Ladies, help me out with this please. How do you let go of possessions without regret?

I have always been a packrat and I have SOOOO much stuff. I don't really expect to completely change that ( at least not overnight - it is an evolving sort of process) and I am at peace with that at the moment, but I do need to at least get rid of SOME things. I have too much and my closets are so packed I can't get to the things I love and use regularly. Also I know I have things around I would be using if I could find them, yk?

The thing is, the times in the past that I have done big purges I have ended up regretting some of it. I still think about many of the things I dropped off at Goodwill over 10 years ago when I moved across the country!! It was such a big move I went a little overboard and I could have really used some of that stuff once I moved and was totally broke. I know, it is crazy.

I don't want to get rid of everything, yk, I am okay with hoarding a little ;) But I recognize it is out of control and I would love some tips on how to let go of at least some of it without dreaming about it for the next year LOL.

Ideas?

I have 2 suggestions. 1 - Put things away in a sealed box or container for 6 months to a year. If you don't open the box during that time you can just take it to Goodwill without opening it. 2 - Think about how you are helping others by donating your stuff to others who are less fortunate. Sometimes I feel sorry for myself because I live in a small condo and we don't have a lot of money. When I give stuff away I remember that I have more stuff than I know what to do with, or have a place for, so I realize how fortunate I am. Good luck in your quest to let go of stuff!! :hug:

I agree with Debby that one very powerful way to let go is to pack it up in a box and leave it for months. Then if you do have that regret - go into the box and get whatever it is you're remembering.

Another idea is, if it is a sentimental item, take a picture of it to remember it by.

The hardest part is to let go of what I (and others LOL) call the "poverty mentality." That is, the thought that, "What if I need this some day in the future because I'm totally broke, need one, and can't afford to buy it?" I personally have countered that in myself with this line of thought: how much energy am I spending every single day to maintain all this stuff? How much more energy and time would it free up to not be tripping over boxes of stuff I don't use? I also, like Debby, think about how fortunate I am to have the problem of having "too much stuff" and how great it feels to pass on useful things to people who really need them.

What type of items do you think about most after you get rid of them? Think about it and try to analyze *why* those items in particular are so hard to let go of. This might help. You also might choose to keep those things, and just keep them well-organized so you really can access and use them. But it will be a lot easier without twenty other unused things around them in the box. ;)

Good luck. It isn't easy...definitely a process, and you're doing great to be examining what goes on with you when you get rid of things, and why.

I just wanted to say that I'm in the same boat. And it's so full it's sinking. :help: I'm still upset over things I got rid of years ago. It does make it hard to let go of things, but I'm working on it.

and lost many things! Hurricane Charley on 8-13-04 knocked a huge tree down and it landed on our roof! It wasn't so bad until the rains flooded through the hole in the roof and soaked the ceiling and then the ceiling collapsed (sp?)!

I think you should keep important documents in a fire safe box and try to grab your purse as you evacuate your family from your house kind of mentality when it comes to stuff!

*Nothing* is important when it comes to stuff and people are what counts not your accumulations.

That being said it's hard, I know, to not regret not having certain possessions sometimes.