Excess baggage

We seem to live in a world where we acquire ‘stuff’ so quickly that it’s difficult to keep up with it. I should know. 10 months ago I packed my stuff and moved, for the first time in 8 years...

Last autumn, as I packed, I sorted through my belongings and started to make decisions about how much of the stuff I’d allowed to accumulate I actually needed.

I made a LOT of trips to the local Charity shops. Clothes, shoes, bags, books... I was determined to use the packing process as a way of trying to cut down on the amount of things I needed to move, and then unpack, that, if I were completely honest, I no longer had any use for.

I’ve learnt a lot about the ‘stuff’ we hoard in our lives this past year. I kept some things that aren’t exactly in everyday use…things that have personal or sentimental value to me. But, for the most part, I did a pretty good job. Or so I thought.

Despite a major clear and sort out not that long ago, I’m still finding things that I really don’t need, haven’t used. I keep sorting and decluttering as I go.

The amount of ‘stuff’ we keep and live with has serious implications for our mental health. Or at least, it does on mine. I am most definitely not a hoarder. But I still sometimes hang on to things far longer than I really need to.

My brain needs space to breathe. Living in a house that’s chock-full of stuff that I’m storing but not using, doesn’t help me to do that. It suffocates me and makes me anxious.

We fill our houses and our lives with so much stuff. But do we really need it all? Probably not. What we do need is space to relax and enjoy life. We need time to sit down and spend time in each other’s company. That ‘thing’ we want to do, the concert we want to go to, the place we want to visit, are all ultimately more important than the things we acquire as we meander through life. Making time for ourselves, our family and our friends is ultimately more important than all of the things we carry with us.

Fast forward 10 months, and here I am again. Getting ready to pack my life into boxes. This time, though, it will be the last time for a long time. 

But this time, I know I need to keep on top of the ‘things’ that clutter my life and my head and stop me from relaxing. To make sure that there is always space for me.