Five Questions

Another nugget from When Organizing Isn't Enough-Shed Your Stuff, Change Your Life. Whew! what a title!

When trying to decide whether to get rid of an object in your house, ask yourself these five questions: 1. What practical value does this item provide?

2. If I just got rid of it, what would I miss about it?

3. If it was taken away, would I try to re-create it?

4. Is it invigorating to my life right now?

5. As I think about my theme, does it vibrate with relevance?

You were to pick a theme for the next stage of your life before you begin letting go of physical things, scheduled things, and habits you want to break. My new theme is Rediscovery and Exploration.

Asking myself these questions about things I want to hold onto really helped me make the separation. I'm excited about being free from more of my possessions.

I'm tempted to move everything out into the yard and only bring back in those things that I really love..and need. I remember before we moved in how much I loved our house empty. I love the reverberation you get in an empty room. I don't know why I have such a hard time letting go.

One thought I had last night when Laurel and I were mulling this subject over was that I tend to hang onto things in case I'll need them during a "rough time". When I was growing up, Mama always put up more food (canned and frozen) than she needed. She would say, "You never know what kind of crop we'll have next year. We'd better put up more than we'll need."

Other things similar to that while I was growing up have influenced me to hang onto my possessions tightly in case bad times come. I think it's partly from fear and lack of trust in God's provision that I do this. I've never realized this before. This will take some thinking through....