Going through changes
When the urge to declutter arrives with the shifting seasons.
As the seasons began to slowly change the need to have things in order and be at peace with my surroundings lead me to clearing things out and re-organising my belongings.
Moving out of the heat and busyness of the summer into the slower paced and reflective autumn seemed to shift something within me. The deep urge to manage, sort and declutter my life surfaced and it resulted in me letting things go but also coming across things I had forgotten about.
It was only recently that the urge to override my reluctance to sort things out pushed me into action. I knew it was something that needed to be done as I had been putting it off for so long. The timing was right, my intuition guided me and it felt like change was coming so sorting out my possessions was something I now needed to complete in order to move forward emotionally, mentally and physically. Just as the seasons were beginning to turn and the trees were starting to shed their leaves I also wanted to let things go.
One of the things I came across was a plastic bag full of costume jewellery that I used to wear, from beaded necklaces to bangles that used to clang onto the table as I furiously wrote my notes in college and uni. I remembered that I had to take the bangles off sometimes as they used to hinder my ability to write as some were so large. I sorted through them and only kept a select few that held particular memories as it felt like it was time to make room for something new.
I found photographs, postcards, receipts, travel cards, maps, napkins, cards, theatre and cinema tickets, plane tickets, champagne bottle corks and notebooks all of them holding sentimental attachments.
They brought back such rushes of emotion, love, joy, sadness, happiness, regret and hope. They were gatekeepers to my memories and they contained versions of me from the past. Some of the things represented times where big changes happened, there were moments of my life I could pinpoint with a photo or a scribbled note or even a receipt. Other things got thrown out that were attached to times that I wanted to let go. It felt cathartic and cleansing.
As I moved from one drawer, bookcase, wardrobe to another it felt like a transformation happened. It was almost as if by allowing myself to declutter my life in a big way it made me face up to things and it also pulled back a lot of memories. I also felt freer, as if a weight had been lifted. I was facing my past whilst making way for my future. A new era was coming.
“She could never go back and make some of the details pretty. All she could do was move forward and make the whole beautiful.”
TERRI ST. CLOUD
Have you ever felt a time when you knew it was time to sort things out? Has the change in seasons influenced your life or your decisions?
This is so timely Emma. We are moving house and even though we haven’t found somewhere yet, we’ve started sorting through things. It is so satisfying. Yesterday we cleared out the shed and found some of my mums pottery that I kept when she moved into a home. I’ll never use it, so it’s going to charity, mixed feelings but I’d rather someone made use of it.
Change gracefully ❤️