3243: 3 Steps to Take When Decluttering Sentimental Items by Rachel Jones of Nourishing Minimalism

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[00:01:07] Three Steps to Take When Decluttering Sentimental Items by Rachel Jones of nourishingminimalism.com and I'm just a molecule or personal narrator reading to you with permission from the authors. I cover lots of topics like personal development or personal growth,

[00:01:22] self-help, mindfulness, happiness and usually minimalism on Mondays but anything that I think can help you live a more meaningful life in just a few minutes every day. So with that let's get right to the Minimalist Monday post as we optimize your life. Three Steps to Take When Decluttering

[00:01:43] Sentimental Items by Rachel Jones of nourishingminimalism.com. First off, let me say this. If you're just beginning your decluttering journey, save all the sentimental items for later. Focus on the tools, the utilitarian things around the house that bring no emotion to mind when you wonder

[00:02:04] should I keep this or let it go? The beginning of your journey is not the time to sort the challenging items. Set yourself up for success and declutter the meaningless junk first. Sentimental

[00:02:17] items are overwhelming. It's easy to feel that these things will never get sorted which is why I always recommend you save them for last. Give yourself plenty of decluttering victories before tackling the hard things but if you are ready to work through the deeper levels of clutter

[00:02:35] then roll up your sleeves, set a determined look on your face and let's dig in. When you're decluttering sentimental items you have to recognize that different feelings and emotions are going to come up. This is normal and healthy. Sure feelings can be uncomfortable because we often

[00:02:53] spend our lives avoiding them and avoiding causing other people to feel things. I have to keep that teapot Aunt Linda gave me so I don't hurt her feelings. Addressing those feelings is one of the

[00:03:05] major benefits of embracing a simpler life. It's not just the physical clutter that adds stress, it's the heavy emotions behind the items and the postponed decisions that weigh us down. When you

[00:03:18] take time to feel and acknowledge those feelings you can work through the emotions and let the item and the weighty emotions go bringing some calm and peace into your life. When we refuse to feel the

[00:03:30] emotions we have we live impaired lives missing out on various gifts that are available for all of us. Though maybe uncomfortable at times, paying attention to your feelings is a must if you want

[00:03:43] to declutter those sentimental items. Three steps to take when you look at a sentimental item. Number one, feel your feelings. Take responsibility for what your heart is saying. Number two, talk about it.

[00:03:59] Whether this is with someone you trust or in a journal it's important to express your feelings. And number three, admit your need. We all need. It's human. We cannot be perfect, complete, and whole

[00:04:14] in and of ourselves. This may be admitting you need to cry, acknowledging you need the person you lost, admitting you feel broken, or admitting that this life isn't perfect. The steps may be easy

[00:04:27] for me to write but I'll be honest they are not easy steps to take. But if you allow yourself to work through that process you open yourself up to healing and fulfillment in your life. Keep the

[00:04:41] important items. Embracing minimalism doesn't mean you're going to get rid of every single thing. It means you're going to eliminate the excess, the things that prevent you from living the life you

[00:04:52] want to be living. For a few people this will be getting rid of all sentimental items so they can live out of their backpacks. But for the majority of people it means recognizing the pieces that

[00:05:03] are special and giving them a place of honor in your home. Keep the number of items you feel comfortable with. Do you have a painting from your grandmother that you love? Keep it. A dining room set

[00:05:15] that you don't? Let it go. Permitting yourself to keep the special items before you begin will help curb the anxiety of decluttering these items. You can face it knowing that you are simply

[00:05:27] editing out the things that don't serve you but keeping the things that do serve you. Why do we struggle to let go of items from people who have passed away? We all have an innate desire for this

[00:05:39] life to be whole, complete, and perfect. It's not and we can't make it that way but we all have a desire for it. Part of the struggle is admitting that there is an end to every season and when we lose

[00:05:52] a loved one facing the end to that season is one of the hardest things we have to face. We long for things to be right, well, good, and continue as such. The more we value something the

[00:06:05] deeper our sorrow but that isn't all bad. Sadness is an honoring emotion. When you allow yourself to feel sad you honor what was lost and move towards accepting things that feel wholly unacceptable. When we refuse to feel that sadness we transfer our emotions from the person we lost

[00:06:25] to their old possessions. We try to keep them alive embodied in their old stuff because we are unwilling to let them go. Then when we decide to get rid of the items it feels as if we are losing

[00:06:37] them all over again. We can't possibly go through that again and we become enslaved to the emotions we don't want to face. If we grieve genuinely we eventually come to accept life in these imperfect

[00:06:50] terms. It doesn't matter how long it has been or if you think that's water under the bridge. You have to feel those feelings before you can move on and find healing. Accepting life's seasons.

[00:07:04] It is similar in all the sentimental things we have to sort whether they are drawings the children made, baby clothes, or college textbooks and notes. When you let go of baby clothes it is admitting

[00:07:16] that that season of life is past. When we hold the clothes we remember how little they were, all the hopes and dreams we had, and how life isn't quite what we imagined it would be now. None of those

[00:07:29] feelings are wrong and to move on you have to feel them. Allow yourself to be sad. Allow yourself to admit if things aren't like you dreamed they would be. It's part of the process and in doing so you

[00:07:42] allow yourself to accept the past and live more fully in the present. The past is not the present. We have an incredible ability to remember the good things. When we think back to when our babies were

[00:07:56] small we think of the fuzzy head resting under our chin. We think of the little eyes that lit up when they saw us and the little arms that came running to mama whenever there was doubt. Those are precious

[00:08:08] memories but if you're holding on to the clothes, the toys, and all the various whatnots that come with little humans because you can't bear to be out of that season, you aren't fully able to

[00:08:18] appreciate the season you are in now. No matter what season you are in there is joy to be found. Holding on to the past makes the present joy much more difficult to see and embrace. You just listen

[00:08:37] to the post titled, Three Steps to Take When Decluttering Sentimental Items by Rachel Jones of NourishingMinimalism.com and I'll be right back with my commentary. Thank you to Rachel for the

[00:08:49] post. I've covered sentimental items here and there over the years and one of my favorites is by the Minimalists, aptly titled Letting Go of Sentimental Items. Joshua had to go through this process that

[00:09:03] Rachel talked about before defining himself as a Minimalist and actually that process is what got him into Minimalism. So his mom passed away, she lived many thousands of miles away in a different

[00:09:16] state and he was responsible for going over there and figuring out what to do with her belongings. He found boxes of his old school stuff, a wardrobe of hers with clothes that were never used

[00:09:29] and shed light on what all this stuff really means or doesn't mean. And it's something many of us are lucky to have not experienced. I say lucky but only because we're talking about loss here.

[00:09:42] In Joshua's case, it was actually a lucky thing for him, it was a good thing for him. At least I think he'd say that because at that moment he realized how he really wished to live.

[00:09:54] But all that to say and to repeat what Rachel said, you still have to keep the items or number of items you're comfortable with. There are no rules here. As long as there's enough room for

[00:10:04] you to truly enjoy what's meaningful then it's fine. But if you're struggling to keep things organized and cleaned, taken care of, then it's more of a headache than a value add and then it's

[00:10:18] time to reconsider that item. But I think we've considered enough today. Think about how a little minimalism can go a long way in your life and enjoy the rest of your day. I'll be curating articles for you again here tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.