What Would Happen If You Gave All Your Stuff Away?

    What happens to you when you’ve divorced, downsized, moved on and relocated a few times? Let me share my experience with you. At first, I found the downsizing experience overwhelming because I had so much stuff to get rid of.  So I came up with a plan that I was able to live with and finally detached myself from nearly everything I gave away.  

I’ve decluttered so much over the course of the last three years that I was left with nearly no material possessions. I’ve gone from living in a house and selling it to living in a very small apartment on my own, to having a roommate in a different apartment and city, to being a border in a house and now once again, to renting a large apartment in a different city. I

I’m now having to purchase items that I once got rid of. I wonder why I got rid of them to begin with. Did I have to get rid of my fondue set, my books, my fabric and wool, my breadmaker, my bed and dressers, my casserole dishes and my floor model TV? I’ve decluttered so much that I’m now afraid to clutter again. I’m reluctant to purchase items that I once owned and to unpack the boxes that I’ve had packed for a few years.

What is going on? Have I accepted, grieved, and let go of my past decisions? Have I accepted that while my life has changed so much over the last few years, that I’m prepared to plant my feet and allow roots to sprout, once again.  Do I want to start accumulating again or do I want to change my mindset? Just because things were done a certain way in the past, doesn’t mean that it’s the way that it needs to be done now. I’ve learned to do without and to question the purchases that I make now. Do I really need this or do I simply want it. Do I need to purchase new or can I purchase from a thrift store.

Everything is circular. If all the things I accumulated in the past were given away and easily repurchased, I can, once again, slowly accumulate and give away if needed. I give things away at a local thrift store, only to repurchase similar items. I can give things to my friends or family only to be given things by other people. Somehow the big guy makes sure that everything turns out; that I don’t go without. Someone once told me. “I don’t own anything. These are gifts from God.”  I’m beginning to understand what she meant.

Linda G. Robert M.A., M.Ed., is known as The Solution Lady for personal, self-care, wellness and life solutions. She's worked in the mental health field and education field for several years as well as in law enforcement. Find out more about her at www.lindarobert.ca. Check out her newest booklet at http://www.myarticles.thesolutionlady.com/index.html.