An Old Adage
I'm sure many of you will recall the old adage that goes something like this... "Out with the Old, In with the New!" I thought you might;) Recently, I've truly put the adage to work!
Before we moved, I actually got rid of quite a few things... furniture, books and magazines, knick-knacks and other stuff I really didn't need. I didn't realize just how happy I would be without the extra stuff, until we moved into our new place. Talk about a huge sigh of relief! We had just enough furniture, just enough books/magazines and very few knick-knacks. I felt like I'd unloaded the weight of the world from my shoulders! It was definitely freeing... exhilarating=)
Now that we've lived in our new place for almost one year, I've noticed I'm collecting things the same way I did before. Old habits die hard, I suppose;) I knew there were certain things I wanted to get rid of (an air conditioner we no longer have use for, a bed frame we can't use, books and magazines we've already read, a dvd player that something is wrong with, two sets of mini blinds and some educational supplies). I just wasn't sure who would want them. Then... I thought of our local Freecycle group=)
When I thought about it, I knew this was the place! So, I posted the items and one by one they were gone! First, the magazines, then the dvd player (the couple actually walked across town- about an hour and a half!- just to get it), then the other items. People have been so nice and so thankful... that I gave them my unwanted treasures! I definitely didn't set out to bless someone's day, but we do it without even realizing it... which makes us, all, feel good.
One by one, each item was spoken for. Two of the items went today=) One more is going tomorrow. The bed frame will stay behind a week or so, and then will make its home with another loving family. I honestly never thought this would bring me so much joy, yet... it has! It makes me feel good to be able to purge my home of unwanted items, but what really makes my heart leap for joy is, the fact that, I'm giving things away that other people can use=) What is better than being able to help someone else in need, helping save the earth by recycling and getting rid of things you no longer want or need? Awesome!
It's almost like watching your child leave home, to go to college... but, much less depressing;). People come and people go... picking up my "babies" and taking them home. Making the newly acquired items a part of their new family in the blink of an eye, I'm reminded of the memories with the items in our family. How many times did we heave a big, long sigh, when the old computer kicked us offline. It wasn't so funny then. The many, many dvd's we watched, as a family, in the now-defunct Samsung. The cold, sad winter I spent lying in bed on the old bed frame. Bitter sweet, indeed!
Now that I've gotten rid of quite a few things, today, I'm looking forward to "starting over..." organizing items in their given spaces, then decorating our place the way I've always dreamed of. Who ever said, dreams don't come true?! They must not have ever purged their homes, their lives, their souls of all the unwanted, unnecessary "junk" we think we need. It's a shame, because... it is just so liberating! Freedom, at last=)
