with paperwork and one of photos that I need to sort and possibly digitize. So as you can see, I still have work to do.
Surprise! Surprise!
What else happened this week?
Well, on Thursday, it felt like "Dominique love day"! Before 9:30 am, I had already received two "You rock!" emails from two different colleagues. They both actually used that exact phrase. :)
I received other compliments for my work. And some on my appearance. It was just a perfect "Dominique love day"! At home, my daughter and mother were both in fairly good moods.
On Friday: remember Mr. D from my Whole30 blog? The one I was having a hard time getting over at the beginning of the year? Well, he texted me to apologize for his behaviour. He said that I was a wonderful woman. That he was in a bad place right now and needed to be alone for a while to work things out. (I kind of figured that he didn't want to be with me... It had been at least a month since I had heard from him last.. I think it was back in December. But I can't confirm, I had already deleted all of those text messages.)
I had planned an answer similar to: "apologies are not texted, they are offered in person". I had planned this at the beginning of January when I still hoped he would return. We are now near the end of February. I have already changed so much since the beginning of the year! I've succeed at my first Whole30 which gave me the momentum I needed to keep going with my personal growth and transformation. People and things were put onto my path to inspire and encourage me to keep going. I feel the transformation happening. I know it sounds lame, but I really do feel it. I feel like I have a courage that I've never experienced before. Courage to finally get things done! Anyway, I digress.
So what was my reply to Mr. D? I thanked him for his apology. I told him that I was hurt at first because I thought that we were quite compatible. I told him, however, that I think he did me a favour. That I had realized that I had things to work on also (...but then again, who doesn't?) and that I've been doing so since he "disappeared" from my life. I wished him good luck and said that I sincerely hopped things would work out for him soon. And you know what? I meant all of it. After sending the text and re-reading it a few times, I deleted it. I've moved on. I didn't need to hold on to that conversation.
Moral of the story
Letting go is scary. But when you can, it feels calming. I still have to work at it. I find it very difficult to let go and accept that most things are out of my control. The only things I can control are my choices and my reactions. Right now, my choice is to let things go.
"Wow you have a lot of stuff!" is what my landlord told me looking around the dinning room at my piles of boxes with a bewildered look in his eyes the day I moved into the townhouse I'm renting from him. I was insulted. "Yeah so? It's not that much. There are many other things I want and need! I've gotten rid of tons of things before moving. How dare you!" was my inner dialogue in response. Instead, I didn't say anything. I just looked around at the dinning room where SOME of my stuff was piled and then looked back at him.
Preparing
So I've read 3 books on minimalism in 5 days and I'm on book number 4. I'm excited. I'm scared. All week I've been looking forward to attacking the first area of my home: the home office area. But as I stood there looking at my stuff, I got nervous. "But this stuff is valuable" I thought. Oh really? When was the last time you used it? When was the last time it added value to your life? Can't remember, can you? THEN GET RID OF IT!! Fine!!
The work
I started working on my pile of office junk around 10 am on Saturday. I worked at it until about 2 pm with a few breaks here and there. Discouraged! Upset! Frustrated! I didn't think I had THAT much stuff. I mean, I knew I had a lot. But man oh man did I underestimate the task at hand! After those 4 hours, I had two big bags and a plastic "dresser" to donate, a full garbage bag of paper to recycle, and a heavy duty garbage bag filled about 3/4 of the way. And I still was not done!!
I had to leave my house at 2:30 pm to go pick up my mom. I brought the donations to the Salvation Army on the way. Then we had errands to run. So I continued in the evening. My goal was to get this part of the house done on Saturday. I was not going to stop until I accomplished that goal. I didn't want to lose the momentum I had built up during the week getting psyched to tackle this mess.
What did I get rid of? Junk I haven't touched in years! Seriously! I hadn't touched it in years before moving to this townhouse in August 2013. And after moving, besides taking them out of the packed boxes, I haven't touched any of it.
That computer desk is now empty save for a few hanging file folders that I am giving away with the desk.
That office chair and that computer desk have already found new owners. One of my friends is taking the office chair, and my mom said she wanted the computer desk. So the desk stays there until she moves to her own place. The chair should be gone by next week.
OK, so it doesn't look like I did that much in that corner, but you have no idea how much stuff I shredded and sent to recycling!
What am I left with? A box with files and a few office supplies for those rare times I need to mail something, and a box with paperwork and one of photos that I need to sort and possibly digitize. So as you can see, I still have work to do.
Surprise! Surprise!
What else happened this week?
Well, on Thursday, it felt like "Dominique love day"! Before 9:30 am, I had already received two "You rock!" emails from two different colleagues. They both actually used that exact phrase. :)
I received other compliments for my work. And some on my appearance. It was just a perfect "Dominique love day"! At home, my daughter and mother were both in fairly good moods.
On Friday: remember Mr. D from my Whole30 blog? The one I was having a hard time getting over at the beginning of the year? Well, he texted me to apologize for his behaviour. He said that I was a wonderful woman. That he was in a bad place right now and needed to be alone for a while to work things out. (I kind of figured that he didn't want to be with me... It had been at least a month since I had heard from him last.. I think it was back in December. But I can't confirm, I had already deleted all of those text messages.)
I had planned an answer similar to: "apologies are not texted, they are offered in person". I had planned this at the beginning of January when I still hoped he would return. We are now near the end of February. I have already changed so much since the beginning of the year! I've succeed at my first Whole30 which gave me the momentum I needed to keep going with my personal growth and transformation. People and things were put onto my path to inspire and encourage me to keep going. I feel the transformation happening. I know it sounds lame, but I really do feel it. I feel like I have a courage that I've never experienced before. Courage to finally get things done! Anyway, I digress.
So what was my reply to Mr. D? I thanked him for his apology. I told him that I was hurt at first because I thought that we were quite compatible. I told him, however, that I think he did me a favour. That I had realized that I had things to work on also (...but then again, who doesn't?) and that I've been doing so since he "disappeared" from my life. I wished him good luck and said that I sincerely hopped things would work out for him soon. And you know what? I meant all of it. After sending the text and re-reading it a few times, I deleted it. I've moved on. I didn't need to hold on to that conversation.
Moral of the story
Letting go is scary. But when you can, it feels calming. I still have to work at it. I find it very difficult to let go and accept that most things are out of my control. The only things I can control are my choices and my reactions. Right now, my choice is to let things go.
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