Minimalism...Sentiment, De-Cluttering and Simply Why?

Wow....I cant believe how many black bags and boxes I have put together since my Minimal  Journey began, How Can Two people have so much 'stuff' then realise "we don't need this anymore"?
Its actually quite shocking when you think about it, this is actually what most peoples homes are like, It actually intrigues me, why do we keep it?

Well I think most people keep things out of sentiment, whether its sentimental from a relative, maybe handed down to you, And maybe you feel obliged to keep it?
Or maybe it was a gift, Birthday or Christmas, and yet again you feel you can't get rid of it?
Its definitely a tough one, how do we justify throwing it out?, well , Yes you can justify it, simply by saying to yourself...
.Does this item bring meaning to my life?
.Will I use it?
.Have I used it?
.Am I keeping it for Me, or for fear of offending someone?
If the answer is No to one or maybe All of the above, then pop it in a bag,maybe you will have two bags.
Bag One -items for charity shop.
Bag Two -items for selling.

Place to one side, and let it be for a week, maybe throughout the week you can add items to your bag, things that are in your home with no real purpose or adding value to your life.
Then at the end of the week, if you have not used or even thought about the items in the bag, don't look inside, simply take bag one to the charity shop.

Bag two, start selling the items on Sphock or Ebay, or even on social media sites.
You may have items that when you look at them reminds you of relatives or friends, but when you look at the item ask your self,"Why does it remind me of them"?
Is it somewhere you went together, can you remember where? was this memory of a day out, holiday, simply spending time together?, There you have it.....

                                                     Memories

No one will ever take those Memories away from you, even if you take the item away, your memories will always be there, now I know how hard this is, for me I've kept a few sentimental items that My gorgeous Mum had , these items do bring value to my life, one is her lovely rocking chair...
I restored it and I sit in it to do my meditation,
the others are pieces of jewellery that I wear.
I'm also partial to a photo in a frame, so I have my photos on show.

For you this may be something different, But maybe just keep a couple of things, If you don't want them on show, keep them in a small box, so you can look at them from time to time.
But always remember these 'things' are not a definition of who they were, or in any way shape or form who you have become.

Some people may mock and I have had said to me, WHY?
Well I'd say for everyone its different reasons, it may be a move that starts the thought process, or simply wanting to re access your life choices, for me it's both, We have moved various times and always de-cluttered.

 But this time, I started looking at my belongings differently, and reading  Pintrest
and seeing things on Minimalism, and found an amazing blogger Jessica Rose Williams who explains minimalism and how it changed her life.  It really Inspired me to take the plunge, Upon reading various articles I realised Im already 'minimalist' in certain areas of my life, I don't splurge on clothes, I don't like clutter in my home, I love my kitchen to be minimal, no clutter on my kitchen worktops!
I really don't like ornaments, and for me Less is More!

But, and here goes my downfall, I''m not known to be the most patient person. I really thought I'd have this massive clear out and Voila, my home would look like a Minimalist home, the ones i've been looking at on pintrest or instagram. Oh no reality check!  It doesn't and probably won't, because as I've learnt along the way, it's not about other peoples homes, or lives.

It's Mine.... My Home, My Life! so of course it won't look the same as somebody else's, Its about my interpretation , How I finally want to live my life, How minimalist I want it to be, and of course considering my Hubby and how he feels about the whole journey,
For me this is how Minimalism makes me feel.......

 If you feel you would like to embark on a journey with me, I'm all ears and would love to hear your WHY? And if it completely overwhelms you we can take the journey together, I can help you start the first step, toward a more clutter free life, in objects and Mind.
Let me know your thoughts, worries, or fears, we can do this over a cuppa I promise.