I'm feeling like a bit of a monster. I'm going through perfectly lovely gifts that were given to me for Christmas... to give them away.
My house is small. It's too cluttered already and as items come in, others must go out. I used to hang onto to gifts out of guilt. I often received wonderful gifts that were perfect, useful, gave me joy, and were just what I needed. But the "other" gifts, the ones not so on-the-mark, those haunted me. I felt if I was just creative enough, I would figure out how they could be wonderful. Over the years all the not-quite-right gifts really piled up, until I had a hulking, lurking, monster-in-the-closet backroom full of things I held out of guilt.
But the kindest thing to do, for myself and others, is to send those gifts that aren't quite right for me, that feeling like a burden or raise feelings of guilt, back out into the world. Where they can be found and used by others who find they are just perfect, just what they were looking for. Everyone deserves more of that.
And my home and peace of mind will breathe a sigh of relief at fewer items to navigate around as mental and physical clutter. After tackling the scary backroom full of guilt-kept gifts and rehoming them, along with many other items, I was stunned at how much lighter I felt. Truly spring cleaning for me starts in January.
How about you? What are your favorite ways to reuse, rehome, or reduce gifts or other items that can weigh you down mentally and physically?
Hope you're off to a wonderful start in the New Year.
-Laurel
No comments:
Post a Comment