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What have I done?!

Since starting my decluttering journey in 2019 I've gotten rid of a lot of stuff. As I decluttered I saw progress, because stuff was no longer under foot or falling out of cupboards on my head. Our 1,125 sq. ft. townhome seemed like it was no longer overrun with stuff. It felt pretty peaceful, actually. 

Then there were the closets. Two of them, full of stuff, lurking. One contained mostly seasonal decorations, but also stored our off-season tires. Yes, TIRES. I had sealed them in the largest bags available so they didn't smell, but they took up precious space. I was so glad when, before our move, we posted them for free on Marketplace and a nice gentleman with an eastern European accent came by and somehow loaded them all into his Prius. 

Then there was the other closet. About a year before our move to NC, I was about to began another iteration of Uncluttered (Joshua Becker's room by room decluttering course). My goal was to declutter that closet, which contained ... just way too many things. About 50% of the boxes had not been opened since our previous move. 

Then, in 2021, life happened. My mom was diagnosed with a rare cancer, and passed away from complications thereof in March 2022. In May 2022 my husband received a job offer from a company in NC, soon after which all three of us contracted COVID. In June, we moved, in July, our daughter started kindergarten, and I spent several months thereafter almost constantly sick with respiratory illnesses. Then, of course, there was the grief. Yes, life had definitely happened.   

Needless to say, circumstances had made it all but impossible to tackle that closet. I had still decluttered quite a bit before our move, but seeing all those (previously hidden) boxes stacked high before being wheeled into the moving truck ... it felt like such a failure. 

This past week I had a big donation pickup, so I finally worked up the nerve to open all those boxes. Although I did find some cool stuff, most of it was a mess. Sentimental stuff, books, decor, childhood stuff; everything was mixed together. Since I had in the meantime decided that I would use some clear plastic totes as memory bins for my daughter, husband, and myself, I was managing all that, too. I was pretty overwhelmed, and still am. 

So now I think you know where the "What have a I done?!" statement is coming from. 

But, this is what happens sometimes. When I start to get frustrated, I remind myself that a lot of this stuff is from over 30 years ago. It took me this long to accumulate it, and so it will take time to free myself from it. It's just that I'm starting to get a little impatient, especially because I am so acutely aware of how quickly life can change, which, good or bad, must absolutely be given our full attention. So, although being impatient doesn't always feel good, I believe it is coming from a good place. Our time on earth is limited, and I've decided that I want to spend more time with the people I love and be more prepared in times of difficulty ... and much less time managing stuff. 

What setbacks and obstacles have you experienced? What thoughts keep you going in the decluttering process? 


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