Stages

 Article 3 on my Clear Out the Clutter Series

Stages:

I'm at a stage in my life where I can let go of some of those things I had been holding onto. I was at a tea with some friends recently. We like to do that once every few years where we actually get to use the good China and tea paraphernalia and remember why we're hanging onto all of that stuff. It's nostalgia and good memories. It's a time for making new memories, encouraging and comforting friends.

It's also a time for helping each other to come into the light of reality where we begin to understand that our children are not going to want all our old stuff. Our treasures are just that, our treasures. If we are only holding onto them for our children we need to be realistic. Do we really want to burden them with this stuff, stuff that they think they need to hold onto for their children?



It's something altogether different if we know they have an interest in it. In that case if they are in the position to take it at this time then by all means pass it on. On the other hand, if they are too young and their tastes haven't developed try to narrow it down to a few cherished pieces, a few special photos. That makes me laugh and reminds me I'll need to make a few more passes at the photos before they're whittled down enough for the kids to be able to appreciate. 

That's another way to think of stages. The whittling down is a gentler way of clearing out. It is a way of clearing out that shows us first that it's not as painful as we thought. It's like walking into the lake slowly rather than jumping off the pier. I'm definitely a wader, not a jumper. Then, we can become more bold, when we've felt the exhilaration of victory over accumulation.

Again, it prepares us for the garden tasks that have been aching for a bold hand. That euonymus that has been straggling along year after year under the ever increasing shade of the maple. Do it, cut it off or attempt to move it  but don't keep ignoring it and hoping the plants around it will hide it from sight.

Tackle the jobs because you know how good it feels and looks afterwards. Don't neglect that garden spot because that combination of plants once looked so beautiful, do what it takes to make it beautiful again.