I Lost 1000 LBS This Weekend

by Gina Valley

Fly

Cantering

Through crisp air

Above

Blue beckons

Clouds dancing

Freedom gasps deeply

Breath held

Thoughts of magic

Soaring

Racing

Enchantment revealed

Ground and sky married

Artistry erupts

And shines

And grows

Ever faster swimming upward

Tethers loosed

Unrestrained in beauty

Onward

Always onward

-gina valley

 

It’s Labor Day weekend here in the United States, so, naturally, I labored.

In fact, I labored so thoroughly that, as of Sunday, I’d already lost 1000 LBS.

Yes, I’m eating healthily.

Yes, I’m getting tons of exercise.

But, the way I got rid of the 1000 LBS of dead weight was by cleaning out my closet and attic.

I don’t totally understand how our family has accumulated so much stuff.  I suppose a big part of it is simply neglecting to deal with the extra items as they outlive their usefulness.

I always assume I’ll have time to find a new home for unneeded items, but that time never comes.  Without purposefully setting time aside to clear out the clutter, it is destine to pile up.

I know part of the problem is my tendency to collect things I love, like sweaters and shoes, and to save things I treasure, like baby clothes and my pack’s school papers.

I’m also the only one who likes to travel light in a family of packrats.  I have to set the example, and also to enforce limits on what my family members can hang onto, or they would turn our home into the set for the next episode of Hoarders.  Sometimes I have to sneak stuff out late at night in black trash bags so they can’t see it and think they’ll miss it.

So, although I’m not even close to finished with going through all that I want to go through, I have made major headway this weekend in the war against clutter in our life.

I got rid of half of the clothes in my closet, many still wearing their tags.  I will probably get rid of half of what is left when I go through it again.  I just don’t wear most of it.  I donated dozens of sweaters and pairs of shoes, all of which were nearly new, and none of which were being worn or bringing me joy.

When I look at my newly sparse closet I don’t even remember the missing itms.  I just see a fresh, tidy space with lots of room to breathe.

That’s great to have in my physical world.

But…

It makes me realize that I have another cluttered place I need to clean out.

My life.

I’ve been hanging onto lots of things that I don’t need.  Things that I’ve collected over the years.  Things that may have made sense at the time.  Things that other people picked out for me.

It’s time to let go of those things.

It’s time to clear out grudges and bitterness and anger and sadness over past wrongs.  Saving those things takes room I want to use to store up joy.  I’m shoving all of that into a bag and leaving it at the curb.

It’s time to clear out guilt and other people’s expectations and regret.  I’m throwing those out to make room for growth and forgiveness and hope.

I want to make sure that I have plenty of room for love and joy and laughter.

I hope you do, too.

Let me know if you need some trash bags.  I got a big box from Costco.

Love!

-gina

Is your closet or attic cluttered?  What piles up around your house?  Is there something you’ve been hanging onto with your mind that you need to clear out in order to make room for all the good that’s trying to get in?  Shoot me a comment.  I’m looking forward to hearing all about it.