THINGS can own you instead of you owning THINGS!!!

Today is cleaning-out-day which needs to be done while the weather is good and it is not too hot. We are all carefully looking at everything we have packed up in moving boxes as well as other types of containers in the garage that have been stacked to the ceiling since we moved here two years ago.

When I moved from Denver back to Atlanta I got rid of the majority of my THINGS. There were multiple reasons for that decision, one of which was that I was tired of paying to maintain a home that I do not live in. (It is a long story about why that was true.) So, I decided to not have a place of my own for a while and planned to just put everything in storage until I decide what to do for the long term. I also realized that I had too many THINGS. The primary item that concerned me was a beautiful twig bed that had been custom made to my specifications by a craftsman in Georgia and I had concluded that the bed actually owned me. I had moved that bed all over the country and even had it in storage at one time. I had even loaned it to my granddaughter for a while and at this point I can't even remember why. When I moved to Denver I was constrained by what kind of dwelling I could buy purely on whether or not the twig bed could be brought into the house. Is that rediculous? I think so now, but I did not get it at the time. Don't get me wrong, I loved that bed and had many years of sleeping in it and decorating it to reflect different locations and seasons of the year wherever I was. It was my safe haven for years. Now that I think back on its history, I slept alone in that bed the entire time I had it, or it had me.

I also had other furniture that I had acquired at garage or estate sales as well as hand-me-downs from family that I got rid of as well. I had TVs, stereos and other electronic gadgets in every room, which I did not need. The Salvation Army and Goodwill people were happy to help me "down-size". I also gave THINGS to friends and co-workers that made them very happy as well.

When I left Denver on my way back to Atlanta I only brought with me the things that would fit in my Dodge Durango, which was still a lot of THINGS. Of course I had also shipped some THINGS back via UPS before I got to the point of loading my car for the long road trip back.

I still have way too many boxes full of THINGS that I have not yet been able to let go of to this point. I have looked at the THINGS in the boxes and most of them have some sentimental value and are not just THINGS that I have acquired.

I'm just trying hard to not acquire any more things at this point unless it is something I absolutely have to have to live.

When I have another place of my own I will be very selective about what I bring into my space. I will really have to love it for it to become part of my life.