I used to be a keeper, I inherited this trait from my mother. When I was 30, we had to relocate all of her belongings including a commercial grade four drawer file cabinet. A four drawer file cabinet full of files related solely to me. Files dating all the way back to my nursery school days! It was then that I started to realize that some things could be thrown away, repurposed or recycled. Since then, I’ve done a decent job of recycling, or repurposing things, but still the clutter adds up.

There is nothing like a good move to help you pair down your “stuff”. We bought land from my mother-in-law and her husband to build this house. I’ll never say never, but we have no plans to move in the foreseeable future yet we still have accumulated a bunch of STUFF much of which we don’t need.

The solution? Yep, a dumpster.

 My husband tackled most of the basement and some of the trash came from my mother-in-law’s barn. I went through the attic and the kids rooms. There were at least two trips to Good Will, numerous posts to Facebook offering items and my neighbor got to the point where she answered my phone calls with “No, I don’t want it.” only to be followed a second later by “Ok, what is it this time?”.

When I originally heralded the arrival of the dumpster on Facebook, someone suggested Freecycle and someone else suggested a yard sale. I’ve used Freecycle with varying degree of success and I don’t have the time or patience for a yard sale. Some might say I’m giving (or throwing) money away, but I prefer to think of it as adding to the cycle of hand-me-downs. I have been very blessed by the hand-me-down cycle through the years. I did not purchase clothing for either child (save the occasional must-have) until they were at least six years old. It feels like it is my turn to pay back a little.

Another friend commented that by clearing the clutter out of my life I was making room for good things to happen. While never one too look a gift horse in the mouth, in all honestly, the process itself was my reward. I literally feel lighter. I recommend the purge to anyone and everyone!