CannedGreenBreansMaybe it’s the weather.  Perhaps it is the time of the year.  Whatever it is, there is something going on!  I feel the need to de-clutter!  Mind you.., I haven’t started yet.., but I can feel the desire!  Now we will just have to see if my energy and ambition is up to the task!

I know a lot of people who believe that letting go of old junk, things you’re not using or wearing, or all the extra stuff that just seems to accumulate is cathartic work!  That it is a physical activity that supports our emotional health!  I am one of these people.., I just happen to put it off as much as I can!  Because as good as it feels; it also feels as if it is work!

Maybe I need to learn to do this more frequently, when there is less to deal with!!  Oh heck.., we all know that is not likely.  These habits or tendencies are tedious to break!

I can tell you that even thinking about de-cluttering makes me realize that there is an emotional component to the gathering and collecting of stuff.., or simply holding on to something that is beyond it’s usefulness.

For me, it starts with the desire to make sure I have everything under “control”!  Yes, I know it is an illusion… But it is my FAVORITE illusion! What if I need ‘it’ sometime in the future – for some unknown project or in case one of the other 37 USB cables I have gets damaged?  It is possible to need 2 food processors and two blenders.., right?

In my mind, I am sure I am prepared for whatever might come up.., I’ll be covered.  I won’t have to go searching for it.  I will be able to minimize any impact.., because I will have just the right tool, thing or whatever!   I’ll save money, because who knows if I will be in the poor-house when I need a vintage tortilla press!  Even if I don’t remember I have it!

So there is also fear and a little scarcity thrown in there!

Mind you, I don’t think when I am putting the 14th plastic tub that Pub Cheese comes in away (in case I need it!),  that I am “feeling” fearful. No.  Instead, there is an almost imperceptible belief hidden in the deep-reaches of my brain that has me saving for a rainy day!

When I was in my early twenties, there were a number of times when all I ate for a few days (until my next paycheck), was canned green beans!  I never ate them any other time.  But every time I went to the grocery store I would by a couple of cans.  Because I had survived on them many times before.  Flash forward 10 years, and I had several CASES of green beans in my pantry!

I had moved beyond the ‘living from paycheck-to-paycheck’ phase of my life.  But my routine for preparing for lean times was still the same. I never ate green beans in a can, (except for when I was desperate).., yet I was still buying them when I went to the store.  My emotional need for them was out of sync with my physical supply!  It took me moving them to several different homes to realize, I could let them go.  I could let go of the worry of not having something to eat, or wondering how I would make it till my next paycheck!

We all have our “green beans”!  We all have behaviors or patterns that we established as a part of navigating our lives.  De-cluttering our lives and looking at what and why we are holding on to something can be a valuable lesson.

Sometimes we start out with really good reasons or motivation.  The things we are collecting or holding on to have an intended purpose or particular project in mind.  But if you are like me and still holding on to these things a few years later; maybe it is time to update the story. Maybe it is time to reveal any emotions that are playing a roll.  Hell.., maybe it is just time to clean up your space.  Who knows.., it may be very cathartic for you too!

Now… I need to finish this blog and go climb that clutter mountain!  Hopefully I won’t find any cans of green beans!

With Light, Love, and Laughter
Charles