From time to time, I do decluttering around the house. Anything I don't need and is still in good shape, I give it away while I throw away this stuff out of condition.
A few months ago, I did that with a large amount of clothes. I gave them to my sister. Since she has a daughter, a seamstress can help make adjusts to them to fit my niece.
I did it with my school and college books. I gave the language books to the library of the Faculty of Languages in Luxor.
Today, I was doing a little bit of decluttering. I found three big notebooks. When I used to study English on my own, I started writing new vocabulary in them, along with explanations and examples. Later on, I'd use the new vocabulary in writing entries. That helped me improve my English, to be specific, my English writing and reading skills. I don't remember when and why I stopped doing that. Writing down does help even if I don't look at what I write again. That was exactly what happened; I haven't looked at those notebooks for a long time.
It's why I was considering throwing them away, but part of me doesn't want to let go of them. I don't know anyone who might be studying English and interested in having them! Discarding them sounded like throwing away a lifetime. Reminding myself of why I declutter helps me stick with it.
I intend to declutter to free up space in our house. However, the main reason has been to set my mind free from things. Holding these memories eats me up. Through decluttering, I'm trying to teach my mind to let go of the memories attached to those things and accept them as a part of the past. To silence the questions and guilt buzzing in my head. The questions that would never get answered. I have a last look at these things and then, get rid of them.
Hopefully, gradually, this physical decluttering will help me let go of this emotional burden that sits heavily in my mind and controls us.
(I'm falling asleep and I can't review what I've just written. I'll do it tomorrow. See you!)
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I also need tiding up! Thank you for reminding me. I love cleaning, but I'm definitely not good at tidying up. I think cleaning and tiding up are two different things.
Before moving, I got rid of half of my things, and it felt really liberating. I had some regrets about what I threw away, but I knew that couldn’t be avoided. The satisfaction greatly outweighed the regret. Good luck with your decluttering!
Decluttering from time to time does feel very refreshing indeed! About the vocabulary notebook, I do the same 😂 I love taking pretty notes just to never see them again. SRS flashcards are my thing when it comes to reviewing stuff
It occurs to me that stopping the guilty questions is good but somethings are good to hold onto because they hold good memories that it's good to look back on. I don't understand it, but there's a program on tele about a place people can bring broken stuff that they've inherited from family or good friends. They always say how much it means to them to have the thing fixed as it reminds them of all the good times and relationships.
Thank you all for sharing your experiences with decluttering physically and emotionally!