Simplifying your life and living with less usually involves letting go. We have to let go of clutter, the fear of not having enough and many other things along the way. Even when you think you are ready, you may still struggle with the fear of letting go but with a little practice, it gets easier and easier.
A few things to consider if you struggle to let go …
Holding on is harder.
You have to hold on everyday. You hold on with your attention, time, space and emotion. You only have to let go once.
There’s no rush.
You didn’t accumulate everything overnight so letting go may take some time. Take the time you need. This isn’t a competition. This is your stuff and your life. So do it your way. If you need help, ask for it.
Less is not nothing.
Letting go of everything might not make you any happier than holding on does. Instead of focusing on all the stuff you have to let go of, consider what you want to make room for. What matters to you?
You might be over thinking things.
Letting go was less terrifying once I got started. The scary part wasn’t letting go, but always thinking about letting go. Action will quiet the fear. If you don’t know where to start, try letting go of one of these 8 things. Or, consider a decluttering burst for extra motivation.
Things get heavy.
If you want to be light, you have to let go.
On the other side of letting go
When we downsized a few years ago from a big house to an apartment less than half its size, I wasn’t ready to let go of some things. I sealed up 5 boxes of things I wasn’t sure about and wrote the following in big letters on the top of the box. “Put in storage. Decide later.” As Peter Walsh says, “Later is the best friend of clutter.” When we found our new apartment, there wasn’t any storage space so I let those 5 boxes go. Today, if you offered me one million dollars to tell you what was in those boxes, I couldn’t do it. I don’t remember. It wasn’t important.
When you let go, notice the benefits. See what’s on the other side. I discovered benefits like more free time, less overspending, more comfort with uncertainty, less guilt, more freedom and ease. Letting go helped me remember what mattered to me. Letting go helped me remember me.
I found my way back to love.
I love the A.G. quote. I still have trouble walking away from activities that weren’t meant for me. Activities aren’t physical clutter, I know, but they can create a different kind of lifestyle clutter. Thanks for this post; it was helpful.
Thanks, Courtney – this isn’t a ‘magic wand’ but it gives me more ammunition to remember I have when Resistance to Letting Go shows up!
Blessings!
Decide later. – Great advice. We moved two years ago from 6000 sq ft to 1500 sq ft. We got rid of so much before and after the move. But we still had a number of boxes in the attic that I wasn’t ready to deal with. Plus stuff in every closet, cabinet and shelf that we really didn’t need. Two years ago the house felt perfect but now the same amount of stuff feels smothering. I’m ready for another round.
I loved the Tiny Wardrobe tour in Victoria.
I had pared down my closet about 4 months ago and it has been just fine. October 1 I will do it again and keep even less. I really think the gradual decluttering of your closet is such an excellent idea. It doesn’t hurt so much just putting the uncertain ones in a bin for 3 months. I can already see I will be keeping a lot less things next time.
One woman in the audience thanked you for your honesty and sincerity. I, too appreciated that. Your very ‘realness’ shines through and connects with people.
I will be looking forward to your book.
Thank you.
Great post. Love the value of simplicity. I too love the quote from A.G that you posted. How can something so simple as letting go be so powerful to me?
Thanks for this Courtney. I can personally attest to the freeing feeling of getting rid of “stuff.” My wife and I have moved several times over the past few years, and we have purposely gotten rid of stuff each time. This most recent move we actually got rid of more furniture, more clothes, and more “stuff.”
There used to be a time when I would be worried about getting rid of things. Now though, I love the feeling of not having a whole lot. It took less than 4 hours to move all of our belongings to our new apartment, and the first hour of that I spent alone waiting for friends to show up haha.
Still working at it, but I am doing my best to learn to “let go.”
Thanks alot, a little bit at a time works for me.
My husband and I have been on a 5 year journey of ditching our stuff. We have easily gotten rid of 60% of our things. I’d say we are close to being to a good point. But there are 2 areas I am really struggling with. 1. I have a hard time with is things given to me from close friends and family. I find I am holding onto things because I am in a season of my life where I don’t want things, but what if I do later? Or what if they find out I dont have said item anymore and they get upset?
2. What to do with things from my growing up or wedding etc that my future kids might want to see or have? Like will my future kids want to see my year books? Will they care? Will my future daughter want to use my wedding dress? I could more see keeping it and letting her use it for dress up. But what if I don’t have a daughter? I get so stuck here that I end up putting away the box I am trying to tackle because I just get stuck.
Any advice would be great. We have come so far and it has been so freeing that I want to keep going and this, I feel, is a personal hurdle of mine. I have been a pretty sentimental person and I want to balance the honor of the memory with the things themselves. Thank you in advance.